President's Message

As we near the end of another GOOD year, I’m reflecting on our wins and…lessons. Nearly 200 members across Central Florida (and beyond) are a part of this community, including many new members this year. We’re glad you’re here and find value in all GOOD has to offer. By year end, we’ll have held:

• Nearly 30 Community of Practice virtual meetings
•  4 in person Social events, from morning coffee to evening wine-tasting
• 1 GOOD Doing Good food-raiser
• 5 Bi-monthly workshops including 4 hybrid, 1 virtual and our annual Best Practices session
• 2 Immersive Design Thinking experiences

That’s over 40 events—that’s a lot of wins! Thanks to all the volunteers who made these possible, providing many touchpoints for our members.

Our many COP offerings includes the return of the External Consultants COP and Project Management COP. Thanks to our COP leaders for bringing so much value to our members. 

One of our biggest wins was kicking off our Strategic Visioning initiative, starting in September and continuing in our December bi-monthly meeting. And it’s thanks to the expertise and hours of dedicated effort that Damita Wright, Trevor Swanson, Dr. Stephnie Stern and Vicki Bautista have put in as well as all our Visioneers and facilitators.

As for lessons, we’ve learned that you can’t beat Mother Nature, or in this case, Hurricane Milton! We’re excited to reschedule the October workshop in early 2025. We’ve also learned the journey to being able to deliver high quality hybrid experiences isn’t always a smooth one. Thank you for your continued candid feedback as we assess each workshop. We are in search of a venue or venues in 2025 that will allow us to level up and provide an excellent member experience in our bi-monthlies, no matter where you sit. If you have a suggestion, please reach out to bimonthlyprogram@goodnetwork.us. 

One final win is that as a result of our recent election and Leadership Team nomination process, we have the largest team of Officers, Directors, COP leaders, and Committee members since before 2020 lined up for next year. We’re beginning the transition process now. Thanks to all who have committed your time and energy to serving this community in 2025. It’s going to be a GOOD year!  

Warmest regards,

Peggy

We are in the beginning stages of an initiative that will have a crucial impact on the future of GOOD—asking who we will be, who we will serve and how—over the next five years and beyond. And you are a key part of it! Thanks to our members who participated in the Strategic Visioning session held on September 20th.What a powerful day! This is just the first step, with more activities to come in October and December. Watch for these opportunities to let your voice be heard. Together, we are co-creating an exciting future. 

Peggy Jackson

As part of the Board’s commitment to open and timely communication, I want to share with you that regular Board meetings are held virtually on a bi-monthly basis and all dates are posted on our Events Registration page here. This is your organization and any member in good standing may attend and observe the proceedings. You must register in advance in order to receive the Zoom link. To speak on the agenda, please contact:   secretary@goodnetwork.us.  Peggy Jackson, President

Next Board Meeting, Monday, September 30, 2024

We have two new volunteers to help take us from GOOD to Great!  Amy Jennings has stepped in as Director of Community Programs and Events on the Board.  Yanalee Tejera has volunteered to manage our social media Group LinkedIn account.  It's not to late to find your niche on our extended leadership team.   Let us know where your interests lie!

We’re delighted at the fantastic response to our 2024 kickoff event at Second Harvest with speaker Jim Knight. It was great to see so many faces in the room and on Zoom. We'll be returning to this location in April. We’ve also had a great response to our first social of the year at BJ’s Brewhouse. So glad to see you all re-connecting—and welcoming new members! Your leadership team, including committee members, is working hard to make GOOD work for you and I want to say thanks to them all for getting us off to a great start in 2024. 

A new year, a new adventure! We had a fantastic year of re-connection and re-invention in 2023 and the changes aren't done yet. Our next challenge will be a new location and all that comes with it. We'll continue to adapt and learn, and your involvement is key from volunteering to assist with events to providing your feedback. Thank you in advance for being an active part of what makes GOOD so great! 

Peggy Jackson, President

2023 Annual Report to the Membership

It’s hard to believe we are looking at the finish line for 2023!

Back in January, the Board embraced a couple key themes for the year: reconnection and re-invention and made a commitment to focus on member experience and open, timely communication. We wanted to surprise and delight you, while also testing the waters in a return to in-person experiences. We hope we’ve done that.

Our biggest accomplishment in 2023 was shifting to a hybrid bi-monthly program to accommodate both in-person and remote attendees. We’re thrilled we were able to do this thanks to the magic of technology and the space provided by Goodwill Industries. We continue to work together to increase our skills in hybrid engagement.

We also saw a return to a full schedule of in-person social events and, now, end our year with an in-person GOOD Doing Good event on December 8th. In other words, we’re back, baby! Our Communities of Practice and Mentoring cohort continue online, at the preference of those involved, and on average have high engagement.

I’m thrilled to share that our membership grew in 2023 by nearly 50 members! I hope you’ve already renewed for 2024 so you can take advantage of:

• 6 bi-monthly learning sessions a year featuring thought leaders and practitioners in areas such as Org Development; Org Effectiveness; Change Management; Talent or Learning & Development, including an opportunity to present at our annual Best Practices session.
• 20+ meetings per year offered by our Communities of Practice, with content curated by members. 
• Mentoring program with opportunity to serve as a mentor, a protege or both. 
• Access to a network of over 200 professionals involved in Organization Development, as both internal leaders and external consultants, who are potential thought partners, strategic alliances, project or program resources. 
• Direct connection to job opportunities in the field or referrals to decision makers, through meeting announcements, job board and informal outreach. 
• Opportunities to develop leadership skills and give back to our profession through involvement on the Board, Leadership Team or committees.

I’ve always found GOOD to be an incredible value and I trust you do too. We appreciate your taking a few minutes to respond to our member survey, if you haven’t already. This feedback is crucial to our 2024 planning process. We were able to apply many of your suggestions this year and look forward to doing so again next year.  

Many thanks to our Board, Leadership Team and many volunteers. As a member-run organization, none of this happens without you. 

To all members, thank you for another year of growing and learning together. See you in 2024! 

Warmest regards,

Peggy 

It’s incredible to think we are already preparing for a successful 2024! We look forward to welcoming new Board members and I’m happy that the regrowth of our leadership team continues with more folks raising their hands for committee opportunities. Many hands make for light work, and diverse voices are key to meeting the needs of our membership. I’m excited to see what’s next as we all work together to make this member-led community a rich one for all. 

Did you know? As a member, you can access the Board Minutes, Annual Budget and much more at any time through the Members Content section of our website. One of the Board’s areas of focus in 2023 is open and timely communication with you. And we’ll ask for the same from you. Let us know what you think and what else you want to know! Connect with us via the LinkedIn group or email us at: info@goodnetwork.us.

Peggy Jackson, 2023 President