help how do I self-promote???

[edenfalling]

So I've been asked to run for my church's Board of Trustees -- a 1-year term to fill out the end of another person's 3-year term, since they're stepping down for health reasons.

I have to provide a one-paragraph bio.

Does this sound reasonable?

"Elizabeth Culmer has been attending FUSIT since shortly after she moved to Ithaca in 2000, initially via a short-lived UU student group at Cornell. She taught RE for over a decade, from Pre-K to the high school youth group, and has been a member of the Stewardship Team since 2017. She is an enthusiastic member of her hospitality team, and has frequently worked at the recycling sale and service auction. Liz grew up in New Jersey, where she was a born-and-raised member of the Summit UU congregation. She currently works for a real estate company renting apartments to Cornell students in Collegetown, and does some seasonal tax prep work for [Not the IRS] on the side."

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ETA 9:10pm Okay, I've sent a slightly revised version to the nominating committee, along with a photo of me. We'll see how it goes. :)

Comments

[domarzione]

This is no time for modesty. Come up with an accomplishment or two in your church work -- did some neat program with the RE kids, the Stewardship Team did something good while you were on it, whatever fits. Attach yourself to greatness if you can't claim it for yourself. Preface it all with a statement about your commitment to the congregation and then give all of your experience and evidence. Maybe a sentence about how you'd like to see the congregation grow and thrive.

[edenfalling]

Mmm, I'd feel awkward about claiming big "wins," though, since most of what I've done is just kind of... keeping things running, and tidying a bit around the edges when possible. There is a reason I am enthusiastic about hospitality teams! And really what I'm selling is being a team player who has been participating in church activities for a long time.

(Also my biggest selling points as an RE teacher are that I am good at getting kids to participate in arts & crafts sessions, and that I can read books aloud in an entertaining fashion. Neither talent seems directly applicable to board meetings. *wry* (Okay, I suppose translating vaguely stated moral lessons into plain English may be applicable...))

[domarzione]

You don't have to claim big wins, but you can absolutely say that you were part of success. That's very good for board meetings. Also, fostering participation is also good for board meetings and that's what you did with the arts and crafts. They want a do-er.