The symposium has concluded. Thanks to a substantial team and the leadership of the Co-chairs we’ve put another one to bed. I’ve been busy chasing down loose ends, some of which are done, some of which are still needing attention. I hope everything will be complete and results available by the end of August.
Board of Director changes I’ve just finished assembling an email discussion group for the Board of Directors. As a board we now have a means by which we can talk to each other between board meetings. I hope this will let us do a better job of asking questions, understanding needs, and preparing for board meetings.
Executive committee changes I want to move governance of the ASGS back to the Board of Directors and give the Executive Committee a rest. I’d like to reserve the executive committee for dealing with things that are either extremely sensitive like personnel issues or events that need a decision so fast the board can’t meet in time. The ASGS is a representative democracy, the Section Directors our elected representatives need to conduct the business of the Society which they’ve been elected to govern.
Board meeting changes All board meetings will be on Zoom with dates published in advance. Any member is welcome to log in and listen. The meeting agendas will be posted in advance with minutes, and Zoom recordings posted after the meeting. I’ll do everything possible to keep meetings to 90 minutes or less. (No more 7 hour BOD torture sessions) We have to learn to be more efficient with our precious meeting time. This will likely mean we need to schedule a few additional board meetings. I think this is better than the traditional all day marathon sessions
We now have a Parliamentarian Melissa Moeller is in training to become a certified Parliamentarian. As part of her training she will be volunteering her time at our board meetings, teaching us how to conduct a meeting according to Robert’s Rules of Order. Our bylaws require it, but we seem to have mostly forgotten how to do it. Melissa is not part of the ASGS (but is married to a glassblower who is) She has no axe to grind and no agenda to pursue other than helping us make appropriate use of Roberts Rules. I am excited to learn from her, how we get our work done in an orderly, efficient and properly documented manner.
Website Update The search function for Fusions seems to be working again. It was quite a project to get it there. Thank you Steve Scranton for all your behind the scenes work. We’re going to migrate to a new calendar function that is integrated with Membership Works instead of WordPress. This will give each section director the ability to easily add/change calendar events like Section meetings on their own. Don at the home office is still available for help (as am I) but Section Directors will not be dependent on a website administrator to post calendar events. This should help keep events more current and accurate.
Data Access I’ve started the process of reviewing internal access to our administrative information. Ever since we migrated to a website with multiple administrators, and to Membership Works for our member data and QuickBooks for our financial data there has not been a review of who is supposed to have access to what. Names have not been removed when folks step down or retire. Sometimes new names don’t get added. Sometimes only one person has access to a particular function which creates a problem when they are unavailable. Overall we need to confirm that the right people have access to the right stuff and at the same time keep our data and financial information secure. This review process will likely take another month or two.
LinkedIn ASGG will start a LinkedIn account within the next few weeks as requested by the Exhibitor group. If you are on LinkedIn look for ASGS and link us up. Content pushed to FB and IG by our Social Media Guru: Kyle Meyer will be posted to LinkedIn as well. BTW Kyle is always in need of material to post. If you have a short video clip or photos of some interesting glass please consider sharing it with Kyle. It’s a very easy way to get your 15 minutes of fame.
That’s all for the time being. Stay tuned for more updates on the website, a new YouTube Channel for our videos, a new marketing group, news about next year’s symposium, plus updates on getting the new board off and running. As always reach out directly if you have questions, problems or suggestions.
Erich Moraine
President
