DELEGATING DUTIES
by Joyce E. Pennington

As a director, I was one of the guilty ones that tried to do everything myself, allowing myself to be swamped with work and never seeing the 'light at the end of the tunnel'. After wandering aimlessly for several years, I made a landmark decision....."I am not WONDER WOMAN, and I cannot do all of this by myself!" (brilliant deduction!) I realized that not only were there other capable people, but there were many who were eager to assist.

I first sat down with my officers to discuss their commitments. Together we wrote out a list of duties and responsibilities for the captain, lieutenants as well as other officers. By spelling out exactly what was expected of them for daily duties and special assignments, each felt a great sense of pride and commitment to do a good job. We typed up these duties and passed them down each year to the new officers.

Next, I met with the social officers. Each officer had a specific project to plan along with their general organizational responsibilities. Example: the President was in charge of all Big Sis/Little Sis projects; V.P. was in charge of Senior Tea; Secretary was in charge of Homecoming activities; Treasurer was in charge of school public relations (band, football, teachers). As in the dance officers, we typed these duties and passed them on to the new social officers.

The Managers of the drill team can be a great help or an annoyance and distraction if their duties are not spelled out for them. Often they get bored because of uncertainty of their specific responsibilities or discouraged because of lack of self esteem or importance. As I always had several managers, I divided their duties as follows:

*One acted as the 'nurse' or 'trainer' and always carried the first aid supplies as well as the medical release forms. She was required to take CPR, first aid and training skills from the school athletic trainer.

*One was in charge of all tapes and sound equipment during practice or performances. She also ran music and duplicated practice tapes for the team members.

*One was 'wardrobe chairman,' in charge of all props and costumes to issue and check back in each week. She would also monitor inventory and prop repairs as well as re-orders.

*One was my 'business manager'. She was usually the one that was an upper classman that had taken computer, typing or bookkeeping classes. She would type letters, transfer mailing labels to the computer, write memos, receipts and general team bookkeeping.

The Booster Club I had was great. There were always many parents eager and willing to help. We broke into groups and committees for fundraising, costume making and chaperones. I met monthly with committee chairmen and executive board members to plan the needs and strategies for the team.

To mobilize each of these groups into action may require more planning and meeting time in the beginning stages, but the results will allow you some mental freedom when you leave school in the afternoon and see more proficiency in the business mechanics of your team.