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CoSIDA.com/CoSIDA360 Magazine Archive
Note: This story appeared in the Spring 2021 May edition of CoSIDA 360 Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.
Member Volunteers, the Backbone of CoSIDA
Each year, over 500 members volunteer their talents and time for the betterment of our CoSIDA community.
by Doug Vance – CoSIDA Executive Director @dvancecosida
“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.” - Maya Angelou
“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they have the heart.” - Elizabeth Andrew
Cindy Potter estimates she’s investing 78-80 hours a week in her job at Columbia (Mo.) College. Tommy Chasanoff calculates his current work week at 70-80 hours at the University of the Cumberlands and Kevin Lanke approximates his schedule at Rose-Hulman now is also in the 70-80 hour range.
They are busy people with families and demanding jobs. That’s the daunting truth for anyone working in the sports information profession.
Yet, they never hesitate to give their time and talent as volunteers. In particular, volunteers who engage in CoSIDA and contribute to its value. Potter, Chasanoff and Lanke are prime examples of three members who always are willing to step forward when asked.
While CoSIDA has a full-time staff to handle the daily nuts-and-bolts duties, the backbone of its success throughout many years is illustrated by volunteer members who are on the forefront in executing the organization’s programs, resources, and leadership.
CoSIDA boosts more than 500 members who volunteer in service on its 17 committees, working groups, seven divisional cabinets and an executive board of directors. Plus, there are many others who contribute by writing stories for CoSIDA 360.
These volunteers attach an importance in serving their national organization to help make it better and stronger.
April was National Volunteer Month and in recognition of its volunteers, Potter, Chasanoff and Lanke shared their stories and motivation for giving back.
“At the end of the day it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished. It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.” - Denzel Washington
Cindy Potter, Columbia College
CoSIDA First Vice President/Co-Chair, CoSIDA Advisory Council/NAIA Cabinet Past President
My schedule is out of the norm. It doesn’t work for everyone. I don’t like saying no and I like to please people; I don’t miss deadlines; mistakes are for learning but that doesn’t mean I like them; I’m a rule follower until the end.
Those are all things to keep in mind before understanding what I do is a choice I made by accepting the job I have…and that job is wife, mom, daughter, friend, Senior Deputy Director of Athletics and Disney Travel Planner. The one job I wasn’t given the choice to take was Type 1 Diabetic momma, but I’m pretty sure T1D kids are the bravest of the brave and it’s a job I gladly accept.
No day is identical, but this is a typical day for me: I’m awake during the week by 7 a.m. Since my husband goes into work at 3 a.m., I’m flying solo to get the kids ready and off to in-seat school (finally, thank goodness!). Getting a kindergartner and first grader (who happens to be very fashion conscious) up and going in the mornings is a challenge.
I’m usually into the office around 9 a.m. when I have morning meetings. Typically I’m meeting with my admissions office, athletic directors from around the conference and my enrollment and marketing teams on campus throughout the mornings before getting a chance to catch up on emails, issue any Letters of Intent, talk with staff, or grab a bite to eat at my desk before my next meeting.
My afternoons tend to be filled with committee meetings that I’ve been appointed to or chose to help out with. This could include NAIA Eligibility Center Advisory group calls, NAIA Cabinet calls, CoSIDA Executive Board meetings and early this year I was selected to help out with the Columbia College Strategic Planning committee. No matter the group, assisting and getting to be a part of making a difference has had a huge impact on my life.
I’m grateful for my husband’s schedule as the early morning shift leaves him available to pick up the kids from school and I try to join them all as soon as I can.
The kids and my husband go down for the night around 8:30 p.m. and because bedtime isn’t always smooth, I usually stay close to the kid’s rooms and do dishes or just tidy up until they have gone to sleep. As soon as I think they are settled, I head downstairs, where my desk is set up, to start work.
I typically work on Columbia College projects until around 12:30 a.m. I then start working on my ‘other’ job as a Disney travel agent. I decided to apply to become an agent almost two years ago now after I realized just how much I truly enjoyed helping other people plan their trips.
Most nights I stay up late working on Disney things because it really doesn’t feel like work, but every once in a blue moon I call it a night about 1 a.m. More often than not, I head to bed after my husband gets up for work. Part of it is just the amount of work to be done and choosing to not put it off until the morning. The other part of it comes back to having a Type 1 Diabetic child. I have no issues falling asleep so usually I’m out by 3 a.m. and ready to do it all over again the next day.
I’ve heard all the comments before about ‘your lifestyle is not healthy.’ But this is my life and I choose every day to work in this field, to volunteer for committees and boards, to be a wife and a mom, to have a side hustle, and I choose every day to get up and do it again. Ultimately the days can be long but getting involved and volunteering adds an infinite amount of pride and satisfaction to my life. I want my kids to see that helping others and working hard doesn’t always equate to a paycheck and sometimes it’s far more important to volunteer than it is to work for emotional and mental purposes.
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.” — Muhammad Ali
Kevin Lanke, Rose-Hulman
Chair, CoSIDA Academic All-America Core Committee
We have 20 sports and a staff of myself, a graduate assistant, and a few student workers. Typical days involve previews of events, award nominations and stories about student-athletes earning recognition, and cropping and tagging photos.
Game days in the current circumstances might involve up to eight sports and can be 12-14 hour days. We’re fortunate to have multiple HD cameras and the technology needed to provide a Division III school with Division I look coverage.
My primary areas of volunteerism are with the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team as Core Committee Chair — and as the advisor to the Rose-Hulman online radio station WMHD radio. About six months after I was hired, my boss in public relations came to me and said, “I’ve decided that you should run our campus station. It should only take an hour a week and you don’t need to become overly invested.”
For the first 10 years, we had an FCC over-the-air station and I literally knew nothing about FCC regulations. Eventually we sold the radio tower and became an online station, which is easier to manage. On many days when there are no athletic events, I’m helping them setup and run events.
The club became popular and grew to over 40 members entering the spring of 2020. In the second week of the quarter, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and it was announced the school would be virtual and students needed to return home. We called a meeting in our campus station. I saw the look of panic — almost 40 students not knowing their futures, not knowing where they were going to go. Each one asking me questions about their experiences.
It was my saddest day at Rose-Hulman, but we had online meetings over the next 10 weeks to make sure everyone okay. It was a long way from not becoming ‘overly invested’ but since I don’t have kids of my own, I wouldn’t want it any other way.
In terms of the Academic All-America Committee, most weeks don’t involve a ton of time commitment. We field inquiries, put together the rules manual during the offseason, and handle other administrative tasks. It takes in the range of five hours per week.
When the contest process is active it becomes a nearly full-time job. Between reviewing nominations, system generated teams and nomination information, making sure reports are correctly formatted and usable for the organization, and administering the back end of the process, we’re usually 30-40 hours per week during the eight contest weeks. I would say another 10-15 hours on the subsequent 8-10 weeks that voting takes place and results are generated.
We want to honor and recognize deserving student-athletes, and we want the teams to be reflective of the quality of students competing in intercollegiate athletics. I have a passion for the program and a belief in honoring these students. That’s why I choose to volunteer in this role as committee chair.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tommy Chasanoff, Cumberlands
NAIA Cabinet, Vice-Chair/Membership Recognition Committee, Diversity & Inclusion Committee
I believe volunteering is giving your time to a cause and trying to make your community or profession better while setting an example for your family, colleagues and friends. Growing up I learned the importance of giving back as my parents and grandparents were always some of the first people to step up when volunteers were needed and even when they had a full plate in front of them. Throughout high school, college, and post-college life I’ve embraced the opportunity of giving back whether it was within the sports information profession or our local community.
As I reflect on my volunteer work, two days stick out. The first is Dec. 14, 2019, when I woke up early to work Mountain Outreach gift day. We braved the frozen temperature to help provide local families with food and toys for the holiday season. It was so rewarding seeing multiple athletic teams, student-athletes, and coaches all assisting and bringing smiles to their faces. From helping select gifts for their kids to loading their cars with a weeks worth of food, their appreciation made it all worthwhile.
It also was a reminder of the generosity of people. I left that project at noon and arrived by 12:30 p.m. for our basketball doubleheader. With games at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., it meant that I wouldn’t leave until close to 8 p.m. once stories were finalized. Those games we fun, but I went to bed remembering the joy and happiness we brought to so many families.
The other example came this year as we were preparing for “Thank Your SID Week” in January. On one day I had a CoSIDA Membership Recognition Committee call, an NAIA Cabinet call, and an interview set up for one of my features. That was all while trying to cover our sports at UC and preparing for basketball and swimming later that week.
Those committee calls take away from my job responsibilities, but I always make time for them because they provide an opportunity to help shape the future of the profession. One of the first things that I learned was the importance of getting involved at both the divisional and national levels.
I’m proud to serve on multiple committees and even though that involvement can add hours onto the workday, the networking and professional development growth that comes from those experiences are worth every minute of it.
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