VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions VCCA - The Future

Welcome to the next 45 years! This year our club will be 45 years old. In this thread we'd like to hear your ideas of changes that should be pursued in order to improve the club. I'll chime-in in a little bit. Please try to be succinct and "to the point".

Here are three suggestions:

"No person who receives money from the VCCA for services as a contractor may also serve on the Board of Directors."


"The VCCA Membership Secretary must maintain a current membership database on an electronic format available to the Board of Directors."


"The Membership Secretary reports to the Board of Directors."

Motion Form in Word doc format

Realistically, VCCA members can't make changes to the club. THIS SHOULD SURPRISE YOU. You don't get to vote on motions or changes. And the by-laws don't allow for a referendum where you could start a petition. Sorry but your hands are tied.

Now... here's what we, the members" CAN do... Probably the MOST important thing is:

• Elect progressive people as club and regional officers.

This sounds really simple.. but it's actually the fabric of the club's decision-making. When you re-elect the same regional member year-after-year, there is a certain stagnation that ultimately sets in... this was PROVEN by the actions of some of the longest term members at the Flint BOD meeting.

Secondly,

• Submit written PROPOSALS via the official process.

It may come as a surprise, but you can complain all you want to your friends, post messages on the Chat site, or call people with your comments, but THOSE WON'T MAKE CHANGES. You've got to work WITHIN the system.

And my last, and favorite suggestion is

• Get involved!!!!

This seems to elude many people. If you have an opinion, then frankly I'm not real interested in it unless you are willing to BACK IT UP with action. Join a Region. Volunteer to lead a tour, Chair a Meet, and GET ELECTED to an office! Then... the grand-daddy of them all is to RUN FOR A REGIONAL or MEMBER AT LARGE position. If you aren't willing to do this, then you're blowing smoke. Want to have changes made? Then get onboard!!

Next? What Proposals are you submitting this year? Do you know when the deadline for submittals is?

Good job BIGBOB... we were both typing at the same time. My earlier comments were NOT in response to your posting... Keep the suggestions coming... SOME of the BOD are willing to listen AND take action.

For reference: BOD = Board of Directors

If BOD member has financial gain from a BOD decision must declare interest and not take part in vote (probably hard to enforce).
I would suggest 2 copies of database 1 being printed but not at same location as digital. That way if 1 lot damaged there is a backup. The membership secretary is probably the first to know who is current member and who is not.
As I am in Australia I dont think it fair on the rest of the membership to cover my travel expenses and I cant afford to pay them myself so I wont be prepared to be elected to BOD.
Tony

Change the By-laws to provide for an Annual Members' Business Meeting and Vintage Chevrolet Show.

The President of the BOD would be The chairman of the meeting, unless and until, the Members chose someone else to chair their meeting, they should have the power to exercise that option. It is their meeting.

The B.O.D. Should post the date, Time, and place (chosen by the Members at the previous annual meeting) in the G&D for the two previous issues before the Annual Meeting of Members.

The nominating Committee should accept and post the Bios of nominations for position of Directors to be elected that year and send out ballots with several blank places for "nominations from the Floor" the election of Directors should be done at the Annual meeting, after the Committee Reports, and the B.O.D. should hold a meeting immediately after adjournment of the Annual Meeting to elect an Executive Committee to operate the National Club during the year. The members should follow a standard agenda, with Reading of the minutes, Treasurer's Report of the financial balance sheet and detailed report of expenditures and income.

Then an Election of Directors,(ballots, registered proxies or electronic voteing) can be counted by an elections committee and reported at the end of old business.

Committee Reports, New business, Old Business is to be included in the agenda. By Laws amendments should be a part of the new business, and take effect as prescribed.

The club will then be accountable to the members.
That is my 2 cents worth.

just a sort of a footnote to the previous thread, FOTW did the club a good deed by posting the initial information, as did the Directors that added credibility to his posting. I agree that it has run it's course and a new productive thread was needed.

Bill, you are right when you say, "RUN FOR A REGIONAL or MEMBER AT LARGE position.... Want to have changes made?" This would make some very quick changes to the VCCA, but the ”˜right’ people would need to get elected to the BOD first.

Disagree when you say; "If you aren't willing to do this, then you're blowing smoke." All club members are allowed to have opinions about the direction of their club, some people can't run for these offices because of many reasons (location, health, responsibilities, money, time off to attend meetings, no local, etc.) but this does not mean that they are less of a member or concerned less then others about the direction of the VCCA. Saying something like this shuts off conversation which I don’t think you want to do. IMHO.

Members who can not run for office for whatever reason should vote and if they don’t vote then maybe they are blowing smoke about wanting changes….however there is a problem, I have been told that there are rules/guidelines established by the VCCA for people running for office, is this true or not? If true, what are the rules/guidelines established by the VCCA that candidates must observe while running for office? What are they allowed to do to get their views out to the membership? Where would I find these rules/guidelines? May they post their personal positions about issues on Chatter? Run campaign ads in the G&D? Send campaign literature to members (could they get a mailing list?)?

Voters still need to find out which candidate is for change and which isn’t in order to make an informed vote (so we can make changes) don’t we?

The Application to run for the National Board of Directors appears once each year in the G&D, normally in July.

The only requirement to run for the Board is "Must be a member of VCCA for 3 years."

Then you are allowed 150 words to say "why you are interested in running for the Board." (no Guidelines as to what you need to talk about - and these 150 words are frequently pretty "empty.").

There are very strict rules against campaigning by, or for, a candidate (the idea is to keep it fair, so someone with a lot of time and money doesn't run and blitz us all with a big campaign and blow away any competition - on the other hand, we therefore never hear anything about the candidates).

We should probably require a LOT more info to be published regarding a candidate's views on issues, but who decides the questions? There was a string on this subject a few months ago.

Don Williams
National Board member

Louis C, good point. Not everyone has the time or is inclined to serve on the Board but EVERY member (accept our international friends) can vote. As the Nomination Chair for the last several years I can tell you that less than 10% of our membership votes in our national elections! Last year only around 750 members voted. Our total membership is around 8,400.
If you can't or don't want to run for the Board at least vote. Those that don't vote should not complain!!
By the way, if you are interested in running for the Board you can send in your nomination application at any time. The application appears in the July G&D. If you’re itching to apply now use the application that appeared in the July 2005 G&D. There are always two At-Large positions up for election each year (any member can run). The Area positions up for election this year are #3, #6, #9 and #10 (only members form that Area can apply).

Take an interest. Get involved :)

Bill Bradford
Area #6 Board member

If part of the 150 words permitted contained the person's phone number and e-mail address we could contact them and ask the questions that we want answers for. This should be part of the application. Does it require a motion to do this?

Voting for BOD members in VCCA is very much like voting for school boards, corporate boards, etc.; most voters just don't have sufficient information to make an informed decision. Candidate responses to key issues of importance to the club and made available to the members would be very helpful. It seems that the G

Voting for BOD members in VCCA is very much like voting for school boards, corporate boards, etc.; most voters just don't have sufficient information to make an informed decision. Candidate responses to key issues of importance to the club and made available to the members would be very helpful. It seems that the G&D is the only way to present such info to all the members. This web site is great, but can only reach some of us. I can see where a members only section of this site could be very beneficial to conducting club affairs. I agree with the tremedous value of the involvement of so many dedicated members and the need to pass the baton to keep this club alive. Old Chevies bring us together, but I see car clubs as really being all about people... sharing their time, resources, and knowledge(of course a good dose of fun sure helps). I think that improved business practices and eletronic availability of restoration aids is much needed for this club to survive and hopefully grow. It's really good to see BOD members taking part in these online conversations and helping to "wakeup" the members to be active in a way that counts. Using this site to provide an online portal for making motions would sure help bring ideas to the BOD more efficiently.

Its kind of like the US Gov if ya don't vote you don't have a say attitude, everybody cannot hold an office just not enough slots or time to hear everything so you break it down. But never should a politician stop listening to the people. You will lose the very fiber that makes our country so great, the freedom to choose, explore, invent, to be creative, to gain knowledge. So my point is politicians should always listen, for there are many smart people out there to hear from and even dumb people have a say in the US

Im not saying that there Is a large number of older people who belong to the VCCA and do not have a computer and never will have one and will never have any connection to the chat site, So the only connection of whats going on about the club Is by the G and D they recieve every month. Because of that, I think a large number are left out of whats happening. I know of other clubs where the older people want nothing to do with the era of computers and are left out, And I think the same goes for our club. If there are regions where the good old boys are elected year after year, Then trying to get new people elected In those regions, Is going to take some doings. From what I have heard, There is some of that now and they are elected time after time and for someone to step In and defeat them , Is going to be a monumental task. We need members to fill out the Motion Submission Form of what changes they would like to be brought up at the next board meeting. I think that Is one of the first things we need to have happen, Besides trying to get new people elected to the board. It sounds simple, But not everyone Is qualified or wants to be on the board. But for those who are, Please get Involved.

Well stated everyone.

And as surely as VCCA is 45 years old, growth continues and change is simply a requirement of growth.

It’s kind of funny, but there's a lot that makes Change unsettling. Even positive, valuable changes makes all of us feel a bit “uncomfortable”  . 

When I think about it, Change is just part of living and should always be welcomed, even when it is uncomfortable.

There’s an old saying about Change and knowing  its  value, “If the change {s} you are making do NOT make you uncomfortable, the change {s} is probably not meaningful” . 

But Change is tough to do.  We change clothes, jobs, sizes, homes, furniture, cars, parts, partners, friends, TV shows, foods, products, insurance plans, doctors, medicines, clocks, days, weeks, months, years, Presidents, neighbors, and some times even spouses. So change happens to All of us, ALL THE TIME.

One paradox of  Change is even when we Change from one idea to another, we get to keep ALL  of our experience from the previous idea or method. So really, all changes are small, generally speaking.

Now no one has to  Change, but there was an old saying on 59 th. Street where I grew up, “If you think change is hard now, just wait till all of us have done it, except you” . 

And lastly, we can not successfully fight change, it will beat us every time. Now, all that having been said, one change I would welcome is;

ALL BOD candidates MUST post & LIST in G&D {or supplement page}:

1. A complete Bio. & Statement of views.
2. How their backgrounds & abilities will help the club.
3. 3-5 primary Goals as Board Member.
4. What they HAVE achieved. {half way through the term}
5. Which Goals  WERE  achieved. {Reelection time}

Really ,  just simple accountability,

Now over all, I feel it is necessary, as a qualification process, to look for bright, fun, experienced open minded people who can and will provide guidance, progress and improvement while supporting founding values.

It’s also important to look at a person's ability to be, positive, open to new ideas and clear about their mission. Then the base qualities of honesty, respectfulness, decency, manners, communication and a willingness to help are what follows.

I think this is a good way to continue the progress of VCCA. With a solid base of leadership and accountability that opens VCCA up to the next generation of members.

In my view, the Board's primary mission is to plan, implement and support positive changes and growth that improve VCCA today and tomorrow.

I would like to read other views.
Thank you for this opportunity.
Michael41 :)

Was the other thread closed by someone ? If so who ?

Michael41

What are the responsibilities, duties for elected BOD members? I would think there would be required meetings; does the VCCA pay for travel and expenses to attend? What else is required of them? It must be difficult for the BOD members to communicate discuss issues with each other without all of them being online.

I can not think of another political office in a democracy where the candidates are mute on what they are for and what they are against. It would not cost any money for the candidates to answer questions poised by club members in the G&D.

2 possible ways for the election committee to select the questions to be answered by all candidates:

#1. One way of selecting the questions to be asked could be to ask in the G&D for members to send in questions to the chair of the election committee that they want answered (a standardized form for questions could be printed in the G&D) this could and should be asked of members many months ahead of the election with a deadline for questions. After the deadline the committee would total the questions and see which questions were asked the most often then the candidates would be asked to answer these questions in the G&D.

#2. Another way to select the questions would be to list all of the questions that the BOD thinks the membership would like answered in the G&D by candidates (a standardized form printed in the G&D) and ask each member to put these questions in the numerical order of priority for that member and return it to the election committee chair with this then the committee would know what the membership thinks is important and is interested in and the committe would then ask these questions to the candidates.

IMHO I like #1, but these are just some possible ways, I think a way to select questions should not stand in our way of asking questions and getting answers.

I believe when candidates get elected after giving answers to questions on what direction the VCCA should take or what changes the members want would make the BOD reflect much better the attitudes and values of the membership and make them better leaders.

Michael,
Read the 2nd and last sentence in the thread, check who the moderator is and it should come to light. :)
jerrygolf

Sorry, should of posted this in "Somethings Rotten in Denmark 2" to leave this thread open for business only. :o :o
jerrygolf

How does a member obtain a copy of the bylaws? I don't recall receiving the bylaws when I got my membership packet. Does most of the general membership have a copy of the bylaws? Who would I obtain a copy from?

Thanks!

Now you're asking the right questions. The Bylaws were one of the first things that we wanted to post in the new Document Directory on the new Membership Database site.

-Bill B

Jim Karras asked: How does a member obtain a copy of the bylaws?

It is my understanding that you can only get a copy from the National Secretary of the VCCA, Dennis Oestreich. I think the cost is $25.00.

You can also contact your Area Director, and ask if a copy is available from her/him.

Elizebeth

8,000+ members X $25.00 versus posting the by-laws on the VCCA Home website.

Maybe the way that best serves the members (post it! IMHO) should be the way to go. What were the reasons given for not posting it?

I have read the by-laws of other clubs on their home pages on the web, the by-laws are one of the things people want to read before joining a club.

Pardon me if this is redundant, Not sure where to place it...

It appears that Bill and some others have their views and reasons for the decision to close the thread. I appreciate their openness, positions and honesty.

For me, I believed Chevy Chat to be an “Open Forum.” I also believed, based on what I had read in the other thread, the views and opinions were contributing to VCCA in many ways. Regardless of the persons' position, comment or statements.

The reason for these comments can be noted in three of MY beliefs & final expressions:

1. I do NOT know what happened at The Board Meeting.
All I know is someone's perception of that meeting and what some peoples' views were on what MAY have taken place.

2. There has NEVER been VALUE in stopping communication.

3. Censorship is one of the ugliest forms of power.

Additionally, stopping expression and not supporting conversation causes “closed” and “Flat-loop” conversations . A process in communication that stops ALL interest in responding, contribution, dialogue and understanding.

Understanding can ONLY evolve FROM open, clear conversation and dialogue. When dialogue is stopped, understanding is stopped. Without understanding you have no support, team or process to move forward on.

And finally, the use of censorship is not the way to treat people. It has ALWAYS failed, even with the best of intentions.

Being a “new” VCCA member, I am not even a blip on the VCCA radar. But for me, the effects of this decision are long running and negative.

In closing, I assure you that I have no preconceived expectations from expressing my views. I do not expect alterations, feed back or conversation or changes.

So, Bill, I could not be more OPPOSED to your decision and actions.

If you care to chat about this issue or my views I may be reached at: kidzatheart@mindspring.com or via phone,
Office: 310-543-0524 Pacific Time Zone.

Thank you for this opportunity.
Regards, so long & best of luck,
Michael Welch