CIM and the BIG REVEAL!
In mid-October, I had the pleasure – and the anxiety – of attending CISV in Motion (CIM) and participating in the football pool to choose our upcoming 2017 programs. (Want to know those programs? Come to our BIG REVEAL, Nov. 3rd, during our regular meeting.)
CIM is CISV USA’s annual meeting, and it provides a mix of educational sessions and opportunities for the chapter representatives to connect – all designed to help us better our chapter through best practices. All good and fun, right!
But then there’s the football pool, and while fun, it is also quite nerve-racking. The rest of the CISV year depends on this event, during which chapters receive their upcoming programs. And it isn’t as simple as getting what we want; we are in “friendly competition” with the 20 other chapters across the States.
Here’s how it works. Before the football pool, BV orders it “favorite picks” of available programs by chapter interest, price, length/difficulty of getting to the camp, and travel concerns (safety/travel warnings).
Once in Cincinnati, we review again and solidify our choices. Then it is time to gather all the chapters together.
We huddle in one room, and the energy is palpable as chapter representatives check and recheck their picks, nervously fiddle with the microphones scattered throughout, glance anxiously at the board prepping in the front of the room, and whisper strategies among themselves.
Then the picking begins, but we have a certain order we must follow. All chapters are ranked numerically based on past hosting history. Since BV just hosted a Village, for example, we are ranked high in terms of picking for that program, and we have a good chance of getting the program we want. However, we haven’t hosted a Seminar for 14 years, so our ranking for that program is pretty low. The lower the rank, the less chance of getting the program(s) of our choice.
Throughout the entire process, we live with the knowledge that our number 1, 2, or even 10th pick could be gone before we even have a chance to reach for that microphone.
Finally, the pool begins: we get our first Village pick, but lose our first Step-Up choice; no time to lose, we are seeking our coveted JC spots. And the process goes on.
Then, suddenly, it is all over. After several, fast-paced rounds, the football pool has ended, and, overall, we are thrilled with our upcoming programs!
“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to World Peace”
by Marion Henderson
This year, our JB decided to celebrate Peace One Day with a game of kickball in the park, so a few parents showed up to support.
I got excited as I reminisced with nostalgia about my Middle School days of kickball fame and was pretty pumped to impress the youth with my (albeit, rusty) skills.
When my turn came to kick, I heard a low cry of collective surprise from the crowd at the kick’s force that got me, handily, to first base. Not bad for an old chick! After the next player’s kick, I bolted to 2nd base at lightning speed. Only there was one problem. My MIND bolted to 2nd base. My legs didn’t get the memo!
While my torso went full steam ahead, my legs felt like lead weights, grounding me in place. The physics of that nearly led me to fall flat on my face, but with deftness, I caught myself. “Yessss!” I thought. My athleticism of old was paying off! But alas, my celebration was premature. My legs were now moving, but at a bizarrely slow pace and, this time, nothing could stop gravity’s pull from toppling my rather large, heavy body.
The funniest part was that I experienced this incredibly ridiculous spectacle as if I were watching it in slow motion. As I lay on the ground, laughing hysterically, I was forced to accept that my triumphant memories of Middle School had been abruptly replaced by the stark reality of the Middle Ages. (It seems that the “new Fabulous-ness of 50” doesn’t necessarily manifest in the same ways it did in previous decades!)
While I was pretty embarrassed, I walked off the field feeling surprisingly good. A philosopher once said, “Young people have the energy to give their all. When we give our all to the issues before us, we can forge character and build a firm an unshakable life.”
That day in the park, I was proud that I mustered up my Middle-Aged energy and “gave my all” for the sake of an organization that I care deeply about, one that has helped forge the character of my children which, I pray, will leave an impact on this earth long after I’m gone. At times, my contributions are graceful. Other times, I end up falling on my rear end. But if a scraped elbow and bruised ego is the price to pay for helping my kids build a world where people can respect one another as equals and work together to find solutions to our planet’s most pressing problems, then it’s a small price to pay.
The generosity of BV chapter members’ time, effort and money enables us to continue this important work. Please click here to sign-up today for one or more of the chapter volunteer opportunities still open this year. Let’s show our kids, by example, how to build a “firm and unshakable life.”
Meanwhile, I’ll see you at the gym!
A Hidden Gem
After digging through six or more piled-high stacks of boxes, in the process of unloading old, and now worthless CISV papers, Janet Reynolds discovered a few golden nuggets.
The most special of a ll: a gold-embossed document declaring that, yes indeed, BV was “now an official chapter on October. 30, 1992.” The charter is signed by none other than Phil Long, current CISV USA President. So thank you, Phil Long, for agreeing to include our chapter into the CISV USA fold!
Selection Dymystified
Have you ever wondered how certain delegates of our chapter are chosen from the group of candidates who apply to represent BV in our programs?
To us die-hard CISVer’s, it is a mystery why CISV is not in every community – like Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts and Rotary Clubs. If so, there would be more opportunities for children to open their minds to the world – to build bridges not barriers – to those whom others may describe as ‘different.’
Unfortunately, CISV program opportunities are finite. Each fall we receive program opportunities from other chapters (see CIM and the BIG REVEAL), based on how we have hosted in the past. And there are only so many programs on both a national and international level. In addition, the number of delegates that can be sent are defined by the program. In most cases the gender must also be specified. This number and mix is not arbitrarily set, it is derived from research that tells us how to make the program experience the best for all of the delegates. So the goal is to create the highest quality programs for those attending, not max out on the number of participants.
Our selection committee, all of whom have extensive experience working with youth and CISV, struggle with selection when we have a plethora of great applicants. Always the committee must carefully consider the best applicants and mix of delegates to meet the specific program’s goals. It isn’t easy.
Click here to read the rest of the story, learn more misconceptions surrounding selection, and discover ways to improve your odds of attending a CISV program.