As you may have noted, i have elected to stay away from most of the back and forth this summer. Between health issues, the museum rebuild and my overall frustrations with the RCSC's direction, it's just been easier to ignore their inability to accomplish the most mundane of tasks. Think not? They are still struggling to get their wifi to 100 megs. They still haven't put in place their online ticket sales. They are still failing to grasp the significance of the long range planning committee"s all encompassing plan to enhance technology with a broad brush approach. I haven't watched it yet but i am told the LRPC's presentation is exceptional. There's more, but why bother? I don't go to meetings any more, but i still watch most of them. If i am in the room, i end up commenting and end up frustrated. I also watched the candidates brief presentations yesterday along with the board meeting. Therein is my reason for hope. 7 candidates, 5 openings. Before i go on, if you watched the meeting yesterday, you noted a former board member was sworn in to replace Barbara Brem. It was another retread who promptly voted along with the rest of the "god old boys" club. And before anyone accuses me of being insulting of the appointment, if i were ever re-appointed to the board, i too would be a retread (not that it would ever happen). For the record and without knowing the facts, losing Barbara was tragic on many levels. She got it. All of which should beg the question, why am i optimistic? First off, there are at least 3 candidates who aren't fixated on going along to get along. I also like Dale and Sue, though i am not sure the feelings are mutual. Neither here nor there. With that out of the way, one of candidates comes with qualifications above and beyond any of the others. No disrespect to any of those either running or who have served in years past, but she is leagues ahead of anyone i have ever watched apply. She appears that damned good. More importantly she did two things that flat out stunned me at the board meeting. As the meeting was near over and after listening to some of the responses to members questions she approached the microphone. She had phone in hand and read from the RCSC's Articles of Incorporation. As many of you know, i have long lamented how the RCSC treats members. We are not just "card-holders," we are the damned owners of the organization. The second thing she did as she read board members the exact purpose of the RCSC as defined in Article 1, she asked the single most important question that of course no one answered: What is the "default position of the RCSC?" Simply stunning. I have long argued the RCSC and the board (who by the way are sworn in to allegiance to the corporation), are failing in adhering to the community documents. While most of your eyes glaze over when i start talking about community documents, they are the base for all things RCSC. So we are clear, the Articles of Incorporation have the highest order. Everything after them should follow their lead. Effectively she was asking; do board members know their role? Are they there to serve the corporation or to serve the membership. Obviously the answers members were given were far from what she expected. Anyone who has attended or watched these meetings will have noted when push comes to shove the "default position" is always the corporation first; always. Her career clearly has provided her access to the best of the best run boards. So i am also clear, for profit companies boards are wholly different than not for profit organizations. It took her a matter of attending one meeting to understand why the RCSC is run far differently than many other non-profit boards. That is refreshing on so many levels. The fact the GM is retiring the end of next year means this coming election is a critical one. Those board members elected will make up the majority of the board. The good old boys network should be gone and the board absolutely should be the ones who pick the GM's predecessor. I have no doubt, several of the candidates know that and i may make an exception and attend one or both of the candidates forums. There are a myriad of great questions to pose to those running. Their answers will be critical in deciding who should get your vote.
Good to see that there are people willing to step forward. I do hope an infusion of new blood will get us back on the right path.
Stagnation; we simply become caught up in the status quo. Leadership gets comfortable and boards become complacent. Board members are often elected with the best of intentions and after a while, they realize their ability to make a difference is limited by what management will allow. Therein is the problem, that's not managements job. They run the day to day operations, the board sets the agenda for the future. It is interesting to note, early general managers never lasted all that long. The current one is by far the longest serving. It's not that i don't like her and have even complimented some of her work. Unfortunately she has long over stayed her welcome and we desperately need a change. Technology upgrades are just the first of many new approaches that would serve the community well. As i am writing the finishing touched for the museum's new exhibits, the one aspect of those early years we are missing is the idea that members play a critical role in the governance and with their involvement comes a sense of community. It truly is about ownership. Sadly we've lost that as we've reduced members to "card-holders" and ignored their concerns for the "good of the corporation."
