July 16, 2013

FINEST HOUR 126, SPRING 2005

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The Churchill Centre as an enduring institution has been my vision since I became your President nearly three years ago. I know that many others share it. Few doubt that the Centre as it exists today is a substantial entity. But will it endure? That is the question.

Establishing permanence cannot be achieved overnight. Many years and very many steps are required before that goal can be reached. To its credit, the Centre has begun taking those steps by hiring professional, dedicated staff, establishing permanent offices, and achieving broad recognition as a focal point for the worldwide Churchill community. Yet more is required if the Centre is successfully to withstand both the shocks that can be (and have been) administered by an angry world, and the inevitable periods of lassitude that befall all organizations.

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Only a few years ago, had Richard Langworth, cruising along on his bicycle planning the next edition of Finest Hour, missed a turn or braked late and plunged into a ditch, The Churchill Centre would have plunged with him. Happily the situation has changed. Not only does Richard ride more carefully, but the Centre is on a more solid footing, although far from being solid enough to ensure permanence.

Certain fundamental conditions must be met by an organization if it is to endure. Among them are an unselfishly committed governing body dedicated to the mission and not to themselves, fixed on purposes and goals that inspire both its members and its leaders; adequate and reliable financing; and a leadership succession plan that can successfully withstand even the most severe losses and challenges. As of this writing, The Centre has met the first condition, is working hard on the second, and is now addressing the third.

Some elements of a comprehensive succession plan are already in place; some are not. Our bylaws provide for smooth transitions if an officer’s position becomes vacant. For example, my departure for whatever reason would cause nary a ripple since Vice President Chuck Platt, having full knowledge of the Centre’s operations, would automatically assume the Presidency. Vacancies on the Board of Governors are quickly filled from an increasingly large group of qualified Churchillians. Beginning this year, I have appointed “deputies” to work with the Governors primarily responsible for certain activities. But much work remains. Thus, we must identify someone to work with Suzanne Sigman in coordinating our rapidly expanding educational outreach activities. While our Executive Director and his Administrative Assistant could begin to fill any vacancy caused by the absence of the other, we need a compilation of information and procedures which easily could be followed by someone quite new to the Centre. This is being developed.

Of course the most imposing succession challenge is to find editorial “deputies” for Finest Hour and our other publications. While no doubt there are many, perhaps even a few committed Churchillians, who possess sufficient editorial, writing and layout skills to fulfill this back-up role, there is far more to handling our publications than that. Our editor, in addition to having these skills, possesses a talent for accommodating the disparate sensitivities and interests that prevail in our worldwide Churchill family; he is also quick to recognize and to deal with those who would seek to use FH or the Centre for their own purposes, rather than to the Centre’s benefit. The task of finding someone possessing the requisite skills and this essential talent is daunting. We are working on it but are not expecting quick results.

Once its financial future is secure and a comprehensive, virtually self-executing succession plan is in place, the likelihood that The Churchill Centre will endure as an institution will be immeasurably increased.