On Tuesday, March 19, KCR Community Resources, in partnership with Volunteer BC, will present a special Nourishing Volunteer Managers session featuring Doug Rankmore, former CEO of the KGH Foundation.
Mark your calendars to join us at this free session, titled “Leaders Eat Last: Servant Leadership for Volunteer Programs,” for both volunteers and non-profit leaders.
“I’m originally (and perhaps always) a prairie boy,” said Rankmore. “I was raised and taught how to be a good human in Brandon, Manitoba.”
Rankmore credits his start to working in the non-profit sector to good luck.
“I was finishing my Masters with a mass of loans and one of my professors recommended I apply to a be director of research at the March of Dimes in Toronto.
“There I came to understand the power in people coming together for a common cause.”
“Working with people with incredible values and ways of being in the world really appealed to me.”
For many years he was CEO of Braintrust Canada, a local organization that was started to support people with brain injury.
“The impact of brain injury and how challenging it is to help people living with brain injury has never left me.”
During his 11 years at the KGH Foundation, Rankmore identifies that he was able to help bring about great changes for the community, while working “with wonderful humans.”
He remains “very grateful for the opportunities” he has been given and recognizes that a world without volunteers and non-profit organizations would be “barren.”
“I had the honour of working with four auxiliaries to KGH.
“They were an incredibly committed group of people whose drive and organization lasted more than a century committing millions of dollars to make sure the people of the interior had access to the best medical care – and in fact helped make KGH one of the most advanced treatment centres in the country.
“They were completely dogged in their determination to make a difference and contribute to their community.”
During his presentation, Rankmore will share his notion of “Servant Leadership” which he actually learned about many years after already practicing it.
“The concept of providing those you work with the tools, resources and environment they need to do the work we are all committed to, has just always made sense to me.
“To practice this type of philosophy, you just need to understand that ordinarily, it is not you who gets things done.
“It is those around you that get things done – but only to the degree that you can enable them to do their best.
“If you keep your eye on the goal instead of your ego, it usually becomes obvious that while the leaders plays a key role – the role is actually to empower others.
“I love when a team has a mission and they all put their best into it. For me, the concept of excellence is embodied when the result is greater that the sum of its parts.”
For Rankmore, volunteers “fill the holes in our society” and he is happy to be able to volunteer as a director for both the Central Okanagan Foundation and the Telus Interior and Northern British Columbia Community Board as they both provide grants that accelerate important community work.
Rankmore and his wife Shelagh Turner share a consultant practice, focused on providing practical supports for leaders, communities and organizations that support people to live their best lives possible.
They use their 70 years of joint experience in the not-for-profit sector to focus on governance, leadership, organizations development and research.
To register for this amazing opportunity to learn and connect with others from the community, join us on March 19 at Kelowna Community Theatre in the lobby.
A light lunch will be available for those joining in person.
As in person seating is limited, there will also be the option to join the session virtually.
Register online at www.kcr.ca.
Dorothee Birker is the communications & development manager for KCR Community Resources. Call 250-763-8008, ext. 254 or email dorothee@kcr.ca.