Nearly 190 participants took part in the inaugural Ready To Serve board training workshop Feb. 3 and Feb. 10, 2009. The workshop came about as a result of Women’s Fund research that showed women are underrepresented in the leadership ranks in our community and that service on non-profit boards is an effective way to develop leadership skills.

Community leaders who took part in Ready To Serve provided insight on how boards operate and focused on members' responsibilities. 

“The workshop provided foundational learning to help participants understand what it means to be on a board and what role a board member plays,” said Sara Masters, Ready To Serve committee chair.

In addition to covering the basics, workshop leaders shared real-life examples of their board experiences. Presenters encouraged participants to join boards in which they believe in their mission, as serving goes beyond attending monthly meetings.

 “Ready To Serve is meeting a need to make the metro Omaha area better for everyone by getting people, especially more women, involved with community organizations,” Masters said.

The majority of participants said they plan to seek opportunities to serve on a non-profit board. Participants will be surveyed later this year to find out how they have applied the knowledge gained from the workshop – for instance, have they joined boards, or have those persons already serving accelerated their participation on boards and gained more confidence?

Participants gave the workshop high marks - a 4.3 average on a 5-point scale.

"Overall, this was fantastic," one participant said.  "I learned so much.  The speakers were great, and they were very inspirational."

The Women’s Fund thanks Mutual of Omaha, Ready To Serve program sponsor, and the Kiewit Foundation, which provided funds for the course materials, along with media sponsors Metro Magazine and KMTV.