By David Plante, New England Region
For 15 years, ever since MDI was formed, I have been helping and watching to see who it is we really are, and why we exist. It was not until recently that I looked more inward to reflect back on what I have been doing all this time. It is kind of like a car you have had for years. You know, the one that only you can start because you have to turn the steering wheel a certain way while turning the key, and you know not to roll down the rear window, because it won’t roll up… You get the idea.
I realized that MDI’s product is twofold. The first is to provide men with a valuable men’s team experience, and the second is to provide men with leadership opportunities that will help them learn and grow in their lives. I realized that the only reason MDI exists is so that there are men’s teams long after we are gone.
I have seen rogue teams go off on their own, and it has me think of all the teams that are no longer in existence because there was not something bigger to keep it alive and vibrant. I believe I pay dues for the sole reason of funding an organization that will ensure a men’s team for men long after I am dead. For the most part, MDI is transparent. Being at a higher level of leadership in the organization, I see that we do our best to support the Regional Coordinators, which then support the Division Coordinators, which then support the Captains and Team Leaders, who then support the men on their teams. We don’t tell them what to do, but provide them opportunities and resources to win.
Sometimes men on certain levels don’t take advantage of the service provided. I know my Captain has missed a bunch of Captain’s calls, and I believe it is showing up on my team. I know that our Tribal Leader has missed many support calls with the Regional Coordinator, and has missed out some incredible opportunities. As a man on a men’s team, I can see the impact it has on the men, both old and new on my team. When the men we elect to be our leaders don’t take advantage of what the organization has to offer, everyone suffers.
I show up every week because I believe that I am part of a movement to give men the strength they need to move the world forward, and to train the next generation of men to carry it on when I am gone. And I am glad that there is an organization watching over me and my team to make sure that happens.