I've been in a lot of organizations, committees, etc. Most of the time the leadership would love to have some new blood in front. Granted, egos can get in the way, but a little dipomacy goes a long way. The previous person in the position can be very helpful, approached in the right way. A bit of respect to what has gone in the past is proper, a bit of new stuff can be worked in. Everyone's feelings have to be honored, but a lot of people are spending a lot of time managing that they'd like to spend flying. Just listen to what has happened in the past, a lot of times your new idea was tried two years ago and didn't work.