November 24, 2016

New Diabetes Group Is Now a Fact

On November 19, the potential members for the suggested new group had a meeting. Sue interviewed all of them individually and determined that three would not be a benefit for any group and Brenda agreed. Glen and Allen were present for all the interviews. After the meeting formally started, Brenda explained why they were suggested for a new group. Glen explained that both his group and the group Brenda leads have capped their membership at 25 members. This means that until someone dies or moves out of the area, no new members will be accepted.

Brenda continued that three of the potential new members were rejected for reasons you may not understand, but we felt that they would not be acceptable to any group. The reasons will be given to the leader you elect and then you will be told. You will be able to select how you want your group to operate and the positions you desire. She continued that we will tell you the positions we have and then the decision is yours and does not need to be set in stone at this meeting.

Glen called Allen to talk about the VA and said that four of the members of Brenda's group were present for this only and would not be at future meetings. Allen then asked Barry to come to the front with him and the two discussed the benefits of the VA and answered questions from the members. After a half and hour of questions and answers, and wrote Barry's and his name and phone numbers on a card and passed this around for all to have the information.

At that point, all non-members for the group except Brenda and Glen left. Several questions about positions were discussed and then the duties of the leader were discussed. Both Brenda and Glen carefully laid out their duties and what they do. They explained what their groups' had for policy and where they disagreed the with group that Brenda's group split from. They were told that there were other groups around and that our city would now have four groups and they listed several of the other groups in nearby cities.

Brenda then showed them the equipment and programs she uses to aid speakers during programs. Glen said his group does not have this equipment, but it is something we are investigating. He said that the leaders collect email addresses, phone numbers, and other information the group wants.

Brenda said the new group was not charging dues for the first year, and asked about the best meeting place. They liked the room where the meeting was held and both Glen and Brenda said that as long as the room was kept clean, they would be able to use this and the phone number was given to one member to reserve the room for use. Glen said that his group tried to use the same day each month and Brenda said we move our date as needed and Dr. Tom's group tries to use the same day each month and they have priority because he is a doctor.

Brenda suggested that since our group is all retired and most of Glen's group is retired that was the reason for the needs of each group. You will need to communicate among the members to determine when to meet, which right now are 17 members.

Brenda asked if they were ready to elect and leader. Two individuals said they would like to be the leader, and they both agreed to abide with the vote. Glen had both individuals talk to the members and then he had them vote for each member. An individual named JoAnne was elected and everyone settled in and elected a secretary, program manager, historian, and a treasurer. They each gave JoAnne, their phone number and email address and decided to start discussing matters via email before the next meeting.

They ended the meeting and cleaned the room. Glen and Brenda also added their name, phone number, and email address to also receive the list of members and said they would also receive the two lists. Brenda said she would talk to Dr. Tom about giving his email address for notice of group meetings.

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