Re: [Texascavers] NSS Election related rant
Herman said: >I would like to say that very few people are seeking >leadership positions within the NSS as a whole. As we >have seen the president offered to run another term >simply because no one stepped up to take his place and >right now the NSS is soliciting for two VP candidates. The openings for officer positions are rarely advertised, and certainly aren't promoted. The current President wanted to remain for another year. No one ran against him because informal discussions made it clear that the directorate did not have the will or the backbone to vote him out for his lackluster (nay, embarrassing) performance. Clearly, it is assumed that the incumbent always wins, so why expend effort looking for a competitor? The Executive Search Committee and the Directorate are exerting no time or effort on the phone talking to key members or otherwise beating the bushes for qualfied VP candidates. The prevailing feeling is that officers may serve for as long as they're willing, whether they're doing an adequate job or not, for to remedy poor performance by replacing an officer might risk ruffled feathers, or worse, require doing some work. A number of us tried very hard to secure alternative candidates for the presidential election, if only to have an election instead of a reappointment. We are trying very hard to find candidates for the VP positions by August. In both cases, we are thwarted by the unwillingness of our most capable and experienced members to serve in such a dysfunctional organization. Most have served, been burnt out, and walked away in disgust. Yes, we are desperate for new blood, young blood, and energetic leadership, and we very much appreciate your stepping up, along with the other new Board candidates. We also appreciate your frequent postings to CaveChat, which all candidates have been expressly asked to do, but few others have. Being accessible, and speaking out on your beliefs has set you ahead of the crowd, but stating clearly what you would DO is equally important (and using a good grammar and spell checker wouldn't hurt, either). The NSS Constitution and Bylaws are the foundation of our Society, but the Board Acts are where the rubber meets the road, and few of the current directors have taken the trouble to familiarize themselve with much of our policy and procedure. Do your homework, keeping speaking your mind, and you'll go far in the NSS, whether it's as a director or in a myriad of other very important positions. Alex - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
Re: [Texascavers] NSS Election related rant
.php?f=11&t=9824. *Of the three incumbents, I believe that only one ever made a substantiative motion. Why are they running? There are few Board groupies these days. There are no perks and the company leaves something to be desired. We have one candidate who is running on the platform that the Board is composed of lazy, incompetents. While I can't argue with that, how effective do you think he will be trying to work with them? And will the members hold him accountable if nothing changes after he is elected?* * * I would like to point out what I said in regards to your second paragraph. I’d prefer someone to put forth a bunch of failed motions then to sit in a chair and call themselves a member of the BOG. I would like to say that having no incentives to serving a benefit in that people aren’t looking for those perks and are rather serving on behalf of the membership body. There is a candidate whom is stirring up the establishment to speak and while I do not feel this is the correct approach to fixing issues within the society and the leadership itself, this approach will probably shake things up at the least. *So Herman, if you really want to get on the Board and are unsuccessful this time, there are a couple of avenues to pursue. One is committee service and not all committees are equal. High visibility committee chairs get more name recognition. Hosting a successful NSS Convention is a traditional approach, but not very practical for Texas for a while.* * * *There is one advantage to an unsuccessful run - if you have strong opinions, you get an annual, uncensored, but length limited platform to editorialize on cave and caver politics. After I came in dead last on my first run, that was my ambition - just to write an editorial each year as a campaign platform. But apparently, a few people liked my next one because I won the second year. In any case, I advise avoiding a bland platform. Most candidates sound interchangeable and uninformed. "I am for conservation and education." Well, of course you are. But, what does that mean to you? Do we recruit nonmembers? How do we retain the old members who are dropping out of the NSS like flies? Or do we care? And do we actually try to educate our members or is making education an option as far as we need to go?* * * While my goal is to get on the board now and correct what is currently a course towards disaster I am always willing to help the society wherever possible. I feel I am more informed then most and have kept up on the various topics as they have came up and ultimately fell back into the static of everything else. I have read and reread our bylaws and while I am no law professional I would like to think I understand the bulk and meaning. I would like to again I want to serve the members as a whole and listen to what people want out of the society. To many people identify with just scientific research, conservation, recreation etc, in reality it is all these things and I feel someone just needs to mediate these needs and offer a solution the majority can agree on. *There is almost no one running for NSS officers; they often run unopposed. Instead of a few hundred votes to get elected, you only need seven so you don't need name recognition among the membership. Of course, there are more meetings, and if you do your job, there is a lot more work.* I would like to say that very few people are seeking leadership positions within the NSS as a whole. As we have seen the president offered to run another term simply because no one stepped up to take his place and right now the NSS is soliciting for two VP candidates. I am offering my services at the BOG level and if I am unsuccessful in my bid I would gladly offer my services elsewhere in the society wherever requested. Herman Miller NSS# 55273SU *BOG Candidate 2010* On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 8:20 AM, Geary Schindel < gschin...@edwardsaquifer.org> wrote: > Philip, > > > > Great advice for aspiring BOG members. > > > > Geary > > > > *From:* Philip L Moss [mailto:philipm...@juno.com] > *Sent:* Tuesday, April 27, 2010 9:24 AM > *To:* texascavers@texascavers.com > *Subject:* [Texascavers] NSS Election related rant > > > > Herman and anyone else considering running for the BOG at some point: > > A successful run is based almost entirely on name recognition and I mean > that literally. They don't have to know you and in some cases, it is better > for your election chances if they don't. There is a famous caver/author who > has always won when he has run for the BOG. As far as I know, those who > know him don't vote for him, those who have only heard of him do. And > during one term, he didn't bother showing up and we now have a rule named > after him requiring Directors to attend meetings occasionally or lose their > seat. He a
RE: [Texascavers] NSS Election related rant
Philip, Great advice for aspiring BOG members. Geary From: Philip L Moss [mailto:philipm...@juno.com] Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 9:24 AM To: texascavers@texascavers.com Subject: [Texascavers] NSS Election related rant Herman and anyone else considering running for the BOG at some point: A successful run is based almost entirely on name recognition and I mean that literally. They don't have to know you and in some cases, it is better for your election chances if they don't. There is a famous caver/author who has always won when he has run for the BOG. As far as I know, those who know him don't vote for him, those who have only heard of him do. And during one term, he didn't bother showing up and we now have a rule named after him requiring Directors to attend meetings occasionally or lose their seat. He also had more motions die for a lack of a second than any other person I served with by far. He was and is politically unskilled and ineffective, but highly electable. What is my point? The members tend to vote and then not pay attention to what the Board is doing, much less what individuals are doing on the Board. And the Board encourages that by only publishing the minutes. The minutes only record the votes. If you do not attend the meetings, you don't know why anyone voted the way they did. It may appear that they voted against mom and apple pie. And if discussions took place before the meeting, you won't learn that at the meeting. There are discussions via email that you, as members aren't allowed to read. The minutes are digitally recorded, but you, as members, aren't allowed to listen to them. They are destroyed after the minutes are accepted. They could be put on-line, but lawyers keep advising the Board they need to protect themselves from being held responsible for what they say during meetings. What director of the NSS wanted to turn down a cave property being donated to the NSS for free and supported by the local grotto because we don't need another bat cave? "The owner gets a tax write-off and all we get is another cave we can't go in." The minutes show that he voted to accept the donation. It doesn't show that he didn't/doesn't understand that the second purpose of the NSS is to "protect caves and their natural contents" and had to be dragged to the "correct" position. And he would get reelected today if he were running. There are three incumbents running and another who has recent Board experience and not one of them tells us how we have benefited from their time on the Board or how they have been frustrated in their attempts to do good. They tell us goals, but no accomplishments. Are they running on their record? Of the three incumbents, I believe that only one ever made a substantiative motion. Why are they running? There are few Board groupies these days. There are no perks and the company leaves something to be desired. We have one candidate who is running on the platform that the Board is composed of lazy, incompetents. While I can't argue with that, how effective do you think he will be trying to work with them? And will the members hold him accountable if nothing changes after he is elected? So Herman, if you really want to get on the Board and are unsuccessful this time, there are a couple of avenues to pursue. One is committee service and not all committees are equal. High visibility committee chairs get more name recognition. Hosting a successful NSS Convention is a traditional approach, but not very practical for Texas for a while. There is one advantage to an unsuccessful run - if you have strong opinions, you get an annual, uncensored, but length limited platform to editorialize on cave and caver politics. After I came in dead last on my first run, that was my ambition - just to write an editorial each year as a campaign platform. But apparently, a few people liked my next one because I won the second year. In any case, I advise avoiding a bland platform. Most candidates sound interchangeable and uninformed. "I am for conservation and education." Well, of course you are. But, what does that mean to you? Do we recruit nonmembers? How do we retain the old members who are dropping out of the NSS like flies? Or do we care? And do we actually try to educate our members or is making education an option as far as we need to go? There is almost no one running for NSS officers; they often run unopposed. Instead of a few hundred votes to get elected, you only need seven so you don't need name recognition among the membership. Of course, there are more meetings, and if you do your job, there is a lot more work. "Unprecedented cave exploration, ultraconservation, and extreme liberal good fellowship" - Greater Guano Grotto principle, reaffirmed 1966 END ran
[Texascavers] NSS Election related rant
Herman and anyone else considering running for the BOG at some point: A successful run is based almost entirely on name recognition and I mean that literally. They don't have to know you and in some cases, it is better for your election chances if they don't. There is a famous caver/author who has always won when he has run for the BOG. As far as I know, those who know him don't vote for him, those who have only heard of him do. And during one term, he didn't bother showing up and we now have a rule named after him requiring Directors to attend meetings occasionally or lose their seat. He also had more motions die for a lack of a second than any other person I served with by far. He was and is politically unskilled and ineffective, but highly electable. What is my point? The members tend to vote and then not pay attention to what the Board is doing, much less what individuals are doing on the Board. And the Board encourages that by only publishing the minutes. The minutes only record the votes. If you do not attend the meetings, you don't know why anyone voted the way they did. It may appear that they voted against mom and apple pie. And if discussions took place before the meeting, you won't learn that at the meeting. There are discussions via email that you, as members aren't allowed to read. The minutes are digitally recorded, but you, as members, aren't allowed to listen to them. They are destroyed after the minutes are accepted. They could be put on-line, but lawyers keep advising the Board they need to protect themselves from being held responsible for what they say during meetings. What director of the NSS wanted to turn down a cave property being donated to the NSS for free and supported by the local grotto because we don't need another bat cave? "The owner gets a tax write-off and all we get is another cave we can't go in." The minutes show that he voted to accept the donation. It doesn't show that he didn't/doesn't understand that the second purpose of the NSS is to "protect caves and their natural contents" and had to be dragged to the "correct" position. And he would get reelected today if he were running. There are three incumbents running and another who has recent Board experience and not one of them tells us how we have benefited from their time on the Board or how they have been frustrated in their attempts to do good. They tell us goals, but no accomplishments. Are they running on their record? Of the three incumbents, I believe that only one ever made a substantiative motion. Why are they running? There are few Board groupies these days. There are no perks and the company leaves something to be desired. We have one candidate who is running on the platform that the Board is composed of lazy, incompetents. While I can't argue with that, how effective do you think he will be trying to work with them? And will the members hold him accountable if nothing changes after he is elected? So Herman, if you really want to get on the Board and are unsuccessful this time, there are a couple of avenues to pursue. One is committee service and not all committees are equal. High visibility committee chairs get more name recognition. Hosting a successful NSS Convention is a traditional approach, but not very practical for Texas for a while. There is one advantage to an unsuccessful run - if you have strong opinions, you get an annual, uncensored, but length limited platform to editorialize on cave and caver politics. After I came in dead last on my first run, that was my ambition - just to write an editorial each year as a campaign platform. But apparently, a few people liked my next one because I won the second year. In any case, I advise avoiding a bland platform. Most candidates sound interchangeable and uninformed. "I am for conservation and education." Well, of course you are. But, what does that mean to you? Do we recruit nonmembers? How do we retain the old members who are dropping out of the NSS like flies? Or do we care? And do we actually try to educate our members or is making education an option as far as we need to go? There is almost no one running for NSS officers; they often run unopposed. Instead of a few hundred votes to get elected, you only need seven so you don't need name recognition among the membership. Of course, there are more meetings, and if you do your job, there is a lot more work. "Unprecedented cave exploration, ultraconservation, and extreme liberal good fellowship" - Greater Guano Grotto principle, reaffirmed 1966 END rant recovering speleopolitician, Philip L. Moss philipm...@juno.com On Tue, 27 Apr 2010 08:02:32 -0500 Geary Schindel writes: Herman, Even if you aren�t elected to the NSS BOG in 2010, there are other ways to serve the NSS. Maybe you should go to the NSS Convention to find out what positions are open in the NSS structure and serve in one of those capacities. It is a great way to learn what the
