Your AMCA Board

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear Northwoods, thanks for taking the time to read the Bylaws, and all I can say is that a 3-minute response is probably an improvement on what you've had in the past, and we aim to do better in the future. The piece yesterday went to Chapter Presidents and Newsletter Editors, but this is the first time it's also been posted on the Forum. Last year the Board started having teleconferences between sit-down Board Meetings, and it looks like there will be three this year. As part of the Board effort to improve communication with the membership, I plan to keep posting the results here.

I don't think you need worry about any parallels between the AMCA Board and your unfortunate previous experience. No-one is getting paid, so it is hard to have power over other Board members. It is still quite large at 11 people, and these come from all over the country and with a great diversity of backgrounds. We're all cranky old motorcycle guys, so it hard to get cronyism working, and the geographical power blocks I heard about from the old days are pretty well gone. What happens is that we debate each agenda item, vote, and then move on to the next item where you find a whole new bunch of opinions. When you read the minutes you'll see most votes going with big majorities. You'll also see a lot of operational items being discussed, which other clubs deal with through a paid Executive Director.

After the Davenport Board meeting I'm hopeful we'll show the 2011 Club Board in the magazine so everyone can fit faces to the names. There is no golden trough, and little glory, just a bunch of unpaid volunteers putting in several hundred hours each per year trying to do the best they can for our Club and our passion for old motorcycles.

[fillibuster]

Thanks for the report, Steve.
If the job of club management (and damage control) got too messy, nobody would be willing to do it. If it gets too political it will be too messy.

My $30 bought the good stuff. The sanitation dept (BoD) can handle the rest!

[Northwoods_Maine]

Dear Northwoods, thanks for taking the time to read the Bylaws, and all I can say is that a 3-minute response is probably an improvement on what you've had in the past, and we aim to do better in the future. The piece yesterday went to Chapter Presidents and Newsletter Editors, but this is the first time it's also been posted on the Forum. Last year the Board started having teleconferences between sit-down Board Meetings, and it looks like there will be three this year. As part of the Board effort to improve communication with the membership, I plan to keep posting the results here.

I don't think you need worry about any parallels between the AMCA Board and your unfortunate previous experience. No-one is getting paid, so it is hard to have power over other Board members. It is still quite large at 11 people, and these come from all over the country and with a great diversity of backgrounds. We're all cranky old motorcycle guys, so it hard to get cronyism working, and the geographical power blocks I heard about from the old days are pretty well gone. What happens is that we debate each agenda item, vote, and then move on to the next item where you find a whole new bunch of opinions. When you read the minutes you'll see most votes going with big majorities. You'll also see a lot of operational items being discussed, which other clubs deal with through a paid Executive Director.

After the Davenport Board meeting I'm hopeful we'll show the 2011 Club Board in the magazine so everyone can fit faces to the names. There is no golden trough, and little glory, just a bunch of unpaid volunteers putting in several hundred hours each per year trying to do the best they can for our Club and our passion for old motorcycles.

Thanks Steve. I am appreciative of your update. I don't however buy into your assertion that Board Members can't be influenced because they're not paid. As previously stated, I'm a fairly new member and don't want to overstep my bounds but there seems to be an awful lot of "secrets" when it comes to certain issues in this club, and financial reportings/audits seem to be among the most frustrating to the general membership.

AND .... Exeric, I know you to be a voice of reason from your activities on this site. I agree with the basics of what you said, although I do not support the thought process that we get our $30 bucks worth so sit back and enjoy what you do get. It's not at all a matter of feeling short-changed over my membership fees. It's about transparency in all of the President's and BOD's actions, especially those that are financial. Not accusing anyone of misuse of funds or anything like that, just saying that the membership knowing exactly where the money is being spent and how that is projected to help the club grow or at least sustain it's current membership level should be something the overseers would/should be happy to devulge in detail, instead of hiding those plans in a DuoGlide battery box buried in someone's back yard.

Again, not necessarily right or wrong, just an opinion. God bless America and old motorcyclists.

[exeric]

Thanks Steve. I am appreciative of your update. I don't however buy into your assertion that Board Members can't be influenced because they're not paid. As previously stated, I'm a fairly new member and don't want to overstep my bounds but there seems to be an awful lot of "secrets" when it comes to certain issues in this club, and financial reportings/audits seem to be among the most frustrating to the general membership.

AND .... Exeric, I know you to be a voice of reason from your activities on this site. I agree with the basics of what you said, although I do not support the thought process that we get our $30 bucks worth so sit back and enjoy what you do get. It's not at all a matter of feeling short-changed over my membership fees. It's about transparency in all of the President's and BOD's actions, especially those that are financial. Not accusing anyone of misuse of funds or anything like that, just saying that the membership knowing exactly where the money is being spent and how that is projected to help the club grow or at least sustain it's current membership level should be something the overseers would/should be happy to devulge in detail, instead of hiding those plans in a DuoGlide battery box buried in someone's back yard.

Again, not necessarily right or wrong, just an opinion. God bless America and old motorcyclists.

I don't disagree with you. I'm just not interested in transparency of mechanical functions that make this club run. It more than pleases me how smoothly it all works, and I don't see anything glaring, that looks bad, or out of place. I mean, if there was a history of embezzlement, or foolish spending I think we would all demand more accountability, but there really isn't anything like that in our past. I know there are a few exceptions; like the Torque 4, the AMA mess, and of course the Foundation thing (but I ain't going there). In defense of those "exceptions", the people who wanted those things did it with (I believe) the good of the club in mind. I don't think there was any larceny or subterfuge involved. From my observations, I think the way our club is set-up precludes any but the most devious criminal intent, and economic disasters like America is experiencing now. I think a big reason for this is; the BOD is made up of people like us. They know a lot of people in this club and vice/versa. If they are doing something criminal, or really stupid, they are going to hear about it. Our club is really a small town in many ways and it isn't hard to get to know the mayor or the dog catcher. Having said all of this, I'm always glad when someone actually wants to pour through financial documents and spreadsheets to make sure everything is on the up and up. That someone will not be me however. I fall asleep balancing my check-book.

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear All, here is a brief from Rocky Halter sent out yesterday:

Your AMCA Board

We had another teleconference Board discussion 01 August, with everyone present except Red Fred Johansen who was away riding his Indian Chief in Norway. Here are the highlights:

Judging
Chief Judge Steve Dawdy presented the revised AMCA Judging Handbook and draft Policy and Operating Procedures for the Judging Committee. We had editorial comments on both those, so they will be revised for approval at Davenport. We agreed that it is acceptable to release judging results to the press, as well as publication in our own magazine.

Web Site
The update is proceeding to plan, and we should have results by month-end.

Nominating Committee
This new Committee led by Richard Spagnolli is developing criteria to evaluate the numerous candidates we have for Board positions.

Steering Committee
Richard also looks after this group, presently evaluating issues for the Davenport Board agenda.

Youth Coordinator
Matt Olsen is looking for someone to take over from him. He also reported Ryan Mackey’s bike build is proceeding well, and the finished bobber built from parts donated by Club members will be at Sturgis and Davenport.

Vintage Motorcycle Group Meeting
Myself, Del Schumacher and Richard Spagnolli met with various other Clubs at the mid-Ohio meet July 8th. We found much common ground and agreed to meet again next year.

AMCA Trailer
We have two volunteers to haul the trailer to meets in 2011.

Registration Process
Ray Dhue reported that Cornerstone Registration are making the Website easier to use when joining the Club or renewing membership, and these improvements should be finished by October lst.

Best regards, Rocky Halter, President Antique Motorcycle Club of America.

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear All, here's a brief from Rocky Halter sent out yesterday:

Your AMCA Board


We had eight hours in our Davenport Board meeting last Thursday, 2 September, with another 100% turnout of our Directors. Here are the highlights:

2011 Board
This was at the end of the meeting, but I know you will want to know the results. Myself, Jim Moore and Kevin Valentine stood down after 12 years Board service, and Del Schumacher after eight. We elected Steve Dawdy, Fred Davis, Lonnie Campbell and Roger Smith to serve from January 2011. The first three are Chapter Presidents in Iowa, Ohio and South Carolina, while Roger, who will leave his present position as Secretary to the Foundation Board, hails from Michigan. That gives us a younger Board, with better geographic balance and interests in all makes of antique bikes. As to Officers, Ray Dhue will remain as Treasurer, but Richard Spagnolli takes over from me as President, Trudi Johnson-Richards takes over from Del as Vice President, and Steve Slocombe replaces Trudi as Secretary. These are big changes from when I first came on the Board, and I believe I leave our Club in safe hands.

Judging
Chief Judge Steve Dawdy presented the AMCA Judging Handbook and Policy and Operating Procedures for the Judging Committee, and these were approved. We also approved a resumption of the Judging Seminar program, with a 2011 session at Anamosa, Iowa, penciled in before the next Davenport National meet. We also agreed on new judging awards for next year which are just as prestigious as the previous trophies, but carry the judging history on a single plaque and are less costly to produce. Jerry Richards, Dave Lash and Don Spence were promoted to National Deputy Judges. We also voted to return to our $10 preregistration fee, to discourage owners from over-registering bikes which then did not turn up on the judging field.

Financials and Membership
Our membership is holding around 10,000, and the economies we instituted earlier in the year mean we have continued to manage without a dues increase. We know the economy is pretty brutal out there, and we’ll continue to make sure every dollar of your money is spent carefully. The current membership survey will give us a good basis on how to prioritize expenditure over the coming years, and I urge all members to complete it this month.

Web Site
We saw an early version of the new Website demonstrated, and were very impressed. That should be available to everyone now, and I recommend you navigate the site and check out all the cool features we have added. Emeritus President Pete Gagan has volunteered to take on Kevin Valentine’s duties as our new Webmaster.

Internal Audit
Raymond Dhue runs a tight ship, but wants to prove it to you, so we are setting up a three person Internal Audit Committee to show that the money is spent wisely and that correct accounting procedures are followed.

Operations Manager
You’ve probably heard me complain that we deal with a lot of small operational stuff at the Board meetings, so we have added Operations Manager to the several hats worn by Bill Wood with help from the editorial team. This will cost $25,000 per year, which we hope to see back in improved coordination and more fruitful use of Board time.

Volunteer Group
We are always looking for volunteers to donate time to the Club, and believe there are many skilled people we have yet to contact. The membership survey will give clues, and we plan for a Director to assess relevant skills and match Club needs against volunteer availability.

National Meet and Road Run Allowance
We had planned to discontinue these effective 1 January 2011, but heard several representations that this was a bad idea. We listened, debated the topic at the Board, and decided to reinstate the allowance at $500 each for National Meets and Road Runs (was $400 for Meets and $800 for Road Runs). While the sums are not large, and many Chapters are in a comfortable financial position, we want to continue to emphasize National support for the Chapters. We would prefer the money be spent on advertising your event. For small Chapters holding their first event, and for coalitions of Chapters holding big events, we shall continue on request to front up money for publicity and organization which is repayable when the registration fees start rolling in.

New Chapters
Your Board gave final approval to a new Great Lakes Chapter, and to the Motociclette Americane Harley and Indian Club in Italy. This is an existing small Club becoming an AMCA Chapter, and we expect others to follow. First approval was also given to a potential Roosevelt Chapter in North Dakota.

Presidents’ Meeting
On Saturday 4 September, 31 Chapter representatives met with Del Schumacher, myself, and other National Board members for a couple of hours discussion of financial reporting and other issues. We are now getting used to each other and I believe these meetings are starting to improve Club communications as intended.



Best regards, Rocky Halter, President Antique Motorcycle Club of America.

[fillibuster]

Thanks Rocky, Jim, Kevin and Del!
Don't make yourselves scarce, now.

[kval]

Thanks Rocky, Jim, Kevin and Del!
Don't make yourselves scarce, now.

Phil
thanks, I for one am not going anywhere, I enjoy the friends I have made and will continue to have fun at the meets and road runs

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear All, there still seems some doubt about ELECTION OF DIRECTORS, so let me explain the process using the last Davenport Board as an example. Our Policy and Procedures Manual says 'Nomination of Directors shall be made by the Board. In addition, any active member may submit a nomination, to be received by the Secretary at least 45 days before the Annual Meeting of the Board. A brief resumé of the qualifications of each nominee shall be presented by the Secretary. Election is by written ballot and by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.' In addition, any Director can nominate any member at any time, so we are not short of ways to make nominations for Board Service.

For Davenport, two Directors had announced in advance that they were stepping down. With an eleven person Board having staggered three year terms for Directors, there will be three or four Board positions up for re-election each year in any case. Our National Secretary told the Board there were 18 applications on file for a potential Board position and, as some of these applications were ten years old, the Secretary asked each applicant if they still wished to stand. Some dropped out, some updated their resumés, and we ended up with 14 candidates. The Nominating Committee reviewed these applications against the written job description, and reported at the Board Meeting that all 14 candidates met the criteria.

At the Board Meeting we had one Director re-elected for a further term, and two more step down at the meeting, so had four vacancies to fill. Nominations were made from the pool of 14 qualified candidates as you'll see from the minutes, and four were elected by a written ballot run by the National Secretary assisted by the Club Attorney. Three of those elected are Chapter Presidents, with the fourth from the Foundation Board.

While this may not be democratic in the sense of involving the entire Club membership, at least the process is transparent and I hope understandable. The Policy and Procedures Manual is available on request from the National Secretary, as is the Director job description and a list of current Directors and their terms. You will note that this time we did not have nominations outside the existing list, and the process tends to elect Chapter Presidents for duty at National level. This does not imply cronyism to me, just that one proof that someone is prepared to put a lot of volunteer effort into the Club is that they've done it already.

[fillibuster]

Someone should offer "thanks" to you, Steve (here be it), for sharing that with us.
Just curious, are you reporting as a designated-by-board assignment? or is your report un-official, and strictly volunteer?

comment: I'm pleased to see that one of the old hands from the Foundation was added as a director.

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear Phil, thanks for the kind words. This is not an assignment given to me by the Board, but something I feel strongly about. When I became a Director I was struck by how poor communication was up, down, and across our Club, to the extent that some members strongly believed things I knew to be incorrect. The bulletin from the President after each Board meeting is intended to improve downward communication; the membership survey and this bulletin board to improve upward communication; and the annual President's Meeting to spread best practice across the Club. There's still much to do, but so far so good I guess. I try to pick my words carefully, but I'm not an official mouthpiece for the Board and I'll stray off into giving my own opinions sometimes.

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear All, here is a brief from Rocky Halter sent out yesterday:

Your AMCA Board


We had a 100 minute teleconference 07 November 2010, with another 100% turnout of our Directors. President Emeritus Pete Gagan and General Counsel John Wendel were out traveling, while we had our four new Directors for 2011 listening in to get up to speed. Here are the highlights:

Honorary Membership
Dennis Craig, AMCA Director for 24 years and now President of the Antique Motorcycle Foundation, was unanimously elected an Honorary Member.

Judging
Chief Judge Steve Dawdy presented the new rules for the AMCA Honor Competition Class, as approved by the Judging Committee, and these were approved for use in 2011. A draft Judging Guidelines Handbook, giving detailed advice to judges on appropriate deductions, was also discussed. The Board encouraged completion of this document, and gave permission for its dissemination after Board approval.

Magazine Collection
The AMCA bought about one ton of surplus magazines from the British VMCC in 2006, and these are now stored at the AACA Library in Hershey. The best way to realize the value of the collection was discussed.

Web Site
New rules for participating in the AMCA forum were approved.

Antique Motorcycle Foundation
The Foundation asked for permission to approach AMCA Chapters to become financial supporters, and this was granted.

At the end of the meeting, the four retiring Board members were thanked for their service to the Club.


Best regards, Rocky Halter, President Antique Motorcycle Club of America.

[Paps]

Web Site
New rules for participating in the AMCA forum were approved.

This will drive many away and deter many from joining.

[Ohio-Rider]

It sure won't be an advantage. Rocky made it clear when he became the prez as to what his opinion of this site is. That opinion clearly hasn't changed any.