Reflections on the CSL Board Meeting

A few weeks ago, I was able to witness my first Center for Sustainable Living board meeting. I had some ideas I was ready to present to the board at the meeting, and I was wondering going into the meeting just how my ideas would be received. After all, how often are new interns in an organization allowed to sit in on board meetings to present their ideas and ask for support? However, with a group of amazing people such as this running the CSL, I should have known better than to even have the slightest inkling of intimidation going into the meeting.

The CSL “board meeting” was the first non-profit board meeting I had ever participated in. Unfortunately, I think it might give me a misconception of what potential board meetings in my future may look like. I could be wrong, but I don’t think that most non-profit board meetings begin with homemade soup, homemade bread, spinach casserole (made with freshly picked spinach from some members’ Community Supported Agriculture farm) and pie. As such, I realized right away that the CSL does their board meetings a little differently, which of course fits right in with their style and reputation.

When we were all happily filled with mostly local food, it was time to get down to business. With several of its members on vacation and a few others unaccounted for, the attendance at the meeting was nothing to brag about-only 4 of the 10 board members were at this meeting plus myself and one guest from the community, Nate Jacobi. As such, it did become difficult to address certain issues that were being spearheaded by absent members. This, obviously makes progress for the organization more difficult, and is likely one of the reasons why the CSL is known for being sporadically active. However, this is understandable considering that the CSL is comprised not of paid, non-profit professionals but everyday, visionary Northfielders who volunteer time outside of their professional and family lives to tackle important community issues.

Despite the missing members, the meeting ran fairly smoothly and efficiently, addressing each issue that had been laid out on the previous meeting’s agenda. Despite the laid back and egalitarian nature of the meeting, I was at times reminded of the board members’ experience and knowledge of non-profit work when issues of legality, bylaws, and other matters of record came up that I didn’t quite understand the nuances of. Once all previous projects were addressed, each member had the opportunity to bring up any other new proposals to the board. When it was my turn, I was thrilled with the enthusiasm and support that was offered to each of my ideas by the board members. In addition, they were able to provide invaluable advice about who to contact in the community about composting, non-motorized transit, etc. Total time for the meeting (including dinner and bullshitting amongst friends) was about 2 hours. Not a huge time commitment for a two-month period, especially considering what could be accomplished in the community coming out of such a meeting.