Board members leaving?

[Chris Haynes]

I hear that two board members have recently resigned. Anybody have any information on the situation?

[BPK!!]

I've heard thru the grapevine-Steve Slocombe had resign or is no longer in his position! BPK!!

[redfred84]

Yes,
Both Steve Dawdy, then Steve Slocomb sometime later resigned. I miss them both, but they had their own reasons. Being on the BOD is no bed of roses.
RF.

[Edd]

Now that we have a couple openings in the board now would be the time to canvas the membership for volunteers and have the whole membership vote on them. I would bet the new board members who were voted would have the backing of the majority of our membership and probably serve a full term.

I know there is nothing in the bylaws that would allow this to happen now BUT all it would take is an amendment for this to happen.

In review of the last magazine of the members that sent in a "comment" to the survey more that 43% stated they wanted a change in the election procedure.

Now would be the time to start.

[Robert Luland]

I nominate Tom Faber. A man with a passion for the club and the business back ground that's required for the job. Bob L

[redfred84]

I'd like to nominate Ed Glasgow myself. But nominated or not, each applicant needs to apply with written letter of application. One doesn't need to be nominated to send in a letter of application. For the moment, Trudi is both the VP, and acting secretary. Send you apps to her if interested. Her info is in the back of the magazine, or on the Board Members info page on line here.
Having Fun With Motorcycles, RF.

[Edd]

Fred thanks for the nomination but I for one know that I do not have the time necessary to do a good job. I am sure there are many qualified members that have in the past put in an application for these positions.

I still maintain the best way to fill these positions is a vote by the membership then you have the backing of all the members that voted and will support of that person will follow.

[dlterpstra]

I agree with Ed. Most organizations (even large ones like the NRA) allow the membership to vote for the Board of Directors, choosing them from a list of qualified candidates. I am happy to see the note and application procedure: (http://empirechapter.com/AMCA%20Dire...ons%20Open.pdf) sent out to the Chapter Presidents to be distributed to the membership for positions on the board.

[redfred84]

I understand that everyone wants a say in BOD elections, beleive me. But as it stands now, one must submit a resume, or letter of intent to apply. That's the first, basic step. From there, there is a nominations committee that reviews said form, in hopes of discovering that said applicant is qualified. By qualified, I mean meets the criteria mentioned, and hopefully shows some background skills that would be usefull in the fullfillment of the position; ie. some leadership qualities, perhaps owning & running their own business, or AMCA chapter prez, etc... Our Secretary needs secretarial skills, our Treasurer needs accountant skills, plus non-profit tax skills, etc.... We all want the best person for the position. What we don't want is a popularity contest.
Personally, I am not for or against either method of aquiring our BOD members. It took over 10 years of annually submitting my own resume to the Secretary before I was accepted, and that was only as a temp fill in for an aging Jack Gormely who stepped down at the time, before his period was up.
We are a global club, and have members from all over. Just because one member may be supper popular and liked in Hawaii, doesn't mean he would be the best suited to represent on the BOD. Most of our BOD members are past, or present Chapter Presidents, who usually obtain that office by a local election, and are therefore somewhat representative of what the membership wants. Usually these Chapter Presidents have somewhat of a working relationship with how the Club works, and are more condusive to participate, and support. The whole thing is very much like running a business. In the end, we are all striving to have fun with our bikes. Sometimes the rules, laws, and logistics of pursueing this fun gets envolved. We all just want to know that we can enjoy this lifestyle and our machines in the future, that's why the BOD exists.
Myself, I honestly feel that we have pretty fair representation with who is elected, and how. At any one time, during the last 5 years that I've been aboard, and during the 10 years previous, when I was trying, there was only a small handfull of applicants on the waiting list. I don't think that there were ever more than 5 at any one time, and usually there is only 2 or 3. Every year, the secretary would contact the waiting applicants, to see if they were still interested. There is NOT a crowd beating down the door to be on the BOD!
I have a position that I feel is more toward one of the "easy" jobs. It only takes about 3 hours of my day, every day, on average. To be on the BOD, one must have thick skin, a drive & passion for the big picture (having fun with our machines now, and in the future), a lot of time, good social skills, not a hot-head, and be somewhat professional (these are just my own personal opinions). It is a lot of work, and probably best for some one retired, or has a lot of time to offer. So, be carefull who we may wish to vote into office due to popularity; they may just hate you for it.
Again, these are my own personal insights on the subject.
That's what I'm here for.
Respectfully, RF.
PS. I'm off to Dixon now, won't have a plastic typing box with this screen for a few days.

[Edd]

The way board members are now selected is certainly a popularity contest but with only the board members making the selection. This is telling the general membership they are not able to make an intelligent decision by reviewing any resumes and having a vote. One should check other larger motorcycle groups and see how they do it. The BMWMOA is certainly an excellent example with over 47,000 members. Check their bylaws http://www.bmwmoa.org/club/about_the...bmw_moa_bylaws

With the previous and recent hard working board members resigning it certainly looks like something is not working right with our club. Something needs to be changed with how the board members are selected so they have the backing of the whole body not just the few board members that selected them.

[exeric]

Like Fred stated; it comes down to how many people throw their hat in the ring, and if they're qualified. I do agree that it would be good for the candidates to make themselves available to the membership here on the forum. A simple vetting process would give us a good idea if someone is qualified and genuinely interested in the position. I don't agree that it's a popularity contest in most cases. I think it's going to be quite difficult to find qualified candidates for each of those positions.

[bikerdds]

Edd, I agree with you 100 percent. Fred, you are taking the company line. In today's modern age, the good ol' boy way the club was formed is out dated. This is a membership based organization. At present, you have ONE right as a member- to pay your dues. Most other automotive clubs and groups have switched over to election based boards. In a club this size, a popularity contest for position after position is unlikely.
Besides, there is a way to introduce the election principle without upsetting the day to day operation at present. You phase it in, or you at a minimum have two positions that are members at large voted by the membership and see that it is no threat to what has been a vibrant club stuck in the 1950's as to how it operates.
Members have a right to transparency, which has been entirely lacking. We have gone long periods of time in the past with little to no financial disclosure. It isn't enough for you to say how hard working the board members are. But for a small group to control the destinay of the many where there is no direct member input is very short sighted and smacks of big brother. Time to bring this club into the 21st century.
One other thing. Remember the average age of this club is going up. We need a younger average age. If you keep drawing from a limited pool of just older, retired members as you suggest, you are less apt to get those younger members. Younger thinking on the board is also required. In that regard, Matt Olsen is a fine example. We need more emphasis on other makes from outside the US before they get so cemented in groups of their own kind that AMCA has no appeal to them. Many feel this way already. Check with the VJMC guys and ask what they think about us. You will not like what you hear. They have open elections. Time to discard these old, outmoded ways of operation. The internal attitude of some past boards have had is the membership is just s bunch of dumb bikers and we know better. Paranoia? Time to start to introduce news ways that make the members feel involved. Marty

[exeric]

Elections are great but how do you actually implement that process. The internet and this forum would be the perfect place for that but you saw the poll in the magazine. 10% of those polled come here regularly and that was out of 1,046 that completed the poll. So 104 people come here regularly. That's a poor sampling of the membership if that 104 people are going to elect board members. Talk about a poplularity contest. Maybe the forum would get a boost in usership if there was an election here, and perhaps a trial election on some issue would be usefull.

However. . . . What's wrong with the AMCA ? The above letter has a lot of fist shaking, and hand wringing but as usual, it's just vague generalities and does not address names, places, and events that need to be fixed. No doubt there have been problems in the past, but over the past 2 years the AMCA BOD has made an effort to show transparency in the operation of the club. If there is a snake in the grass, I don't see it. It's now part of our American psyche to hate and distrust our government and it seems like that condition is now going through everything in our culture, including the AMCA. I don't see the evil here in the AMCA but if there is something horrible going on, I would truely like to know about it.

Going back to the poll in our latest magazine, the results show overwhelming interest in American motorcycles from the 30's thru the 70's and very little interest in AMCA judging. So, we're a bunch of old bastards over 50. You cannot make young people like something. Kids don't like our music, clothes, TV shows, old movies, books, or anything. Some kids do but they developed their interest all by themselves. It's been my experience that if you enjoy something, and do a good job of it, you will naturally attract the interest of others, but if you try to force your hobby/passion on someone, they'll resent you for it. This Antique motorcycle hobby is a tiny niche interest and you're just not going to grow it into some monster club. The poll reflected what I intuitively thought and that is; we're a small group of old guys that like old American motorcycles which is the way the AMCA was when I was in my 20s. I found the AMCA all by myself and I liked talking to the "old guys" like Bud Cox, Ted Hodgdon, and Doc Patt who were happy to tell you anything you wanted to know about old motorcycles. I think that process will work today providing we don't screw it up and turn the AMCA into something it isn't.

[Edd]

Elections are great but how do you actually implement that process. The internet and this forum would be the perfect place for that but you saw the poll in the magazine. 10% of those polled come here regularly and that was out of 1,046 that completed the poll. So 104 people come here regularly. That's a poor sampling of the membership if that 104 people are going to elect board members. Talk about a poplularity contest. Maybe the forum would get a boost in usership if there was an election here, and perhaps a trial election on some issue would be usefull.


One way to do elections is to have the resumes posted in the magazine THEN have a ballot in the magazine to send in. This will get to all members if they want to vote they can if not they do not have to. Am sure there would be a secure way to do it on line also.

[exeric]

That's not a bad idea Ed. The forum could also serve as a supplement for the candidates to have some spontaneous one-on-one with members that have particular questions about certain issues. Going through the magazine certainly gives all of the membership the opportunity to participate and that's a good thing. The only bad thing is; I would hate to see too much of our precious magazine used up on political B.S. Still, I think your suggestion is very constructive.