Planning & Lobbying Committee
The Bylaws of the Des Moines Metro Pickleball Club states the following:
Article VI – Committees
Committees and/or chairpersons will be appointed by the Club Board.
In the Board Meetings of November 29, 2017 with Chair assignments approved at the Board Meeting of December 15, 2017, the following committees and leadership assignments are now in effect:
Member Acquisition & Retention (MA&R) – Angela Edmonson
Membership Play (MP) – Julie Huggins
Planning & Lobbying (P&L) – John Bloom
Social Planning & Event Coordination (SP&E) - Jeanie Golliher
Training and Skill Development (T&SD) – Chuck Golliher
Technology Support (TS)-Joan Howe
This Volunteer Opportunity (VO) is for the Planning & Lobbying Committee. Also on November 29, 2017, the Board approved in "bullet form" the activities of each committee. For the Planning & Lobbying Committee, those included:
- Develop and maintain tools for forecasting the need for additional facilities to accommodate playing opportunities
- Identify “best in class” PB clubs to build on experience in designing an effective lobbying process
- Participate directly with Ambassadors in building relationships with city and county officials in order to educate and influence them regarding the need for PB facilities
- Work with public and private entities to secure dedicated outdoor and shared indoor complexes to facilitate growing need for year-round PB play
Pursuant to this assignment, the Chair is requesting volunteers who have passion and skills to assure that the club can execute these activities in an effective and professional manner. Some of the desired qualities needed on this team are:
- Basic to Advanced Spreadsheet Skills
- Basic to Advanced Research Skills (Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Analysis, Dissemination)
- Teamwork Skills in a Matrix Organization (Listening, Questioning, Persuading, Respecting)
- Lobbying Skills with Community Leaders and Political Officials (promoting club interests, influencing with reason and respect, building relationships)
All of our Committees must work together in an effective and harmonious way. The P&L Committee by it's nature must be working with Metro District Ambassadors to facilitate member growth 2 to 3 years in advance. It takes time to educate public and private partners and on the capacity and specifications of pickleball venues that meet club needs. It takes even more time for those venues to be funded, constructed and made available with recognition of the club's role in maximizing the community use of pickleball investments.