March 2026 President's Update

This month, I’m stepping in for Mark, our state President, who is away.  While I’m officially writing as 1^st Vice President, I am taking the opportunity to address our members wearing another of my hats – lead of our strategic goal to “avoid burnout.” 

We hear it all the time, in different ways. 

Many of us are feeling this elusive burnout.

League work asks for a lot of heart, a lot of attention, and (sometimes) a lot of late-night “just one more thing” energy. When the work is urgent and the stakes are real, it’s easy to normalize overload. But exhaustion isn’t a badge of honor and it isn’t a sustainable operating model. If we want to keep showing up for voters and for each other, we have to treat resilience as part of the work, not something we’ll “get to” later.

One practical shift we’re prioritizing is building in partnership and shared ownership so projects don’t sit on one person’s shoulders. That means expanding the volunteer bench, pairing people up where possible, and designing work so someone can step away or even take a vacation (gasp) without everything stalling.

Sometimes we may even have to consider setting limits that mean not everything gets done.

We also strive to be thoughtful about staff capacity, because the same dynamics that burn out volunteers can burn out staff, too. The goal is a League where support is normal and backup is built-in. I hope we can endeavor to be a League that is truly a community (work, success, support, purpose and maybe even camaraderie or fun).

As we build clearer roles and shared ownership, my hope is that every volunteer and staff member will feel supported (not stretched thin) so that our work remains sustainable for the long run. And so that our purpose may provide us strength, energy and inspiration. 

In League,

Barbara Klein

1st Vice President