A Message from Michelle Gilchrist on Her First 90 Days As President and CEO
Recently, I was asked, “What are the top 3 things you want to accomplish within the first 90-days on the job?” After pondering this question, I quickly realized no new CEO can narrow 90-days of learning into 3 accomplishments. You must observe, listen and learn before engaging. Doing so builds trust and ensures the right decisions are made at the right time. Combine this with learning who’s who, where to go and what to avoid, I decided to look at my 90-days as an adventure. What have I learned about Bloomington? How do these learned experiences translate into future plans for the Bloomington community?
#1 The Roundabout: A circular intersection? Whose idea was that? I wasn’t sure if I should treat it as a four way stop, yield, or enter at my own risk. Yep. I chose the latter and went in the wrong direction. Thank you, Mr. Toyota, for honking your horn to let me know I needed help. I learned that the roundabout is where we all are going different places, to accomplish different missions, but there is a moment in time when we share the same space. In our community, there are different people. Different life circumstances. Wanting to reach their destination and need others to be in the roundabout to guide them. I’ve spent a great deal of time meeting community agencies, learning why their services are needed, and touring local programs to understand who utilized their service. When I think about the future of BHF, I see us being an organization who values every person in our community regardless of where they are in life. It is our duty, a privilege quite honestly, to help the under-resourced find hope so they can get on the right path. While our mission is to support health related services, we can lend our knowledge, lead in convening the right people around the table, and volunteer when necessary. To do this we have to identify what issues are wrong and how best to resolve them.
#2 The Bloomerang: Nope. It’s not misspelled. In all the meetings I’ve participated in, I have met less than a dozen people who are born, bred, and fed in Bloomington. Most are transplants like me. They moved to this quiet, quaint community with the expectation of staying a few years, but fell in love with the people. It’s a place where people truly care and genuinely want to see others do good. Some leave but find their way back when they realize this love of community is unique to Bloomington. The mark that BHF leaves should make a personal impact. It should cause volunteers to volunteer again; community agencies to know they have an advocate; those in need that someone sees them and care. We will not be just another organization with resources. We will continue being an organization of purpose.
#3 Uptown’s Roundtable: The meaning of “roundtable” is a conference for discussion or deliberation by several participants. King Arthur and his knights sat at a roundtable so that none, not even the King, would be perceived as having precedence. There, the knights could openly deliberate on how best to resolve an issue impacting their kingdom. Since moving to Bloomington, I’ve seen many discussions taking place at the infamous Uptown Cafe. When I observed leaders meeting, families gathering and all discussing what was important, I knew BHF’s future would require a space and place where community agencies, funders, politicians, and the community at large can deliberate and strategize on how best to address the needs of our community. By convening together and setting aside what divides us, we can focus our efforts on what unites. I am confident, together we can make the type of impact that will be told for generations to come.
In closing, there are far more than 3 things I learned over the last 90-days, but it is the future of Bloomington that I am focused on today. I invite you to join our roundtable and engage in making Bloomington a place where everyone is valued, we can all exit when it’s our time and we know this is home and there isn’t another place quite like it.
Like what you’re reading?
Facebook Instagram twitter LinkedIn