By Edwin Crayton/Opinion
First, congratulations. It really is quite an honor for anyone to be chosen to help improve the place where they live, work, play and worship God (and I hope you do worship him). But the Bible reminds us that to whom much is given, much is expected (Luke 12:48).
You have a job to do. On any job, the first thing anyone needs to know is who the boss is. It’s tempting to believe that the NCIF board is your boss. Wrong. All of the people who live in the city of Natchitoches are your boss. Every single one of them of every color, class and walk of life. This is their money. It was awarded to them through a settlement after Tennessee Gas was sued because of a spill of dangerous pcbs into Sibley Lake. Put their interests first, even above your own ambitions and desires and you will do a good job. On the other hand, put your interests above theirs and you will not do a good job. In fact, you will have trouble and may even end up doing something that may cause you to be penalized, or even jailed.
Read your NCIF Bylaws. They are there to help guide you in your work. They are actually very good. You may not have to change much. I do believe they need to be amended to make sure people do not try to overstay their terms. Maybe there needs to be penalties or something. You figure it out.
Forget the past. Don’t live in yesterday. What happened is behind you and is over. Focus on what’s ahead. Be careful about thinking about this as a board of “old” board members and “new” board members. Two separate tribes. That only creates two or more groups leading to divisions. I seem to remember the judge stressing the need to unify the board and that it is important to try to work together. Amen, brother. Yes, have a point of view and don’t become yes men and yes women. Disagree. But don’t try to be disagreeable. Be willing to listen to the opposing view.
Let the public have input. In the past, at quarterly meetings, NCIF made decisions before allowing the pubic to comment. This effectively froze out public involvement, That is undemocratic and unfair, especially since the money was designated to go to the public. Any governmental organization I’ve seen that handles public funds allows the public to have a say in decisions before that body takes a vote. Look at city council meetings. They operate that way. It works well. Sure, NCIF is not a government agency, true, but it still handles funds designated to go to the public. Therefore, shouldn’t it be held to the same standard of public accountability?
Don’t try to personally profit from your time of service and you’ll excel. There are many ways to profit without taking money from a fund. Board members can help their friends or organizations they are involved with. Yes, NCIF has a conflict of interest policy, but humans are creative. In the end, trying to profit instead of focusing on serving will backfire one way or the other. On the other hand, developing an attitude of serving the people and putting self aside, will allow the board to have the vision to fund some outstanding ideas from the people of Natchitoches. People have come up to me and suggested marvelous ideas that NCIF could fund.
Respect the orders of the court. Judge Peters made it clear that this board, which is an interim one, will be supervised and must meet goals and follow guidelines. A master of the court, will supervise meetings. Judge Peters left no doubt that violating his orders can land someone in jail. But even if it were not the case, why mess around? This is a great opportunity to help improve Natchitoches and help a lot of people with dreams and assist others who are in need.
Board members who are Christians: remember to put God first and seek his advice and surrender your will to Jesus. This will also work for board members who are not Christians. Power is like a drug. It must be regulated or bad things happen. It is also addictive. One side effect is you may start to get a “big head”. If that happens, pray to God to help you. Read your Bible daily. And consider asking yourself when making decisions, “What would Jesus do?” Better yet, ask him before deciding.
I wish you all well. I am praying for your success.
The following 15 board members have been picked by Judge Jimmie Peters (District 10 Court) to serve on an interim basis. Harold Bayonne, Brenda Milner, Rene Porter, Elton Wade, Jerry Walters, David White, Tankea Palmer, Marvin Blake Jr., Takesha Barnum, Hyman Young, Deborah Roque, Courtney Villian, Ernest Sawyer, Linda Franklin, and Helen Obioha.
