ABGA Members Bill of Rights. Better two-way communications between members and the board

Transcription

1 ABGA Members Bill of Rights Better two-way communications between members and the board

2 Overview What is the problem needing resolved? What is needed to resolve the problem? A need for a successful model to follow. ABGA version of model. Motion to implement an improvement in ABGA. Summary

3 What is the problem? Members not told about upcoming motions (reciprocal registrations) Poor board agenda communications to some directors (reciprocal registrations) Members promised future meetings would post agenda. Nashville agenda lists Member Participation with no details. Directors are sent background details that members don t see. That shows little interest in letting members know what will be discussed and therefore unable to voice their opinion to their director. Different boards treat members differently. (Need consistency) Some members feel intimidated when they voice their opinion Some members say they are afraid to speak out. No member education on upcoming issues (why make reciprocal registrations change?) We have heard a director told a member attending a meeting to shut up A director told a member to quit whining when they voiced their opinion. No oversight of the board can result in a small power group dictate ABGA actions and direction

4 What is the problem? (continued) Meeting minutes don t tell which directors voted and how they voted. A director can be removed from the board without members understanding why and then replaced without allowing regional members to vote on replacement Threats of legal action when members voice and share their opinion with other members Board votes on president and president selects directors for EC without members participating in selection. The President also decides if members get a vote and details in the agenda President tells members if you have a problem tell us. asking if ABGA was actively participating in potential legal action by another director No response asking if ABGA was paying part of lawyer fee - No response asking if ABGA president had authority to authorize ABGA name in letter from lawyer No response stating Ethics Complaint against member had no facts listed and was therefore not valid according to ABGA rules No response There is no clear statement of when members should be allowed a voice/vote in upcoming issues.

5 What is the problem? (continued) ABGA members have limited rights to vote in their own association. The text below shows the only reasons that members are required to vote. Everything else is left up to the ABGA President to decide if members will be allowed to vote. 2.7 Actions Requiring Member Approval. The Board shall not, without the approval of a majority of the Regular Members who are present at a meeting, take any of the following actions: (a) approve a merger, acquisition, or consolidation of the Association; (b) approve the dissolution of the Association; or (c) approve any alteration or amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of the Association. In the ABGA form for membership renewal, something new was added. Members are now required to sign a pledge like statement in order to continue being an ABGA member. There was already something in the bylaws stating members shall comply with the rules and regulations. The pledge requires members to advance the purposes of the ABGA and the board is the only voice of what the purposes of the ABGA are. Does that mean if you don t agree with them, you can be removed? Think hard about why this was added. I agree to support and obey the Articles of incorporation, Bylaws, Rules and Regulations of the ABGA, and to advance the purposes of the ABGA. I agree that my membership can be removed at any time under the Bylaws of the ABGA. AI agree to comply with ABGA Online Premium terms and conditions. Text from the ABGA Bylaws Termination of Membership. The membership of any Member may be terminated at any time without cause by the unanimous vote of the whole Board; provided, if such Member is a director of the Association, the membership of such person in the Association cannot be terminated at any time without cause except by the unanimous vote of the remainder of the whole Board. 2.9 Rules and Regulations; Code of Ethics. The Members shall comply with the Rules and Regulations and Code of Ethics established from time to time by the Board for Members pursuant to Section 3.15.

6 What is needed? Members need consistency, between different boards, in the two-way communications allowed Members need the ABGA bylaws/rules to formally state members rights that allow productive two-way communications. ABGA needs to follow some successful model of two-way communications Members need to know What their director stands for (member-oriented or self reliant) How their director sees upcoming issues and educate members on the issue How their director voted Members will be allowed to have a website collecting ABGA issues, opinions and directors actions for members to reference at election time.

7 Successful Model State & National Government Candidates state what they are for and what is important to them. People vote for candidate that may best represent them regionally. People vote for a candidate to be president separate from regional election. Government will make a State of the Union/State to let people know what they want to do over the year. When issues come up, members are educated on the pros and cons of the issues. Representatives let people know how they intend to vote. Votes are taken and people are told how each representative voted. Certain issues are required to be voted upon by the people. This is clearly stated in the law. Representatives will actively work to have two-way communications with the people they represent. There are many groups that have websites, TV shows, radio shows, newspapers that state and share their opinion on issues and representatives without being threatened with lawsuits. There are public records on bills voted on and how representatives voted. Near upcoming elections, groups and individuals are allowed to campaign for or against their representative/president without fear of any type of threats.

8 Proposed ABGA Model Candidates state what they are for and what they want to achieve (memberoriented or self reliant) Members vote on regional director Members vote on a president President writes a State of the Association telling what members should expect for the year. (no surprises during the year) The board should take Mission statements, vision statement and goals seriously and be accountable for following them. The board allows members extended discussion/debate time on upcoming issues by communicating details of the issues to members The board communicates to members expected benefits to come from the implementation or changes of proposed motions to be voted upon Detailed agendas are posted for directors and members prior to meeting to allow director/member discussion Directors vote on issues and the meeting minutes should clearly state which directors voted and how they voted. Members shall be allowed to present at face-to-face meetings without permission by the EC when sufficient member signatures have been collected. The board should not harass any members or groups that voice their opinion and share it with other members. Regional members are allowed to discuss/debate any director replacement President writes a letter at the end of the year telling members if the goals were achieved

9 Motion to Implement Members Bill of Rights Change the rules and bylaws to implement the following Require description of stated business for all meetings scheduled. Require the office of ABGA President be elected by the members and not the BoD. Require detailed and clearly understood agendas for directors and members prior to any meeting. Require all meeting minutes to document which directors voted and how they voted. Require that any member/group may have time at a face-to-face meeting, without EC blessing, if they have 75 or more other member signatures supporting the issue. Allow members to vote on the issue requiring any change to the bylaws or rules/regulations Require all motions to change the bylaws or rules/regulations to have a description communicated to the members of the proposed benefits from the change. Document when members will be allowed to vote and when it will not be offered.

10 Summary This presentation was not developed hoping to change ABGA. We voiced our opinions to other ABGA members, been harassed and said we would produce this presentation prior to not renewing our ABGA membership in I scheduled the time with my director to do the presentation at the Nashville meeting. However, because of health issues in our family, we asked a friend living closer to Nashville to do the presentation. This was rejected by the ABGA president and at least two directors. Below is a statement about our reason for canceling and a statement by one director. Paul Kinslow post I'll answer this as politely as possible.. My simple answer is No. If Jack can't take the time to come and make a presentation that he prepared then I'm really not interested in hearing it second hand. I am taking 4 days out of my schedule and losing a weekend with my children to come serve the association. Usually I take a back seat on posting on FB because I really see no value in how most of these conversations turn out. Jack can wait until the next bod mtg and make HIS presentation in person if it means that much to him. I am just one of many on the Board and this is just my opinion on the matter. If everyone else is ok with it then I will be as well but to me this is a slap in the face and a very disrespectful request. Anita Mauldin post Paul Kinslow, Jack can not make the meeting because of me. My Dad fell and hurt himself really bad a couple of weeks ago and was in the hospital about a week. The doctors found an artery in his heart that was 99% blocked and they put a stent in it. My Dad is almost 89 years old and lives in Arkansas. He has 2 or 3 other blocked arteries in his heart that needs stents put in them but is not strong enough to withstand the operation which means he could have a major heart attack any time. It is only Jack and myself that take care of our goats and no family close enough to help. If any thing happens to my Dad then I would have to head to Arkansas and Jack would have to stay at home to take care of the farm. Also, I have a bad back and have had a hip replacement and not able to do heavy lifting such as bales of hay that has to be put out each day for the goats. Finally, we have been without electricity for over three days with temperatures below freezing all of that time. We are now trying to recover from that. The presentation Jack prepared was put together by several people and David Gilliam helped with the preparation and should be able to answer any questions anyone might have was sent to the ABGA President and he stated I should just reschedule. In an ideal world, an association would not care who did the presentation about helping to improve the two-way communications between members and the Bod. In this situation, it appears the BoD wanted to have one specific person in front of them that had been voicing his opinion to other members. Jack Mauldin