Board Meeting - 1/09/2010
Observer
watching. They seem to use Robert's Rules of Orders when the chair
thinks it will work in his favor, but not if it won't. It has to be
seen to be believed.
Donna Oswald
appears to be one of the most disfunctional groups I have ever
encountered. I agree with the comment that RRO were only invoked
whenever the chair felt like it. The board’s use of Executive Session
was inappropriate, you don’t decide before the meeting that you're
going to go into Executive Session and you don’t list the topics of
discussion on the public agenda. The topics listed were inappropriate
for Executive Session, later in the open portion of the meeting there
was an agenda item for a personnel issue which should have been
reserved for Executive Session (which it eventually was, hwoever it
still was listed on the agenda). The self-coronation of Andy as Chair/
Acting President (I’m sorry, where in our bylaws is Acting President
defined – oh that’s right it’s not) is a major abuse of power. Our
bylaws make no provisions for succession in a tragic case as this,
(which is one reason why 30 members volunteered to work on rewriting
them) therefore you turn to Roberts Rules of Order. You don’t just
make up the rules as you go along. This was nothing more than a power
grab.
This board is dysfunctional. I found it amazing the apparent lack of
business acumen & total lack of comprehension of how to effectively
solicit bids. As an example, an enormous amount of time has been spent
by the board discussing the future of the spotlight (over the last 3
board meetings) without actually accomplishing anything. There should
have been a commission or workgroup established to evaluate this &
solicit bids (after a project scope had been established) and report
back to the board, rather than every board member getting multiple
bids with an undefined scope of work. That seemed to be an enormous
waste of people's time. No wonder the board meetings last for 5 hours.
I see the mistakes of the past being repeated in regards to how the
finances are handled. No clear scope of work is defined for the
auditor solicitations (quotes are being gathered by Andy for a
financial records review? what is that? When questioned by another
observer, the response was that “the accounting firms know what that
means”, I don't think so). The board's finances need a thorough audit
each year. There's also the issue with the ~$50K in a non-interest
bearing checking account. According to Linda & Sharon it's the monthly
operating money & money allocated (but not yet paid) for grants & they
need to keep it ready in the checking account. Even if that is true,
you should keep the majority of your committed money in a money market
account which typically allows you to write a couple or 3 checks
against it per month & then transfer funds into the checking account
as needed for grants and to refund the checking account for the next
months anticipated expenses.
We are at a cultural divide within this organization. Some (including
the majority of the board) still see it as the chummy social club of
25 years ago, others as a vital service organization providing
volunteers & now significant financial funding to the arts community.
I for one did not sign on so that my dues could be used to fund social
outings for the “few” at the expense of the “many”. I have no problem
however, with portions of my dues being used to provide grant dollars
to worthy arts organizations. I signed on to volunteer in the Arts
Community. That is why in addition to ushering, I have also been a
coordinator for 9 years. We get plenty back for our dues investment
in the form of all the wonderful cultural events we get to see for
free. We don’t & shouldn’t need fancy parties. You already have the
Benefit as the social event of the year & even that is attended by
less than 10% of the membership, suggesting that the “social” aspect
of this organization is not what’s attracting them. Additionally,
while I’m sure those working on the 30th anniversary party invested
significant time in trying to plan this, I for one am glad to see it
cancelled. I was appalled that they were budgeting $30,000 for a
party for ourselves!
The problem is that the majority of the board is still operating as in
the "old days" when the Saints were a nice little social club. We’ve
progressed beyond that. This is a respected not-for-profit
organization (yes that is how we were & are organized), which means we
need to follow the Illinois Not For Profit Act, (not the Andy Lingras
Rules of the Moment), whose membership has exploded in the past
several years. We require people with the necessary financial and
business acumen to effectively manage the organization and the
significant sum of money at its disposal. There is too much money
involved to be left to the discretion of people who while they may be
well intentioned are apparently poorly equipped to deal with it in a
responsible fashion.
The sad part is I think the majority of the membership probably
wouldn't even care even if they did know. I only hope that enough care
to vote to effect change at the next election and have a board better
suited to the needs of this organization.
thailand
make a major change in the way the organization is managed (as it
really hasn't been managed for the past few years). We need Board
members with business, financial, organization skills. We need Board
members who care about the organization. We ne Board members who aill
take their resposibilites to the membership seriously. We don't need
Board members who are only interested in their own power or on adding
a line to their resumes.
I, for one, am fed up with the whole thing. I am saddened to see a
wonderful organization on the verge of ruin because of a few people.
We have the potential to be a real force in the Chicago-area
performing arts community. That potential is being squandered by the
current Board. They should be ashamed.
Get out and vote, and make sure everyone you know also votes. It is
the only way we can change this.
Susan Gray
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