Pay It Forward: The Business Case For Serving On A Nonprofit Board

This is an excerpt from an article I recently found online. In my networking seminars, I always point out that not-for-profit involvement introduces you to individuals whose paths you might never have otherwise crossed. Serving on a NFP board is the natural progression of being involved in an organization about which you are passionate.

Americans are generous people. From Meals on Wheels to blood drives to charity fun runs, we do a lot of volunteering. These short-term gifts of time are great. But have you ever considered volunteering your management experience in a way that helps the community, makes you feel good and helps your business?

There’s a good business case for paying it forward by serving on a nonprofit board:

• It’s good business. Americans reward companies that pay it forward. Two-thirds of executives say that corporate citizenship produces a tangible contribution to the bottom line, and seven of 10 Americans say a commitment to social issues is an important factor in deciding which stocks and mutual funds to invest in.
• It’s good marketing. Your participation on the board adds to your personal and professional reputation, and to that of your business. It expands your network as you work closely with an enormous range of talented people from other businesses. You’ll also deepen your understanding of the community, its     residents and their needs.
• It’s good career development. Nonprofits need board members with skills in law, marketing, fund development, business development, negotiations, scalability, mergers and acquisitions and many other areas. Board service offers you the chance to exercise the skills you’ve mastered while expanding into new challenges. Almost two-thirds of white-collar volunteers report positive impacts on their career. Some large corporations even use nonprofit board service as a
  staff-development tool.
• It’s good for you. The benefits of board service extend to your sense of well-being. Nonprofit board members report a profound sense of engagement and renewal as they share their talents for a worthy cause. Studies show that reaching out to help others improves emotional health. In addition, serving the community enhances your status. Board work stretches you out of your comfort zone, making for a potent combination of personal rewards.

It started out as an uneventful summer lunch hour…

It started out as an uneventful summer lunch hour – hot and humid – and I was sitting at the traffic light next to my office building. My intention was to make a left onto Stewart Avenue and head to Wild Fig in Garden City to meet a friend who works at Hofstra University for lunch. But before the light had turned green, I witnessed a six car accident diagonally across the street, in front of a cardiac medical center (this detail is important).

The accident was clearly the fault of the SUV driver who decided to make a left turn (he was heading east on Stewart Avenue) into the parking lot of the afore-mentioned medical center. As he cut across two lanes of oncoming traffic, with horns of westbound traffic blaring, he proceeded to smash into the car that was in the far right, westbound lane. The driver never saw him coming, and after being hit, she proceeded to ram into the car waiting to leave the parking lot. The SUV driver proceeded to smash into two cars parked in the lot. I pulled over, as a dutiful witness would do.

Well, the driver of the first car that was hit got out of her car, quite hysterical and quite pregnant. I took her to my car, learned that she was seven months along and I called 911. At this point, many people were milling around and no one had the presence of mind to dial 911. Police cars and police ambulances arrived several minutes later. Now the people whose parked cars had been hit came out into the parking lot. Not one of these people – and there were many by this time – gave a damn about the pregnant woman. They were taking pictures of their cars and writing down license plates and being general busybodies while the police officer was interviewing me.

The icing on the cake was when a man who identified himself as the person who runs the cardiac center asked the police officer if he could remove the debris from the driveway to his parking lot. What concern! By the way, not one nurse, not one doctor and not one medical professional came out to see if they could help. Do we blame that on malpractice insurance rates or on a bunch of human beings who couldn’t have cared less about the injured in front of their doorstep?

MY TOP 19 SUMMER SONGS

Google “Greatest Summer Songs” and there are about 4,260,000 results (give or take a few). Well, I’ve narrowed the list down to my top 19. Want to make it 20? Add one
of your favorites to the list!

1. Summertime Blues – Eddie Cochran
2. Summer in the City – Lovin’ Spoonful
3. Hot Fun in the Summertime – Sly & the Family Stone
4. In the Summertime – Mungo Jerry
5. The Boys of Summer – Don Henley
6. Summer Rain – Johnny Rivers
7. Summertime Blues – Blue Cheer
8. All Summer Long – The Beach Boys
9. The Theme From ‘A Summer Place’ – Percy Faith
10. Cruel Summer – Bananarama
11. Summertime – Janis Joplin
12. Sunny Afternoon – The Kinks
13. Rockaway Beach, Ramones
14. You Belong to the City – Glenn Frey
15. Palisades Park – Freddy Cannon
16. Vacation – Go Gos
17. Walking on Sunshine – Katrina and The Waves
18. Summer Nights – John Travolta & Olivia Newton John
19. 4^th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) – Bruce Springsteen

Funny business quotes: Truth is more ridiculous than fiction

A magazine ran a “Dilbert quotes” contest. They were looking for people to submit quotes from their real-life  dilbert-type managers. Here are the top ten finalists:

“As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using  individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday and employees  will receive their cards in two weeks.” (This was the winning quote from  Fred Dales, Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, WA)

“What I need is an exact list of specific unknown problems we might encounter.” (Lykes Lines Shipping)

“E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used only for company business.” (Accounting manager, Electric Boat Company)

“This project is so important, we can’t let things that are more important interfere with it.” (Advertising/Marketing manager, United Parcel Service)

“Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule.” (Plant manager, Delco Corporation)

“No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We’ve been working on it for months. Now, go act busy for a few weeks and I’ll let you know when it’s time to tell them.” (R&D supervisor, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing/3M Corp.)

Quote from the Boss: “Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say.” (Marketing executive, Citrix Corporation)

MY FAVORITE (IF FAVORITE IS THE RIGHT WORD): My sister passed away and her funeral was scheduled for Monday. When I told my Boss, he said she died on purpose so that I would have to miss work on the busiest day of the year. He then asked if we could change her burial to Friday. He said, “That would be better for me.” (Shipping executive, FTD Florists)

“We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees.” (Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)

One day my Boss asked me to submit a status report to him concerning a project I was working on. I asked him if tomorrow would be soon enough. He said, ”If I wanted it tomorrow, I would have waited until tomorrow to ask for it!” (Hallmark Cards executive)

SKILLET APPLE PIE FOR 4th of JULY

I saw this made on America’s Test Kitchen and it looked perfect for the July 4^th weekend – you know, apple pie being an all American dessert, otherwise we’d be eating crumpets. Anyway, I simplified it by using a purchased pie crust. I’ve never made a pie crust from scratch and I’m not going to start now! Enjoy!

Purchase: One large prepared pie crust

Filling:

• 1/2 C. apple cider
• 1/3 C. maple syrup – use the real thing!
• 2 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 t. corn starch
• 1/8 t. ground cinnamon
• 2 T. unsalted butter
• 2.5 pounds of green apples – about 5
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 2 t. sugar

Directions:

• Set the oven rack in the middle position.
• Heat the oven to 500 degrees. (Yes, 500.)
• Peel and core the apples.
• Slice the apples into 1/2 inch thickpieces. Set aside.
• Whisk together cider, maple syrup, lemon juice, corn starch and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
• In a 12-inch oven safe skillet, melt the butter at medium-high. When it stops foaming, add the apples.
• Brown the apples slightly so that they caramelize. Stir every 90 seconds, until they are beginning to brown, about five minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat. Add the cider mixture and stir gently. Leave the pan to cool a bit, about 15 minutes. COOLING IS ESSENTIAL OR CRUST WILL SAG OVER THE APPLES.
• Place the dough over the apple mixture in the pan.
• Brush with egg white and sprinkle the sugar over it.
• Use a sharp knife to bisect the dough and then cut twice more to make 6 squares.
• Put the entire pan in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove and let cool for 15 minutes. Serve with ice cream.

Summer toes and feet: My latest pet peeve

Summer is here and with summer we are “privileged” to view the toes of those around us. What is it with toes? What is it with toenails? What is it with feet in general? Wanna be grossed out? Just keep looking at the feet you encounter in your daily travels.

It’s beyond me why people with ugly toes, unkempt toenails, cracked heels and other skuzzy foot manifestations would even want to wear sandals and flip flops. Sure, it’s summer, casual is the norm and comfort the priority. But please, take a look at your feet before you choose to expose them to the world.

Pedicures cost about $15 at the local nail salon and the money is well spent. Ah, the feeling of being pampered, the whirlpool soak, the foot and leg massage that come with the pedicure. And you leave with lovely toes. Don’t like nail polish? That’s okay. Naked nails are just fine, if that’s what you choose. You want purple, green, blue, bright white, red, whatever? Go for it! It’s only summer once a year.

Don’t like the idea of someone touching your feet? Then take care of your feet at home. Every drug store chain has a nail care aisle with all the products you need to remove calluses, clip and file your nails and apply clear or colored polish.

Men, this doesn’t just apply to the ladies. Your feet are even bigger! You shave, you apply deodorant (we hope), now take a look down…all the way down…and check out the condition of your feet.

Gnarly toes, anyone? If you can’t stand the way they look, spare the rest of us! Open toed shoes and sandals are just two of the thousands of shoes to choose from, every season of the year.

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, it’s time for me to make a pedicure appointment for Sunday morning.

Whiskers helped to save another cat’s life

Reprinted by permission of Ruth Sattig Betz, Whiskers’ Human:

Bobby took Whiskers to his Drs. appointment yesterday. Dr. said Whiskers is a hero.  When talking to other pet owners, Dr. has been using Whiskers’ treatment for cancer as an example of how a sick pet can recover from cancer surgery. (Pets aren’t covered by HIPAA law.)   

Over a month ago, a couple brought in a cat with Mast Cell cancer, which is what Whiskers had. The cat was very sick. They were concerned if the surgery to remove the spleen would be beneficial. After hearing how well Whiskers is doing 18 months later, they approved the surgery. A month later, they told the Dr. they were glad their cat had the surgery and asked him to tell us thank you and that Whiskers was their hero. Whiskers helped to save another cat’s life.