Poll re BOG Meeting Attendance

[L Roebuck]

kelly said:

BTW, I believe Lynn said she would run too... I would LOVE to see Lynn run for the board!

I'm currently studying the art of speleopolitics so ooops not yet ready for prime-time. ;D

[Sharon Faulkner]

Repost from Director Linda Devine.
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Poll results re NSS Board of Governors meeting attendance.

Cavers,

Thank you so much to all who responded to my request for feedback re BOG meeting attendance, and to all who participated in the poll. For those who sent me comments in answer to my original query, you should have received a personal response from me. For those who participated in the poll, you also should have received an individual acknowledgment from me. If you did not receive a reply, that means that I did not receive your email, and please feel free to re-send.

I thought you might be interested in the results of the poll. They are as follows:

1. (a) Should the BOG have the ability to remove a director if he/she fails to attend 3 Board meetings in a year [there are precisely 3 in any 12-month time frame], or (b) should it be left up to the NSS membership to decide, through voting, whether or not to replace the director the next time he/she is up for reelection? (Please select (a) or (b).)

(a) (includes "automatic" provision) 74.2%
(b) 22.6%
no specific answer to (1) 3.2%

2. Should the meeting attendance record be reported for all directors on the election ballot? (Please answer yes, no, or not necessary.)

Yes 83.9%
No 1.6%
Not necessary 9.7%
no specific answer to (2) 4.8%


There were many other comments, caveats, and explanations that accompanied the poll responses, and I have made a note of these. In particular, there was a lot of strong support for the NSS Board to consider telephone participation and/or video-conferencing as a way that board members could participate in meetings. In addition, many members felt that removal of a board member for non-attendance should be a matter of procedure - an "automatic" removal - so that such an unseating could not be political, a matter of personalities, arbitrary, or punitive. If an individual was absent for truly extenuating circumstances, his/her removal could be reconsidered by the Board, but it would require a special action.

I appreciate the great response to my request for input, and the results of the poll are being forwarded to the members of the NSS Board for their consideration.

Meredith, Sharon, and all: I would be grateful if you would please forward this message to BATS, the Forum, any lists to which the initial query and/or poll were sent, and any other relevant lists. I did not intend for this matter to be exclusively considered, and I apologize for my oversight in neglecting to include a blanket "permission to reprint on caver lists" when I first raised this subject. I will be certain to add such a statement in the future. I believe the more input, the better.

I have discussed this matter with the NSS Nominating Committee Chair, and Montana has confirmed that the preparation schedule for this spring's directors election would preclude changes for 2007, but at the Board's request, she would be able and willing to institute new procedures beginning with the 2008 election.

Thanks again to all!

Linda Baker Devine
NSS Director

[jks55cpa]

As author of the motion, I thought I would chime in here now. My reasoning for the motion had nothing to do with whether or not it was important for a director to attend meetings. I believe all directors take their position seriously and fully intend to attend all meetings during the term. It should also be mentioned for full disclosure purposes that I missed the last two consecutive meetings. However, that only got me thinking of the NSS Bylaw more directly. The board act states that if a director misses 3 meetings in a year, the BOG MAY dismiss the director and appoint someone else to take their place.

Typically, when a director is replaced, the appointee serves until the next election and does not necessarily have to have run previously, Usually, the previous election is only consulted when a director is replaced because they become an officer at convention when the new directors are also being installed.

My thought was that it was more important to allow the membership to retain ownership of their representatives than to allow the board the power to remove an elected Representative for any reason. I really believe it is unethical for the board to decide that someone is not serving up to their expectations. The precedence has been set with attendance, what will the next issue be? I would prefer it to be handled quietly by giving the director the opportunity to resign rather that to be expelled from the board. The only time I see the act being used is to achieve some other political goal. therefore I proposed eliminating the act. I am going to leave the motion on the agenda. I also feel that we should not use discussions outside the board meetings to replace discussion in an open meeting. The membership has the right to hear what the board is saying and the rational for their decisions. (Decisions should not be made behind closed doors or on private email.) Montana Spencer has been contacted and we hope board attendance for all board members will become a reporting item starting with the ballots in 2008.

Finally, credit should be given to Linda Devine for taking the lead on discussing this issue directly with the membership. Thanks Linda.

J Kevin Smith
Director

[Brian Roebuck]

Kevin I agree with your concerns in this matter. I think there should be a mechanism to remove a director if such an action is needed but to give the Board all the power invites abuse at the political level. A system of checks and balances is always good. Thus giving the NSS membership the power to remove a director would be much better.

As for your comments about board decisions behind closed doors or via private communications I also strongly agree that this is not representing the society properly. We elect our members and deserve to have a part in the process if we so choose. Sensitive matters can be handled properly with thought and tact if that becomes an issue. I feel that NSS members should be allowed access to the proceedings of the Board regardless of what they are discussing. Board members as well as all NSS officers are there to serve the members and society - not the other way around.

I am very happy to hear Board members putting the society first and personal ambitions aside. Many thanks to you and Linda for your efforts to date. Please pass along our thanks to all other Board members with similar beliefs and convictions.

[Sharon Faulkner]

Thanks for bringing us more information on the motion Kevin. I'm glad you're planning to leave the motion on the agenda, I'm interested in seeing how the vote on the motion plays out. I've already told Linda how much her efforts to bring the topic up with the membership is appreciated, your contribution is also appreciated.

[Sharon Faulkner]

A follow up post from NSS Director Linda Devine regarding this topic:

Fellow Cavers,

The spring meeting of the NSS Board of Governors was held this past weekend in Tucson, AZ. Currently, there is a bylaw provision which gives the Board the authority to remove a director for not attending meetings. On the agenda this weekend, there was a motion to *repeal* this authority. This was the specific motion that prompted me to solicit membership input last month as to the importance of directors attending meetings.

Feedback, in the form of extensive comments as well as mirrored in a subsequent informal poll, indicated overwhelmingly that meeting attendance was very important to NSS members. This feedback was conveyed to the NSS Board. The ultimate result was that when the motion to repeal was read onto the floor, it died for lack of a second.

We plan to continue to work on amending related bylaw provisions to conform to membership desires in this area.

Thank you again for your recent input.

Linda Baker Devine
NSS Director

(Please feel free to repost this message on caver lists and forums.)


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Again, a thank you to Linda and others for bringing this topic to the membership for input and discussion.

Sharon

[Sharon Faulkner]

A follow up post from NSS Director Linda Devine regarding this topic:

Cavers,

Earlier this winter/spring, a great many of you nationwide participated online in a discussion about the importance of NSS directors' attendance at Board of Governors meetings. In a related informal poll, a strong majority of you (83.9%) indicated that you would like to see meeting attendance records included in the ballot materials for the BOG election.

In response to your wishes, I submitted a motion for the recent Convention board meeting. The BOG passed this motion, and starting with the next election, the attendance records for incumbent directors running for reelection will be included in the materials you receive.

Thank you for your input. I continue to encourage you to contact me or any other Board of Governors member on any matter, large or small, that is of concern to you, and should a discussion arise such as this recent one, I urge you to freely offer your opinions. I and other board members welcome hearing from you.

(Please feel free to repost this message on other caving lists. Thanks in advance to those of you who will help disseminate this message on my behalf.)

Linda Baker Devine
NSS Director