I met a wonderful trustee at the Hertfordshire Charity  Trustee  Conference and it was  against the background of  wonderful  Spring-like weather.   The encounter struck me for three reasons.

She is a new trustee and did not know where to start.  Her charity had paid for her to attend the day and had asked her to go along to two more which they would support.  However they gave no direction about what workshops she should attend, how this would fit back into the board or organisation when she came back or how she could share what she had learnt.

Secondly when asked about her motivation for becoming a trustee, she said the Chair was such an inspiration and a good leader and the organisation was doing such wonderful things, that she wanted to be part of that change.

Thirdly she indicated that though she was now retired she was open and welcoming to learning. “Up till a few years ago, I thought that a mouse was something that ran across the ground and you need to get rid of it.  Now I know differently that a mouse is an important part of the technological age!”.

The encounter reminded me of the need to go back to basics and to support and encourage these inspirational people in our communities.