Week 11: Old Board New Board

As my project winds down, Old Board New Board is my final responsibility on board which conveniently lines up with the last week of senior projects. This mini event with only the outgoing and incoming boards and regional advisor took place on Sunday after the wrap up of the Seventh and Eighth Grade Social Action Weekend event.

Real talk, it was surreal. Writing this after it happened, I cannot believe I am completely done.

Anyhow, this is a senior project and it can do without the sentimentals.

Old Board New Board exists in all NFTY regions, and allows for a more personal bonding time between the two boards, especially between successor-predessecor pairings. Incoming board members have the time to talk to their predecessors one-on-one, and it is a valuable experience for all parties involved.

My predecessor asked me a series of questions he prepared, and then we talked about some of the special things about running events. I told him at your first event you will be malnourished, dehydrated, and you won't sleep, but it will be one hundred percent worth it. It definitely is not easy, but damn it is fulfilling.

I told him about all of the unique responsibilities of the Programming Vice President that I too was unaware of prior to being elected into this position. The Programming Vice President is responsible for creating the programming calendar for the year, which is where he gets to have the primary say to what the region focuses on over the incoming year.

I gave him some anecdotes about how mind-blowing it is to see all of the NFTY boards on the national level, and chided him about how his board has big shoes to fill after what our board accomplished on the national stage.

Lastly- and this is definitely the coolest thing- I showed him what I discussed here many weeks ago: the legislation I co-authored on the NFTY study theme for the coming year. I created that, and now it is being adopted on the national level, and now he is responsible for writing programs for it. He will have a leg up on all of the other eighteen programming vice presidents, because when it comes to the new study theme, he will have me as a resource if he has any questions.

I also told him that even though I'll be across the country in Boston, I will always be a text, phone call, or FaceTime away. You leave NFTY, but it never really leaves you.

Thanks for reading.
Ariel Tynan