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Board Briefings The Federated Women's institutes of Ontario (FWIO) Board met at the Kempenfeldt Conference Centre in Barrie for the second year in a row for their January meeting. On January 15. the FWIO Open Annual Meeting followed. The FWIO Provincial Board, Coordinators. Provincial Advisory Councillors and Committees of the Board participated in aseries of workshops and discussions on the third day. The following are some of the items covered at the FWIO Board Meeting: FWIO Strutegit Planning Process FWIO's strategic planning process â€" defined as the process by which the guiding members of an organization envision its future and develop the necessary procedures and operations to achieve that future â€" is in the works. Input from the guiding members was requested in the form of a Membership Survey. which was mailed to all Branches with the Winter 2001-2002 edition of the Home «St Country newsletters Member input is a critical phase of strategic planning. Information Items FWIC Unity Essay Competition The Federated Women‘s Institutes of Canada (FWIC) Unity Committee has proposed an Essay Competition. The following guidelines apply: - topic â€" I‘My Part of Canada" - length i 300 to 350 words. preferably typed or neatly handwritten. double-spaced - all applicants must be WI members - send essays to FWIC Unity Covenor. Doris Pattison at Box 662. Delisle SK LOL 0P0. Phone: 306-493-8166, Fax: 306â€"493-8234. Policy re: Flags at the FWIO Provincial Ol'lice Due to the cost of having to replace the wind and weather worn flags on a regular basis. the Canadian. Ontario and FWIO flags will only be flown at the Provincial Office during special events at the site. A Fair Amount Under Review With the recent increase in the membership fee to $20. many members are taking time to review what they receive fortheir membership fee. Hav- ing made the announcement about the fee increase at Area Conventions last fall. then it Home I: Country, Spring 2002 President Christine Fteaburn explained that in her estimation the benefits of belonging to the Women's Institute far outweigh the $20 fee. Reaburn outlined a detailed list of benefits that members receive for their membership fee. Ask your Branch Secretary about it; it was in your Branch mailing! Membership Coordinator’ 5 Workshop FWIO Membership Coordinator Cindy Lockhar‘t began her Membership and Recruitment Work- shop on Monday afternoon (January 14) with fun and frolic as she posed as a radio broadcaster quizzing members about the Women's Institute â€" What is the WI?. What does the W1 do?. How does the WI advenise themselves? (etc.). Lockhart then divided the Provincial Advisory Councillors. Coordinators and Board Directors into groups for a Visioning exercise. Each group was to draw a community of the future. it was no surprise to learn that each of these visions de- picted a strong Women's Institute focus. Lockhart suggested that each Branch go through this exercise. How does your Branch see itself in the community of the future? Discussions then centered on team building. When does the Women's Institute build a team? Why would the WI use the team approach? How do you build a team? Who should be invited to join the team? And. what makes an ideal team? The importance of building trust in the team building process emerged from the brainstorm- ing sessions. When recruiting. Lockhart stressed not to forget current member requirements and motiva- tion. Recognize members for what they have done and inspire them to move towards their vision of the WI. Use change as an opportunity to motivate people tojoin the Wt. You can do this. says Lockhart. by asserting a positive attitude about change and diffusing the negative. Program planning goes hand-in-hand with maintaining your current membership and re- cruiting new members. emphasized Lockhart. Meet your memberships' needs in terms of pro- gramming by simply asking them what they want. And work to attract new members by plan- ning interesting. current and diverse programs Remember. the number one way to get new. members is to invite them. pick them up and make them feel welcome! Ask your Provincial Advisory Councillor or Board Director about the booklet of useful intor- mation provided by the Membership Coordinator at this workshop. "Communications" â€" An Open Discussion Following the Membership and Recruitment Workshop on Monday evening. President Christine Fieaburn chaired an open discussron between the Provincial Advisory Councillors. the Coordinators and the Board Directors. The format of the discussions followed a formula known as FlFiDt F- Factâ€" What are the facts about a concern or issue? | â€" Issues â€" What are the issues that emerge from the facts? Fl v Resolve â€" How can the issue or concern be resolved? D â€" Direction â€" What direction do you now want to take? While some concerns were brought up for discussion. the majority of the Provincial Advisory Councillors felt they had a good rapport with their Board Director and the Provincial Office in terms of communicating and the flow of information. Other Items Covered - FWIO Provincial Conference - New Memberlncentive - FWIC Competitions and Deadlines r Sharing War Memories and Memorabilia - ACWW Area Conference - ACWW Conference 2004 - Woman's Creativity in Rural Life Prize I Disposition of the Resolutions (i.e. plight of white farmers in Zimbabwe) - February Branch Mailing Items The "love Quilt" Proiezt Ruth Laking of the Arkell Women‘s Institute stands beside the lovely quilted wall hang- ing. which she prepared to submit to (he renovated St. Joseph's Home in Guelph. The “Love Guilt" Project hopes to provide a wall hanging for each resident's room. To date. the Home has received nearly 200 items. Submitted by Lynn Lodge. PFtO. Amen wt. Wellington Smith.