The New Future of NJRC

[JCURRY@WESKETCH]

A lot of people have been discussing what's happening or not happening with the club in the forums. I've also been speaking with several members behind the scenes about what to do. So this is what we or I have decided to do:

Since I am the last remaining member to currently hold an official office & since we were never were able to get the bylaws passed. I have decided to forgo the process of "elections" for new board members as outlined in the bylaws. In the past it has proven very difficult to get a majority, or for that fact even a small minority to vote on any issue. So I will be appointing current NJRC members to offices from a pool of volunteers.

I would like to appoint 2 people to each office. That way the duties could be split between the people and lessen the work load for all involved. This after all is a hobby and not supposed to be a part time job. Although truthfully if all of the offices are filled the work load for each office is very light.

The official offices as outlined in the bylaws are:

President
(i) preside at regular and special meetings of the Club.
(ii) call the Board of Directors together and preside at the meeting.
(iii) appoint the chairs of any committee deemed necessary.
(iv) appoints all committees deemed necessary in the operation of the Club and may eliminate committees no longer needed, with approval of the Board.
(v) may call a special meeting when necessary.
(vi) may sign checks in the Treasurers absence, or may appoint another officer for this purpose.

Vice-President
(i) perform the duties of the President during any absence.
(ii) become President should the President leave the Club.
(iii) develop relationships with other marine aquarium societies.
(iv) responsible for assisting President in the operations of the Club.
(v) corresponds and maintains sponsor list.

Secretary
(i) maintain accurate and up-to-date membership roster.
(ii) maintains records and records meeting minutes
(iii) receives and distributes information and correspondences.
(iv) maintains all documents of the Club.
(v) countersigns as Secretary of the Club all instruments, papers and documents when asked to do so by the Board of Directors.
(vi) keeps minutes available for inspection at all meetings.
(vii) submits a copy of the minutes to the Webmaster for inclusion into the Club’s website archives.
(viii) send membership packets to new members.

Treasurer
(I) be custodian of all funds and securities of the Club and as such take adequate precautions to safeguard them.
(ii) be responsible for the collection of dues and furnish a receipt for payment.
(iii) dispense money for expenses authorized by the Board of Directors.
(iv) keep receipts of all transactions.
(v) make available copies of financial statements at meetings of the Club and furnish copies to the Board of Directors at said time.
(vi) maintain a checking account in the Club’s name, New Jersey Reefers Club, Inc.
(vii) prepare all regulatory and tax filings as required under federal and state statutes.


Webmaster
(i) maintain the Club website.
(ii) post updates in a timely and fashionable manner.
(iii) will make sure the website is accessible to all members.

At this point I am planning to stay on as one of the secretaries unless someone wants me to step down. I am assuming that Jason will stay on as webmaster.

I would like to appoint the new board on Monday 06 June 2005.
So please let me know if you'd like to help out with the club or if you have any concerns.

Best regards,
Jeffrey M. Curry

[Phyl]

Jeff,

Thanks so much for taking the lead to help us move the club forward. I'm really glad that you're happy to stay on as one of the secretaries of the club. Your experience with the club is truly an asset to the road we have in front of us.

Lets see some volunteers for offices, folks!

Thanks,
Phyllis

[Reeftreasures]

i would be willing to due President or secretary or any position that needs be

Thanks,
Kevin

[Faerytale]

Hi there Jeff. I would be more than happy to due the secretarial position if you guys don't have a problem with that.

I do hope we can get this going in the right direction.

Rosie

[Phyl]

I'd like to volunteer for president (or other duties as assigned, lol).

[RichT]

Being new to the hobby and a NJRC member for a very short time, I don't feel I'm qualified to be an officer. Having said that, I will gladly help out wherever possible. (committee, collections, LFS shake downs, etc)

[concept3]

due to my 60 hour work schedule and almost never any sundays off, I too would like to help out but would NOT be able to hold any positions. except for the occasional raffle frag supplier :D

[Phyl]

the occasional raffle frag supplier

Occasional?! *scoff* Nice try ;)

[ribs]

I would like to be president :D

If that position gets filled too quickly, I could be Frag Model, you know drum up interest in the swaps, stand next to each donation and smile for the camera. If you've seen me stop laughing.

Seriously, I'd take a position that needed a few hours a month, it'd be no big deal there, just let me know what I'd be responsible for.

[Marcelog]

I'm willing to leand a hand any way that I can.

Marcelo -

[ebqwert]

I suppose being and accounting in a former life would make me somewhat qualified for treasurer. Or whatever else needs to be done.

Eric

why did the accountant cross the road?

last year's workpapers told him to.

[kabal2]

i can be a Dictador :))
or anything need it, just let me know guys if i can help in anything

[ToUcHoFeLeGaNcE]

Thats the spirit guys, God i love this club....Count me in for SECRETARY as I will try to do my best at what ever i can.

Keep up the good spirits guy's, People like NJRC are the reason im in this hobby!

John
"Touch"
18564881858
cre8ruckas@aol.com

[ToUcHoFeLeGaNcE]

I would like to appoint the new board on Monday 06 June 2005.
So please let me know if you'd like to help out with the club or if you have any concerns. -Jeff

---- Will this happen ONLINE or at a "In person" meeting somewhere?

Thanks
Touch

[sharks]

There should at least be an attempt at a vote.
Many people have been members for a long time and may be dismayed at the sudden change without notification. I have very limited time to offer more then just my opinions and help here and there.
That and the fact that I work/manage a LFS makes me biased so I opt out of a position.
But I would like to at least see an attempt at a vote.

Jeff C.
You do have all the members Emails?
Can’t we use 1 month to nominate people to positions?
And then send Emails to all about when and where to vote?

I know all here are well meaning and want to help. But when it comes to contacting sponsors, vendors, and other reef organizations we really do need a single voice so people are not mislead/misinformed/confused about NJRC agendas.
JMHO
S

[Faerytale]

I would have to agree with Sharkey on that point Jeff. Even for the simple fact that only one person can hold each position when it comes down to incorporating.

If we all want this to move forward in a positive manner we need to do things the way they were originally intended to be done.

Once we actually have elected officers we will be able to move forward, and really what is another 6 weeks added on to where we already are.

Rosie

[JCURRY@WESKETCH]

I would like to thank everyone who volunteered both in this thread and through PM. I'm glad to see that there are more people interested in organizing the club now than in the past.

I would like to address some of the concerns that have been raised by our members so everyone knows what's going on and is comfortable with the agenda for the near future.

I know this seems like a drastic step and a knee jerk reaction to some of the more recent threads. But the reality is that votes have not worked in the past and I have very little confidence that they will work for filling the positions of the new board.

I personally don't like the practice of members nominating other people to board positions. The positions due take sometime each month and that decision should be left up to the individual.
That's why I'm asking that people nominate themselves for positions on the board.

Also the issue of having only member for each board position is moot in my opnion. This appointing is to get the club back on track right now. The issues of incorporation and passing bylaws, etc... are long term issues. I think we can address the make up of the board at that time if necessary. Traditionally board members have lasted less than 1 year and never full filled their term. So I'm trying to setup the board to be more "user friendly" by having two officers for each position that way it's less work for everyone. I like the idea of an officer and a helper/alternate. I think this develop on it's own and won't need to appointed as such. But again the reality is that I don't have enough volunteers to have two people for each position.

I do have peoples email addresses and we have sent votes to those emails in the past with little or no response. The fact is, that people don't vote, for whatever reason. But if people want to vote on the board then we will have another vote. However the vote will be for 1 week not 6. I don't wan to get bogged down in waiting for people to vote again.

I have a few more people to contact about what positions they would like to hold and then I will post the list. We can vote on it if you like. The vote will be up for 1 week and if less than than 50% of the members vote the appointees will be automatically accepted.

Thanks again for the feed back.

Jeffrey M. Curry

[Phyl]

If the primary issue is needing one person per position then I think we should revise the appointment process and move forward. We can have a general election in 6 months (or whatever time frame) after we've made some steps towards organization. I think right now we need more than just Jeff, who's doing a great job in spite of the overwhelming nature of it, to help him in moving forward. He shouldn't have to do it alone.

The last few meetings that I've been to have been filled with people looking to get organized and to volunteer to help. All of the people I've talked to are grateful to see us begin moving in the right direction. I think derailing the process now is just going to be disruptive and non-productive.

If you have objections to any of the people who've volunteered to hold office thus far please make your concerns known to Jeff through PM and he can take that into consideration in his decision of who to appoint.

EDIT: I posted this at the same time Jeff posted. His idea of a 1 week election from the self nominated candidates seems like a good compromise.

[kabal2]

why you just nominate candidates for every position, like people volunteer for that position, and if someone have any problem with that we can go for votes to nominate the person, or another member,
i hope i making sense

[Faerytale]

The issue brought up had nothing to do with trying to derail moving forward. They were points that were brought up to bring attention to what was standard protocal. I'm sorry if this was mi-interpreted.

As for the amount of time to vote, the 6 weeks was just a number thrown out.

These types of discussions are what needs to take place in order for things to pan out and move forward.

Rosie

[ToUcHoFeLeGaNcE]

I couldnt agree more.

[JCURRY@WESKETCH]

I didn't think anyone was trying to "derail" anything. i just don't want to get bogged down rehashing the same issues over and over again. I'm glad to entertain any new issues and concerns anyone has. So please feel free to voice your opinions and ideas.

I post the nominees in a couple of days.

[RichT]

IMO.....I think we should combine the best (again IMO) of what's been discussed thus far. The only thing I am in disagreement with Jeff is the multiple people for each officer position. But I agree with appointing / electing someone asap. So.... if we have meet the deadline for volunteers then lets appoint the volunteers to the position they volunteered for unless their is more than one candidate for the position. Then we should vote on that position. If there is a position with no nominees, than Jeff should post the vacancy ASAP and maybe ask if candidates for positions that have multiple candidates reconsider the vacant positions. I also agree it should be done ASAP. No more then maybe a two week period after the initial post. If someone has not voted by then I doubt they will be voting anyway and we should count the votes as they are regardless of the 50%. Obviously, the vote should happen in the members section of njreefers.org with a sticky notification post on RC. I know that some of this dosen't jive with the bylaws but we need to get over this first hurdle then deal with the bylaws afterwards.

JMO and I hope this makes sense.

[ribs]

Can I self-nominate myself (so who-ever jeff is doesn't have to worrry about it) as public info secretary, I could probably get the word out, i type ALOT, online :D
"it's $10 per membership, $20 if you want a newsletter"

[ruden]

I would like to offer my services as treasurer or where ever needed. I am a banker by day and would not have a problem keeping the records as such.

I like the suggestion of putting in place a temporary board in order to move forward. A general election can be held in 6 monts or so. At this point it would be nice for us to make it to that point. We can not keep chasing out tails. I also believe we should only be so lucky to have more then 2 people volunteer for a position.

This is a fun hobby for all of us, so lets have fun. Lets agree to disagree on some items but remain a group and move past it. That is what makes us special :)

Just my $.02

Bob

[Faerytale]

I think everyone is making some really good points and it's good to see things being discussed in a manner that will bring things to a close.

Peace out,

Rosie (who is half asleep)

[JCURRY@WESKETCH]

Well here is the list of volunteers:

President:
Phyllis Schiavone (Phyl)
Rob (ribs)

Vice-President:
Kevin (Reeftreasures)
Marcelo (Marcelog)

Secretary:
Rosie (Faerytale)
Jeff Curry (jcurry@wesketch)

Treasurer:
Eric (ebqwert)
Bob (ruden)
Gabe (kabal2)

Webmaster:
Jason Pelzer (jpelzer)

Special Events Comittee:
Rich (RichT)
Merv Rubiano (Concept3)

Now what would everyone like to do?

1. Vote for one individual for each position.
2. Appoint two people to each position, an officer and an assistant.
3. Something else?

[ribs]

I'd like to clarify my volunteer role as an Assistant, sort of the Southern area representative to one of the positions listed above.

[JCURRY@WESKETCH]

Well here is the REVISED list of volunteers:

President:
Phyllis Schiavone (Phyl)
Gabe (kabal2)

Vice-President:
Kevin (Reeftreasures)
Marcelo (Marcelog)

Secretary:
Rosie (Faerytale)
Jeff Curry (jcurry@wesketch)

Treasurer:
Eric (ebqwert)
Bob (ruden)

Webmaster:
Jason Pelzer (jpelzer)

Special Events Comittee:
Rich (RichT)
Merv Rubiano (Concept3)
Rob (ribs)

[RichT]

Put me down for #1 ; vote for, one each, officers.....we can always use as many as we can get on the committees. We should also consider moving this discussion to our site. I think we should also send one mass mailing (email) to all the members informing them of the vote then, wether 5 or 50 vote, appoint as indicated by the vote. JMO

[Phyl]

I think it would be good to vote for one of each and have the runner up be the assistant. I agree with accepting whatever majority finds the time to vote and moving the vote to the cub website (in the member's only area).

[concept3]

Ditto with Phyllis. Of course, 2 heads are always better than one, and I think that the duties can be shared.... but that's just me talking.

[Marcelog]

Assistants would probably be a good idea. This way people wont get overwhelmed.

Marcelo -

[Faerytale]

I have to agree with everyone else right now, let's vote for one and then allow the runner up to be an assistant if they choose. Whoever votes votes...set the date that votes need to be in by and leave it at that.

Rosie

[RichT]

Jeff,
can you notify all members, through mass email, that there will be a vote and give them the dead line? That way the decisions can be made with a clear conscience (sp?) that everyone was at least given the chance to vote. IMO, send notice asap, then post the vote for two weeks, then end it. If I can be any help, LMK.

[RichT]

Jeff,
can you notify all members, through mass email, that there will be a vote and give them the dead line? That way the decisions can be made with a clear conscience (sp?) that everyone was at least given the chance to vote. IMO, send notice asap, then post the vote for two weeks, then end it. If I can be any help, LMK.

[ToUcHoFeLeGaNcE]

Sounds good....lets get this thing rocking !

[PaulaB]

Its great to see the momentum this has gathered. good job everyone involved.

As a new member (and one who hasn't yet made it to a meeting), I don't feel like I am qualified for an office; however, I see only one person in the role of webmaster. I'm willing and able to assist with data stuff in any way I can.

[Mongoose]

Hi,

id would do webmaster if jason isn t interested...

joe

[jpelzer]

Hello to all NJRC members! We are working to get the club moving again, and to do so are electing new officers to guide the club. Each office has two candidates, please make sure to vote for all four. The runner-up for each office will have the opportunity to act as an assistant if they so choose.

The polls will be open to all NJRC members for 1 week, ending on Thursday, June 16 2005 @ 9:00pm. At that time those who can make it can gather in the NJRC chatroom at http://www.njreefers.org/chat.php to discuss, congratulate and plan.

Any paid members who do not have access to the private NJRC forums, please contact me: webmaster@njreefers.org

I'd like to also thank the following members who have volunteered for Special Committee duty:
Rich (RichT)
Merv Rubiano (Concept3)
Rob (ribs)


Click here to visit the NJRC Members-only Voting (http://www.njreefers.org/forums/index.php?board=9;action=display;threadid=363)

[Nagel]

I'll volunteer to assist with the webmastering IF I get someone to contact me about making my membership full already..

I filled out the sheet months ago and mailed it to someone (I forget who). But the dues couldnt be paid for whatever reason. Now if someone would just take my money already!

Also note, thats ASSIST as webmaster, as I already work a hellish job, and moderate on RC, and also lend the occasional hand to Skipper for Reefkeeping.. Not to mention my own side projects LOL...

[JCURRY@WESKETCH]

Nagel,

I received your completed application and requested that you mail a check to me because we don't have a paypal account anymore. I never received the check, but I more than willing to take it. LOL
About the webmaster position: There are issues with having people help jason monitor or work on the site. This because he hosts the site on his server along with other websites and sensitive information that have to do with his company. Therefore he has requested to that the access to the site be limited to just him. Which IMO is a reasonable request. That being said we do need volunteers to create content for the website, which maybe something your interested in. LMK.

Jeff

[BobCReef]

I'm glad to see so much activity here on this subject again. New and old members alike. I want to apoligize again for letting everyone down with my giving up my position. I have just been overwhelmed with work. My computer is finally up and running again but i had to reload the operating system. Lost some of my files but will put a CD of what i have together and send it to Jeff. This will have the finacial information with it. This was done in QuickBooks so hopefully you can use it.

Bob

[JCURRY@WESKETCH]

Bob,

You did't let anyone down. In fact you carried the club solely on your shoulders for quite a long time. I think people are starting to realize just how much work needed to done to run the club and have a greater appreciation for your efforts.

I hope all is well and i'm glad to see you on the boards again.

Jeff

[Phyl]

Bob,

You didn't let us down. Far from it. Starting a club is a tremendous learning experience. The more information we have about the 'mistakes of the past' the fewer hurdles we will have to overcome as we move forward. The fact of the matter is that 'life happens' and it is going to happen to all of us. The more we can prepare for that, the more we can spread the workload amongst us and automate as much as possible the easier it is going to be to hold any given office.

Any guidance you can give us, pearls of wisdom or information on where the bottlenecks and breakpoints are the better our chances of success. Thank you for helping to get us this far. It was no small feat!

Thanks!

[grasshopper]

Bob-

Phyl and JCURRY@WESKETCHare correct that you have far from let us down.

Phyl, to your point about hurdles that have been overcome in the past.... I remember talking to Bob on many different occasions about information that was lost as people evacuated their positions on the NJRC board. Between this and the fact that Jason is the only one supporting and monitoring the website - we should have some sort of data backup plan going forward. My suggestion is that all member information such as membership forms and dues paid/owed, should be input into .pdf files and saved on a disk along with all the content of the NJRC website on at least a six month basis, and that those disks be at least given to both the President and VP of the club for safe keeping. This way at least the basic information about the club is not only backed up, but there are at least two backup copies in circulation at all times in case people quit or just "fall off the face of the earth". We can quickly create copies of the remaining data and ensure its access/validity. Just my 2 cents (which I've now given about $20 of - right Bob? :D )

[Phyl]

Jeff and I have been talking about ways to ensure that data makes it through generations. We'll definitely take heed of that advice. Thanks for your 2c. I'll start an account for you ;)

One of the things that I'd like to do is to create a database that all of the board members have access to (web enabled). Hopefully I'll be able to get that rolling. I've had a couple of conversations with Jason about the logistics and we still have some figuring to do in order to get there.

[JCURRY@WESKETCH]

Grasshopper
Phyl & I have already discussed that issue and made temporary provisions to cover us. We are proposing 2 binders that will contain paper copies of all the paperwork as well as electronic files on our website. The provisions will be finalized by the board members when the time comes.


P.S. Phyl you must type a lot faster than me. LOL

[BlueTBird]

Great to see life in this club. Keep up the great job of moving this forward.

Rich