Hello Section G16,
In my position as section secretary, I’ve come to appreciate the organizational skills provided to us by the digital world. Yes, everything the section does could be done on paper, but it’d be a lot slower and take a lot more effort. So I’d like to speak on the importance of digitizing our lives to keep up with our ever-changing world. Hopefully giving you some skills you can take back to your lodge, chapter, troop, or even your own life.
In my opinion, the first important step to setting up any kind of operation is getting a shared drive going, or really any way to share files. This includes Google Drive, OneDrive, Trello, etc. At the section, we have a comms team Google Drive and Trello, where we manage everything you see here on the Section Scoop and our section social media pages. We also have an overall section Google Drive where we organize everything we need to make a great conclave. It’s always a nightmare when you need something for a project and it’s on another person’s computer or it’s a paper on the other side of the state. Shared drives circumnavigate this problem and make jobs like mine a million times easier.
Another tool we use in the section is templates and a branding guide. There is no need to reinvent the wheel every time you need to write an article or make a graphic or presentation. Make templates, and follow them whenever you have a new task to accomplish, it makes work a lot easier and keeps everything on brand.
Another useful tool is easy communication, for this we use Slack. Having to email someone every time you need something gets old quickly, especially if you’re just asking small questions. Setting up Slack is great, you can have different channels for the whole team, the leadership, the service project you’re planning, and whatever else you need. Communication is the most important part of running an organization, and even communication needs organization.
The organization and efficiency I’ve seen in the section is incredible and has inspired me to take a stronger interest in tech management and organization. Since the job of the section is to support the lodges and chapters, I’d like to provide support in the best way I can. If you are a leader and would like to improve the operations of your lodge, chapter, or even troop. I’d love to help. Reach out at communications@sectiong16.org. We have many resources in the section, so don’t be afraid to use them!