We have a huge volunteer base of parents and have never had a problem getting committee chairs. We usually invite the person that had done it the prior year to do it again if not we ask if they have a friend they know that would be interested or someone that helped out.
I am going to be looking into Roberts Rules... Our middle school just opted to not include them in the by-laws they are developing this year. They felt they did not run by them anyway.
Gosh, KMAmom, it's not a half-bad problem to have. Maybe, if you have someone who wants to chair something again, you could say "You have done such a good job getting this committee organized maybe you could work on something new and see if you could make it just as good". I guess that wouldn't really solve your problem of getting new blood but since most organizations seem to have the problem of getting ANYONE to volunteer, maybe you should be glad someone wants to do it! OR could you create some new "titles" of things for people to do? One idea we started implementing is a chairman and then a co-chairman who moves up next year so that it is automatic that the co-chairman chairs it next year (this is for most things like Back-to-School Night, Open House, Grandparents Day, Field Day). There are a few things that people do year after year (lesser important things) because no one else cares (Greenery Sales, Boxtops, etc.). Good luck!
Shelly
Our problem is that most of the people who've been chairing have been doing so FOREVER, and now feel (and understandably so) ownership. They also will be extremely offended and/or hurt if they don't continue chairing. The problem is exacerbated by leaders: a) not wanting to hurt those delicate feelings, and b) going by the (sometimes misguided) notion that experience is always best and ergo the current chair is the best person for the committee, thus no one new could possibly do a better job or have updates of any worth. Another compounder is that the current chairs "hog" the work, and won't delegate, effectively shutting one out of the planning process.
I also see potential problems for this sort of thing in my group. Since we're new, and most of the people chairing have no real experience and are the "founders" of certain committees, they REALLY feel ownership.
We set out committee sign up sheets at our May and June meetings. Ideally, the VP has contacted each current chairperson to find out if s/he wants to continue as chair next year. So, our current chairs get the right of first refusal. Any committees where the chair is declining or leavnng the school are open for new chairs.
Unfortunately, at tonight's meeting, the sheets were set out but no one had contacted the existing chairpeople. I know at least one committee where we are going to have an awkward situation to sort out: a current chair who wants to continue (but wasn't at the meeting to claim the committee), and a new volunteer who signed up to chair a committee she thought needed a leader. Ugh.
This is a good question. Usually at our school, we send out a 2-3 page sheet, in the month of May, which details every single volunteer chairmanship along with room mother sign-up. Then, we sit back and see who volunteers. Then, of course, we usually have most of the positions that need to be filled. So, it usually happens where the President then tries to find people to do the jobs. Most people usually agree, but don't want to volunteer. So, we don't have a big competition but we usually have willing volunteers, once they're asked.
Shelly
