One Last Thing…
A Shout Out to Our Executive Director, Sue Betts
Bobbi:
Although it's over now, during our week of thanks and praise to all the volunteers who make LifeRing the little secular recovery engine that could (and can, and does!), it occurred to me that it seemed one person in particular deserves a very special, singular shout out for everything they do for LifeRing, because y'all? It's A LOT. She does it (seemingly) tirelessly. Relentlessly. With fire, passion, gusto, and grit, she does far more than anyone else in our organization every day - and that's not to take away from everything everyone else does, which is also considerable, it's just a fact. What's more, she does it all without asking for a single thing for herself, except sometimes for our time and attention where it's warranted (which, by signing up to volunteer, we kinda already agreed we would. I suspect it can often times be a lot like what I like to describe as herding cats and lassoing butterflies). It's not an easy job, and it's not just one big job - it's all the little things in between, too, and all the meetings and organizing and wrangling and building and...Phew.
Like I said, it's just a lot, and it takes a certain kind of person to be able to do all of that, you know? Especially a person who's been through a lot in their own lives, but continues to do it day after day, year after year, because they love LifeRing.
So I thought we should take a few extra minutes to tell you a little bit about our truly fearless Executive Director (and expert cat herder), Sue Betts.
- First, and foremost, she loves cats. She does, ask anyone! (And it's a good thing, too.)
- Also, she loves getting up early in the morning with a hot cup of Joe to get it all going straight away.
- She's a warm, brave, compassionate, and thoughtful leader who thrives under pressure, and loves the work.
- She takes a lot of time out of her day for people, giving them pep talks, checking on them to make sure they're OK, letting them know how much she appreciates and believes in them, asking if they need help, and volunteering to help them if the answer is yes.
- All of this, and she's a fiery basketball fan who loves and supports her home team, the Golden State Warriors. (Sorry about the Play Offs, Sue - maybe next year.)
What more can I say? A lot, actually, but I've gone on long enough, plus there are a few others who would like to add their two cents' to the proceedings, too.
Robert:
!!Very important - took over most of my responsibilities!!
She has created structure in LifeRing, including setting up regular committee meetings and, in some cases, providing the agendas as needed.
Sue is very hardworking and is a prolific writer, even without the "S" key.
She likes public speaking.
All around a good manager. It's what LifeRing needed.
Relates well with the LifeRing membership
Represents LifeRing to professional organizations and the general public with an on-point message.
Lorraine:
Sue plans. She plans for everything, which means events, meetings, and important documents all turn out better because of her planning.
She is an excellent writer, often telling a compelling story in her writing.
Sue has a huge heart. She will say she's not a nurturer, but don't believe it. She cares a lot about individuals and good causes.
She has a great sense of humor to lighten awkward or difficult situations.
Sue's marketing and communication skills are exceptional.
Her personality leans toward extroversion, so she is a joy to have around because she always knows what to say.
Sue has a wonderful grasp of the big picture, while still noticing the fine details of anything that's being worked on.
Lisa:
She streamlined Board of Directors agendas.
She started the Liver Spot.
She works longer hours as a volunteer Executive Director than most paid EDs work.
The first thing she asks us about in Admin meetings is our families (she knows pets are family, too).
When I was a full time caretaker for mom, Sue always asked if I needed help with anything and when I could attend admin meetings, she knew I might not be able to stay before having to return to caretaking so she tried to get my areas of concern done when I was there. Sometimes, I couldn't be in admin meetings long but it was a few minutes where I got to be the me that wasn't a caretaker - that meant a lot!
Sometimes you just need to laugh to blow off steam, and Sue and I share the same twisted sense of humor.
Kathleen:
Sue has moved LifeRing 1,000 steps forward! I know how hard it is to sit in the chair of Executive Director and she does it with such elegance and intelligence. We are so lucky that she continues to do this for us! If I believed in God, I would thank her for Sue!
There's a lot more that could be said, but we'll end here by simple saying thanks for every thing, Sue - we quite literally couldn't do it without you!
(But of course if anyone else has something nice they'd like to say about Sue, too, then by all means, please put it in the Comments below!)