Daily Archives: November 3, 2007

President’s Message

A FEW CHANGES AT OCC

In the coming months, members will be hearing a lot about bylaws. National RWA has set forth new Chapter Bylaws Standards, some of which will be mandatory, some only recommendations. Chapters are required to revise their own bylaws into the standardized format, and submit a “Restatement of Bylaws” by May 1, 2008.

OCC had already implemented some of the required changes in our last revision of bylaws four years ago. Since we will be going through the steps for changes set forth by National–including a printed and mailed version of proposals, and vote of approval by membership — this is an excellent opportunity to review the entire document to suit our current methods of operation.

One area to address is leadership. For 22 years, OCC has had two co-presidents sharing the workload so both can continue writing. (In theory, anyway. ) In the last six years, this dual position has evolved into a two-year commitment with one co-president running for a second term with a new co-president who spends her first year learning the job. Unofficially, these two leaders serve as senior and junior co-prez, which allows a smooth transition year-to-year.

While I have always been strongly in favor of the shared position of co-presidency, I now realize that our leadership is already basically functioning as a president and president-elect. And it is working beautifully. The current board of directors agrees that it is time to formally change the terminology used from “co-presidents” to “president and president elect.” Why? Because we need to publicly set in place a president-in-training who will eventually step into the role of president after a year “interning” in the position. The way it stands now, both co-presidents can step down at the end of their term, and anyone can run for the office even if he/she has no board experience whatsoever.

Having served as a co-president in 1989 before the immediacy of the internet, and comparing it to my term as co-president this year, I am acutely aware of the changes that have occurred with this position, and the need to assure our membership of consistently strong leadership for such a large and complex writing organization.

Another proposed change will be altering our election year to coincide with National RWA’s, which begins November 1. Currently, OCC’s new board takes over at the peak of our annual membership drive in January—grueling for our membership director and treasurer, especially if they are new to the positions. Our February Valentine’s Meeting is one of our two biggest celebrations in the year, but is often a rush-job for the new board if things aren’t already in place. Finally, coinciding with National’s election year will make it simpler for an OCC board member to run for national office when they step down from the local chapter board. As it stands now, they have to resign mid-year from the OCC board if they run for National, or wait several months to run for the next term.

So changes are definitely on the horizon. Be on the look out for more news in the coming months.

SUE PHILLIPS