This meeting, we will also be accepting nominations for the 2010 GWAPA Board of Directors. The positions of the board are:
President - leader of the club. Provides vision, organizes events/meetings, etc.
Vice President - Assists the president with all of the above.
Treasurer - Handles club finances. Gets change from the bank. Must be present at all meetings to handle auction funds. Should be able to report financial status of the club upon request.
Corresponding Secretary - Works with vendors/companies/other clubs/etc to work out new discounts, benefits, and sponsorships for the club. Coordinates group orders.
Recording Secretary - Takes notes at meetings, and writes them up on the gwapa website. Should be present for all meetings, or find backup to take the notes.
GWAPA is a healthy club because we have been able to recruit new members for the board every year, which prevents the same people from handling all of the club responsibilities and burning out. New people also bring new perspectives which help the club grow, and change directions to best serve the interests of its membership. Board members do not have to be the most talented aquascapers, most connected plant collectors, or even green thumb gardeners. All you need is a willingness to spend one evening at the beginning of the year at a board meeting to plan for the year, and then be able to respond to emails/forum posts each week as required.
Please consider nominating yourself for a board position this year. (Otherwise, we'll start nominating people!)
Help us continue to make GWAPA great!
2010 Board Nominations...
It should be noted here:
More than one club Board Member is staying on to ensure continuity for the club. There are those who could/would step down if others showed as interest.
I'm a good example of that - I'd be glad to step down and assist someone else as they got comfortable as corresponding secretary, but I'm not going to see it go vacant or taken on by someone being "stuck" there rather than wanting to do it. So I keep my name in the hat so to speak.
I can think of four people I'd like to see consider running for one or more positions - here it comes!
Chris Todd, you have a willingness to help and a great presence already in this club. I'd encourage you to run for any position, and nominate you to run for any!
Blaise, you are a writer by profession already. Who better to run for taking notes as the Recording Secretary? Run!
Paul, you are always calm cool and collected, and are already running a group order as smoothly as can be. I can see you being in several roles. Run!
Cavan, your knowledge of plants itself can't be even close to having a peer, and you have experience in being more than one club. Take a role!
More than one club Board Member is staying on to ensure continuity for the club. There are those who could/would step down if others showed as interest.
I'm a good example of that - I'd be glad to step down and assist someone else as they got comfortable as corresponding secretary, but I'm not going to see it go vacant or taken on by someone being "stuck" there rather than wanting to do it. So I keep my name in the hat so to speak.
I can think of four people I'd like to see consider running for one or more positions - here it comes!
Chris Todd, you have a willingness to help and a great presence already in this club. I'd encourage you to run for any position, and nominate you to run for any!
Blaise, you are a writer by profession already. Who better to run for taking notes as the Recording Secretary? Run!
Paul, you are always calm cool and collected, and are already running a group order as smoothly as can be. I can see you being in several roles. Run!
Cavan, your knowledge of plants itself can't be even close to having a peer, and you have experience in being more than one club. Take a role!
Dave
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chris_todd
- Posts: 1118
- Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2008 11:05 pm
- Location: Catonsville
Dave,
As everyone is probably aware, I really love GWAPA. It's a really cool club, mainly because of the really cool people in it. Passionate, friendly, and willing to share their knowledge and experience. I love that our meetings are in member's homes, and I love the auctions - such cool plants, and it's great that auctioneers take a moment or two to describe the plant, thus furthering our education.
I would love to see GWAPA thrive, grow, and continue to be the vibrant club it is today, and to that extent, I would be willing to help in any way I can. The question is, can I help by being on the board?
I learned a valuable lesson serving as the Vice President of my local astronomy club (the Howard Astronomical League) for two years: My lifestyle really doesn't permit that kind of committment.
HAL is a lot like GWAPA - an active and vibrant club with many passionate, friendly members willing to share their knowledge and experience. I wanted to help and contribute, so I agreed to be VP. When it came time to get things done, however, I found that the other demands of my life (family, work, etc.) made it difficult to satisfy my responsibilities to the club. In the end, I did a disservice to HAL, let down the other board members, and developed a lot of guilt, because I could not be relied upon to do what needed to be done when it needed to be done. I don't want to do that to GWAPA.
Given that I can guarantee I will not attend all meetings, the treasurer, president, and recording secretary positions are certainly out. Corresponding secretary would seem a good fit, except that many group orders are a "So-and-so is having a sale - who wants in on the group order?", and needs to be arranged quickly. If that should happen during a busy week at work or at home, I would drop the ball. That leaves VP, which I suppose I could do, so long as the rest of the board were to understand that I am completely unreliable.
But then, I would feel bad about letting down the club and the board (as I would inevitably do), and I already have enough guilt in my life, LOL.
In the end, I think the best way I can support GWAPA is to help out where I can, when I can (Aquafest is a good example - I had the weekend free, and really enjoyed helping setup and tear down the fish room, and be a runner during the auction). Amy and I *might* (I need to talk to her about this first) be willing to host a meeting again, and I'd be happy to help with the website or forum (I have some programming skills). At the risk of sounding immodest, I am a decent writer (if a bit long-winded, LOL), and would be willing to be an "emergency backup recording secretary" for those meetings that I do attend (though I am a lousy phtotographer, so someone else would have to send me photos). I've enjoyed being auctioneer, and would be willing to do that again as well. If I could find a topic on which I wouldn't bore the membership, I'd even be willing to give a talk. I'm sure there are other ways I could help.
So I must respectfully decline your request to run, but I'll make the board the following offer - if you need something done, ask me. If I can help, I will.
Chris
As everyone is probably aware, I really love GWAPA. It's a really cool club, mainly because of the really cool people in it. Passionate, friendly, and willing to share their knowledge and experience. I love that our meetings are in member's homes, and I love the auctions - such cool plants, and it's great that auctioneers take a moment or two to describe the plant, thus furthering our education.
I would love to see GWAPA thrive, grow, and continue to be the vibrant club it is today, and to that extent, I would be willing to help in any way I can. The question is, can I help by being on the board?
I learned a valuable lesson serving as the Vice President of my local astronomy club (the Howard Astronomical League) for two years: My lifestyle really doesn't permit that kind of committment.
HAL is a lot like GWAPA - an active and vibrant club with many passionate, friendly members willing to share their knowledge and experience. I wanted to help and contribute, so I agreed to be VP. When it came time to get things done, however, I found that the other demands of my life (family, work, etc.) made it difficult to satisfy my responsibilities to the club. In the end, I did a disservice to HAL, let down the other board members, and developed a lot of guilt, because I could not be relied upon to do what needed to be done when it needed to be done. I don't want to do that to GWAPA.Given that I can guarantee I will not attend all meetings, the treasurer, president, and recording secretary positions are certainly out. Corresponding secretary would seem a good fit, except that many group orders are a "So-and-so is having a sale - who wants in on the group order?", and needs to be arranged quickly. If that should happen during a busy week at work or at home, I would drop the ball. That leaves VP, which I suppose I could do, so long as the rest of the board were to understand that I am completely unreliable.
But then, I would feel bad about letting down the club and the board (as I would inevitably do), and I already have enough guilt in my life, LOL.In the end, I think the best way I can support GWAPA is to help out where I can, when I can (Aquafest is a good example - I had the weekend free, and really enjoyed helping setup and tear down the fish room, and be a runner during the auction). Amy and I *might* (I need to talk to her about this first) be willing to host a meeting again, and I'd be happy to help with the website or forum (I have some programming skills). At the risk of sounding immodest, I am a decent writer (if a bit long-winded, LOL), and would be willing to be an "emergency backup recording secretary" for those meetings that I do attend (though I am a lousy phtotographer, so someone else would have to send me photos). I've enjoyed being auctioneer, and would be willing to do that again as well. If I could find a topic on which I wouldn't bore the membership, I'd even be willing to give a talk. I'm sure there are other ways I could help.
So I must respectfully decline your request to run, but I'll make the board the following offer - if you need something done, ask me. If I can help, I will.
Chris
Totally understood. And appreciated. you can count on being called as a backup when/if the need arises!
What we (the board) figured out, we think, is that some are simply scared of doing it because they aren't... hmm... aren't like elite at scaping or plant knowledge whatever?
Which means nada BTW - I'm not an elite scaper either, and I did it.
I know more Latin names than most because I like to be able to talk on a semi-level field (stress the semi!) and learn from folks like Sean and Cavan.... but I'm not elite on plant knowledge, either.
What we also figured out is everyone needs a break now and then.
Backups are awesome, and NEEDED. No one makes every single meeting, need backup recording, need backup on treasurer, etc. I was completely burned out right after Aquafest - great to see someone else run a group order.
Backup roles are invaluable. I'd encourage those who do not want to run, but would want to help now and then, to say so! I hope to be in one of those backup roles by end of next year at least, if not sooner!
What we (the board) figured out, we think, is that some are simply scared of doing it because they aren't... hmm... aren't like elite at scaping or plant knowledge whatever?
Which means nada BTW - I'm not an elite scaper either, and I did it.
I know more Latin names than most because I like to be able to talk on a semi-level field (stress the semi!) and learn from folks like Sean and Cavan.... but I'm not elite on plant knowledge, either.
What we also figured out is everyone needs a break now and then.
Backups are awesome, and NEEDED. No one makes every single meeting, need backup recording, need backup on treasurer, etc. I was completely burned out right after Aquafest - great to see someone else run a group order.
Backup roles are invaluable. I'd encourage those who do not want to run, but would want to help now and then, to say so! I hope to be in one of those backup roles by end of next year at least, if not sooner!
Dave
Thanks for the nice comment Dave. I just volunteered to be a den leader for my son's Cub Scout troop. Right now, I don't think I would have the time to take on anything else. However, if the club needs help learning how to tie a Clover Hitch of Bowline knot, I may be able to help.
Paul
Seriously though, like Chris, I am always happy to help our club in any way I can.
Paul
Seriously though, like Chris, I am always happy to help our club in any way I can.
