At the 2012 JCI January Board of Directors Meeting, JCI’s new leadership focused on turning passion into action to create lasting results.
From January 9 to 14, JCI World Headquarters in St. Louis, USA hosted the 2012 January Board Meeting. Every year, the members of the JCI Board of Directors meet in January to establish strategies for how to meet the organization’s goals for the upcoming year.
In his opening remarks, 2012 JCI President Bertolt Daems welcomed the JCI Board and thanked them for their commitment to JCI. He began the meeting with a video showing a variety of JCI projects from across the world to keep the meeting focused on why the Board exists.
“We need to remember why we are here, for our JCI members, to guide them to fulfill the JCI Mission and take action in their communities,” said President Daems.
Members of the 2012 JCI Board of Directors were honored to receive training during the meeting from 2012 JCI Training Commissioner Esther ter Beek and one of JCI's long-time friends, Julie Procter from Dale Carnegie Training. Procter helped the JCI Board members enhance their leadership and motivational skills and public speaking abilities.
"It was very helpful to brush up on our presentation skills as well as learn new ones and practice being confident and persuasive in our speeches. As we travel around the world, we are talking to members and challenging them to take action, giving reasons and results, so we must know how to engage the audience and inspire our members,” said JCI Executive Vice President for Africa and the Middle East Paschal Dike.
Training Commissioner ter Beek conducted the Insight Training, a model that measures an individual's preferences of behaviors and reactions.
"Great teamwork and personal efficiency starts with insights as to why you act and react the way you do. If you know yourself and your team members, communicating, working together and achieving your goals will be easier," ter Beek said.
Mark Your Calendar
After a brief report regarding the 2011 JCI World Congress in Brussels, Belgium, the JCI Board received an overview of the 2012 events including all four JCI Area Conferences, the JCI Academy, the JCI Global Partnership Summit and the JCI World Congress.
Start making your travel plans with these important dates:
Strengthening Partnerships
UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets Director Chris Helfrich made a special trip to St. Louis to address the board, saying “JCI is one of our most exciting and passionate partners. 2012 brings new opportunities for Nothing But Nets and JCI.”
The 2012 Board turned their passion into action during a trivia night fundraiser for JCI Nothing But Nets. The Board split into teams and tested their knowledge about 2012 JCI event locations, Nothing But Nets statistics and other JCI facts. Helfrich hosted the Nothing But Nets statistics round and inspired the Board to go back to their home Organizations and take their JCI Nothing But Nets participation to a new level. By the end of the night, the JCI Board raised US $700 for JCI Nothing But Nets. President Daems generously doubled the donation making it a total of US $1,400 to send nets and save lives. Director Helfrich was thankful for all of the support for the campaign and looks forward to another successful year of JCI members combating malaria worldwide.
Creating Results in Your Community
The attendees of the January Board Meeting showed an eager and positive outlook toward 2012 and embraced President Daems’ theme of turning passion into action. All JCI Board members committed to answering President Daems’ call for building trust and greater cooperation with new and existing partners through mutual respect. President Bertolt concluded the meeting with a sincere thanks to all of the 2012 Board, especially JCI Past President Kentaro Harada for his service to JCI throughout 2011.
“2012, the year of the dragon, will be a special year,” said President Daems. “It will bring new movement and new hope as we strive to turn our passion into action and achieve results.”
His closing remarks challenged the Board and members worldwide to create a better world and a better future for our children. President Daems will now start his travels to JCI National and Local Organizations around the world. To follow his travels and see if he will be visiting your country soon, visit the JCI Presidents Corner.
Plan now to attend the 2012 JCI Area Conferences and 2012 JCI World Congress.
Look ahead to the 2012 JCI Global Partnership Summit in New York City.
Watch the 2012 JCI January Board Meeting as it happened in our live streaming video archive.
