|
2008
[ January ]
[ April ]
2007
[ March ]
[ April ]
[ May ]
[ June ]
[ July ]
[ October ]
| |
RVC 3 Thoughts, Winter '07 - '08
Hello all! Another year draws rapidly to a close and a new one is dawning.
Please accept my sincerest wishes to all of you for a rewarding and fulfilling
New Year. With a little luck and a lot of personal effort, we should all be
able to achieve just that.
Your AMC had a productive meeting the first weekend in December. While no
single topic was of extraordinary importance, cumulatively a lot of ground was
covered. The mini minutes of the meeting are posted on the national web site
and the following comments are my take on the issues and topics presented.
As usual, opinions and reasons for positions were all over the map. With a
twenty-one member board, that should be expected.
Item 7, Change to Bylaws, designating the head of a local group as chief
executive instead of the current local secretary, was postponed. This was
to be a house keeping item but a lot of spirited discussion arose concerning
the need for this and the burden and cost of changing all the references of
local secretary. Goes to show that any item can be contentious.
Items 8 & 9 were sent back to committee. Changing the way RVC vacancies are
filled is necessary because the current method is not in compliance with New
York State corporate law (Mensa is incorporated in New York). Having a
special election among regional loc secs is less costly than a special
election involving the regional membership, but this might not hold up if
challenged in court (who would do such a thing?). The AMC wants to get this
one right, because it is the type of procedure that one wants to remain
stable. However, if the relatively new Planning Committee is energetic enough
to tackle restructuring the AMC, the RVCs might not be in the mix; only
nationally elected officers. More on this thought later.
Item 11, Nominating process changes was voted down and item 12 withdrawn
accordingly. Some on the AMC favor strictly controlling who gets to run for
national office and how. Some of us favor opening up the field as widely as
possible. I'd much rather see four or five candidates for each office (or
even more) than the current one or two. It's healthier for the organization.
Keeping the nominating procedure user friendly will help accommodate this.
Item 14, Alcohol Consumption Policy, was a real sleeper and drew the most
discussion and debate. Does Mensa strictly speaking need such a policy? Of
course not. Is it a prudent idea to have some kind of formal stand on the
issue recorded? You bet. After many tortuous hours in the hot, unyielding
Florida sun, with food and fresh water running low and the surf beginning to
kick up in advance of an imminent hurricane - oh, just kidding. I'll get a
work of fiction written based on an AMC meeting, yet. Seriously, this topic
took the most time to resolve. It is a fine example of trying to balance the
freedoms and rights of members with the need to limit the liability of the organization as a whole. Ultimately, paragraphs 1 & 4 were adopted, the
others discarded. This will arise again, to be sure, but at least a lot of
thought has been given to it.
Finally, a vision statement and short and long term goals were approved. Not
very exciting, but under the short term goals there is a sleeper. The goal of
assessing the structure of the AMC could lead to positive changes. In my
humble opinion, having a board of twenty-one members accomplishes nothing that
a smaller board of perhaps fifteen, thirteen, or even eleven could. In fact,
it is a hindrance since most topics don't warrant the input of twenty-one
persons. It's not as if twenty-one original, unique ideas are created.
There's two or three and the members of the AMC take sides with one of them.
It is costly to transport the current board to their meetings and provide
meals and lodging. In this age of e-mail and computers, fewer can often do
more. What are your thoughts on this?
Please share your thoughts or concerns on any topic with me. Also, candidates
for national office will be announcing in just five or six months. Start
giving this topic some serious thought. Are you totally satisfied with the
administration of Mensa? If so, there will be candidates admirably suited to
maintaining the status quo. Would you like change, a breath of fresh air
perhaps? Then look for and support those candidates of change. Only your
vote will make a difference.
Best regards,
Dave Swanka
|
