Congratulations Harry, yours is the most sensible post I have read on this subject. I would support amendment to the GFA organisation for one major reason: to reduce the cost of overheads. I appreciate the work done by the existing members of the Board, but I have seen no evidence that they are actively examining options for the future management of GFA. The cost and complexity of the existing organisation cannot be supported indefinitely by a declining membership. I remember a TV program where a management guru reported on ailing companies. His advice to a company producing glassware in Eastern Europe at a loss,was, "*When you are in a hole, stop digging!"* If GFA were a private company with a similar revenue, customer base and range of services, how many Directors would it need? By all means conduct a postal ballot of members to select the Directors, but do we really need State based representation? And while we are amending the constitution, let us clean up the *appointment * of Chairmen of the Ops panel etc. As an instructor I have never participated in an election by a peer group. Does the organisation need these positions, if the bulk of the task is being performed by the CTO or equivalent? The other little management gem I remember is; *The main game is to stick to the main game! * In this period of declining membership and Global Financial Crisis the main game should be *Membership Recruitment and Retention. *Perhaps some of the higher order activities like sponsoring overseas competitors should be restricted to Standard class only. (Perhaps it is penis envy, but I have always thought Open class should totally pay their own way*).* Similarly, attendance at overseas meetings of esoteric committees. And to quote Pres Obama's Chief Advisor,"*Never allow a crisis to go to waste".* Regards Colin C Campbell
On Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 3:46 PM, harry medlicott <[email protected]>wrote: > Hi All > > > A countless number of sporting clubs, musical and dramatic societies and > business groups form an important part in our social fabric. Mostly they are > supported by volunteers and pass on to future generations their accumulated > skills and knowledge. > > The gliding movement is well served by volunteers and this has been > recognised by many contributors to this forum. > > The sticking point is that the Executive and Board of Directors are not > elected by the popular vote of fee paying members, but by a convoluted > system involving club committees, state associations and the Board then > electing an Executive who may never have faced a vote of any kind. > > This separation of the Executive from the general membership is pretty > unique. I know of no other organisation whose compulsorily fee paying > members do not have a direct vote in electing the powers-that-be. > > Credulity is stretched by those who seek to justify this position. > Arguments such as "we know best, can’t trust the members to elect the right > people" given to me by a former Executive member or "if you are interested > in how things are run, then get yourself elected to the board" lack > substance and are almost insulting to the general membership. > > General members should have the right to directly vote for those who wish > to represent them, preferably through an optional preferential postal voting > system. States rights can be protected by having Board members elected on a > state electorate basis. The cost is insignificant if voting details were > handled through Soaring Australia. Let those who seek to control our gliding > destiny publish their skills and objectives by means of a resume in Soaring > Australia. > > It is asking a lot for those who have gained office under the present > system to give this up but lets hope they take this statesmanlike step. > > It will be almost impossible to change the status quo unless they do. > > Harry Medlicott > > _______________________________________________ > Aus-soaring mailing list > [email protected] > To check or change subscription details, visit: > http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring >
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