WISH Team structure and organization (All team members please read)

[chimera]

There was some discussion a month or so ago regarding some structure and organization for our growing team. We've had a fabulous organic development so far but are hoping to restructure some things to make it easier for new people who join us and for continuing members to keep up with all the goings on.

A steering committee was formed and has been discussing ideas. The purpose of the committee is to discuss and organize then bring ideas back to the team.
Committee members are as follows:
AmyBeth68
Jen117
Big Vic
Cruella de mom
deekaypee
Mouse Skywalker
TXBelle
honeibee
keenercam
kareneast/Space Ranger
aladdinsgirl
Kristi1357
WDWFAN9
Tiger Lily 03
Maherae
Red Dragon
Chimera
akasleepingbeauty
wtpclc
Scojo15
skfulkers
Calcio
windwalker
wfloyd

The committee was formed from folks who volunteered and a cross-section of people to try to best represent the needs/desires of the entire team. This is not meant to be an ultimate decision making body, but rather a way to organize thoughts and ideas before putting them out to the entire team for discussion. I am not into secrecy and I don't like surprises so rest assured, things will be discussed openly here before implementation.
That being said, please keep in mind that there are 175+ on the official team list now. We will not be able to please everyone, but the plan is to do what's best for long-term development/maintenance of the team. Please feel free to voice your opinions and concerns. Everyone has an equal voice, whether you've been on the team for 5 minutes or 5 years.

 

[chimera]

Current summary of points:

1. WISH team is fabulous the way it is. Our main goal as a team is to retain the informal, nurturing, all-inclusive environment that has naturally evolved over the past 4 years.
2. Maintain relationship with disboards.com (the fitness club with a Disney addiction?)
3. No charity affiliation needed. The WISH team message stands just fine on its own.
4. Develop more of a relationship with the main WISH board.
5. Make things more user-friendly for newbies, both new-onset athletes and folks new to the boards.

Going forward:
1. The need for a charter or mission statement for the group. This should include:

a) The focus of the WISH Racing Team is to support, encourage, and motivate others to have the Courage to Start, then to continue to train for various endurance events while maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

b) We should stay mainly focused on Disney events

c) Maintain strong connection with Disboards

d) No fundraising/charitable organization affiliation for the group.

2. Develop a Welcome to the WISH Racing Team sticky: "For those new to WISH, this is the place to start." This would include the history of the WISH Racing Team, how to join, the team roster, the explanation of "DLF>DNF>DNS" and "WISH gave me the courage to start."

3. Coaching/Mentoring

Organize a primary set of contacts, people who have experience in whatever topic or general question, that members (new or old) could PM questions they don't feel comfortable posting on the main thread

Organize an Official Wish Pacing Groups with a mentor/coach in each group for the WDW full and half marathons.

Perhaps begin "My First 5K or 1/2 marathon or Full Marathon" threads to encourage questions from those who may be overwhelmed by the weekly thread.

4. The Wish Gear needs to be streamlined.


5. Possibly "tweaking" the name of our sub-forum

6. Form committees to better organize the team. For example, we could have a Pacing Group committee that would be in charge of organizing and coordinating pacing groups for the major events. We could have a New Member committee that would be in charge of greeting new members and making them feel welcome. We could have a Training Tips committee that would be in charge of posting a new training tip every week and fielding questions from WISH team members on training. We could also have a committee in charge of WISH merchandise orders, and a committee in charge of organizing WISH meets, both at Disney and outside of Disney. We essentially already have a committee in charge of the team challenge competition.

7. Continue to encourage volunteering to work events, scream teaming, as well as running/walking for charities of choice.

Future brainstorming possibilities:

"Clinics" and discussions run by various team members, on a volunteer basis at WDW marathon weekend

Organize regional WISH Racing Team meets at racing events.


Work with Pete, through the DIS, to become bigger, better, more.

Get WISH/WISH Racing Team some time on the DISboards podcasts

Have a WISH virtual race.

Have a WISH team contingency at the finish line to greet every last person on the course, including the DLF

Have a 10/20-miler training run meet

Have a WISH link at the Disney endurance sports sites

Develop a monthly or quarterly Newsletter

Advocate for generous pacing requirements at new Disney events


As this develops, we will be looking for people to be on various committees to pursue projects. Check things out and see what appeals to you. If anyone has any further ideas to explore, please shout out!

 

[wdw4us]

Wow you've covered a lot of territory and it all sounds wonderful.

Thanks to all for your hard work.

denise

 

[ms.mightyduck]

Wow, you all have been busy! These ideas sound wonderful.

I'd also like some input on the WISH Marathon weekend "spotting guide." Like you said, it will be hard to make everyone happy, but I welcome new ideas and reinforcement of old ones so I have an idea what people would like.

For example, I didn't have time to tweak the layout on the Minnie guide to create a .pdf that would print so everyone could easily make a booklet. We could keep it at "download your own."

I could put together a 8.5 x 11" guide that didnt require so much thought to staple together, and people could still print their own.

I could look into having it professionally printed and charge a small fee to mail them. I could (as a wise WISHer said) ship them to my resort for that weekend and distribute them in person.

I could see about making those "photo books" in a yearbook style that would be a more permanent keepsake. Depending on interest, we could have this be an option rather than the only one, but it would take me a long time to put TWO together.

I decided on organizing the Minnie guide alphabetically by screen name. We had a latecomer so I put it in the space at the end. Do we want the marathon guide to be organized the same way? It makes it impossible to insert a latecomer because with the software I'm using, I have to redo the layout of each page, dropping the photos into the new locations--I can't just "shift" them as far as I can tell.

Do we want just screen names and first names? Home states? Home cities? Inspirational quotes? A free line for people to put what they want? I like the idea of having a way to take notes close to the photos so that you can jot down memories of that person. I'm getting old, and I know sometimes I forget stuff.

Just some ideas.

BTW, I loved being in my WISH gear at the races--I really did feel part of a team! And cheering on the other WISH shirts helped me focus on something outside of myself.

Thanks for everything, WISH team. We couldn't have done it without you!

And I'm being yelled at to get to bed RIGHT NOW, so I'll "see" you tomorrow!

Duckie

 

[dsnyfan21]

Wow, you guys have covered alot of stuff, and most of it was stuff I was thinking about when I joined in Feb.
I like the idea of mentoring and streamlining the wish gear.

I am glad I joined WISH. Even though I have already "started" before I joined wish , WISH has given me to courage to stick with it and it makes me accountable. WIsh incorporated a few of the things I like, training, walking, cheering, encouragement and DISNEY!!!

Keep up the good work.

 

[postesf]

I think this looks fantastic!!!

Thanks for all the hard work everyone is putting into this.

Stacie

 

[Steffwalks]

That all sounds great. I would like to throw in my 2 cents and say that WISH should probably be copywritten.

 

[smileyk8]

wow you guys covered loads! It seems that having a committee works well already. I love the idea of a virtual race- i've been a member of nike plus online and they allow online races so transferring to WISH team shouldn't be too tricky.

 

[cdotla]

Wow - I am excited about everything discussed so far!

Thanks to everyone!

 

[lenshanem]

Looks awesome! Thanks to the committee! I can't wait to see how we grow!

 

[twoWDWfools]

Wow you guys have really covered alot already! Thanks for all the work everyone has done and will be doing. I am so glad to have found WISH in Jan.

That said, I'd love to help out on one of the sub committees. Am flexible so just point me in a direction.

 

[JustSmile]

It all sounds great! Thanks to everyone who's worked on this. You've covered alot of key points.

 

[chimera]

Connie...we're looking into that now.

Duckie...you may want to explain a bit about the guide. I'm not sure if folks that weren't at Minnie got to see it.

Anyone who has negative comments, please also post. If there's anything that needs changing, drop it in here.

For new folks and lurkers, how did you find us? Did you find it easy getting involved with the team? Are there things that prevent you from getting involved?

 

[ultramickeymouse]

I will be on the other side:

Is WISH trying to re-invent the wheel as in the Bud Light commercial that shows the wheel has its place and time? I love being a part of WISH but if it is becoming a new nation in the world, this seems way too political for me. I thought we were here to promote fitness, not steering committees, agendas, rules, regulation, copywrites, etc. When is the goal of having a link on Disney's website benefit the team? I agree with Disney increasing the pacing requirements, but be realistic that Disney does what Disney wants to do. It also seems like it is more important what we wear than who wears it. I read somewhere WISH was beyond clothing but the last few months have shown that it isn't.

Sometimes groups grow beyond what they intended or what is best. That being said good luck to everyone in the future.

 

[AmyBeth68]

Thanks to everyone for the great feedback.

Robert..While I'm sure others can address your concerns my feeling is that what the steering committee is attempting to do, beyond everything, is to make sure that the group (despite its ever growing size) maintains a feeling of inclusiveness. By streamlining all areas....organizing threads, developing mentors, formalizing scream teams and get-togethers....we can better meet the needs of everyone in the group and not allow anyone to fall through the cracks as sometimes happens when groups get large.

We would all love to keep things super informal, but growing pains are inevitable and trying to maintain an environment of inclusiveness takes some work. I don't think anyone wants to create a hierarchy or in any way make this a political organization. The steering committee is just a group of volunteers who are collecting ideas and bringing them back to the group at large. I think the last thing any of us want is to be seen as some big brother creating rules and regulations. I'm sorry that you've perceived that from this thread . Your input is absolutely invaluable to us and your feed back is critical. Please elaborate further on your thoughts and concerns.

Thanks!

 

[cdotla]

Well here's my perspective as a brand spanking new member who only has one Minnie 5K race under her belt.

I think the ideas posted are exciting and will likely make it easier for new members to get involved. I really like the idea of some smaller groups and committees focused on the newbies as I think those of us in the new-to-running camp can feel overwhelmed with not only taking up a new sport/activity but also trying to become familiar with racing rules, terminology, etiquette and so on.

Forgive me, I forget who posted the very long and helpful post with some last minute race instructions, but that was invaluable.

Also, many posts by Cruela de Mom were excellent encouragement and information for us newbies.

I think it would be fantastic to have groups or teams in place for various levels with dedicated coaches as suggested. I will be the first to sign up!

Not really sure how this is accomplished without some structure, committees, ect.

I haven't been here long enough to get the "clothing" reference from Robert. However, given that clothing has been mentioned, as a newbie I will say that I think it is *very* important for us to have a reliable, dedicated clothing supplier that can provide ongoing orders for team members continuously year-round, and certainly in the lead-up to all Disney events.

As someone who did not know a single soul before arriving at the Epcot parking lot for the Minnie 5k to meet up with my WISH teammates for the very first time I can tell you that those lime green t-shirts are invaluable! And it sure made me feel great to be wearing mine! (Race ready, not eye2eye, but I won't go there again - LOL!)

 

[ultramickeymouse]

Now we have:

6. Form committees to better organize the team. For example, we could have a Pacing Group committee that would be in charge of organizing and coordinating pacing groups for the major events. We could have a New Member committee that would be in charge of greeting new members and making them feel welcome. We could have a Training Tips committee that would be in charge of posting a new training tip every week and fielding questions from WISH team members on training. We could also have a committee in charge of WISH merchandise orders, and a committee in charge of organizing WISH meets, both at Disney and outside of Disney. We essentially already have a committee in charge of the team challenge competition.

Too many chiefs

I have been to meets at several races and if you aren't with an in "click" you are an outsider. All these committees won't fix that. All you do by getting bigger is making more clicks.

What is the goal of WISH? As a business entity, and goals of getting press on Disney's website, how many people are you wanting to join? How many teams to log miles, how many .....

Trust me I can understand the growing pains of websites or forums. I am an RD and hate to be on the other side of pace limitations.

I never have worn my WISH shirts at Disney races. I feel I belong and I don't need a piece of clothing to prove it.

I have been on HOA Boards and know that people can over think ideas and groups.

I think the steering committee and soon many sub committees will do what is best for a group that goal is to dominate the internet. Why Podcast's ,Disney website, etc. Why? Does bigger make better???

 

[ultramickeymouse]

Please feel free to voice your opinions and concerns. Everyone has an equal voice, whether you've been on the team for 5 minutes or 5 years.

I have had communication with several Steering Committee members with various responses. I have been PM'd on my forum by one stating "Very disappointed by your insults. As part of the steering committee, I am perosnally offended. "

I guess the quote from Mel meant to voice your opinion if you agree with the direction WISH is going, not if you don't. Get on the bus or get run over.

I thought the whole premise of a forum is open and free conversation as long on topic. I speak my mind and won't ever stop that. If I can't then why belong.

I didn't mean to insult or offend anyone. Sometime the truth hurts and sometimes you have to look in the mirror because what you think you see isn't what really is there.

My opinions and observations are my own and not anyone elses. Looks like I am not welcome here anymore.

 

[AmyBeth68]

Robert: Everyone recognizes the value you add to this forum. Opinions are greatly welcomed...we want to hear from everyone...even those who disagree. We've had a lovely relationship with your site...I've visited it for years along with the disboards to gain information about Disney running events, running routes and race results among other things. You provide an invaluable service and it's greatly appreciated. I think that maybe we need to discern between insults and opinions...especially among team mates. I've taken your concerns on the steering committee very seriously and given them thought and will continue to do so. That's why I asked for more detail which you provided. Thank you and I'll have you know that some of your concerns IMO are very legitimate. What surprises me is the combative nature of things both posted here and elsewhere...but perhaps that is just your way of speaking your mind.

I really don't want to see this situation degrade. Open communication is vital. Please to those who are new and those who have been here for years, continue to provide feedback so we can get a well-rounded picture of how everyone feels about items listed on the first page. These things are simply IDEAS and nothing is in place yet. The steering committee is simply a conduit for ideas to be brought forth to the group. Thank you.

 

[wtpclc]

I admit it. It was my PM to Robert, it was not based on his comments here. I value everyone's comments here. that's what we're asking for.

Robert - My PM was based on your discussing the WISH steering committee negatively on another public site, that's why I PM'd you there. I hadn't even see your comments here and had no porblems with you voicing your opinon here. It's the belittling us "behind our backs" I had a problem with.