I received many responses to the previous post. In OGD 358, Bill
Bergstrom said:
At 3:01 PM -0400 8/28/04, Martin Epstein wrote:
In response to Epstein's remarks..though well intended perhaps..not nearly
complete enough to spark any more conflict in regards to the status of the
AOS...Here is the message from Lee Cooke to me this morning..."
Simply put, werr1,049 members better than where we stood a year ago.
At August 1, wehad 26,394 members. We have seen a net gain it
membership in 13 of the last 19 months. These are the facts" Lee
Cooke.
(Emphasis mine)
To which I responded:
I am delighted to hear this; I want the AOS to succeed. I believe
that the new format of Orchids (which I like but some revile) is
largely responsible for this. However, the long term trend has been
down, not because the leadership of the AOS has done something wrong
but because their response to changes in information technology is
inadequate. The AOS no longer has a monopoly on information for the
average orchid grower. As some have pointed out, this is not unique
to the AOS; other organizations are feeling the same pinch. Though
the short term trend may be re-assuring, I am far from convinced
that the long term trend has been reversed.
I still believe the size and scope of the new headquarters and
greenhouse is ill advised. I don't believe we need a greenhouse to
showcase orchids in southern Florida. Of course it could be used to
propagate plants for sale in competition with the local growers; or
it could be used for research on orchid culture to further knowledge
in the field. Let's see what happens as funds get tighter.
On a positive note here is a suggestion. I would be pleased to
receive Orchids on the Internet and skip the hard copy. This would
cut costs. Of course I would expect some reduction in my membership
fee in return.
On another note, the largest single expense listed in the latest
form 990 filing is "Other" at $883,859 (total expenses $3,523,641).
The next two largest expenses are Other Salaries and Wages (i.e,
those for non-management personnel) at $788,106, and Printing and
Publications at $723,826.
"Other" is detailed in Statement 9 as awards, $32,489, Services and
Professional Fees, $392,068, and "Miscellaneous" $459,302. Huh? I
sure would like to know what that is. The "Miscellaneous" is higher
than any previous number by far. In fact, it is higher that the
Other line in any of the previous returns I could find. This lack
of specificity is worrisome. It makes me distrust the management.
Are they covering something up?
I believe it is a duty of any non-profit organization tell their
members how they are spending their money. Frankly, profit making
corporations do a better job...
Bill also said:
No one is going to be making ANY decisions on their own for the
AOS...It is all done with
agreement between ALL twenty five of the Exec Board and Trustees.
To which I replied:
(This)...does not reassure me. Too many management organizations
become like-minded, recruiting only those who agree with them, right
or wrong, and that is exactly what I fear the AOS is doing.
So, What's new?
Martin
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