0
skydived19006

Should the USPA BOD Meetings Go Virtual

Recommended Posts

BOD members or anyone with knowledge, has there ever been any discussion on taking the biannual BOD meetings virtual? Seems a huge waste of member money to this member. Also USPA staff time to pack up and go remote for something that could be done over the internet. It seems logical to locate these meetings at USPA headquarters, anyone not wanting to go vitrual could go to HQ.

The Executive Commettee meet somewhat often between meetings and conduct business.

Has there ever been any discussion on reducing the number of BOD members? What exactly is the role of the National Directors? Could the NDs not simply be eleminated and roll those duties to the RDs? I guess though that if the meetings were done virtual, it wouldn't really matter how many members since the member money spend is for all the travel for two meetings a year.

As I undrstand, there's always a lot of discussion regarding where to hold the next, the BOD members argue over where will be the most fun to travel to on the membership dime.

Stop the madness!

Martin Myrtle 104570
Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else.

AC DZ

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
ShotterMG

Is english your first language? I really hope not. Perhaps you should organize your thoughts, do some research, and try again.



So, it was a bit of an off the cuff rant and should have been better worded. Thanks for the feedback on my use/misuse of the language. I shall endever to do better. Your constructive critiscizm has put a burning desire in me for self improvement!

Guessing from your response that you have no thoughts on the questions, only feedback on my poor English? What say you ShorterMG?
Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else.

AC DZ

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Martin,
I believe that there's value added when the BOD gets out among the members. Having the meetings across the country gives us the opportunity to attend in person when they are in the vicinity. Personally, I'm not too concerned about the costs. They do a decent job of regulating spending and there aren't a lot of frills. After all, these guys and gals are working on our behalf. Shouldn't there be some benefit to it? If the whole thing sucked, who would ever want the job?

Louis
The brave may not live forever, but the timid never live at all.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
hillson

***If the whole thing sucked, who would ever want the job?



Ever dealt with a Homeowners Association? Same principle applies...

I'd settle for streamed mtgs etc. Any excuse why they "can't" is pretty much non-serious at this point.

Facebook offers live-streaming. As does youtube, I think. Wouldn't take much effort to set it up.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Deisel

Martin,
I believe that there's value added when the BOD gets out among the members. Having the meetings across the country gives us the opportunity to attend in person when they are in the vicinity. Personally, I'm not too concerned about the costs. They do a decent job of regulating spending and there aren't a lot of frills. After all, these guys and gals are working on our behalf. Shouldn't there be some benefit to it? If the whole thing sucked, who would ever want the job?

Louis



I do agree that there's value added in getting together, and it's a whole lot more appealing to go somewhere. Sitting at home at your computer all day would be quite unapealing. Maybe move to a Winter Meeting virtual and Summer Meeting in person.

I would be interested to know what it the bottom line is for one of these meetings, to include pulling staff from VA and their normal daily jobs.
Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else.

AC DZ

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
skydived19006

***Martin,
I believe that there's value added when the BOD gets out among the members. Having the meetings across the country gives us the opportunity to attend in person when they are in the vicinity. Personally, I'm not too concerned about the costs. They do a decent job of regulating spending and there aren't a lot of frills. After all, these guys and gals are working on our behalf. Shouldn't there be some benefit to it? If the whole thing sucked, who would ever want the job?

Louis



I do agree that there's value added in getting together, and it's a whole lot more appealing to go somewhere. Sitting at home at your computer all day would be quite unapealing. Maybe move to a Winter Meeting virtual and Summer Meeting in person.

I would be interested to know what it the bottom line is for one of these meetings, to include pulling staff from VA and their normal daily jobs.

The BOD members live all over the country, so moving the meeting means it gets more accessible for everyone at some point. Have you attended one of these meetings? A lot of work and discussion gets done in side meetings of the committees, and during breaks when speaking to others in attendance. More discussions also take place over dinner and breakfast. I was just in Chattanooga for some of the proceeds last weekend. Trust me, these board members aren't out carousing the city. By the end of the day, most just want to eat in the hotel, maybe have a drink there, and get some sleep. At least during the small portion I was able to attend/observe, I can say your member dollars seemed to be spent judiciously on this trip.

(as far as pulling staff members from their jobs: the meeting was held over a weekend. Only a couple of workdays were spent away from the office for those who attended, and they were doing a lot of work virtually at the same time)


To everyone: I STRONGLY recommend you plan to attend the next BOD meeting closets to you. I think you'll learn a lot!!
See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus

Shut Up & Jump!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I actually had this same thought a week ago regarding a board I'm on for something entirely different. Member dollars were paying for the board to fly to Vegas and meet there and this was to be my first time attending a meeting as a board member. I wondered why we couldn't just meet remotely. After I attended, I realized how much more productive the meetings are when you're all in the same room and discussing. If meetings of this magnitude were done remotely, people would be paying about 25% attention as they surfed the web, played with their phone, got interrupted by family members, etc. In this age of technology, there is still a lot to be said about face-to-face time.
*If you fail to plan, you plan to fail*
*It's not flair, it's flare*
*Please use "your" and "you're" responsibly*

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I have been to multiple meetings. Unfortunately they feel the need to "get business done" on the side and in the bars without the input of all committee members. If you are scared to say it in front of everyone, then get off the board.

The last GM meeting I went to, a couple board members were sleeping while others were playing on their phones. They showed complete lack of respect for the organization and the members that showed up for that meeting. A few of those board member were not re-elected.

I thought at one point Jan Meyer had tried to get a virtual meetings setup, at least for the GM meeting.

j
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Hmmm... I head that the last time they had a quorum for the general membership meeting was a few decades ago. As for the plenary session of the BOD, at least this ONE I attended last weekend, good work was done in the committees, and the plenary was productive because of that.

Perhaps if more members attend when they can, we can keep those BOD meetings on the same level, as I would hope a board member would be embarrassed to be caught by a constituent not taking these meetings seriously. (Hopefully, that's why the members you spoke of are no longer board members?)

ETA: as we now have three years between elections, I really hope more members will take an opportunity to attend at least one BOD meeting near them, in order to make a more informed decision when voting. Yeah, I know it's a pipe dream, but the more we're involved, the better our representatives can work for us.
See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus

Shut Up & Jump!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Nothing beats getting people in the same room. As far cost constraints? Things that matter cost money. A Virtual meeting could supplement face time but a real meeting, not one of those meetings that could've been an email, require people to look each other in the eyes.
"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
TriGirl

Hmmm... I head that the last time they had a quorum for the general membership meeting was a few decades ago. As for the plenary session of the BOD, at least this ONE I attended last weekend, good work was done in the committees, and the plenary was productive because of that.

Perhaps if more members attend when they can, we can keep those BOD meetings on the same level, as I would hope a board member would be embarrassed to be caught by a constituent not taking these meetings seriously. (Hopefully, that's why the members you spoke of are no longer board members?)

ETA: as we now have three years between elections, I really hope more members will take an opportunity to attend at least one BOD meeting near them, in order to make a more informed decision when voting. Yeah, I know it's a pipe dream, but the more we're involved, the better our representatives can work for us.



Since we didn't have a quorum that makes it okay to sleep and play on their phones? Not so long ago if their phones went off in a meeting they had to buy a round...now it really doesn't matter does it.

j
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

0