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 October 2008 I took over the responsibilities of president from Rich Schweissing and it has been a very full two years to this point. I have enjoyed the time as president and have been privileged to work with many wonderful people. It has been a joy to make new friends and count them as family across this wonderful Region.
I thought this year was pretty mundane until I started looking at the minutes from our meetings and thinking of all that goes on behind the scenes that I’m not involved with on a day-to-day basis. At our February and August board meetings we started our time by sharing the success stories from our churches, staff, and board. There were many big and little celebrations around the Region in our churches. We had anniversary celebrations, installations, successful programs started and individuals being encouraged. We had a successful back yard mission project in Fowler so they decided to sponsor another one this year. Several of the ministers on our board shared what was happening in their communities.
During our February Executive Committee meeting we discussed supporting Region missionaries and that was a new concept to many of us. We tabled voting on the idea until more information could be presented. In March Dan and Estela Schweissing presented their vision for becoming missionaries to the Karen population in Denver. We were excited and accepting of the vision and voted to partner with them in this ministry. Their financial support will still be from individuals and churches that want to support them as well as nominal support from the Region. They were installed and welcomed as part of the Region team at a service at Crossroads on May 16th.
During discussions this past year about World Mission Support levels, it was decided to form a group of retired ministers and mission support individuals that would be available to offer information and training to churches. They have already begun to visit churches to encourage their giving and we hope this will help develop into a healthier financial basis for their church and our Region.
The Executive Committee approved and recommended a new policy concerning Sabbatical leave for our professional staff. This policy was approved by the Region Board at our February meeting and is available for you read at the Region office.
The major undertaking I was involved with this year was revising the by-laws of our Region. These revisions will be voted on during our Gathering this year. I feel that a positive vote on these changes will make it easier for people to serve in positions on the board. We also need to have information on the Region Administrator in our by-laws.
Our financial situation continues to run very smoothly thanks to the Investment Committee, the Finance Committee, our Treasurer and Karen VanValkenburgh. We did not take all the money we were allowed to out of the investments this year due to the market being down and we were still able to meet our budget with cash reserves on hand. This does not mean that we are completely out of the woods because the amount we can withdraw from investments will be lower in the coming years.
All the things mentioned above would not be possible without the work of our staff and board. I am proud to be a part of those that work tirelessly to bring about success in our Region. I want to thank the staff for the continuous work to improve and maintain communication and support of our churches in the Region. I also want to thank the board for their willingness to participate and be a working board. The board gave of their time to visit churches and encourage them. We have many more to visit and we look forward to getting to know our family across, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming a little better.
Once again, thank you for the opportunity to serve you and your churches. I encourage you to become more involved with fellow Christians throughout this Region and to serve where God is calling you.
Cynthia Rigsby
Region Board President
PDF Copy of this President Report
2009 Region Board President Report
2008 Region Board President Report |
