Board Development Committee Update

The goals of MARL's Board Development Committee are to define the composition of the Board in terms of needed skills and community representation, recruit sufficient members to the Board to maintain a complement of nine Directors, and provide education and training opportunities to maintain Board competence. Over the past few months, the Board Development Committee has been focusing on the first two of these three goals - defining Board composition and recruiting Board members - leaving the third goal for after the AGM and the election. I am pleased to report considerable success in our endeavors.

By limiting the continuous service of Directors to three consecutive two-year terms, MARL's Constitution ensures that new faces and new ideas revitalize our organization. Every year as we approach the AGM, this translates into recruiting initiatives and the preparation of an election slate to fill the upcoming vacancies. Because MARL is a small organization, our Board must be a working board (as opposed to a policy board), which means that we look to the Board to supply key skills and services which in larger organizations might be supplied by professional employees, or purchased as consulting services.

In terms of meeting the first goal - defining Board composition - the Board Development Committee determined that MARL needed to include additional expertise in fund raising and communications, and the Board needed to better reflect the composition of the community it serves by including more young people and those identifying themselves as visible minorities. This year we have ample opportunity to meet this goal because four of the nine Board positions have become available.

In terms of meeting the second goal - recruiting Board members - we advertised, received applications, interviewed and selected candidates, and finally prepared an impressive election slate for this year's AGM. I am pleased to report that we have been fortunate in finding three talented and enthusiastic candidates that I believe will do an excellent job in rounding out MARL's Board. Maryann Flett, Jack Hamulka, and Daniel Rempel bring excellent formal credentials, needed skills, experience, diversity, and a commitment to making a difference in Manitoba in the areas of human rights and civil liberties. I encourage you to come out to the AGM on June 18, meet these Board candidates, exchange ideas on what MARL should be focusing on over the next year, and show them your support. I look forward to seeing you at the AGM.