American Kitefliers Association

Apology accepted on my behalf.  (Haven't been a "girl" for many years now.)

I find the posts about questions of procedure to be silly and I interpret them as being motivated by something "else" (whatever that is, doesn't matter) - like correcting someones grammar and spelling in reply to an internet forum post in order to discredit the poster while making counterpoint.

Seems to me the spirit of the rules are set up for the President and Board to appoint an RD in the event of a vacancy so that the RD position can be filled by *someone* until the membership elects a new one.

I'm terrible with politics, I find the games and methods to be ridiculous, and I don't care to participate in them myself - I see this as a childish {urinating} contest that people are picking at rather than stepping up and stating what their real beef is.  If the problem is with Kevin, then make that the issue.  Don't feint misrepresentation.  It's a volunteer position with membership approval.  Nominate or step up as an alternative candidate rather than make accusations of impropriety.   That's too easy.

Do you have no faith that people are trying to do the right things here? 

I'll be happy to share my opinions directly with anyone who wants them via email.  And I *really* don't care who disagrees with them - I'm exercising my membership right to post this message just the same as the previous participants of this thread.

Peace and good winds,

Simon P Crafts
AKA # 122691

KEVIN BAYLESS FOR REGION 7 DIRECTOR! Yes! As AKA members Eva and I both endorse the appointment of Kevin to the position. We are Thrilled to hear this news! I was wondering why I had not heard anything from Donald or our region at all since this new website and routine reports from ALL Regions began a few months ago.(Good to hear that Don is O.k., I was beginning to worry.) This region seemed like it barely had a pulse, besides the increase in activity in Utah, thanks to Kevin and Antelope Island. We have National Kite Month coming up. A few new members here in Denver. We have two monthly Flys, Kevin has the ability to help us Rebuild Kiting here. Kevin and I both agree in a stronger presentation on the Internet .
Everyone please remember that this is an interim appointment and that If you are a Region 7 AKA member, you can vote for whomever you wish in a few months. I think we will be happy with Kevin.
Thank You, Barbara! YOU are a Great President!
ROBIN  http://rmka.info

The by-laws state:
Article IV Section 9:
A vacancy in a Regional Director's seat may be filled until the next Annual Meeting by appointment by the President with confirmation by the Board of Directors.

Sorry but this is not clear
A sentence as "... proposed by the President and approved by the board of Directors..." would be clear about the responsibilities.

For me "appointment" means "official nomination" but what is a "confirmation" ? How is it done ?  with a formal vote ? with what kind of majority ? This is not clear in the by-laws.
And what happens if the "appointed interim president" is not confirmed by the BOD ? Is it possible to "unappoint" him?
And in such a case it would be necessary to stay without regional director 3 more month up to the next board meeting. (except if the BOD can find another new interim director, and confirm it during the meeting - what a waste of time !)

Be efficient !
The most important point is to have a (temporary) new regional director as soon as possible and this is the responsibility of the president. The members of the board must be informed as soon as possible (and without waiting for a BOD meeting), but why requesting a "confirmation" of the board ? BTW, when this interim director starts to be member of the Board ? after the "appointment" or after the " confirmation" ?

I think this sentence should be reworded in the by-laws

Note:  Simon I agree with you.

PounetBF wrote:

For me "appointment" means "official nomination" but what is a "confirmation" ? How is it done ?  with a formal vote ? with what kind of majority ? This is not clear in the by-laws.
And what happens if the "appointed interim president" is not confirmed by the BOD ? Is it possible to "unappoint" him?
And in such a case it would be necessary to stay without regional director 3 more month up to the next board meeting. (except if the BOD can find another new interim director, and confirm it during the meeting - what a waste of time !)

Here is my 2 cents on the subject and I'm betting many others have run into this situation in the past and could speak from experience...

Yes, the President can "appoint" someone. This means that this person "will be" (hate to say it like that) the new RD but the Board still needs to approve the appointment. This is done by a vote of the entire board. I'm _guessing_ that it's probably done by a 3/4 vote as this seems to be the typical amount needed for other Boards tasks. But I agree, it's not clear.

PounetBF wrote:

The most important point is to have a (temporary) new regional director as soon as possible and this is the responsibility of the president. The members of the board must be informed as soon as possible (and without waiting for a BOD meeting), but why requesting a "confirmation" of the board ? BTW, when this interim director starts to be member of the Board ? after the "appointment" or after the " confirmation" ?

Well, no it's not all done by the President. You state that it's important that it be done asap and ask why there should be a confirmation by the Board.... let me ask this question... is your Regional Director important to you personally? This is _THE_ person that is represents all of the AKA members in your region. This is _THE_ person who votes on _many_ things with _your_ interest in mind! This may be things like what region your state falls into or the like (might be a big deal to many people). Or any other big issue. Do you really want Bob next door who just joined the AKA yesterday because he had an extra $45 and does not know a kite line from a banner to be _your_ voice in the AKA? Perhaps that works for you... but I'd venture to say that it's important to the vast majority of AKA members! So is it important who your RD is and does it matter who this person is? Heck yes! But will anyone die if it's the wrong person? Perhaps not.

You also state that it should be the President's decision alone. I disagree completely. There are checks and balances in most every organization.  Do we really want one (any) _one_ person deciding every aspect of the AKA's direction? If the President (past/present/future) were allowed to stack the Board only with the people they wanted, we'd have just that. If I were President and I made my best friend Bob an RD of course Bob is just going to go along with whatever I want. In this case if Bob is in charge of Region 20, who is Bob going to represent... the members of Region 20 or the President?

Let me ask this... if we don't have a Region 7 director for a week, a month... is this going to hurt anything?

This thread was continued to point out that the By-laws don't allow for one (1) person to put a RD in place. There is a reason for this rule and personally I think it should be followed as it serves a good purpose. No one is asking that anything be done other then following the rules of the AKA. As I saw it, the By-laws were actually being ignored (I think that is obvious to everyone)... not just "over-looked" and I think this also caused this "vote" to be tainted in that it was put forth to Region 7 members as something that had already been done. I see no reason why the members of Region 7 could not be at _least_ head on the issue rather then giving the appearance of doing all of this behind close doors.

Capt_Richard wrote:

I would also like to request that when this matter is setteled that the thread be removed to give the region the fresh start with its new RD whoever that might be.

I would object this this... regardless of what the thread is about. as long as the thread is civil and professional, it should be left as is. This is a _forum_... and an open forum at that. It's here so that people can share ideas, express their opinions and communicate with others. If threads are deleted then all of those voices are wiped away. I think that is not only unjust to those that have posted their views but also serves to close the door on those that might want to be heard.

By a vote,  the board has confirmed my placement as the new regional director for region 7, I want to thank everyone that has placed their trust in me to fill this position. Looking forward to getting out there and meeting some of you.

We have great confidence in the new energy that you will bring to this postion. Don did a great job, but he needed a break after 12 years. Boggles my mind just to think about that much work.
by the way, in addition to the rd chores, Kevin has agreed to take on the social media point person. Face Book, here comes the AKA!!!

Some very valid points have been raised concerning the entire process. Please send your comments and concens to the By-laws committee at bylaws@aka.kite.org

Remember, the region 7 director will be elected for a 3 year term later this year. Please think about it, and send suggestions to the nominating committee this summer for the fall elecion.
N ow, let's go fly some kites! Or, make a few.

toddcopeland wrote:

If threads are deleted then all of those voices are wiped away. I think that is not only unjust to those that have posted their views but also serves to close the door on those that might want to be heard.

I totally agree - the discussion was open, questions were asked, thoughts were thought of, and any concerns raised THEN will still be visible later should anything need to be re-visited.
Once the vote is cast, it's time to get to work, and Kevin's behind the 8-ball for Region 7 so... wish him the best of luck, and we'll continue to work on things which need working on, right? :-)