CHAIR’S AWARD RECIPIENT
Presented by Harlan Kerr
The Chair’s Award was originally conceived of and instituted by Jon Jones to recognize significant contributions to CALLERLAB and square dancing.
The recipients of the Chair’s Award are chosen by the Chair of the Board only, and thus it is one of the only things that I have complete control over rather than managing.
I always think that one of the greatest honors I ever had was when Chair Vernon Jones gave this award to me. I was absolutely surprised, astounded, and humbled by his recognition of my work. I will always treasure that unexpected and wonderful moment. Now it is my turn to do the same.
One of the many things I tried to focus on this year was encouraging all committees to have Zoom meetings so that they could have some face-to-face communication outside of the Convention and go beyond the use of e-mail logs in doing their work. My hope was to build more real time interaction and camaraderie within committees. Many committees did this, but one committee in particular excelled at having regular, well planned, and productive meetings, with great presentations throughout the year. This committee, under the leadership of its chairman has set an example for all committees as we move forward. It is my hope that all committees will continue to have at least two Zoom meetings outside of Convention and use the work of this recipient as a model.
A second area of focus for me was putting a greater emphasis on the international aspects of CALLERLAB and making the overseas community a more visible part of our organization. Tom Rainer, as chair of the International Advisory Committee, provided the leadership in doing this and making this committee a great example of what a committee can accomplish via regular Zoom meetings.
I was a little confused at first that Tom, as the Chair of the International Advisory Committee, lived in Delaware, but then I found out that for his first many years of calling and being a Member of CALLERLAB, Tom lived and called in Japan.
I want to honor Tom for his outstanding leadership, and his committee for the amazing work they did via Zoom this year. I encourage all committee chairs to take some time to talk to Tom about how he approached and planned his Zoom meetings and how he got his committee fully involved with them. The International Advisory
Committee met several times by Zoom and had a variety of presentations and discussions. They set a high bar for other committees to meet, and I hope that they will.
Thus, it is my pleasure and honor to present the 2022 Chair’s Award to Tom Rainer, Chair of the International Advisory Committee, and I want to recognize his whole committee for all they did this year.