President's Message
HRPBC September 2010 President’s Message
Dear Member:
Enough. It’s a powerful word. When we say we have had enough ice cream, we are saying we have eaten an adequate amount. Or, “I have enough shoes” means I’m satisfied and do not need to go to the mall. Okay, no one can truthfully say that! But, used another way, enough has a whole new meaning.
There are times when I have had enough and it was not pretty. In 2002, my husband and I were remodeling our first home together. It had not been updated since the late 70’s or early 80’s. One of the projects included ripping up the Mexican tile that was set in all of the living areas of the home. Of course, the tile project was only one of many. I reached my breaking point in July. We had been living in one unfinished bedroom without a kitchen for approximately 4 months. Besides that bedroom and a functioning bathroom, the only other items in the house were a refrigerator, a coffee maker, and whatever tools the workmen left from the day before.
I came home from work one evening after a long day of depositions. Expecting that sigh of relief as I walked into my front door, I noticed the 4 foot pile of tile in the living room that was taking up about one quarter of the entire room and immediately lost it. I had enough of the remodeling and grabbed a shovel. I started shoveling the tile and walking it out to the driveway and creating my own pile in the driveway. I was so frustrated that it did not occur to me to change out of my heels or my suit. On one of my trips out to the driveway, my neighbor John came over to say hello. Once he realized what I was doing, and clearly found my actions to be unreasonable, he asked if he could help and suggested I stop. I thanked him, but declined as he began glancing around for Bob or anyone else to help him take the shovel away. After sharing the rest of my thoughts about the insensitive tile crew, he slowly backed away as though I were holding a stick of dynamite, and not a shovel. Bob arrived home about that time and brought me to my senses with the help of a glass of wine.
We have got to be careful about getting to the point to where we’ve had enough in our careers and our profession. We will always have a manager who does not understand the value of our recommendations. We may even have an executive who does not embrace or understand the HR function and, therefore, attempts to diminish our role. I think this is why it is so important to connect with others in our field. Very few folks in our personal lives would ever be able to understand the things we deal with on a day-to-day basis, not that we can share the information with them anyway.
I am glad you have chosen to allow HRPBC to be your connection, as it is mine, to other professionals in our area. For that reason, I encourage you to join us at our September 16 breakfast meeting. Chip Madera will be presenting 7 policies that create WOW! Chip comes highly recommended from other SHRM chapters. Just imagine…using policies to do more than saying no. Click here for more program details and to register at the early bird member rate of $20.
We also need volunteers on both September 13, from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., and again on September 14, from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m., to assist the FAU Career Center with resume critiques for students. We are expecting 300 – 400 students will make use of the resume critique offering. If you are interested in the resume critique days, please contact James Watson directly at FAU at 561-297-3536 or jwatson@fau.edu.
For me, volunteering is extremely valuable in making sure I don’t reach that breaking point where “enough is enough”. The professionals I have met through my volunteer roles at HRPBC have provided me resources, support, and a shoulder to lean on during tough days. If you are interested in becoming more active in our chapter, I encourage you to join a committee. As we are planning for 2011, please consider nominating yourself or a colleague for one of the 4 positions coming available in 2011: President Elect, Treasurer, At Large Director, and At Large Director. Only the 4 Board positions are subject to the nomination and election process, while committee chairs are appointed by the President. If you are interested in serving as a committee chair or just joining a committee or working on a limited project, you may direct your inquiry to nominatingchair@hrpbc.org. Those interested in one of the four Board positions should also submit the nomination form, found in the member area of our website, to nominatingchair@hrpbc.org. Click here for the nomination form. Brian Altschuler, our 2010 President Elect chairs the Committee, with the assistance of committee members Matt Sherman, Jeff Weiner, Maggie Moore and Karen Roberts.
It has been quite some time since I have reached that point where I have had enough. Even though Steven Slater of Jet Blue seemed to be having fun during his fall from grace, I’m glad my “enough” moment did not show me on the evening news with a beer sliding down an emergency chute.
Sincerely,
Lara Donlon, Esq., SPHR
Chapter President
Law Offices of Glen J. Torcivia & Associates, P.A.
701 Northpoint Parkway, Suite 209
West Palm Beach, Florida 33407
561-686-8700
donlon@torcivialaw.com
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