Tom Thurmond
VP of Operations, MDI
Men of Mentor Discover Inspire:
In late 2022, it became very apparent to the leadership of MDI that the Division Coordinators in single-division Regions needed more peer support to be successful. After considerable discussion with experienced leaders from MDI, the decision was made to realign the five established Regions into three Regions. This decision was primarily based on what we thought was best for the men at the division and team level. The final decision was made unanimously at the DC Summit in San Fransisco in November 2022.
The Regional Coordinators were tasked with coming up with new Regional names that were consistent with each other, yet spoke to the individual nature of their Regions. They came up with:
- Atlantic Region
- Pacific Region
- Continental Region
Hugh Kurth is the Regional Coordinator for the Atlantic Region, which includes the previous Southeastern region, Dave Yale is the Regional Coordinator for the Pacific Region, which includes the previous Southwest region as well as the old Western (Bay Area) region, and Dylan Stewart is the Regional Coordinator for the Continental Region, which includes Canada and the Atlas Zoom teams.
Together, we hope to inspire our DCs to lead with excellence and bring value and inspiration to the men on Teams in MDI.
The realignment allows the DCs from Atlanta and San Diego to get better peer support from their new Regional DC teams. The change did not impact MDI Board of Director slots in any way. The realignment will also create opportunities to serve and collaborate together with men from other divisions. It will allow a larger pool of great men who can work at a higher level if they choose to pursue a Regional or International position of responsibility.
The realigned Regions are not permanent. At any point in the future, when a Region becomes too big through growth, a split can and should take place. This would be a great problem to have!
Currently, we have 13 Divisions and 60 Men’s Teams in Mentor Discover Inspire.
MDI has a goal of having 750 men by the end of 2023. We are currently around 550 men. If we had 200 or more men, we would have 20 to 25 more teams and possibly four new divisions.
I hope you can join me in bringing new men to our circle and working together to serve our community.