After nearly 40 years working in the oil industry, I wasn't sure I had the skills a board member in the third sector needs. But I saw an advert in the Courier that caught my interest, and I looked online to find out what DIAS was about.
I had been a board member with an oil service company, but I was a bit worried I might be, ahem, blunt for the third sector. I was invited to a board meeting to get a feel for how things were done. My worries were unfounded: the board was made up of people from very different backgrounds.
Knowing about strategic planning and business development turned out to be a useful addition, and coming from an industry that was always changing meant I was open to new techniques and technologies.
I had served on committees and community associations before, and it is true that 90% of the work is done by 10% of the members. Thankfully that is not the case on the DIAS board, where each member brings their own skills to the table.
It was clear from the start that DIAS needed to modernise its IT, to free our advocates from admin and let them spend time with the people they support. That work has been going on since I joined the board in March 2017. We bought a new system, Charity Log, and all our advocates now have smartphones and tablets, so they can keep admin up to date on the go.
Modernisation is not cheap, but I believe it has been worth it, and the increase in cases our advocates handle is proof. I hope you will help us with a donation of whatever you can afford, so DIAS can keep helping the people of Dundee who need us.
So am I glad I joined the board? Of course. It has been good fun and a learning experience, and I would recommend that everyone gets involved in some way.
As Pa Broon would say, "Michty, it's jist braw."