Hi, Ken! You make some very good points. And, you have a refreshing
perspective!
You pointed out one of the problems in a quote in your message (I'll
paraphrase): If the board needs fixing, the board will fix itself. That
cuts out all the rest of us, right?
Megan's handpicked board truly has no authority over the 1600 (last count I
read) county coordinators on this project. Why? Because we are not
members of an organization who elected them -- or provided means for their
appointment -- to do so.
However, they continue to make decisions that affect us daily --
individually and collectively. In my own case, I was ousted from my
position as Tennessee's state coordinator because the USGenWeb "board" was
hoodwinked by an individual with an agenda. This resulted in my being
publicly humiliated and professionally besmirched. In hindsight, the
"board" recognizes it erred. But, I'm still suffering from the fallout.
And, the person who orchestrated the whole thing has not yet been
reprimanded by the same governing body.
Please don't anyone read any personal animosity toward any individuals in
this message. None is intended. My intent is to reiterate the fact that
we are putting the cart before the horse. And, we've let the current
"organizational structure" have control too long.
As Ken alluded to the American Revolution, I feel it is time WE organize,
and WE express our desire to have this project run as a democratic
organization, following the accepted guidelines of Robert's Rules of Order
or whatever the majority choose to be the standard. Don't sit back and let
others voice your opinion or take care of things for you. This is your
project -- it's not American politics! <g>
As far as I know, Linda Lewis is the only USGenWeb board member who reads
these messages on the PA-Gen list. I know she's doing a fine job of
collating our opinions and providing them to the others on the board. She
must hear from everyone, though, if we want to have a true representation
of our feelings.
At 10:03 PM 5/30/98 -0400, Ken Boonie wrote:
I was not a cc when the letter from Megan was issued to the sc's,
so I
was unaware of the plans to reorganize. I agree with the statement by
Megan that one person should not be calling the shots. Nor should 2 or
3. Nor should 8 or 10. There are 67 counties in PA. Since some cc's
maintain more than one county, I'm going to estimate, and I emphasize
estimate, that there are 50,(probably low), cc's. Again estimating,
let's assume for the sake of argument there are 50 cc's in each state.
That would be 2500 cc's.
Now, here we are, some genealogists, some researchers, some plain old
diggers. All 2500 of us. We all are forever indebted to our ancestors
for the sacrifices they made to allow us the freedoms and liberties we
all cherish today. Had the Revolutionary War not been fought, who knows
where we might be? Why, I bet that we would not even be permitted to
vote!
Look at this example. I'm not busting on Megan, but a statement like
"The structure of the Board is subject to revision by the Board, in case
it turns out the original structure doesn't work as well as I envision"
is bound to raise a few eyebrows. Who ever decided it was ok to even
have a board?
If you want some guidelines to follow, that is understandable. I think
almost everybody will agree to that. But, as Mike stated, "Nowhere in
the original announcement did it ever say that this board had any power
to make major initiatives on its own and draw up a set of bylaws for us
all".
As I see it, there is absolutely no reason to even consider the proposed
by-laws or for that matter any changes without the input of all. And
that includes all sc's and cc's.
If it ain't broke.........