By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JUNE 11, 2021 | Meetings of individuals can be useful. But not all meetings are always productive. A while back we wrote of wasted times from meetings at work sites.
A reader wrote back: “Reminds me of when I was temporarily heading up two divisions of the organization. Our regional director formed an Executive Committee with four of us, himself, the deputy regional director, the training chief and me. We met EVERY morning at 9 a.m., and usually the meeting went on until 10:30 or 11. What a waste of time! Two hours out of each day! He was a micromanager, and it drove me nuts. That was his bad side. But he had, for me, a good side, in that he promoted me twice.”
Now to a more personal experience. When I was newspapering, I believed it was essential that our main department directors knew what was going on in the operation. Best way to do this was a weekly meeting of these people, about five or six of us. We put a time limit on the meeting: no more than 30 minutes. That’s enough time to go around the room, and hear SHORT reports from each division, solve simple problems, and get back to work. If there was a bigger problem, we met separately only with those involved and did not waste the time of the others not involved.
Covid eliminated many meetings, at least personally. You wonder now that we are getting closer to normal, if the Covid shortcuts have changed meetings, since we now realize many were not needed. We suspect in larger operations the regular staff meetings can still be beneficial. But not for two hours!
Now who has some feedback on these staff meetings?
Ever play Bocce (or bocci) ball? It can also go by the name of lawn bowling, bowls, or petanque (in France). The game originated way back in the Roman Empire, and today is routinely played throughout Europe and South America.
It is a versatile game, with little equipment needed except for the eight round, colored usually wooden balls (about four inches round), and the jack, a white ball of about two inches. It can be played either on a wooden-sided soil or asphalt court 90 feet wide and 3-4 foot wide, or even just on an open lawn.
Sheila Fowler of Gwinnett Parks and Recreation says that there are two bocce ball courts in Gwinnett, at Ronald Reagan Park. There are also courts at Piedmont Park in Atlanta.
The contestants can be two players, or two teams of two or four. Players try to get their balls closest to the earlier-thrown jack ball, gaining a point or two. Or you try to knock an opponent away from the jack. Games typically end at 7 of 13 points. The bocce ball is thrown underhanded. Tape measures are often used to see which side has their toss closest to the jack.
We remember seeing bocce ball being played by people all dressed in long white pants and white shirts in San Diego. The area was awash in courts: there must have been 30 or 40 of them, with every court busy.
It’s a game for young or old. It would be great to see our Gwinnett cities and the county preparing more of the simple bocce ball courts. Or just clearing a big lawn for play.
Now if anyone has a spacious lawn, I’ve got a bocce ball set ready to take you on.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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