Posted by Tony Eeds - President TMTC on TMTC Forums:
In the interest of time yesterday, I didn't want to say anything I might later regret, but still get the word out to everyone. I realize this is not only an inconvenience, but a PITA to many people as well.
Also, four hours on the phone left me more than a bit frazzled about the whole situation. My last call relative to this situation did not end until 9ish last night.
So, after a nights sleep here is what happened and why TMTC made the decision that we did.
I spoke with a representative of the park in late December and inquired about having the meeting there as a way to get it out of NE Texas and hopefully increase participation in the Austin and San Antonio area. That, and coupled with the fact that 90% of the people (MY estimate) coming to the meeting wanted something more than just a meeting, i.e. a place to play, I thought Boulder Creek would be a good site to host our meeting.
I have talked with the representative of the park a number of times in the ensuing three weeks, but the formal proposal of a package for costs kept getting delayed.
In the interest of TMTC, we were trying to come up with a package of costs relatively equal to the expenses that a family would incur at BMRA. TMTC was going to rent the tent facility as well there for the meeting as well. We are pragmatic enough to realize that it would be difficult enough to get people to attend the meeting, but without a park to play ... well you get the picture.
I received a call yesterday from a member of TMTC that the person I had contacted regarding the meeting was no longer involved in the park. With time running out and needing to get a post card out to all the members ASAP, I polled the Ex BOD members and some BOD members about the situation. Based upon feedback received, we felt it was in the best interest of TMTC to move the meeting.
That being said, I can see how that could feel like we are pulling the rug out from under folks in Central Texas. If there had been enough time to rectify the situation, the decision would likely have been different. Ten days between yesterday and the mandated meeting date did not leave many options, in my opinion.
I was hoping by this juncture, that we would have a substantial portion of the membership registered here on the site and the issue of communication would have begun to solve itself. In reality, that is not the case. We have a dedicated core of people that are members of the forums, but there are only 128 registered members of the forum, as I write this, and only 36 people that are TMTC Members on the site. We have 1208 members in the database that are current, so this is a huge gap. Our only means of communication with many folks seems to be via snail mail and I suspect a significant number of the addresses are incorrect in the database.
So much for the reasons, what have I learned?
- The process of planning the meetings cannot begin eight~twelve weeks prior to a meeting, planning MUST begin the day the previous meeting ends.
- We should strive to have planning meetings with other entities face to face, not over the phone.
- We should ask facilities around the state if they want to vie for the meeting and what their package is that they want to offer “us”.
I recently served on the BOD of another statewide org and we set our annual meeting location two years in advance of the meeting to allow the site to attend a yearly meeting and see what we are about. That might be a bit far fetched for TMTC, but perhaps we need to plan all of our meetings a year in advance, i.e. begin the planning of the January 2009 meeting right after the completion of this January 2008 meeting.
I will accept all the blame for the entire situation. This is a learning process for me and I have learned a great deal over the last few weeks and months.
Frankly, this whole idea that the meeting date is cast in stone in the by laws is a bit foreign to me, as it limits the flexibility of the organization to respond to unique situations.
In 2009, NOHVCC will be hosting their annual meeting here in Texas. It would be nice if we could host our annual membership meeting during one day of their conference and let TMTC and NOHVCC get to know each other better. Without a change in the by laws, we do not have that flexibility. I believe the by laws need further revision, past the changes be made to meet the mandate of the 501(C)(3), but that is the topic for another thread.
In my grand vision for making TMTC more responsive to membership, I saw the forums serving that purpose. With only 36 members of TMTC registered here (roughly 2.9% of membership) that does not appear to currently be possible.
What do our members want? Why are members not registering? Topics for other threads.
I want apologize to all the members for the inconvenience that this causes. Please understand one thing, if nothing else out of this bit of ASCII dribble. For me, an apology still means something. It is not the hollow expression of “oops” that it has become in political circles with the demands of the press for an “apology”, whatever in the world that means.
I will get this right, or at least more right than it is right now.
I welcome the feedback, good or bad, of members regarding the entire situation. Please post them, so this dialog can continue.
__________________
Tony Eeds aka Teeds aka Dad aka Grandpa
Rider Down - In memory of Stevie
Good roads bring bad people
Bad roads bring good people