[NCARC] AN OPEN LETTER TO THE NCARC BOARD AND MEMBERSHIP

[Charles]

There is good news and bad news.



The bad news:  The club is floundering and is struggling with its identity
and sense of purpose.



The good news:  We are soon to have a new leadership team in place and we
can all get excited about that.



I decided that I needed to speak up at this time.  The email reflector does
not lend itself to involved and long term discussions about the issues
facing the club so please read my comments and share them in more personal
forums with your fellow hams, if you find them worthwhile. Or contact me if
you wish.



A few words about my qualification to make these comments are in order:



1.    I have extensive experience managing large projects (multi-million
dollar ones) with large staffs in place (often in excess of 100).



2.    I have participated in, and/or run, hundreds of management meetings
related to these projects.



3.    One of the things I do in my current self-employment is to work with
startup businesses, writing their articles of incorporation, developing
their bylaws, setting up boards of directors and officer teams, and guiding
them through their first year of business.

One important note: NCARC is a non-profit, charitable corporation chartered
under the laws of the State of Colorado.  As such, the management and
functioning of it is serious business.



For our current and newly nominated officer teams:



1.    Please recognize that, faced with a given problem, often the correct
response is not to take immediate action but to do nothing.  The value of
"sleeping on it" cannot be overemphasized.



2.    Consider empowering a committee (3 persons) with a limited timeframe
(90 days perhaps) to create a report on the past, present and future state
of the club. Call it the "State of the Club" committee (or some such).  And
remember:  "Those who ignore their history are bound (or doomed) to repeat
it" (sic: George Santayana).



3.    Empower a committee (1-3 persons) to query the membership concerning
the corporate bylaws and gather comments and suggestions for change.

 

4.    Discuss the concept of a separate Board of Directors.  Currently, we
have our officers serving as that board as well.  I cannot tell you how odd
this is in the corporate world.  It's akin to the fox in the henhouse.  The
Board of Directors, which oversees the officers, should be 3 individuals
from the community at large who serve without compensation and who have no
direct interest in the club.



5.    Gather all previous and current copies of the bylaws as well as the
Board of Directors concept and take them to a corporate attorney for a
complete rewrite.  Well worth whatever it costs. We can't and shouldn't
attempt to do this ourselves.



6.    Do not move or substantially alter the current configuration of the
Hamfest until such time as the report from the State of the Club committee
has been received, discussed at some length among the officers and the
membership and a sense of its role in furthering the mission of the club has
been reached.  Last year we made an ill-advised decision to move the
Hamfest, thus encumbering it with a significant increase in overhead and
with a complete lack of fiscal pre-planning.  Do move the Hamfest back to
the McKee building however.

For the General Membership:



1.    Become more involved.  It doesn't have to be a big time commitment
either.  And when there is a call for volunteers for a project, step
forward; do not wait until the need for volunteers becomes a plea for help!



2.    Think about what you want to see the club be / become and communicate
those ideas!  At this weeks' meeting, we heard some really good suggestions
of things we could be doing.  Thanks Ivan (W1VAN).



3.    Support you elected officers and let them know you appreciate their
efforts on behalf of us all.

And finally:  Let's make this next year one of the best ever for our club.
73!

Respectfully;

 

Charles Hess - KD0GMW
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