Merry Christmas

To all my fellow Kin, I love you all and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Kinsmen vote "en bloc"

en bloc - as a unit; all together; as a whole

Voting en bloc is something that all Clubs, Zones and Districts do and are doing. We do it to vote for conventions, Vice Governors and National Vice Presidents.

We will sit in a caucus and decide where to place our vote and the proxies that we carry.  Then we will place all our votes on the same ballot.

I just want all members to think about the issue. We have a one member, one vote policy. I have these few questions about this policy, whether it is beneficial or not.

• Is there not, always a couple influential members convincing the rest of the caucus of their view?
• Would your District, Zone , Club, have all voted the same way?
• Is this vote a fair representation of our membership?
• Is there any other way of collecting the varied views of the membership?

I have had a large number of votes that I directed to a decision that I was not personally comfortable with, because of the caucus and voting en bloc system. The issue of proxies also fall into this problem, I will be talking about proxies in a later blog. Please comment if you have a view for or against this issue. My belief is that this is a problem and we are making our decisions based on the opinions of a very few Kin.

Communication is the Key

To be a leader, you must be able to communicate. The members need to know your opinion, thoughts, plans, and deals. Whether you are a President, Deputy Governor, Governor or National President, you MUST be in constant communication with the members, who look to you for guidance.

When I joined Kin, the only communication we had were letters that came though the post office. This was always very limited and after the fact. That is the one source of communication that is not very effective in these days of the 21st century. Now we have instant communication with tools like Facebook and Twitter. We have a rare leader of the Association, National President Lee Burry, he uses many forms of communicating with the members. I will use him as an example, below are the links to the National President, if you follow these you will become one of the informed;

Website - http://www.kincanada.ca/
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/#!/lee.burry
Facebook Page - http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Kin-Canada/108172575878053
Facebook Group - Lee still could fill this void.
Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/leeburry
Blog - http://believekin.ca/blog/
Youtube channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/believekin
Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/Lee

This is very impressive, we have a Kin National President that is aware of the potential of communication. Good job Lee....

There is also a huge communication tool that most members have, a cellphone. With your phone, you can text, Blackberry message, email, and of course, call. I used all these tools as Governor, I found that this is the most important thing that the members need, information. These days we hunger for up to the second information and a constant connection.

As a leader, or just Joe Member, please use these tools. The Association needs communication, and it should be two way communication. Members need to know and have input. Let us move into the future and stay connected.

Foundation Apologizes

The Foundation has sent a letter of apology to the Clubs. This was an honourable  move after their actions at the AGM. I am very pleased to see that they made the right move, and I commend them. We must all support and assist the Foundation with their better understanding of the membership.

There are however, a few issues that I do not understand;

• How they could interpret the clause; Section 6, subsection (a) (in earlier post on Nov. 17th), as a fee must be paid to the Foundation. My interpretation would simply be that the Clubs must participate in fund raising activities of the Foundation, just as it is worded.
• There is still no reference to an amount that must be paid, in the apology letter. We still have no written policy.
• There was a strange issue about the date of the letter. the letter was dated on October 22nd, soon after FLC and well before my blog post about the Foundation on November 17th. But, the letter was postmarked at a private postage machine on November 18th. then marked at the Post Office on November 19th. I just found this very odd, and wonder if they want the impression that the letter was done earlier than reality

The Foundation has made a good first step, we must now watch the following actions and put all our support behind our Foundation.

Who directs the National Association?

The National portion of our Organization is a very important aspect. We need to be united, part of a whole, and associated to a larger group. We are all affected by the actions and business of "National". I put, to you, who gives National direction, and steers them in the directions that the membership wish?

In the past, the direction came from the members. We could all have motions brought to the floor of the National Convention. We had our Governors on the board (with the members concerns). In those days National was solely directed by the members.

Then we changed the format of the National board, to remove the Governors and use an Association Director. Being on that first board for a period of 2½ years, my goal was to try to establish the purpose of the Association Director to just relieve the Governors work load. Myself and a couple other board members believed that the Association Directors could be an asset to the Association. This could be done by the A.D. doing the grunt work at National, thus allowing the Governors more time to concern themselves with the business of the District.

At this time the Association Director now known as a National Director (N.D.) takes their direction, from the National President and the Executive Director. The Governor has very little input into the direction of the board, only through external means, they have no direct input. The N.D. is a representative of the National Association, when attending District events. They are NOT the Districts representative on the National Board. The N.D. is only allowed to make the scripted statements that are provided by the board, they can not give their views on any issue. They also can not release any information prior to having permission from the board. The regular member has no way to advise the N.D. on the direction that they wish the national board to go.

All the new directions we have (Vision 20/20, being green, balanced scorecard, etc.) come from the Executive Director, to the N.D.’s that devise a policy, with the Governors overview after the fact. Then it is presented to the members as a done deal.

Are these plans or policies bad, absolutely not!! Are they member driven, no!! “National” has become an elite group. Look at all the committees and boards; you will see the same names over and over. If you speak out about the direction or policies of National, you will have a hard time to get into that group.

The National Directors need to be a representative of their District. The Governors should be directing them to what direction to move the Association. The National Directors would then formulate a process to carry out the direction. Then the Executive Director should carry out the wishes of the Board, the E.D. should be only advising the board not directing it. Then when a plan or policy is developed, the members approve them at their District Conventions and then at National Convention.

I only want to see more member involvement in the Association. At this time I see us having no input or say in OUR Association.

We need YOU!!

There are always elections in Kin, but there are some very important elections coming in the next few months. Our Foundation, District and Kin Canada need your help. Are you a Kin of good character? Do you want the Association to grow and prosper? More importantly, do you want to grow and prosper? Kin is about the personal development; this is your opportunity to move forward in your Kin career.

District Vice Governor / Governor

2 year term

Election – District Kinvention 2011 at Port Alberni

National Director

2 year term

Election – District Kinvention 2011 at Port Alberni

Foundation Director – 3 positions available

2 year term

Election – Fall Leadership Conference 2011 / Foundation AGM at Harrison Hotsprings

These positions need Kin with a strong character. We need Kin in these positions to listen to the members, bring the information back to the members and be willing to fight for the future of Kin. We need to move the Association in new directions and forward out of the past. You can learn and grow in these positions; your future may be here.

Help us and help yourself, think now about putting your hat in the ring… Think now, think early .We need you.

The actions of the D5 Foundation Board

From my first year in Kin, my wife and I attended the “Kinsmen Rehabilitation Foundation” (Kinsmen Foundation) AGM. I have attended all the AGM’s and chaired all the Mothers March’s. I became a Board member in 1998 for a 10 year period. As you can see, I am a Foundation booster, I believe that the Foundation is an excellent cause for the District to undertake and support. With the above information at hand about my personal history with the Foundation, I would like to share some of the recent actions of our Foundation Board and the CEO.

The Foundation Board had a meeting in Aug. 2010; at this meeting they reviewed a clause in the By-Laws;

“Each Organizational Member shall participate in the fund raising activities of the Society annually”

The Board and CEO discussed this clause and decided to interpret this as;

“All Clubs must pay an annual fee per year to remain a member of the Foundation. This fee will be retroactive to the past year.”

Later, at the AGM, the CEO decided that the fee would be $20. No Club had an indication of an amount prior to the AGM.

How they made that interpretation is beyond my comprehension. My interpretation would be that all Clubs must be active members in the Foundation. Clubs that did not donate or attend any meetings would receive a letter from the Foundation, warning of the need for them to assist the Foundation “before removing their status”.

The “Call to the AGM” was sent out to the Clubs on Aug.16^th, with some information about this change. The Board stated the clause that I have above. They also gave their view on it;

“If your club has not made a contribution to the Kinsmen Foundation of British Columbia and the Yukon for the 2009/2010 Kin Year you will not receive voting privileges at the Annual General Meeting”

• ·        A “Call” is for the purpose of providing the time, date, and place for a meeting. It is not intended for the distribution of information.

• ·        What is considered a “contribution”?

• ·        What does the “2009/2010 Kin year” mean? From when to when?

• ·        Also this could not be done retroactively. You must tell members, prior to the installation of this order.

An additional letter was sent to the Clubs on September 24^th, by the boards Chair. This letter made no mention of such a radical policy change. This letter was also very late for Clubs to have it on their agenda prior to FLC.

This change, in and of itself, is not a major impact to the Clubs. Really $20 per year to belong to such a great Foundation is a small price to pay. The purpose behind this action was an honourable one; they wanted more solid participation within the Foundation. The issue with this policy is the process that it was instated.

The following are errors in the Boards procedure with implementing this new policy;

• ·        To enact the policy retroactively to the previous year.

• ·        Minimum advance warning, and no warning at the FLC as to what was about to happen.

• ·        The interpretation of the clause in the by-laws is not in any way related to the actual wording.

• ·        The Board seemed to have a goal of embarrassing Clubs to extort money.

• ·        To arbitrarily change the policy as the AGM progressed. None of these policies were known to anyone, even the board.  - Minimum $20 - Club must hand over money personally.

• ·        To not allow the membership any input to such a major change.

• ·        For a board member to tell the membership to “suck it up” is very disrespectable.

• ·        To have Clubs win awards for their service to the Foundation but not allow them a vote at the AGM.

• ·        They should have had a list of Clubs in good standing. One Club was disallowed to vote, and then received an apology letter because they were in error.

All the trouble that was caused could have been avoided. The Board made a major faux pas and did not think what the effect of their decisions would be. All Boards are “think tanks” this action was not thought out, the Board was trying to be a dictator and force us to contribute and participate in the Foundation. It did not need to be as it was; here are some moves that would have made this change accepted by the Clubs.

• ·        They could have brought this policy forward at this AGM, to be enacted next year.

• ·        They should have made sure that all Clubs fully understood the actions of the Board, prior to the meeting.

• ·        They could have excused Clubs this first year.

• ·        After the AGM they should have realized the impact their decisions made, and apologized to all the Clubs.

• ·        Allowed a lower membership fee, since no fee was told to Clubs prior to AGM.

We now need to be aware of the actions of the Foundation Board; we can no longer be complacent to their business. I find it very sad that the Board just wants a $20 donation from the Clubs. I hope that any Club not wanting to donate; will continue to support our Foundation. But, we must hold the Board accountable until they apologizes for being so arrogant.

So the Bull waits for the Board to “man up” and apologize.

Are you a Following Leader or a True Leader?

Whether you chair a board, committee or just a membership meeting, you must lead with authority. You must always listen to the membership, but how you respond is a very important factor.

When chairing do you;

• call for a vote at the first member to yell out "question"
• accept a bar break at the first member to ask
• restrict the discussion in the effort to save time
• have a rules of order chair that will speak out before being asked

All these issues seem to be listening to the membership, which should be good. But, leading the membership requires steering the membership in a direction benificial to all. There is listening to the membership then there is following blindly. As the Chair you must guide the membership, and help them move in the right direction.

How to Chair the meeting with authority;

• no one in your meeting, should be yelling out anything, and more importantly you should not be following those members. You, as the Chair, should be the only one to decide when the discussion has been exhausted.  As Chair you should know when to ask the membership if the discussion should be ended or "question be called".
• as Chair you need to be aware of the mood in the meeting. Call a break when you think it is needed, and keep it short. If a member has yelled out, it is a little late to call a break. Watch the members for tension, uncomfortable members, moving in seat, and other signs. And again, don't let members yell orders at you, we must lead and not follow.
• restricting the number of speakers or limit the time they can speak, may be good to keep the meeting short, but can destroy your leadership. Members want to have a chance to voice their opinion, and will be very frustrated if not given that chance by the Chair. We must give all members the opportunity to have their say. Even if the time runs a little over, the members will be satisfied at the end of the meeting and not angry that time was more important than they were.
• this is a very common mistake. The rules of order chair is not "the Chair of the meeting", they are the go to member when you, as Chair, need a decisive decision made. If my ROOC was to yell out advice, I would rule them out of order. You are the Chair, you ARE the rules of order chair, you make the decision. When a member questions or challenges your decision, then and only then should you ask the rules of order chair to make their ruling.

As the Leader you need to steer the meeting and not allow the members to steer you. Try to know what your membership wants and needs before they need to yell commands at you.

Celebrate the Positive vs Combating the Negative

Of course we want to celebrate the positive. That is why we attend meetings and conventions. The fellowship is an integral part of Kin. Service is another part of Kin, that is part of the celebration, we need to pat ourselves on the back for the causes we contribute to. The third part of Kin is education.

Education contributes to the Personal Development that we all stay in Kin for. If we, as Kin, did not grow there would be no reason to stay in Kin. I could donate my time and money to many different organizations. But, I chose Kin for the growth I receive and the fellowship with fabulous people.

Over the years I have heard many different angles on "forget the negative", 90% - 10%. Now, I have heard that some Kin don't like my blog because "it is too negative". I do not believe that it is negative at all. I feel that it is education so that others may benefit and not make the same mistakes. It is also information for all members, we are always answering questions why members knew nothing of an issue. I am always explaining issues to members and hear that old tune "why didn't I know about that". It is very important to educate and inform all members on the issues that are important to the Association. We will all grow by learning from our mistakes, and information can be a very powerful thing.

Also, if we were to ignore the negatives that may arise, we will all lose. That issue will become infected and grow, consuming us all. We must stand up to the negative in our Association and not pretend that it will just go away on its own. An example is a Club that has a member or two that are toxic to the Club. If we don't talk of or challenge the toxic members, they will infect all the Club and one by one they will get discouraged and leave the Club. If we stand up to the toxic members and invoke change or remove them from the roster, the Club will grow and prosper.

I believe my blog can inform, educate and help others to fight the negatives in our Association. This will help us grow and move forward. That is how we can continue to Celebrate the positives and enjoy good healthy fellowship. So, let us celebrate and cheer, but do not forget to keep the business under control.

Kin Sponsorship????

We have a business that sponsors our Club.....Now I ask, is it a good idea for Clubs or the District to solicit for a sponsorship? What do you think would be a worth while amount? is it selling out?

Thoughts, views, opinions, idea's, and commments

This Bull needs your help. I am inexperienced with the blogging world. I would like this blog to be more than the thoughts of one, we need the participation of the many. Your comments are more than welcome, association to your blog is needed. Your advice is necessary for the advancement of this format. Please help me with bringing this blog forward, I want this to be a resource of information for the common member.

To be successful this format needs the participation of many Kin. We do not want to dwell on the negitive, but, the negitive does happen and if we ignore that side of any organization, it will fester and infect us all. Project idea's are a great place to start. What did your Club do to solve a problem? How do we intice more members? This disscussion needs to happen. We really need a format for the consant communication, between the members of this District. Fellowship is the key to being Kin, communication is the open door.

You want it posted, email me.

Presentation of totals at National Convention

National Convention 2010 in Halifax was a great year. There were increases in almost everything that was presented. I was very proud to be sitting with my family, as the numbers were exposed. District 5 did very good; better than in the past, but still near the bottom.

Here are the numbers given for the Total Service Dollars raised;

District 4	$5,963,438.06
District 3	$5,110,917.21
District 1	$1,386,091.03
District 7	$1,255,919.91
District 8	$1,005,294.67
District 5	$609,017.73
District 2	$569,338.99
District 6	$547,813.66

 I had to wonder, what it would look like if we presented, dollars per member. I thought that it would be very difficult for the smaller Districts to break out of the bottom. The amount raised per member would have more meaning and therefore be of more importance. So here is what the order would be if added in a “per member” calculation.

 

District 4	$4463 per member
District 3	$4440 per member
District 8	$1788 per member
District 7	$1340 per member
District 6	$1245 per member
District 5	$1153 per member
District 1	$858 per member
District 2	$831 per member

 

Now, it was not the change I expected, but it did make a difference. District 5 may have stayed in the same position, but, there was a dramatic difference for District 1 and District 6.

I only present this as an option to the standard presentation. It would be difficult for a smaller District to break into the top. But, if we also presented a “per member” all Districts would have the chance to move up in the rankings. National has become very elitist; we need to be more inclusive. All members, Clubs and District deserve to have the same opportunity and same respect as others.

Just a thought.

Report for FLC

I have been around a long time. At no meeting have I ever seen reports circulated prior to the meeting. Motions on the other hand, they do need to be distributed ahead of time. our rule for such resolutions is;

      Proposed amendments to such additional House Rules shall be received by the District Secretary at least forty five (45) days prior to the date of the District convention or Fall leadership Conference, and the District Secretary shall send a copy of all proposed amendments to the President of each Club in the District at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of the District convention or Fall leadership Conference.

Now for a senior member to stand to state that your report was not circulated 45 days ahead (his words), is quite a sad.  This is the kind of misinformation that causes our Fellow Kin to get discouraged with the process. Our senior Kin need to think before they act. Why do you want an Executive report prior to FLC? He just wanted to show his muscle and how smart he was, but in reality he just showed his lack of knowledge. Now, to make a mistake is acceptable, but you must not force an issue that you know nothing about.

We have many members that, quite simply, are bullies. All members need to step up and recognize when another is trying to intimidate or influence our Fellow Kin. Bullies should never be tolerated.

Tabling a Motion

At FLC in D5, we had a motion to table a report. This in and if itself is relatively unimportant, but the procedure is very important.

First off a good chair will never recognize a tabling motion until all issues have been thoroughly discussed.  If I was to allow a member to table a motion or report, prior to any discussion, we would have members confused and possibly irritated as to why we tabled the motion. Once a tabling motion has been accepted by the chair, there can be only discussion to the time limit of the tabling. This can be problematic, as we can not talk about the why or the reasoning behind the postponement of the motion.

If you are the Chair and encounter this issue. You must always ensure that the discussion to topic, motion or report have been complely disscussed by all the members. at that point, and that point only should a chair entertain a tabling motion. Only an inexpereanced Chair would allow a tabling motion prior to any disscusion.

If you are a member in this situation, try to amend the time limit to 10 minutes or after coffee break. This action should alert the chair that more discussion is needed.

We tabled this report for a reason "that the format wasn't right". Now, what is right, where do we go from here, why are we delaying the same report? This table motion was made to irritate and annoy the author of the report. It did no such thing, the report will be on the floor later in the same format as no one knows what is wanted. The dissucusion never took place, so now we will talk at our Kinvention, instead.

Purpose of Blog

This Blog is only an opinion, a view from The Bull. it is in no way intended as a format to discredit Kin or the Association. I wish only to expand the minds of the few, that want to hear a different point of view. We tend to listen to the few and ignore the voice of the many. I hope we can improve the family of Kin, by, just maybe, listening to the member that may not have the influence necessary to change the thoughts of the leaders in our great Association "KIN CANADA"

This shall also be for any that wish to better their own "meeting" skills. I hope to cover issues with procedures, protocols and problems with the meeting we all attend and chair.