Submitted by John Deats, Wrigley resident
Will the Wrigley Association survive the current turmoil?
As a dues-paying associate member of the Wrigley Association for about 15 years I certainly hope so. I have to settle for associate membership because I live one block outside of Wrigley’s boundaries. I credit my involvement with the Association for a lot of personal growth and development. Until lately, I have held up the Wrigley Association as the “gold standard” for neighborhood associations, against which similar entities are to be judged.
I am seriously concerned that recent events are approaching a level of dissonance that may cause the Association to completely unravel and cease to exist. This would be a shameful loss not only to Wrigley but to all of Long Beach.
The Wrigley Association is not part of corporate america even though it is a nonprofit public benefits corporation. It is an association of volunteers and as such the members cannot be re-assigned from one volunteer “duty” to another. An employer is pretty much free to re-assign the duties of his/her employees because he/she has the “power of the paycheck.” The Wrigley Association has no paid employees. Volunteerism is all that keeps the association going.
The simple fact of the matter is Christmas Tree Lane has the largest standing committee in the Wrigley Association and the greatest number of volunteers. If these volunteers (of which I am one) are driven away, the Association is at risk of losing more than half its membership.
To the extent that some members and/or “leaders” want to see an added emphasis put on crime reduction or air pollution reduction (Wrigley Meetings Polarized by Parade, May 17), I say, “More power to them.” There is nothing mutually exclusive about pursuing these goals and continuing to fully support Christmas Tree Lane.
Historically, Christmas Tree Lane is the reason the Wrigley Association was formed. I can remember “cruising” Christmas Tree Lane with my high school sweetheart almost 50 years ago, but it was sponsored by the city of Long Beach back then with some help from various civic organizations. For the past 18 years it has been under the auspices of the Wrigley Association.
It is Christmas Tree Lane and the annual holiday parade that traverses Christmas Tree Lane that truly puts the Wrigley area of Long Beach on the map. I cannot understand anyone wanting to diminish the stature of the Wrigley Association by trying to sever its connection to the Christmas Tree Lane.
If it is decided that crime reduction and/or pollution reduction are to be pursued by the Association, it is extremely simple: form standing committees to deal with each of these issues. The chair or designated spokesperson for each committee should be allowed to give a report on the committee’s progress (nominally three to five minutes) to the general membership at the monthly Association meetings.
Remember two things that are key to any potential success on these or any other issues:
(1) All committee work is to be done outside of the general membership meetings, whether the committee meets weekly, monthly or on whatever schedule it selects.
(2) The chair of any committee has to have the type of leadership skills that will attract and retain volunteers.
Remember, there is no “power of the paycheck” involved here. I have witnessed plenty of volunteer organizations that have utterly failed because the leadership wound up driving the volunteers away.
There is absolutely no reason to view the issues tearing at the Wrigley Association as an either/or situation. I have seen enough talent among the membership to deal with crime, pollution, Christmas Tree Lane, or whatever the membership wants to tackle. And that is the main point: The general membership should set the direction and priorities for the Association, not the board of directors.
But, as I stated before, the Wrigley Association is not part of corporate america. In a neighborhood association comprised exclusively of volunteers, these volunteers (i.e., the general membership) should expect the board of directors to help carry out their wishes, not the other way around.
To that end and the future stability of the Wrigley Association, I ask all members in good standing to turn out at the Monday, June 4, meeting. This is the official Annual Meeting of the corporation where board members are elected. Please attend and vote. The future of your Association and the future of the Wrigley area depend on you.
