Report from the Board:
A Letter to Leaders
Lynne Coates
Chairman, LLLI Board of Directors
From: LEAVEN, Vol. 39 No. 1, February-March 2003, pp. 2, 24
Dear Leaders,
I’d like to share some
news and announcements with you. Much of this information has been available
on LLLI News.
Change in Executive
Director
LLLINews, December 11, 2002
From Anne Gaskell, LLLI
Executive Director:
I have resigned as Executive
Director of La Leche League International as of December 31. I wish
to take this opportunity to thank the LLLI Board of Directors for
their unfailing support in challenging times and their wisdom in providing
me with direction. I look forward to continuing to work with many
of you as a transition consultant in the coming months to further
our mission and philosophy.
From Lynne Coates, Chairman,
LLLI Board of Directors:
I have accepted Anne's
resignation with great reluctance on behalf of the LLLI Board. Anne
has made a major contribution to the well being of La Leche League
and its mission and philosophy. I speak for all of us when I express
heartfelt gratitude and appreciation. We are pleased that Anne has
agreed to continue in a consultancy role for the coming months.
Additional Update:
The Executive Director (ED)
position is designated in LLL policies, and the authority of the ED
rests with the LLLI Board of Directors during a vacancy in that position.
The LLLI Board has the responsibility to determine how the position
will be filled. The LLLI Board voted, with the Chairman abstaining,
to authorize me (Lynne Coates) to serve as Acting Executive Director
until a new Executive Director is hired. I am serving in a volunteer
capacity, both because the LLLI Bylaws require that a member of the
Board cannot be a paid staff member, and because I prefer to serve as
a volunteer. As noted in the LLLINews announcement about her resignation,
Anne will be continuing in a consultancy role for specific projects
until the end of March. We anticipate starting a search process for
a new ED within a few months.
Renewal Initiative
The LLLI Board’s leadership
statement—adopted at the February 2002 LLLI Board of Directors
meeting—encourages the use of the draft renewal initiative's set
of principles. We continue to hear back from Leaders about working with
the draft principles. Do they help or not? Please send your thoughts
and experiences to any LLLI Board member.
As with other Leaders, those
who are exploring the use of the principles are expected to observe
and follow the current LLLI Policies and Standing Rules, LLLI philosophy,
and the LLLI Bylaws. In addition, Leaders follow the appropriate policies
and guidelines for the Areas, Divisions, and Affiliates in which they
live. If you find that there are areas of conflict between the current
Bylaws, PSR, and philosophy and the proposed set of principles, the
LLLI Board would like to hear about these difficulties.
Many Leaders have written
letters to the Board of Directors about the Renewal Initiative. If you’d
like to read some of the responses from Board members to these letters,
you can see them on the LLLI Board webpage, www.laleche league.org/BOD/letters.html/
The letters are not intended to be a definitive update, but rather to
be a sharing of thoughts.
The discussion about the
Renewal Initiative in the last six months has been interesting, at times
intense, and sometimes highly emotional. From its inception, La Leche
League has encountered differences of opinion about a variety of topics.
We have so much in common—a philosophy of mothering through breastfeeding,
experiences in breastfeeding and mothering our children, and an interest
in helping other mothers learn about the joys of breastfeeding. Even
when we disagree, we can respect those we differ with, and approach
questions with objectivity and a desire to learn more from each other.
La Leche League deserves the best we can give, as do the mothers and
babies we serve.
Actions Taken at the October
2002 Board Meeting
"Board Actions"
refers to motions that are passed by the LLLI Board. Most motions are
introduced and voted on after discussion and consideration at our regularly
scheduled Board meetings. Rarely action may be taken by the unanimous
written consent (LLLI Bylaws, Article VI, Section 12) of the full Board
or by the Executive Committee. Another option for taking action, used
even more rarely, is by telephone conference call (Article VI, Section
13). Adopted by a unanimous vote:
LLLI Statement of Support
for the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners
La Leche League International
(LLLI) recognizes the value of a qualified lactation consultant as
part of the health care team working with a breastfeeding mother and
baby. The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE)
credentialing process establishes and assures the standards for the
knowledge, attitudes, and skills essential for this role. LLLI recognizes
the IBLCE credential as the standard of excellence for the certification
of lactation consultants.
The IBLCE recently issued
a similar statement about mother-to-mother support organizations including
La Leche League:
The International Board
of Lactation Consultant Examiners recognizes the critical role served
by mother-to-mother support organizations such as La Leche League
and the Australian Breastfeeding Association in support of mothers
and babies in the initiation and duration of breastfeeding. These
organizations also serve a vital role in providing the experiential
base for developing the breastfeeding expertise of mother-to-mother
support group leaders/counselors and lactation consultants. In addition,
these organizations provide essential continuing education for leaders/counselors/lactation
consultants and others, disseminating knowledge and information based
upon empirical research and clinical experience.
These are mutual statements
of support between organizations. Background information is available
on the LLLI Web site, www.lalecheleague.org/BOD/iblce.html/
This action was taken on
a motion from the Professional Advisory Board Committee:
Upon the receipt and
acceptance of his resignation, the La Leche League International Board
of Directors and Founders sincerely thank Hugh Riordan, MD, for his
many years of service on the Health Advisory Council of the Professional
Advisory Board as a pioneer and staunch supporter of breastfeeding
and the organization. With great pride and appreciation, we invite
Dr Riordan to emeritus status on the Professional Advisory Board.
Other announcements
A Tribute to Dr. Kimball
LLLINews, January 10, 2003
Dr. E. Robbins Kimball, one
of the original members of the La Leche League International Professional
Advisory Board, died on December 27, 2002. As a pediatrician, he was
one of the early advocates of delaying solids as a means of avoiding
allergies. In his pediatric practice in Evanston, Illinois, his support
and encouragement helped many women to breastfeed at a time when the
rate of breastfeeding was declining. He was also instrumental in setting
up the Evanston Hospital breast milk bank during the 1950s. Upon reflection
Dr. Kimball said he felt one of his most important contributions in
life was helping mothers to breastfeed. He was given the La Leche League
Award of Excellence in 1991 and the Founders' Award in 1997.
Motions Anticipated
at the Annual Session of the LLLI Board of Directors (February 27-March
3, 2003, in Schaumburg, Illinois)
We expect to vote on
• A motion to approve the LLLI budget for the fiscal year starting
April 1, 2003 and ending March 31, 2004.
• A motion to select the auditor for the fiscal year that ends
March 31, 2003.
• Motions from the Professional Advisory Board Committee about
memberships on the various councils of the Professional Advisory Board
(Health Advisory Council, Legal Advisory Council, Management Advisory
Council). Members serve for five years, and are eligible for renewal
of their membership at the completion of a term.
• Board officers. All officer positions serve for one year and
an election for officers is held at every Annual Session. This is an
"off year" for elections for zone Board seats; the next election
for seats from the zones will be at the 2004 Annual Session when the
United States Western, Europe, and Canada zones will present candidates
for election. Nominations from these zones will be due to the LLLI Board
Nominating Committee in September 2003. In 2005, the Eastern United
States, Asia/Pacific, Africa/Middle East, and Latin American zones will
present candidates for election. Please contact your zone representative
for more information on the nomination process (See box for contact
information.) or you may contact any member of the LLLI Board of Directors.
The Board may consider additional
motions at the Annual Session.
Sincerely,
Lynne Coates
LLLI Email Lists
LLLINews is an
email distribution list for LLL administrators around the
world. The purpose of the list is to disseminate information
for Leaders that LLLI wishes to share with them. The intention
is that administrators will then pass the information on to
the Leaders they support, either via Area/Affiliate email
lists or individually. Leaders, please contact your support
Leader if you do not receive LLLINews messages.
The LLLINews list
is a wonderful way to share late-breaking news quickly, and
is also a convenient way to distribute LLLI media releases,
notices of new books and products, and other announcements.
Leaders, members,
and the general public (nearly 2,000 at this writing) are
welcome to subscribe to the OnLLLine Chronicle, which is LLLI's
monthly email newsletter. Information of a more general nature
is shared here, such as new items on the LLLI Web site, publicity
for conferences and workshops, Catalogue sales, new publications,
and Affiliate activities. Subscription information can be
found at:
www.lalecheleague.org/chronicle.html/
|
[Note: Email addresses on this page have been updated since publication.]
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:31:17 UTC 2007.
