If you log into the Saints' website, click on "documents" on the menu at the top and select “membership documents,” you will see a list of three items. The last item is the published minutes of the October 12, 2009 board meeting. [Right now, there is a typo that states that they are minutes from an October 9 board meeting.] The October minutes were approved at the board meeting on November 8, 2009 and posted shortly afterward. This is because of a motion that was passed at the October board meeting.
Posting of minutes will continue on a monthly basis, and I want to encourage you to read them, write e-mails to the board if you have questions, and consider attending future board meetings as an observer. You may click on the blue link to go directly to the Saints' website and check out these minutes. The best way to send e-mails to the board is to select "committees" on the menu at the top of the site, select "board of directors" and type an e-mail. Then click "send e-mail to members" and your e-mail will be sent to the entire board.
You will now be able to see how each board member voted, and in future posts, you will also see which board member made each motion. All of these things, which are generally standard, are relatively new for this board. Allowing a membership that pays dues to know what is going on with their organization has been the subject of heated debate, and even resulted in my membership being revoked.
There still is some dissatisfaction with the quality of the minutes. They currently only state motions, and how people voted, but it is a giant step forward. At least now you can ask questions and find out why people voted as they did. In addition, observers are welcome to comment on this blog and spread the word about what is happening.
At our last general membership meeting, there was a question and answer session with seven of the nine board members in attendance and available to answer the questions. Unfortunately, Linda Berg (Treasurer) and Andy Lingras (Secretary), who are the board members to whom most of the questions were directed, were not in attendance. Hopefully, they will be at future question and answer sessions.
With the posting of the minutes, you will be able to make more informed choices when voting for candidates and deciding who you want to have representing you on the board. There are members working hard on revised bylaws, and a new grant committee that is just getting started. Involvement from the membership is greater than ever, and that is another step in the right direction.
There also has been a request from the Saints president for people to express their thoughts about the printed Spotlight and whether or not it should be continued. This will be a topic at a future board meeting, so you might want to ask to observe. Space is limited but you can always offer to bring a folding chair or ask that they find a larger space. Many of you have taken the time to respond, and have raised some of the peripheral issues that affect this decision. Some of these include looking further at the website, competitive bidding, layout, and more.
There is additional good news. There will be general membership meetings in January and February. Previously, there was going to be a five month hiatus. There will be a question and answer period at these meetings, so think about what you want to know more about.
Spread the word and check this blog frequently. Leave comments. It is unfortunate that we don’t have a forum on the official Saints website where we could communicate with each other and keep it for members only. There is such an option on our current site but as of now, the board has not voted to activate it. In fact, there are many features on our current website that we have not fully utilized. Hopefully, this will also change.
Once again, I want to encourage people to buy raffle tickets and support our grants program. In addition, you can relax and have a good time on Sunday, December 6, at the annual Saints Holiday Party. The party is an opportunity to socialize with other Saints members, talk freely about theater, share your ideas, bid at the auction and hopefully win prizes. You do not have to be at the event to win raffle prizes so don’t let a conflict keep you from buying lots of raffle tickets. Close to a hundred people have already signed up for the party and it sounds like it will be a fun time.
Showing posts with label Board. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Board. Show all posts
Friday, November 20, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
General Membership Meeting - NSCPA
This evening, there was a general membership meeting with approximately 200 members present. I will leave comments to those of you who attended but let me comment that our speaker, Robert Falls, was excellent and answered our questions for over an hour.
Much to my surprise, there were security guards in uniform at the doors of the theater where we were meeting. They had been hired by some members of the board. As a Board member, I wish to go on record indicating that I was never asked whether I approved this expenditure nor would I have approved this expenditure. It was a waste of our money, and an additional indication of the fear of dissent and new ideas. If our meetings are not open to non-members, then it should have been announced ahead of time. We have been in the practice of posting the meeting date and time on our website's public calendar, and this meeting was announced in that fashion.
Upon entry, I was asked to sign my name and pass through a checkpoint where a sticker was placed on my Saints badge. The sticker was not handed to me but placed on my badge without explanation. It felt inappropriate and like an invasion of my personal space. I was most uncomfortable and did not understand the reason for this action.
After Mr. Falls' engaging presentation and willingness to candidly answer many of our questions, most of the members went out to do early signups. There appeared to be concern about losing out on ushering opportunities, and some of these people did return but most left the room to sign up and went home. Approximately 50 members remained inside the theater to ask the Saints President, BJ Nelson, questions. As time progressed, and it became clear that this group was not going to leave without an opportunity to ask a number of questions, two of the other officers, Linda Berg (Treasurer) and Andy Lingras (Secretary) also stood at the front of the room and started responding.
I will leave it to tonight's attendees to comment on their experience of the meeting and their interaction with the board officers. For me, tonight was a memorable evening for both positive and negative reasons.
I encourage you not to post anonymously.
Also, vote on the three survey questions to the left of this posting.
Much to my surprise, there were security guards in uniform at the doors of the theater where we were meeting. They had been hired by some members of the board. As a Board member, I wish to go on record indicating that I was never asked whether I approved this expenditure nor would I have approved this expenditure. It was a waste of our money, and an additional indication of the fear of dissent and new ideas. If our meetings are not open to non-members, then it should have been announced ahead of time. We have been in the practice of posting the meeting date and time on our website's public calendar, and this meeting was announced in that fashion.
Upon entry, I was asked to sign my name and pass through a checkpoint where a sticker was placed on my Saints badge. The sticker was not handed to me but placed on my badge without explanation. It felt inappropriate and like an invasion of my personal space. I was most uncomfortable and did not understand the reason for this action.
After Mr. Falls' engaging presentation and willingness to candidly answer many of our questions, most of the members went out to do early signups. There appeared to be concern about losing out on ushering opportunities, and some of these people did return but most left the room to sign up and went home. Approximately 50 members remained inside the theater to ask the Saints President, BJ Nelson, questions. As time progressed, and it became clear that this group was not going to leave without an opportunity to ask a number of questions, two of the other officers, Linda Berg (Treasurer) and Andy Lingras (Secretary) also stood at the front of the room and started responding.
I will leave it to tonight's attendees to comment on their experience of the meeting and their interaction with the board officers. For me, tonight was a memorable evening for both positive and negative reasons.
I encourage you not to post anonymously.
Also, vote on the three survey questions to the left of this posting.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Working Group to Review Bylaws
An invitation to members was e-mailed to members via the Saints' Cyberline at least four times during the past two weeks. Members were invited to be part of a "Working Group" to review the current Bylaws. The deadline to sign up was 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, September 27, 2009. Interested applicants were advised to send their names to an anonymous e-mail address.
To the best of my knowledge, neither the board at large nor the membership has been advised of who will be part of this working group. Once an announcement has been made as to who will be part of this group, I will post it on this blog. Stay tuned...
Below is the text of the President's invitation and the guidelines for the "Working Group".
The Board is inviting Saints members to be a part of a Working Group to review the current Bylaws.
(a) There is no set limit as to how many members can join this group - any one who is interested (other than current Board Members or their relatives) may join.
(b) The first group meeting will be at the Saints Office and after that the group can decide if they wish to continue to meet at the office or wish to meet at another more convenient place. You will also determine the meeting schedule.
(c) The Group members may elect, from within themselves, a Facilitator or a Leader or a Spokesperson or may choose to work in any other manner that they agree on.
(d) The Group will be responsible for reviewing the current bylaws and providing the Board a report with the Group's suggestions for specific changes with the rationale behind the suggested change (e.g. "this statement is awful" is not acceptable, rather, "the statement (X) should be substituted with statement (Y) for reasons (P) and (Q)" is what would be expected.). Or "this statement violates the law and should be replaced" is not acceptable, rather, "Statement (L) Violates Illinois law (D) and should be replaced with statement (M)" is what would be expected.
(e) The report is due to the Board no later than November 30, 2009, and has to be signed by all the members to show their consensus of agreement.
(f) The Board is currently in the process of hiring a legal firm to review the bylaws. The above input from the Working Group will be provided to this legal firm for evaluation as well. The end result will be presented to the membership for approval.
If you are interested in being a part of this important work, please send in your names to BylawsGroup@gmail.com by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, September 27, 2009.
If you have any questions about the above please send your questions also to BylawsGroup@gmail.com .
Thank you,
BJ
To the best of my knowledge, neither the board at large nor the membership has been advised of who will be part of this working group. Once an announcement has been made as to who will be part of this group, I will post it on this blog. Stay tuned...
Below is the text of the President's invitation and the guidelines for the "Working Group".
The Board is inviting Saints members to be a part of a Working Group to review the current Bylaws.
(a) There is no set limit as to how many members can join this group - any one who is interested (other than current Board Members or their relatives) may join.
(b) The first group meeting will be at the Saints Office and after that the group can decide if they wish to continue to meet at the office or wish to meet at another more convenient place. You will also determine the meeting schedule.
(c) The Group members may elect, from within themselves, a Facilitator or a Leader or a Spokesperson or may choose to work in any other manner that they agree on.
(d) The Group will be responsible for reviewing the current bylaws and providing the Board a report with the Group's suggestions for specific changes with the rationale behind the suggested change (e.g. "this statement is awful" is not acceptable, rather, "the statement (X) should be substituted with statement (Y) for reasons (P) and (Q)" is what would be expected.). Or "this statement violates the law and should be replaced" is not acceptable, rather, "Statement (L) Violates Illinois law (D) and should be replaced with statement (M)" is what would be expected.
(e) The report is due to the Board no later than November 30, 2009, and has to be signed by all the members to show their consensus of agreement.
(f) The Board is currently in the process of hiring a legal firm to review the bylaws. The above input from the Working Group will be provided to this legal firm for evaluation as well. The end result will be presented to the membership for approval.
If you are interested in being a part of this important work, please send in your names to BylawsGroup@gmail.com by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, September 27, 2009.
If you have any questions about the above please send your questions also to BylawsGroup@gmail.com .
Thank you,
BJ
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