Issue Number 1
eCONNECT
La
Leche League US Western Division
Forming
Connections Leader to Leader
TEAM 2004 - Bringing the Essential Pieces Together!
Introducing Publications/Online Workgroup
Breastfeeding Outreach in Sheboygan County, WI
World Breastfeeding Week Celebration Questions & Answers
Leader Applicant Work Sessions Using Appreciative Inquiry
Printable
version of eCONNECT #1
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Introducing USWD Staff Members
Beginning with this issue of eConnect, you will be introduced to USWD Staff members, and the work they do to support Leaders in our Division. We’re starting off with the members of the Publications/Online Workgroup: Deirdre Knowles, Kathryn Major, and Peggy Wiedmeyer.
(For a directory of all USWD staff members, click here. Password required.)
Passion and Serendipity – Kathryn Major
I'm a passionate person! I've
always gotten involved in many different things, but it's unusual for
me to do anything "halfway." In just about every job or hobby
I've taken up, I've tried to understand every part of it, grasping the
big picture, even if I'm only responsible for one little corner. 
I became a Leader in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1993, signing my Statement of Commitment on my 30th birthday. Now that was a fitting way to start a new decade! I led Series Meetings, presented Area Conference sessions, helped on local outreach projects, and enjoyed our three-year-old daughter, Celia. Only three years later, I was contacted by Wista Waldroop, then the Regional Administrator of Leaders. Someone had recommended me for the soon-to-be-vacant ACL position. I was stunned--I had never even been a DA--how could I be an ACL? I remember turning it down the first time around, but when the ACL search ended without finding a successor, Wista came back to me again and asked me to reconsider.
I had recently gone to work part-time for a large service organization, and as I envisioned what I thought the ACL position would be like, I could see it fitting into my day-to-day routine. I had email at work, unlimited access to a copy machine, a supportive employer, and a few hours a day I could further devote to my passion of helping mothers and babies. In 1996, I accepted the ACL position.
What a learning experience
that was! I spent a lot of time talking
about things with the CLA, and every Leader conversation, whether one-on-one
or Area-wide, inspired the start of an article. I went from avoiding conflict
to being able to recognize and acknowledge it, and slowly, slowly, became
more comfortable with confronting problem issues. That skill alone has
made a huge difference in my life, both inside and outside LLL.
Since I enjoyed writing and editing, I welcomed the chance to review documents and work on Area publications. Even though I felt very comfortable with the mechanics of writing, being a part of the review process for the Area Leaders' Letter was a wonderful experience. I got to see firsthand how you could take a troublesome sentence and make it sing with clarity and that warm LLL tone.
Of course, being a Type A person
meant that I always looked for a clear rule to guide me in my decision-making--it
was a big part of my upbringing (I'm the stereotypical firstborn child
of a probation officer and a lawyer/teacher!), my schooling, and even
my hobbies. (I've been a dog obedience trainer for many years.) That's
a lot of rule-following to overcome! My LLLI Stylesheet, The Leader's
Handbook, and the Policies and Standing Rules were always close at
hand. I know many Leaders felt a sense of security, having easy-to-lookup
answers in those resources.
The time I spent as an ADC gave me a sense of perspective and self-realization
that has encouraged me to move forward with the change work in LLL. While
I'm still a Missouri Leader, I'm also part of a new Area developing from
the ideas that have been generated by the Renewal Initiative. Heartland
LLL is a distributed Area and exists alongside LLL of Missouri, gradually
growing and finding its way. I've just completed a term as ALLE for Missouri/Heartland,
and I've worked full time for the last six years as a paralegal for a
large national bank. Much of what I do is writing and editing, providing
information and support for retail bank staff in eight states. When I
was an ACL, I saw firsthand that you can't force people to "follow
the rules" and do things exactly the way you want them to. This is
completely true even in real life where people are paid to do their jobs
in an industry that is highly regulated and controlled. There is always
a little anarchy mixed in—always someone who doesn’t agree,
always someone with a better solution—we just have to keep paying
attention! I believe that we have a wonderful model in Series Meetings,
helping mothers find information and ideas that work for them and their
families. If the organization as a whole can function the same way, we
will be doing what works best for LLL and we'll continue helping mothers
and babies discover what works best for them for many years to come.
E pluribis Unum – Peggy Wiedmeyer
“E
pluribus Unum.” I remember starting off a fifth grade essay with
this line, back in grade school. At that time, I was one of eight children
in my family (eventually, I was one of 12), and I had learned that that
Latin quote meant “one out of many.” As a child, I took great
delight in knowing that I came from a unique family – there weren’t
many others with that many children in our small town in Wisconsin.
Now I’m an adult and once again, I consider myself “one out of many” - this time, the “many” are the 19 LLL Leaders who also serve on USWD Staff as consultants for USWD Leaders. I still live in Wisconsin, about 20 miles west of Lake Michigan and about 60 miles north of Milwaukee. My husband is a dairy farmer, and I work off the farm as a parent educator. Our three children are grown and on their own: David is 27 and manages a restaurant in a Senior Living complex in Minneapolis; Katie, 25, works as a landscape designer just north of Milwaukee and is newly engaged to Mark (wedding fall, 2006); Brian, 22, is wrapping up a year of studying diesel mechanics at a technical college here in Wisconsin, and also works part-time as a semi driver and as a diesel mechanic.
During the 25 years I’ve been a Leader, I’ve led meetings with three different Groups. I was part of the Leader Accreditation Department (LAD) for six years, and the Leader Department for about 18 years, and now I’ve been part of the Publications/Online Workgroup for just about a year. While working in the LAD and the Leader Department, I had opportunities to develop many skills, including writing, editing, proof reading and doing layout. My paid job as a parent educator gives me the opportunity to dabble in web site work, write newsletters, create flyers and brochures, and learn from professionals in the marketing field – in addition to teaching first time parents about child development and helping them identify resources in their community.
Providing information and support to all breastfeeding mothers is one of my passions, and that’s one of the reasons I’m still an active Leader after 25 years. Being a Leader means I have ready access to current and accurate breastfeeding information to share with the mothers I encounter through my work as a parent educator and as an LLL Leader. And, my closest friends are LLL Leaders – they’ve been my mentors as I muddle through this most important job of being a parent.
My other passions, besides my husband and our children, include having fun with my mom and my many siblings, working on a variety of church committees and ministries, reading, sewing, knitting, gardening, cooking, and learning new skills. I’m a firm believer that you’re never too old to learn new tricks, and that learning new things keeps my brain nimble.
I look forward to hearing from you, in whatever way I can help you. I’m available for phone calls on most evenings, and most weekends; if I’m not home, please leave a message on my answering machine. I read email at least once a day, usually twice a day – before I head off to work in the morning, and again in the evening after I get home. If I can’t help you, I’ll find someone on staff who can!
Learning and Teaching – Deirdre Knowles
I
went to my first LLL meeting when my oldest child was three weeks old.
She's now 35 and a mother herself, and I'm still here. Along the way there
have been four more children, a divorce and a career change (or two).
I studied math, physics and computers in college and worked as a computer systems analyst. I became a Leader (back when we were "approved") and then a Communication Skills Instructor. And thanks to that, and nearly twenty years of La Leche League and parenting experience, when I went back to school it was to become a psychotherapist. I also trained as a mediator and mediated small claims court cases for five years.
I love to learn and to teach. I'm interested in a variety of things-science, computers, communication, public speaking and training, organizational development, construction-and whatever I get interested in, I like to learn as much as I can about it. I'm particularly interested in how the universe works; I believe in consistency, and when it appears to be missing, I look beneath the surface to find it. I want to know how things fit together!
I love to read, and to write when I get excited about a topic. I'm only an amateur editor-though I know what "reads" well to me, I don't know all the rules.
I have an ongoing love/hate relationship with computers. I really like technology: what it can do and also the fascination of what's possible for it's own sake. And I hate that it sometimes makes things harder instead of easier and adds to the waste of time and energy in our culture. So I want to make technology serve human needs, so I can have my fun guilt-free!
I also like to draw, make jewelry,
knit, crochet and sew a little, pull
weeds (the extent of my gardening expertise), do plumbing, wiring and
decorating projects and go for walks. I struggle with prioritizing because
I want to do it all!
My kids are all independent or nearly so (the youngest just turned 21), and I'm finally in a position where I can make my decisions just for me! I can do work I love (paid and unpaid), spend time with my gorgeous granddaughter and my adult children, create my own life. I love it!