Building the leadership skills of local citizens is critical for the community to address issues faced by the citizens.

The “Leading Meetings Effectively” series, developed as a continuation of leadership building based on requests from clientele, was held on every Tuesday in February, 2018.

The session on “Roberts Rules of Order Made Easy” was taught by the Horticulture Agent with the assistance of the Extension Master Gardeners at a local community center for the public. Parliamentary procedure provides a logical order for officers and members to conduct a meeting and facilitate action, while making sure the minority is heard. As a result of the meeting, over half of the 28 participants reporting through a written survey became confident in their ability to make a motion and in using parliamentary procedure during a meeting. Also, 92% reported that he or she planned to share this information with his or her organization. One participant indicated that as a board member of a club, he would use this information with them to help run meetings more efficiently.