Page 12 - DFCS News Magazine Summer 2015

TALENT, SKILLS AND THE SOCIETY by Greg MacNeil
For many years the Dis nguished Flying Cross Society Board of Directors has struggled with a lack of informa on about its membership as it moved forward with growth and educa onal ini a- ves. In recent years the Society has produced a book (“On Heroic Wings”), has begun work on pro- ducing a documentary lm series and increasing membership. These ini a ves along with branding e orts and more e ec ve conven ons are all being taken on in order to more closely align our ac ons with our mission of educa on and fraternity.
With an organiza on whose membership has been involved in con icts from WWII through the present War on Terror Campaigns, we know that there is considerable talent and skill available in our ranks. The problem is that our records regarding our mem- bership are lacking the informa on necessary to call upon this talent for advice and help. The challenge for an all-volunteer organiza on like ours is how to upgrade our records with that informa on and make sure our present data base is accurate. Sever- al months ago our Board Chairman and President brought an idea to the Board of Directors to use Publishing Concepts Incorporated (known as PCI) as a teaming partner to gather current informa on about our membership and have it published in a 6 x 9 hard bound book (directory). A er considerable research and speaking to other military organiza- ons who used PCI for the same purpose, the Board decided to go forward with the project.
By now you should have received a postcard from
PCI asking you to call them so they can update and gather addi onal membership informa on that may help the Society. If you have not called them, we encourage you to do so even if it may be a li le di cult ge ng through on the rst try. PCI has dedicated ten phone lines just for the DFCS but at some hours of the day you may have some wait me on hold. Their process for gathering infor- ma on will be followed up by postcards and email reminders for those that have not responded. Once you have gone through the phone interview and listened to the PCI o er to purchase the beau- fully bound directory, this informa on will be en- tered into our database. Within a short while you will be sent an email with a website and login infor- ma on. On this site you will see a few general ques ons which will serve as prompts to tell “your story” regarding your military service, awards or other informa on. You will be asked to upload “then and now” pictures of yourself. The kind of pictures and story are up to you.
While this process is somewhat di erent than many of us have experienced in the past, we be- lieve it will be an invaluable service to the Society in its e orts of outreach and camaraderie. Each of us has experience and talent that could be useful in projects such as our lm series, educa on of the next genera on and fundraising. The DFCS needs your help in comple ng this project. Please get in- volved by calling PCI at 1-866-567-5367 or let us know if you did not receive a postcard from them.
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