President’s Message – Testing Our Resolve

What time is it at EFBC? It is RETREAT time! This year, thanks to EFBC, I have the opportunity to attend two retreats in two weeks: the board retreat and my forum retreat. I left our board retreat the same way I leave every EFBC event, energized and inspired. With more knowledge and more questions, I am excited to work alongside our board and membership to feed our growth.

The energy from every board member is inspiring. A common theme is a desire to make the EFBC stronger and give back as a way of showing appreciation for all that has been individually gained. When members get involved, it seems to create a limitless flow of energy. Participants get so much from EFBC that they want to “give back.”

In the last two years we have checked a lot of boxes on our strategic plan. One of those items was obtaining our 501c3 nonprofit status. Moving forward we will be exploring ways to share our message with the power of the 501c3. Another item on our strategic plan is our commitment to being more intentional about diversity. If you are passionate about diversity and inclusion, have experience with 5013c organizations, or you are willing to share and give back, we would appreciate your help. Please let Liz, me, or any board member know of your desire to be involved.

One of the ideas presented at the board retreat was the 70/30 rule. We want to spend 70% of our time and energy looking forward and 30% should be spent on reflection and lessons learned. This led me to our website where I found an opportunity to listen to our founder, Jim Liautaud, speak. I love this video and it will be a go-to for me when I need a pep talk. His desire to create something that is process dependent, rather than teacher dependent, empowers every forum.

Our founder's vision is now reinforced in our recently restated mission, "to educate and empower the people of family and entrepreneurial businesses through impactful programs and a unique community of peer support." Mr. Liautaud found a way to do this with a process that has stood the test of time, 25 years to be exact.

Watching Jim’s video uplifted me. I found this part of his poem particularly helpful, especially during these extraordinary times:

“... The only time we stand to lose is, if so weakened, we abandon our believers to attack our attackers and lose the good inside of us. We forget, it’s only nature’s way of testing our resolve.”
-Jim Liautaud

If this resonates with you, we have many opportunities including committees, task forces, and board involvement. Please contact a board member to learn more. Ask yourself, "What are you willing to commit to do this year?