Last month I had already submitted my article for Interactions when I learned of the passing of a dear friend. Russ Brzezinski was already on the Board of Directors when I joined as a Regional Vice President back 16 or so years ago. As Ginger said in last month's issue, one of my fondest memories was when Russ introduced me to sushi. I never forgave him and he would never let me forget it. We had some great times.
Several of us had been trying to get a hold of Russ in advance of the February board meeting with no success. I think we were all getting concerned because there were a series of phone calls and emails with folks trying to find out if anyone else had had any contact with him. After not hearing from him regarding the board meeting, I was seriously concerned. I knew his health was worse than he would ever acknowledge. I was considering going to Milwaukee to see if I could find out what was going on when I received a message from Mary Ann Lewis. I was deeply saddened by the news.
Russ was so fully dedicated to the advancement of the value methodology and SAVE International. He was a good man with a big heart and I will miss him and I know the Society will miss his influence and contributions as well.
I wish Russ could have been with us at our February Board of Director's meeting because I think he would have been very pleased with the advancements that the board is making. In some ways the meeting was one of the most productive that I have had the pleasure to be a part of. The results of the meeting are highlighted in the following bullet points:
- While staying at the Hyatt Regency Montreal we had the opportunity to visit the conference facilities. I am very excited about the layout of the hotel and the meeting spaces. The primary meeting rooms will be in the hotel's ballroom which is divisible into three breakout rooms. A foyer that extends the width of the ballroom will be used for exhibits and other conference administration functions. Similar to the configuration at Scottsdale, the breakout rooms, exhibits, coffee breaks, and administration are all integrated for maximum efficiency and effectiveness. One minor drawback is the room we will be using for luncheons is separate from the other meeting spaces and is not an ideal configuration. However, I have been assured that it will work to our satisfaction. Another really appealing feature is the integration of the hotel to a shopping mall similar to the 1991 Annual Conference at the Westin in Kansas City. The hotel opens into the mall where there is a food court, restaurants, and of course a wide variety of places to shop. The convenience is great. Thanks to this wonderful feature, I was able to purchase my wife a Valentine card and a gift without leaving the hotel. She was totally surprised to actually get something on Valentines Day. What an accomplishment. I know you all will really enjoy this wonderful hotel. Nice job by the conference committee and the SBO.
- Well it is now official. The President and Executive Vice President terms of office have been extended to two year terms. The board voted unanimously to make the change. Following this approval the board then approved a motion to extend both my term as President and Terry Hays' term as Executive Vice President by one year. To avoid turning this back into a six year commitment, the board also approved a proposed constitutional amendment to remove the position of Immediate Past President from the board of directors. This proposed amendment is on the election ballot. An email has been sent to all members with a link to the web-based election ballot. Please be sure to read the linked document if you need more information on the rationale for this constitutional change.
- As I prepared for the board meeting, I pondered how we were going to address the constitutional requirement for an odd number of board members if the Immediate Past President position were removed. I did not have an answer so I was contemplating what function was missing on the board. The answer came when Joe Otero and I had dinner the evening before the meeting. He told me that he wanted to revisit the decision to have the Director of Conferences report to the President as opposed to the Vice President – Education. I agreed with Joe that the change we had approved in October in the reporting protocol was not working as well as the board had hoped. From a financial perspective, the conference is the single most important activity of the year. The conference is what keeps us going from year to year. It needs high level attention and direct access to the board members – what we need from a functional perspective is to give the conference the board level attention it deserves. From that came an idea which was later ratified by the board to create a new Vice President – Conferences. This resolved Joe's concern that the Director of Conferences did not have the necessary communication link with the board. It also solved my original concern that the Vice President – Education was too consumed by the conference planning activities to effectively and proactively pursue the educational needs of our Society. Therefore, with this new Vice President position, we were able to expand and enhance the functions and responsibilities of the Vice President – Education. This was a somewhat subtle change to the board configuration that I believe is going to have significant benefits to both the annual conference planning and to the educational aspects of SAVE.
- We also approved a new procedure for expediting the approval of the board meeting minutes. In the past, the meeting minutes were sent to the board members a week or two prior to the next board meeting for review. Then, at that next board meeting one of the first items on the agenda in the approval of the minutes from our last meeting. Following the approval, the minutes would then be made available to the membership by posting them on the website. With today's electronic capabilities, this procedure seemed rather outdated. The new procedure requires the minutes from a meeting to be sent via email to the board members within two weeks following the meeting. The board then reviews the minutes electronically and provides any necessary edits. The edits are compiled by the business office and the final version sent, again via email, to the board members for approval. Once approved, the minutes are posted on the website. So now, instead of taking 4-5 months to get minutes published, we will be able to do it in a matter of 4-6 weeks. This also improves the accuracy of the minutes because the board members are able to review the documentation of the meeting while the information is still fresh in their minds. In addition, we decided to attach the various board member reports to the minutes. So often the minutes reference the board members' reports. Under the past procedures, the membership would then only have a partial picture of the discussions at the meeting. Again, another minor and easy change to our procedures that will improve our efficiency and effectiveness.
I am going to cut myself off because once again my article is probably to wordy. There were so many other good things that came from this meeting. Our minutes from this meeting, without the board members' reports, were 19 pages long. Please keep a watch on the website for these minutes and take some time to read through the items of discussion and the decisions your board made on the various issues.
I am really excited about where I see SAVE International going. I believe some of the changes that we have made over the past few months are going to be very beneficial to our focus, our efficiency, and our effectiveness in executing the mission of this organization.
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