As part of our fiduciary duty, the Board of TIFI begins each year approving the annual budget and reviewing the work of the Executive Director. We have been blessed over the last few years to have reliable income from your memberships, your donations and programs such as the Focusing-Oriented Therapy conference, which is fueled by our spectacular volunteers. The budget is prepared for us by our Executive Director, Catherine Torpey, who works hand in hand with our Board Treasurer, Darryl Commings who himself is a treasure! His expertise as a Certified Public Accountant gives us all a great deal of assurance in the budgeting process.
Catherine each year at this time also presents to us a “Goals and Plans” document for the year to come, which we review and discuss to ensure that we are all in accord about the direction in which we are going. The items are in keeping with the 4 goals of TIFI which were established by the Board and International Leadership Council in 2017 and can be found at focusing.org/mission.
This past year, we had our first “Board Advisory Member,” which is a new position created to allow for someone to serve as a non-voting member for one year. We were delighted to have Patrick Duffy of Ireland as our first Board Advisory Member. His year with us ended in March, so we asked him to write up a bit about his experience. So I turn the rest of this update over to him, with the thanks and affection of the whole Board for his valuable participation.
Patrick says:
Early in 2023 I was nominated by the Nominating Committee, and was voted by the Board of TIFI, to become an Advisory Board Member. This role included attending all Board meetings, participating in the discussions during the meetings, reading relevant documents and attending special meetings when possible. The role differs from the Board members in that the Advisory Board Member does not have a vote or legal liability, does not have a Portfolio, is not required to abide by the Conflict of Interest policy, is not required to be counted to meet the necessary quorum requirements and a Board Advisory Member speaks only for themselves. The appointment is for one year.
I received a very warm welcome from the Board Members who encouraged and appreciated my participation. I have enjoyed being an Advisory Member and being able to offer my own reflections on the topics that emerged. It also provided me with an insight into the work done by the Board, with the assistance of the Executive Director, in taking responsibility for the development of Focusing throughout the world. Seeing how Focusing has expanded and is expanding in different continents, countries, cultures and languages has been an extraordinary experience. This obviously has been achieved by the dedication, commitment and hard work by all who discover Focusing to be the wonderful process that it is, not only personally, but as a valuable gift to share with other people who can also benefit from it.
As part of being on the Board, I participated in the Goodwill Portfolio, which is where one of us reaches out on behalf of the Board to thank our donors and volunteers for their generous gifts of time, treasure and talent. Being in contact with many such people has been very enriching for me. I also had the lovely experience to meet Veronica Urioste (a fellow Board member with whom I shared the Goodwill Portfolio), as well as the Executive Director, Catherine Torpey, when the Weeklong for Advanced Focusers took place in Dublin this past summer.
I am very grateful for the opportunity to have had this amazing experience.
Many thanks to all concerned.