Re: WW&F Work Weekend Saturday report & photos

narrowgaugejoe10 Wrote:
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> One thing to remember too is how long groups have
> been around for. A group just starting up will
> take a few years to gain support, members, etc.
> The WW&F has been 28 years in the making so far to
> gain as many supportive members and volunteers as
> we have.
>
> A friend of mine is spear heading a huge
> restoration effort to save a standard gauge engine
> and made the comment to me "well I wish we had
> your support, membership, and donations." To which
> I replied "you guys will get there in time. Every
> group has its initial getting off the ground
> stage."
>
> There are lots of groups I want to see or help
> out, and someday I hope to do just that. What
> has been done in Como so far is absolutely
> incredible. Give it some time and you guys will
> have higher attendance work days. In just a short
> time you guys have accomplishef alot of great
> things, with many more to come from my
> understanding. Dreams and goals are what draws the
> people to help build, and as word spreads,
> attendance grows.

Having watched this operation grow for about 10 years now, I will add the following to what Joe said.

Any organization functions best when it has a good management team, and the WW&F has had some really excellent leadership over the years. You rarely hear the names, because its not about them, its about the mission. These folks have a vision for where they want the organization to be in a year, in 2 years, in 5 years and in 10 years. Their goals are well-thought-out and they have reasonable expectations. It doesn't matter whether we're talking about a corporation, a volunteer group....or an army, the troops (or in this case, the volunteers) will pitch in and get behind the goals and objectives when they have strong confidence in their leadership. That combination gets results.

And guess what? That's the reason why folks will hit the DONATE button on a WW&F go-fund-me page, or leave a donation in the bucket at the annual Victorian Christmas event. These folks get results. They are making stuff happen. Every time you visit, or look at the photos on-line, the results are evident. Success breeds success. It's a great formula and a great case study for other volunteer organizations with a passion for a common goal.

/Kevin Madore



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2017 10:08AM by KevinM.