[TheForge] Questions regarding group leadership

[GHS]

I take it that your group is then neither incorporated nor tax exempt?

Mike Graf

Rome Hutchings wrote:

> Ditto..........I belong to the Central Minnesota Blacksmiths.  We
> have no officers, no by-laws, no board......etc.  We rule quite
> well this way, and as an ABANA Affiliate, we often wonder if
> there are others working this way.
>
> Those that want to get something done can do so, we put on our
> workshop according to interest.  We also schedule to fit what the
> members want.  If you show up at a meeting and the group has an
> item that they want a vote on, you get to vote.
>
> We have been together going on now (2007) five years this way
> and we like it the way it is.  We do have several more active members
> that comprise the core group, they are the ones that show up at meetings
> all the time.
>
> Glad to see that this works for other groups as well.
>
>
> Rome Hutchings
> The Prairie Forge
> 13633 Ferman Ave NW
> Clearwater, MN 55320
> (763) 878-1694
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bruce Freeman" <freemab222 at yahoo.com>
> To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Monday, January 01, 2007 2:37 PM
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] Questions regarding group leadership
>
>
>> I would like to put a bug in peoples ear that
>> sometimes the best way to lead is not to.
>>
>> Altogether too many people in positions of leadership
>> get the impression that everyone is waiting for them
>> to take the lead.  My impression is that mostly
>> they're wanting you to get out of their way so that
>> they can do what they want.
>>
>> A typical organization has a president, one or more
>> vice presidents, maybe a past president and an
>> incoming president, treasurer, chairman of membership,
>> ways and means, programs, etc., etc., ad naseum.  Each
>> one has his little fiefdom which he either runs or
>> doesn't.  If he doesn't, he blocks progress.  But if
>> he runs it, he probably runs it to his pleasure and no
>> one else's.  (Part of the problem, of course, is that
>> these chairmen  amount to committees of one in most
>> organizations, i.e., officers.)
>>
>> When I wrote the NJBA bylaws, I took those ideas into
>> account.  We have no officers, just directors.  That
>> way no one can get in the way of progress.  No
>> "program chairman" can stop us from having good
>> programs.  No "president" can strut his stuff and get
>> in the way of the organization working to the benefit
>> of its members.
>>
>> Once a year we have an elections meeting.  Typically,
>> we just reelect the current slate of directors, but
>> any member can move that the elections be run
>> separately for each director.  Anyone can
>> self-nominate.  There's no limit to the number on the
>> board, so no one is ever defeated in an election
>> (though separate elections for each director would
>> permit that if necessary).
>>
>> Between elections meetings, the board can elect new
>> directors for terms ending at the next elections
>> meeting.  Hence, the minute we spot an active member,
>> we draft him onto the board (so to speak) and involve
>> him.  As a result we have a board of about 15
>> directors, of whom we almost always get a quorum of
>> 1/3 at board meetings.  We have one director who
>> considered resigning a few years back when he got on
>> the board of Peters Valley - because he didn't think
>> he'd have time for both.  I told him not to be silly -
>> being on the board of PV WAS an NJBA activity as far
>> as I was concerned!
>>
>> What happens in an organization like ours is that you
>> get essentially two levels of membership, not based on
>> privilege, but on interest.  Most of our members hang
>> back, read the newsletter, attend meetings either
>> frequently or occassionally, but show little or no
>> interest to do more.  Then there are those of us who
>> are more active, arranging programs or putting on
>> workshops for our monthly membership meetings, running
>> or assisting at our weekly open forge meetings, etc. (Kind of a club 
>> within a club, but NOT an exclusive
>> one.) Yet with fifteen directors, this proves not to
>> be very much work for any of us.
>>
>> In short, by letting interested people contribute in
>> ways they're interested in, we have a very dynamic
>> group and seem to well please the membership.
>>
>> Bruce
>> NJ
>>
>>
>> --- David Childress <trollkeep at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I realize that I am a little slow on this Thread,
>>> but I am also
>>> running for the Board of our Statewide
>>> Association.(Indiana)  I know
>>> what the Members that I regualerly see would like to
>>> see change and I
>>> have a vision of a goal, that everyone at least will
>>> someday know
>>> someone who practices our craft.  This will require
>>> many new
>>> blacksmiths and many more visiable blacksmiths.  I
>>> would like to be
>>> able to go to Menards and buy a pair of tongs
>>> because there is enough
>>> demand to make it worth their while to carry tongs. How to do this I
>>> only begin to know but I am willing to try.  Any
>>> suggestion How?
>>


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