National Catholic Forester

National Catholic Forester 4 CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER "I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business." Michael J. Fox What is Excellence? Definition of EXCELLENCE: the quality of being excellent; an excellent or valuable quality: VIRTUE. The Member Assembly brought a new found focus to many of its attendees. How do we survive as a Society well into the future? This can be an overwhelming thought. The answer is simple. Through members. By increasing membership, we increase the survival chance of our beloved Society. How do we do this? Let's take a step back. It is important to remember that NCSF has two distinct yet interwoven parts: 1) It is a Society whose membership gives back to the communities we serve. 2) It is a business. The business portion of NCSF offers life insurance, annuity products, and services that provide financial protection and stability when families need it most. This is how we gain members. To help us achieve excellence, and to make us successful well into the future, both parts of our organization must work together like a well- oiled machine. Both parts must look for opportunities for success while meeting challenges. Both parts have a clear yet distinct path that leads to the same goal – increasing membership. An increase in membership gives the opportunity to revitalize our legacy court system while creating new courts. One way we can do this is through membership drives in each of our courts. The Home Office is currently working with courts and NCSF independent insurance agents who are committed to creating membership drives within each of their communities. It is important to remember that we achieve excellent outcomes through our actions. Our plans must include concrete actions to achieve the results necessary for our Society to keep vibrant and alive. That is part of the revitalization and renewal process of any organization. We ask each of our courts to work with the Home Office to create and fulfill these action plans for excellence. NCSF continues to retain and strengthen its commitment to what we value most – success through excellence to achieve our mission and vision. Change is HARD We must always remember how important it is to strive for excellence, be it in life or at work. This can only come about through change. If the current system is not working, we must change. We must look for opportunities to change, to improve and be innovative. The world is always changing and never stands still. By nurturing a culture of excellence through change within our organization, we can open the path to success. This includes our business segment and our court system. Only when we are striving for excellence can we find solutions and achieve outstanding sustainable results. "BUILDING EXCELLENCE" REFLECTIONS FROM THE MEMBER ASSEMBLY The world is always changing and never stands still. By nurturing a culture of excellence through change within our organization, we can open the path to success. CoNtiNueD oN page 26 At the September meeting, the Board of Directors elected a Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer from among its members for a term of one year: BOARD CHAIR: Margaret "Peggy" Schmitt BOARD SECRETARY: Leah Nicole Jansen BOARD TREASURER: Brian Lawless, CPA BYLAWS SEC. 2.08, SEC. 2.09

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