2011 BYU FSOS Reunion Notes
Leadership Training-This meeting was attended by about 10 people.
A problem occurred with the room assignment for this meeting as well.
This room was not shown on the Wilkinson Center map and people had
to guess as to the location. Next year the room needs to be larger to
accommodate more people.
Item #1: We proposed and then voted on the following business items:
Proposal 1: Those who come to the leadership training meeting
(Spouses included) will be considered a quorum, capable of voting and
representing the whole organization.
a) Proposal was seconded.
b) Proposal was passed unanimously.
Proposal 2: Richard and Cynthia Connell, given the office of Presidents
and Co-chairs of the Brigham Young University Former Student Officers Society
by Bill Brady, former president of the same organization be officially accepted
as the new presidents.
a) Proposal was seconded.
b) Proposal was passed unanimously.
Proposal 3: The length of the time for a presidency’s term of office will
be left undefined for now and the selection of the next president/presidency
shall be left to the discretion of the current presidency.
a) Discussion of this proposal had to do with clarification of its intent.
The intent of this proposal is that both the duration of president’s term
of office and the process for the selection of the president should be
addressed at a future leadership meeting after the filling of positions of
additional officers. For now, this will officially give the presidents the
ability to (if necessary) to quickly pass the leadership of the organization
into the hands of someone they feel will "raise the torch" of the BYU FSOS
and help it burn brightly.
b) Proposal was seconded.
c) Proposal was passed unanimously.
Item #2: First leadership Challenge
a) A short discussion was held about doing an ancestral leadership chart.
I. Each member is to ask themselves, "How were my ancestors
leaders?"
II. Then ask themselves, "What characteristics did they possess?"
III. The third question they need to ask themselves is, "What does
this mean to me?"
The purpose for the challenge is to invite members to think upon their heritage
of leadership as it might apply to their unique needs as leaders today.
Item #3: The Second Leadership Challenge
Obtain a copy of the Principles of Leadership, Teacher Manual, Religion 180R,
CES manual (available on-line).
Obtain a copy of the LDS Family Services Addiction Recovery Program manual
(available online).
Become familiar with both of these manuals so we can both teach them and
bring ourselves more into alignment with both the leadership methods and
personal characteristics required by the Lord. We must lead ourselves first.
Members are invited to email the experiences they feel comfortable sharing
with the group so we can post them. We will be interested in reading about
any insights or experiences with the Genealogy Challenge and with the
Leadership Challenge that you found helpful.
Item #4: Anne Snow shared with us that the Harold B. Lee Library has many
of the past records of the former BYUSA/ASBYU presidencies. They are
available to be seen, copied and read through. She showed us some examples
she had just copied and also her scrap book that had many newspaper clippings
of her days at BYU during WWII.
Item #5: Cynthia told about Nephi’s leadership challenges that can be read
in 2 Nephi, chapters 2-5.
Item #6: We watched part of BYU’s production, Voices of Leadership
(copies were available to take home).
Item #7: We were asked if the FSOS would ask for dues and donations from
their members. A valid observation was made that former alumni were being
asked by multiple BYU organizations to donate money. They were concerned
that the FSOS would do the same.
We answered that we were considering giving members the option of helping
to pay for the dinners of those who cannot pay for themselves. We answered
that we would keep their concerns in mind as we planned for the future.
The Reception
The reception went well but attendance was light because of a traffic jam on
the highway. Debbie Forrest and her brother Mike Hutchings greeted people
as they came in, handed out name tags and asked people if they would like to
volunteer for committees. 3 additional students were asked to assist in setting
things up and taking photos. Because of these five volunteers, things ran smoothly
during the reception.
A crane had tipped over across and through part of the building next to the
'Food to Go" area and they were trying to get all the food orders out so they '
could evacuate the building, but it didn't effect us.
Anne Snow had brought in some BYU memorabilia and we set them on a
table in the reception room.
The Dinner
We started the dinner late because people were still arriving.
John Murphy spoke about the benefits of donating people’s papers to
The BYU Archives.
Cynthia talked about the leadership challenges (the handouts having been
put out at each person’s place setting -- this was a good idea and should be
repeated for next year’s leadership challenges).
The Fireside
Heber Kapp spoke about Christ serving the individual when He came to the
Americas. Of having people feel the print of the nails in his hands and
feet one by one, blessing their children, their sick, the twelve (twice)
all these groups-one by one. He said that many leaders just want to
give out directions and have their people take care of the individuals. Not really
dealing with the individual personally.
Ardeth Kapp spoke about the importance of using our time well since we
pay for each moment literally with our lives. She told several
leadership-of-self lessons she had learned.
Each of us have a constant companion that is always with us and whose influence
will either guide us to greatness or ruin.
Both talks were excellent and are well worth our special attention. The dinner
ended on time and everyone seemed to be pleased with how things turned out.
