Elections

[Eagle]

Those of you who are members and peruse the Members Forum know that this is an election year for as well as for the USA, and that elections will be coming to in November. The North Atlantic Chapter elections will also be coming up in November, parallel with the national BOD elections.

Since the chapter does not have its own by-laws, we follow the national by-laws. Those provide for four (4) officers: President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Recorder. Historically, because the NAC does not charge dues we have not elected a Recorder separate from the Treasurer. However, with the chapter now hosting official sanctioned events, IMHO we need to formalize the process of collecting and retaining the important documents from official events, including (but not limited to) the safety inspection forms and participant waiver forms. That's the role that a Recorder would fulfill. I'd like some feedback from chapter members (please don't reply if you aren't a full-fledged member) as to whether we should elect a combined Recorder/Treasuer, or one Recorder and one Treasurer.

Another factor is that a 3-person BOD is really too small to function. If just one BOD officer is unavailable, there's too little feedback for the remaining two officers to work effectively. Electing a separate Recorder would provide a welcome fourth voice in the conduct of the chapter.

So -- whaddaya think?

Also, our Treasurer-in-absentia, Mark "Lawn Cher" Seidman, is becoming active in the new midwest chapter, so he will not be running for reelection in the NAC. Due to changes in my personal life, I will be unavailable for extended periods and I feel it would be irresponsible of me to seek another term. Can't speak for our Veep, Andy, because I haven't asked him. But there will be at least two seats open, three if we decide to vote in a separate Recorder, and four if Andy doesn't choose to run again. Please start thinking about who you want to run YOUR chapter for the next two years. The process is the same as the national's: Candidates must be nominated and seconded by members in good standing. If you wish to nominate someone, please contact them first to confirm that they are willing to accept the nomination. There's no point in filling up the forum with nominations and seconds if the candidate isn't interested in running. You may not nominate yourself. If you wish to run for an office, either contact another member back-channel to discuss getting nominated, or we may do as the national did and open a thread in which interested candidates can express their interest in running and set forth their qualifications.

Put on your thinking caps, folks. If you have any questions, let me know via PM.

 

[Lawn Cher']

I'm all for electing a seperate and distinct Recorder. Isn't it better to have an odd number of BOD members, though? Maybe we should add an event coordinator or general director.

 

[Ludakris]

the idea of a seperate recorder sounds like a good one. As for the "limited" number, the national BOD has brought about Directors postions, maybe these should be thought of.

 

[xj2k]

sounds good to me, the more the merrier!

 

[sidriptide]

i like the idea of a recorder.. but i also dont like an even number on the BOD.. maybe 4 + 1 "director at large" ?? but then you get into the whole "big government" issue.... i can deal with 5...

 

[Eagle]

I think I'll ask some of the other chapter reps how many directors they have.

My view (which has not prevailed on the national BOD) is that the president should not vote except to break a tie. That's what Roberts' Rules of Order say, and that's the way every one of perhaps a dozen boards of directors and commissions I have served on over the years have been run.

, though, does not specify Roberts' Rules for parliamentary procedure in its by-laws. And, in fact, Roberts' Rules were never written to cover discussions and votes conducted on a remote forum rather than live in real time. It would be impossible for to follow Roberts' Rules literally. However, I still feel that we should use Roberts' Rules as a guide, and the purpose for not having the president vote remains valid. The president, by virtue of his/her office, holds a lot of persuasive power. If other directors/officers see the president voting one way or another, often they'll vote the same way not because they agree, but because they want to support the pres, or they don't want to oppose the pres, or something like that.

Given my druthers, I'd like to see the NAC adopt a chapter policy that the president only votes to break a tie, or to make a quorum if a vote is about to expire and the other officers haven't voted.

The national is going from 4 officers plus 1 director-at-large to 4 officers plus 5 directors at large. I don't think we are likely to get 9 people in our chapter to take on the responsibility of being directors for two years. However ... I was wrong once before (I think). On a practical level, I don't think we need that many directors. The national BOD discusses and sets the policies for . The chapter BODs don't need to concern themselves with that, so their concerns basically come down to scheduling events and making sure they go off okay.

I think 4 officers is a good working chapter BOD. If the president doesn't vote except to break a tie and the other officers all vote, there won't be any ties. If there's something that the president feels strongly enough about that he/she just can't stan to have it passed over his/her abstention, then he/she can ignore an unofficial policy and vote. That would tie up a contentious issue, and since a majority vote is required to pass, that gives the president the power to squash anything he/she feels strongly about (as long as even one other director agrees).

 

[Eagle]

Quick response from other chapters. Three report running with three officers, one has four, and one has five.

They all seem to feel that what they have is adequate.

 

[Mike in NJ]

Interesting point, Eagle (re: no presidential vote), but that approach confers a sense of entitlement on our chapter president which doesn't really exist. With due deference to you (and past presidents CHW and John B), I don't think folks have voted for that position on the basis of "persuasive" powers. It simply represents a competent soul who was willing (along with fellow officers) to keep the chapter running. As you well know, there are no special powers associated with the chapter president, so I see no need to isolate him/her from normal business.

At the basic level of a regional chapter (mostly formed as a convenience to provide localized activity for members), titles are somewhat superfluous anyway. What any chapter needs is just a core group of committed folks that promotes local involvement. A treasurer is certainly needed because funds are involved for picnics and chapter events, a recorder (secretary would be a more common title) is useful because somebody needs to keep track of chapter business. President and Vice President? Convenient titles for two more people that really want to help out and are willing to step up publicly and consistently.

Want an odd number? - then create an events coordinator position. We have a big geographical area to cover and we know it's difficult to expect that the Maine XJer can participate all the time with the Virginian. No reason why multiple local rides or other activities throughout the year can't be held in several corners of NAC. Besides, it shouldn't be the ec's job to run an event (we all know that it takes a lot of folks to pull it off right), but it would help to have a central person for advice and support.

Above all - keep chapter business (and operations) simple and unpretentious. After all, the bottom line is that we are ALL (coast to coast) members equally. The chapter thing is just a handy way to fill in the blank wheeling weekends between national events and build a solid foundation for local association of XJ/MJ owners.

BTW, before any of the newer NAC members think I'm just taking potshots, I'm an ex-VP of NAC, and I'm still trying to figure out what my job description was!

Mike in NJ atriot:

 

[Eagle]

Good points, Mike. The chapter with 5 directors (Southeast) does, in fact, have an events coordinator in addition to the president, VP, Recorder and Treasurer.

We're stuck with the "Recorder" terminology (and I always thought a recorder was a woodwind musical instrument, or an electronic device that FBI moles wore to meetings with Mafia kingpins) because that's what title the national by-laws use, and we didn't adopt our own by-laws.

We could argue that until the national revises its by-laws we should have five directors. Except that the national BOD voted to move to nine independent of the overall by-laws revision that has been in progress for three years. So to be honest, I dunno where that leaves us, and it was fascinating to see how so many chapters all supposedly operating under the national by-laws came up with different BOD line-ups.

As to the president thing, I wasn't suggesting that I or either of my predecessors was elected due to any special persuasive powers. The parliamentary impetus for not having the president vote is that the OFFICE carries a certain amount of persuasive power, regardless of the occupant. It may also be a function of the expectation that the president will be chairing the meeting(s) and thus more central to any discussions, as well as (in a traditional face-to-face meeting, controlling the flow of discussion if he chooses to operate that way). That's not a consideration with because we transact business remotely and not in real time. The fact remains, however, that if you review votes and discussions on the BOD forum, you see that once the president expresses a view, some dissenting discussion stops right there, not because the president is necessarily right but just because he's the president, and some people don't feel they should go against the president.

 

[Lawn Cher']

I agree with Mike in NJ. Not that my opinion counts for much longer.

 

[Ludakris]

I agree with Mike as well. I understand trying to keep the BOD small, but I also agree that NAC takes up a large area geographically. I say an events coordinator sounds like a good alternative to a director postion. The coordinator could take the position of getting local events sanctioned by the NAC and/or , he would be a "go between" to the BOD for such ideas. Also he/she could be the "tie breaker" by having a 5th member on the BOD. I couldnt see the BOD going larger than 5, but feel that 5 would still be a "sound" number. But I am new here, so what do I know.

 

[Andy in Pa.]

I am bowing out of the race as well, so the VP position will be open for the elections too. Unfortunately I just have too much going on right now to devote the kind of time needed to the chapter.

 

[xj2k]

Well, this sucks! I sure hope someone will step up and want to run for pres, vp, and bod. I understand how everyone is so busy lately, I would help out but it don't know if it'll be a conflict of interest with my position in NE4WI? How many members are there in NAC?

Mark

 

[Eagle]

How many members are there in NAC?

Current count as shown on the official member roster shows 142 members in the North Atlantic Chapter region.

 

[sidriptide]

would the Event Coordinator seat (if adopted) be an elected seat or appointed by the BOD?

 

[Eagle]

Looks like the national BOD is heading toward making all chapter BODs 5 positions, so in addition to Pres, VP, Recorder and Treasurer, we'll have a 5th Director on whom we can pin the "Event Coordinator" title.

Elected.

 

[Eagle]

Just a reminder -- nominations will open in about two weeks and will run for a two week period, same as the national BOD nominations. The chapter election will also parallel the national BOD election.

There's no need or point to making nominations now, because they won't be official, but I hope you lads and lassies are thinking about who you want to run YOUR chapter for the next two years.

 

[BajaXJ92]

I'd love to run for a position on the BOD, but just won't have time around work/class/new house.

C'mon guys whose stepping up?

Where's the love?

I, myself, am looking forward to another smoothly run NACfest.