Tazewell County board considers mentoring program for new members

Tazewell County board members discussed creating a formal mentoring program to help newer members learn county operations and retain institutional knowledge.

Speaker 1 proposed "develop[ing] a board member mentoring role or program," noting that many board members have two years or less of experience. Multiple members supported the idea as a way to transfer institutional knowledge and provide a safe place to ask questions.

Several members described personal mentoring experiences. Speaker 4 said, "When I was a board member, I had Mike Harris take me under his wing and he taught me a ton of stuff. He was a safe place to go to ask a dumb question and he really brought me along and encouraged me to ask questions, say that out loud, don't be afraid." Another speaker confirmed that the practice continues informally and suggested attaching new board members to department heads for tours and ongoing conversations.

Board members did not adopt a formal program during the session but asked staff to draft an approach that could include department tours, mentor pairings and ongoing touchpoints so new members better understand department functions.

Ending: Staff were asked to prepare a proposal for a mentoring program and options for how department attachments and tours might be structured.