I Make it Possible!

September 24, 2013| James McKan, Loaned Executive, National Archives and Records Administration

As I entered The Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center for the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) Leadership Training, honestly, I had no idea what I was getting into.I knew I wanted to make a change in the world, but wasn’t quite sure how I could.However, when I heard about CFC campaign, I knew this was it.Although I was a novice and had zero experience with the CFC, the outstanding campaign training was thorough and complete.

About 450 other people attended the program with me. Some were seasoned veterans and some were new to the CFC, just like me.

The program began with speeches from Lou Nistler, CFCNCA Executive Director, and Kal Stein, President and CEO of Earth Share. This was followed by Dr. Brandon Haller, Chairman of the LFCC, presenting the 2012 National CFC hero Awards to Tom Crispell of the CIA and Michael Spinella, from the National Geospatial – Intelligence Agency. Dr. Haller spoke to their incredible creativity, leadership and dedication to the campaign. This inspired me because they were people just like me. I now felt like I could also make a difference.

The program showed me and all the campaign workers how to promote CFC using this year’s theme “I make it Possible”.

We were trained on the Nexus pledge processing and reporting system which seems very intuitive and easy to use.What really helped me was the CFC 101 class given by a 35-year veteran of the CFC campaign, Ms. Edith Parrish. This provided me and the other first- time campaign workers with the tools they needed to understand and be successful.

This program gave me an opportunity to meet face-to-face with the campaign leadership, network with other participants, and – learn the best practices used by various agencies.Most importantly, it gave me a chance to meet the team behind the campaign and also learn about their new marketing strategies.

I felt convinced; I was already a part of something amazing.

Another colleague of mine, Phillip Murray, a veteran Loaned Executive, who is working with the US Postal Service, said. “It was indeed an honor and a privilege to meet and be a part of a group of people dedicated to helping an untold number of people whom they will never meet”.

I agree and I believe. Let’s make it possible.