Published April 25, 2024
Melissa Cole, Pensacola State College Foundation
Attendees of the Pensacola State College Center for Nonprofit Excellence learned from nonprofit executives, DeDe Flounlacker of Manna, and Paula Shell of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida. These two leaders led a full-day nonprofit training on leadership taking into consideration the perspectives of the nonprofit board, staff, and volunteers. As industry professionals, participants were eager to hear the wisdom and insight that both speakers imparted.
Mary McClellan, Executive Director of Autism Pensacola, commended the day’s trainers for their extraordinary perspectives. “This class was extremely effective and one of the best I’ve attended thus far,” she expressed. “Paula and De shared valuable experiences earned from decades working in the industry.”
During the morning, Paula led attendees through an exploration of the responsibilities and obligations that board members must fulfill when serving an organization.
“One of the most important things for leaders to remember is accountability,” Paula advised. “It can be difficult, but there need to be processes for everything that are faithfully followed. There have to be processes for onboarding, and if duties are not being handled with care, there need to be processes for blessing and releasing.”
Entering the afternoon, DeDe began a discussion on the roles of nonprofit staff members with a special focus on the duties of the executive director or chief executive officer.
“Ideally we want our staff to be highly functioning and highly focused on the mission and the work that we do,” DeDe stated. “A key tactic to ensure this high functioning is ensuring that we provide opportunities for our team members to develop themselves and become prepared to either grow with their role or into a new one. As managers it’s our duty to oversee that fundamental growth.”
Once the lunchtime hour rolled around, attendees were able to participate with expert panelists Summer Jimmerson of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northwest Florida, Missy Rogers of the Arc Gateway, and Meri Asmar of the Lewis Bear Company. Kristin Fairchild, Executive Director of Chain Reaction, facilitated the panel.
Following the expert panel, Paula and DeDe concluded the training with a joint, comprehensive overview of volunteer motivations and best practices for engagement and retention.
“This whole training has been incredibly informative and eye-opening,” shared Eduardo Lara, Communications Director for CivicCon. “With what I’ve learned today I can see a need to increase our volunteer engagement. There can never be too much recognition or appreciation for our volunteers.”
Ashley Wilkinson Meyer, Executive Director of United Ministries, echoed a similar gratitude for the knowledge gained during the training. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to develop as a leader and to grow the capacity of our nonprofit, using the tools we’ve acquired, to the benefit of our clients.”
For more information on upcoming training opportunities with the PSC Center for Nonprofit Excellence visit: https://npc.pensacolastate.edu/upcoming-workshops/ or contact Kylie Henderson at khenderson@pensacolastate.edu or (850) 484 – 1193.