You should run for president!

In 2018, after being a member for about a full year, I was approached by a couple of guild members, who encouraged me to run for the Portland Modern Quilt Guild president.  At that time, the guild was over 300 members strong.

The guild elects new board officers each year, so I knew that I was signing up for a 1 year commitment.  I also knew that this would slow my quilting just a bit, but also provide inspiration in other ways.

During my term as president, one of my goals was to work to bring in new quilters and to help attract diverse individuals.  I had specific goals which I communicated to the membership.  I developed these goals based on my knowledge of the guild and the programs that have been most impactful.  Those goals were:

• Art of Quilting.  Speakers, Inspiration, Trunk Shows, Retreat, Conferences
• Learning to Quilt.  Workshops, Techniques, Sew Days, Sharing/Collaboration, Webinars
• Giving Back through Quilting.  Charity programs, Charity Sew Days
• Growing our Guild.  Reach 400 active members, Each one, bring one.

Additionally, I placed focus on maintaining our brand.  This included the look and feel of our presentations, the formatting of our website content, how we introduce our guests and how we brand our merchandise.  We added new elements to our website, including a quilting playlist, a carpooling tool.  We also began discussing the need for a members-only section of our website and the video recording of our meetings, for our remote members.  Some of these new tools were not able to be put in place until after my term, but the groundwork was established with the awesome team of board members I was fortunate enough to work with.

There were definitely challenges, mainly in working with different personalities and needs, but overall this was a very enriching experience and one that I will forever treasure.