A farewell from that damn Yankee
and how to deal with an endless loop
And Maxwell is now happy – he now has his dad back. 
Greetings and farewell. This is JJ and I just wanted to let all know that as of this week I am resigned from the FCN board but I thought it necessary to provide a farewell message. In my one year tenure on the board I have put my heart and soul into breathing a new type of life into the organization. However this has been at the expense of my regular work, maintaining friends and even my health – so something had to give.
During this time I have come to understand the LGBTQ+ community here in Savannah quite a bit. I gotta say, my initial observation still holds – this is a community of cliques, some true cliques as well as perceived cliques. For me it’s kind of like living in the pre AIDS, late 70s era. (I came out the year after Stonewall – the year of the first Pride) Over the decades I’ve experienced the special dynamic of both types. A true clique is made up of individuals who actually shun any attempt at “infiltation” of there special little group and maintain the classic stand-offish attitude. On the other hand a perceived clique is where misplaced perceptions take hold. In this case I believe that some perceive FCN as sending out that thing I call a “click-vibe”. It’s not really founded in any reality as no board member has no intention of shuning someone from joining the board or from becoming a member but many perceive it as such regardless. This can happen when a group becomes stagnant and nothing seemingly gets accomplished and that becomes a perceived status quo. These perceptions are indeed unfortunate as they can lead to many in marginalized groups balking at the idea of even examining the organization. Add to that the ever present gossip and soon a natural aversion to the unknown develops in which the group istself is shunned – from the outside. It’s the same dynamic of misunderstanding that is at work today dividing the country. It’s beyond unfortunate.
That makes it all that more important for the board to try to overcome those perceptions and do more outreach to those groups. Everyone is in total agreement on that. But the problem is- it’s an endless loop. Without new blood on the board willing to do the necessary work then the outreach is only minimal if performed at all, and thus the board remains stuck at three to four “old white men” only able to maintain what it’s been doing. The perception of a clique of old white men is then perpetuated.
Sure, these old white men might have a high spirit of volunteerism but in the end, there’s only so much they can do, which is far from what the community might expect it to do. It is indeed an endless loop.
Along with all this I discovered that the existing mission statement of the board was pretty broad and although very well intentioned caused feelings that the organization needed to tackle multiple far reaching “crusades of equality” all at once. But like with so many things in life trying to do too much – with too little – all at once means that nothing really gets accomplished. The final result is personal burn out from those trying to do too much. This is the current situation I find myself in.
THUS – my reasoning behind my parting project of the Giving Fund is two fold. First I’m dealing with the reality that the board is not going to grow by some pie-in-the-sky evolutionary process overnight. This is a program that doesn’t really take that many hands on deck to make it happen. (Although more would CERTAINLY be helpful) Secondly, it does show to the larger LGBTQ+ community that First City Network is indeed supportive of the causes and concerns of other marginalized groups, whether they be “trans folks, younger folks, non wealthy donors , queer women and non binary folks”.
It’s been my experience in other non-profits that money always talks and has a way of turning heads. Hopefully those heads will begin to perceive FCN in a new light. Hopefully this type of outreach can generate a level of positive interest from those groups that previously had a different perception of FCN, maybe even to the point of coming on board. Well, that’s my hope anyway. In essence its the best system I could come up with to do some type of outreach with minimal manpower.
Finally, in my experience, I’ve learned that an organization can’t be all things to all people. Every one has their own perceptions on orginzational structures and goals. It is truly my hope that FCN can, in the near future fulfill as many of those perceptions as possible.
In closing I’m extending my heart felt best wishes for all those who persevere in bringing a cohesiveness between all groups within the Savannah LGBTQ+ community. I wish I could have done more.
JJ
A BTW..
In the past thirty days board members submitted their own ideas for a mission statement for FCN moving forward. I didn’t take part but this is my favorite – from Nick the board secretary. I edited it slightly for clarification but for me it comes the closest to my own idea of a mission statement- at least for right now. It’s brief, to the point and deals with the current reality of the situation.
FCN exists as a social networking forum for LGBTQ+ persons in the Savannah/Coastal region. FCN organizes social events and hosts forums that expand inclusion, equity and human rights for our local community. FCN can also collaborate with and provide partial funding for infrastructure programs with allied organizations.