PDA

View Full Version : The Direction of the Club


minfinger
12/09/2003, 11:49 AM
Since this seems to be the hot topic at the moment. I'm open to a long winded discussion on this, but here's what we have so far.

Option 1
The Democratic System...President, Vice President, Treasury, etc.
We elect them at the begining of every fiscal year, March 1st. Since Febuary 29th is at the end of the month on the leap years, we will never have a meeting on that date. I like the current middle of the month weekend dates.

Option 2
A board of directors, 4 people that are elected by the members club at the beginning of every fiscal year. You must be a member prior to the Febuary meeting to vote. My vote, as the founder, would be the swing vote in a tie situation, because I'm always voiting with my views considering the best interests of the club at that time.

We are open to other ideas, options and opinions, so lets discuss them. I think now is the time to do this and we need to keep the club going in a positive direction in the new year.

Mike
Founder
www.charlestonreefers.org

Troy182
12/09/2003, 12:03 PM
wouldn't it be easier to have three or five members to cut down on the occurances of ties. Ties would still happen I am sure cause not everyone has an opinion on every subject and some people really should not vote on things where there is a conflict of interest.

dvmsn
12/09/2003, 01:26 PM
Mike for President!

minfinger
12/09/2003, 02:52 PM
Troy,

Well that's why I had the 4 vote idea...It's either 3 to 1 or 4 to 0 in favor or it goes the other way.

Maybe I'm missing something, but how can you have a tie if you have 3 or 5 people voting.

And what do you mean some people? Or maybe you should explain conflict of interest.

Aquarius Lady
12/10/2003, 03:32 PM
Since I am on the HOA board here where I live I can understand the pros and cons to both....
Option 1 (Pres, VP, Treas, etc) is the EASIEST, and as long as one to 3 or 4 of the elected officers show up at a meeting that is fine. Votes can be done through, board, email or via phone. With ours since we have a 6 member board, 4 votes is a majority. The DOWNSIDE to this (and it's the only one I can see) is that if you have ALOT of people out, sick on business trips, etc. It can make it kind of tricky when discussing specific topics that will be put to a vote.
Option 2 is basically the same from what you wrote. On our HOA there is a Pres. VP, Secretary and treasurer and 4 board members who are not "officers" per se, but they are entitled to a vote as well (Hence the 4 majority).
Honestly I don't think EVERYONE wants to be a "voting member" I think alot of folks are happy to be members who come out of enjoyment for the meetings, etc. From who shows up "regularly" you could probably Vote/Pick/Elect your main body of Officers.
And Mike, even though your the founder you can certainly be as involved or as not involved as you want. If you already KNOW who you want your first set of Officers to be, (and THEY want it) then ya gotta "start" somewhere, just put them in place and begin running the club that way. NEXT year when things come up for re-election look at how it was working etc, and go from there if you need to "tweak" something.
JMHO

skipm
12/10/2003, 05:15 PM
I would opt for the easiest form of governing at least in the beginning. I also think that until the club has grown a bit more I would think about combining the offices of treasurer and secretary since at this time both positions would have fairly small responsibilities.
I can also agree with Jackies idea of appointing officers and seeing how well things go to be followed up with elections the following year.
I was also curious as to where the date of March 1 came from? Why not just use the calendar year as opposed to the anniversary date of the club.
Lets keep the ideas coming and see if we can combine the best points of all of them and make our club grow to its potential. Skip

minfinger
12/10/2003, 07:42 PM
March 1st was the first meeting of the club.

Jackie, I like your ideas...Keep up the good work.

Skip I agree, combine them.

Now on the flipside of things: (Just to throw a wrench into the works)
1. Do we really need a "government" in our club? (It's working now just fine like it is.)
2. Are there any problems with the club right now that would benefit for a "government"?
3. Should we just wait another 6 months to a year and address it then.
4. Yes I agree, a true calendar year might be better.

Great job guys, keep them coming!!

Aquarius Lady
12/10/2003, 08:21 PM
HONESTLY,
No you don't need "officers" or a board since the club is a self governing body and NOT taking in any income (dues, etc) Once DUES come into play then things change, people wanna know "Where their money is being spent" But if you continue to keep the club (As it is now) as a springboard club for people who are "into" the hobby, who are trading with each OTHER (not officially through the club) etc, who are paying their own meals. Then no, there really is NO need to have a governing body....
Now, (Mike) if you have days where you cannot be there at a meeting and want a person who is (to you) your second trustworthy and can get the sign in sheets, move the topic along or what not, then just "appoint" your second in command <G> so to speak. (or third or whatever the case may be) As long as no $$$ is coming in via members, then the "forum" or club can be a true democracy (IF you wish it) and people can choose what facets they WANT to participate in or don't want to.
Now as long as the club remains SMALL and the real expense is only the 'membership' cards, then you can continue to keep them free OR, (since they ARE getting a discount) request a .50 donation (or whatever) when a person is granted a card to cover the cost of processing the card.
Once you begin to take on dues tho, or make MASS decisions for the club (as in which charity or local group get supported) then that is a whole 'nother ball of wax... My Humble Opinion is this.... "If it ain't broke don't fix it" if the CLUB is doing so far WHAT you want, and you and the members ENJOY it, then leave it as is, until membership numbers dictate otherwise (IE: more than 30 members showing up regularly or whatever) Any "votes" can be purely democratic. (IE: Support of a group or foundation, etc) if planning visits to neighboring towns or aquariums or clubs these things can be PURELY on a "as come as needed basis" meaning that if a member WANTS to do these things they can simply say "Yes" or "No thank you" without any backwash either way (and so long as the body of the clubs supports each other in an informal way). If it were me, I'd continue to leave it "informal" for now. Put maybe a "Second" or "Third" in place so that IF Mike or Skip cannot make it, another trustworthy soul is there to get people signed in, and guide the discussion.

minfinger
12/10/2003, 08:43 PM
Does anyone disagree with the orginization of the club right now?

I've always tried to listen to everyone and give everyone's opinion and ideas full thought and follow through. If anyone feels like there's something missing, I've always been open to new ideas!

Aquarius Lady
12/10/2003, 09:12 PM
I like it the way it is, of course I've only BEEN to one meeting ;) So far, Does that count?? <G>

skipm
12/10/2003, 09:21 PM
Even though I am not against forming some type of governing body, I am all for just letting things run as they have been and addressing any problem that may come up when/if it does. As long as there are no monies being collected and dispursed then I am all for the informal methods that have been working quite well for us. If setting up some kind of governing body would help the club to grow then I am also all for it but I don't see how electing officers will make the club grow any faster. I don't have alot of experience in creating gorverning bodies to know all of the pros and cons of each but for now I really don't see the need. We are still small enough so that if we want to do something we can all join in a discussion and talk about it without having to have an elected group make the decision. When the time comes for us to elect officers in order to keep the club running w/o running into problems then lets do it, but lets not have elections and elect officers just to have them if there is no reason for it. JMO, Skip

minfinger
12/11/2003, 10:10 AM
I agree with you Skip.

I just wanted to bring it to the attention of the memebers and get the opinions and thoughts going.

With all that said, then we'll just drp the issue and continue the way we are until the situation warrants discussion again.

dvmsn
12/12/2003, 11:37 AM
I agree with Jackie. The only reason you would need a government is if money comes into the picture. I personally Mike has done a great job of organizing this thing so far and I am fully confident in his ability to do so in the future.

Troy182
12/12/2003, 12:23 PM
I could see where it could get to be a little draining on Mike doing all the work so I just want him to know that If he needs any help I for one would be happy to assist in any way. I also thing he has done a wonderful Job.

minfinger
12/12/2003, 02:59 PM
Now I'm going to have to get a bigger fish tank for my EGO! LMAO

Thanks guys, it means a lot.

Aquarius Lady
12/12/2003, 07:54 PM
Mike, same here.
If you ever need anything typed or stuff I can do from home, please let me know. I would be willing to donate all kinds of time to the club. Just be aware that my driving is very limited :(

minfinger
12/12/2003, 08:46 PM
Thanks Jackie...

I managed to save myself a few labor intensive hours. Now, every time I update the membership database, it will automatically update the Membership Card Document so I don't have to re-type that stuff all the time. Simple Mail Merge, but it took me an hour to work out the kinks :D Save me about 1 hours worth of work every month :D

Update LOL
I just found a whole in my plan...

It helps if I actually update the Membership Database properly!!!