Assuming I notice, have nothing better to do than ride that merry-go-round, etc.
I just thought people should know.
Do with that information as you will.
Thanks for the hijacking.
Raymond
1. What are your thoughts on the freebie shelf and are you for or against it?
I liked the Freebie shelf and found things for projects on it, I’ve put things on it: personal items and excess items from CA and Machine Shop. Most of that stuff disappeared, which is much better than just pitching things away. It is sort of a free market for Makers and very much a Maker/Hacker type thing.
I think there may be a sub-text here you are asking or a lot of other people may be thinking: Should the Freebie Shelf be gotten rid of?
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Freebie Shelf maintenance has always been an ongoing problem: over-flowing shelves, people just dump things there rather dumpstering them, put prohibited like liquids, CRT’s, on floor, etc… Getting people to clean it regularly, I’ve helped on occasion to clear – won’t claim to be a “regular maintainer”. The BoD dealt with this issue by specifically empowering the Logistics Chair, in their sole discretion to decide its fate. Erik delegated his Chair’s authority to make that decision to Brandon which exercised that discretion. While I miss the Freebie Shelf, I do not question the authority that Brandon had to dispose it. People may disagree with that decision, but that’s a different issue.
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2. How do you see the board moving above the day-to-day operations and more into strategy for the future?
We need active Chairs that assume more responsibility. I don’t feel there is a need to “hire an executive”. To do what: make decisions that are the domain of the Chairs or BoD? If to take care of the day-to-day items like plumbing, A/C, and garage door repairs, I think a better solution is to get a Maintenance (1099) person for 20~24 hours a week that has the authority to do this from a pre-approved vendor list. This person would perform routine maintenance that we current pay for: $250/month for A/C filter changes, that we still need to change more often. Have them set-up and do preventative maintenance on our tools – increasing up time or working on them during the day. Most of our plumbing issues could be done by a maintenance person and probably the savings would offset a fair of their salary plus we’d have higher up time.
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Cairenn Day
Which one would you consider to be a better method of leadership?
I agree with Robert on the Library example: Committees do have their own libraries and maintain them and decide what goes in them: I know Electronics, CA, and Machine Shop have small libraries – they manage them by the simple “We have this much space. Add something get rid of something”. This is committee level governance and for most things that is the leadership/governance model I like and would cover most committee level issues.
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This concept would apply other committee areas.
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Lisa
What makes you stand out above and beyond the other candidates?
I believe all the candidates are good choices – it’s our philosophies and personalities you have to decide which works best for you. I’ve been active at the Space as a Co &Vice-Chair Creative Arts and Chair Machine Shop. Have been active in Finance Committee. I’ve been active at the committee level. I strongly favor more committee responsibility and I want to see a development program started to assist current and future Chairs succeed. I’m very strong in member involvement, this is reflected in how Nicole and I started the SIG’s within CA and actually gave them power to do things and manage their area. I’ve done the same in Machine Shop and we now have vibrant strong committees with lots members actively involved. Those that have been involved with committees where I have a leadership role know that I’m not autocratic (at least I don’t think so) and actively seek out what the members think and when votes are taken I’m just a single vote.
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I’m very much in favor of the BoD using ad hoc advisor groups that can formulate a set of suggestions, present them to the membership, get final recommendations for either the BoD to vote on or for By-Law changes.
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One advantage I have is time availability, being retired I’m at the Space during the day and being on the BoD isn’t competing with a full time job. I’m on site, some of the “executive” functions spoken of I’d be available and willing to do. I’d say I’m very approachable and helpful based on the number of people that come and ask me for assistance (which is flattering).
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Regarding our Class/Event and Honorarium approval processes, do you feel we are currently balancing our …. with what membership and the outlying community are interested in learning? If not, do you feel that our processes are currently too restrictive or not restrictive enough?
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I feel we are definitely meeting out Educational mission. The shear number and scope of classes is the most obvious. But I think a LOT more actual learning goes on in the one-to-one mentoring/help we provide each other. Every time someone asks for help and is helped: that IS education and our communal culture. Call it tutoring. I see it all the time in the workshops and committee areas. Sit in the Commons room and you’ll hear a lot of people being helped. We nned give ourselves credit for this, this education many times is really the most valuable on personal level.
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The current Honorarium system and policies are pretty good. Tweaks needed are more IT related and is an ongoing process – we’ll get there. Issues of related to Private Events that has arisen I think in many ways are related to limited classroom resources, but even now I think how to handle it is being worked out.
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As a Board Member - between the following two items - Would your focus be on saving money for a future move and/or unexpected expenses, or would it be focused on purchasing newer/bigger/better tools in the near future?
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These are not mutually exclusive. We are in the enviable position of being very solvent and we aren’t wildly spending money. That is a credit to all the prior Boards and general member expectations. As a community, we are looking to having this wonderful place around forever. We are building a legacy.
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I’ve specifically stated that I believe we should save at least 15% of monthly dues towards acquiring additional space or emergencies. We bring in just shy of $60K a month. Our average spending, excluding monthly BoD allocations is around $30K, so we can spend $15K month easily on capital expenses AND save. Which is what we are doing. We could spend more, but we are being reasoned. I’d like to see committees submit what they think they will be asking the BoD to fund over the next 6-12 months so some priorities can be set, this also gives the membership an opportunity to see what is spending.
.
Management of Dallas Makerspace is always a “hot topic”. In your idea of a perfect solution, how would the “power” distribution of our community be handled ("Who has ‘final say’ on what items, etc…). The “players” in the solution include: “The Board”, “Committee Chairs” (or committees as a whole…), “The Membership” (via member votes, etc…), and possibly an “On Site Manager”. NOTE: If your plans include an “On Site Manager”, please elaborate with additional details such as expected duties, hours on site, etc…
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On Site Manager: I discussed somewhat above. I don’t think we need an “executive” making our decisions for us: between the BoD and the committees I think that those powers should be reserved to us. A maintenance person that can call plumber, etc.
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Power Structure: Ultimately, all power is vested in the Board. I think more authority, responsibility, and accountability needs to be with stronger more active Chairs. We need to be assisting them and developing our future leadership. The most successful are those that get more members involved, so its “their committee”, it lightens the Chair’s workload. CA & Machine Shop both use SIG’s/Teams to breakdown the workload. It has worked very well in both these areas. Much of the success that Machine Shop’s revitalization is because, being the Benevolent Dictator I am, I let the committee make decisions on what to buy and what priorities are. Safety issues are where I assert my own prejudices. I think the reason we are getting about 20+ active machine shop committee members is they truly know they have a say in of Machine Shop.
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If you had to choose one of the following, do you feel that we should focus on “being the biggest and best” or “inter-committee projects and hackathons”?
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Going to hedge here. Being the BEST includes inter-committee projects, being big just for the sake of big I think can lead to problems. We are growing because we collectively do a whole lot more things right than the few things we really need improvement on. In industry, the concept of Continuous Improvement is part of their internal processes. We do try to do this, this is reflected in how were have created honorarium auditors, there’s now a more formal moderator group formulating standards, etc.
In your opinion, which types of agenda items should be included on Regular Member Meetings, and which should be included on Board of Directors Meetings?
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Member meetings: Anything the members feel needs to be addressed. It is the member’s forum. I think it serves and should serve as advisory votes to the BoD. I think the member meetings should have some additional defined powers. I would prefer that it be presided over by a non-BoD member, namely one of the Chairs. This keeps a bit more separation of powers.
BoD: I would like to see the BoD do more of the “strategic” planning. As a director, besides giving more power to committees I would expect them to be more accountable. Chairs that aren’t effective, absent, or really uninvolved should be replaced. Chairs should provide monthly status reports, not just for the BoD for the general membership. It wouldn’t have to be long, but would be posted to the wiki.
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Ultimately, the BoD is accountable for everything that happens here. It shouldn’t be micro-managing.
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We are nearing 1500 members. What do you think the optimum number of members should be for our community?
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This entirely depends on our physical facilities at this point. We’ve grown to where we need more space. Hopefully. it will happen soon. When we hit 1,700 I believe we need to try to stabilize at that point until new Space arrives. I would guess if we had another 10,000~15,000 sq. ft. we could easily go to 2,500. At that point I think we will start to reach market saturation and grow will slow.
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What will You do personally to encourage and ensure better new member experiences?
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What I currently am doing is I give a lot tours to people that drop in other than Thursdays. I also help people with badges on Thursdays. I take the time to go through the membership manual and explain what’s here to support them. I’m notorious for telling them to become active in committees AND asking what can you TEACH before they leave with their new badge.
What is one of your major pet peeves about Dallas Makerspace?
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LOL, Not being able to log into the fancy damn copier we have so I scan documents, however Brooks has fixed this a day ago for me. It would have to be the plague of: Not putting tools back after using them.
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Paint Booth or Not?
I would like a paint booth. I would not sacrifice a committee for one, but with any expansion would be high on list for space allocation and funding. My main concern is with regulatory compliance. If we can enforce members to use it responsibly to maintain compliance will be the issue.
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Andrew LeCody
What is your position on protecting personal information (names, email, access times, messages, metadata, etc.)
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Being on Finance Committee as an Administrator and being and having basic Admin access on Maker Manager I currently have access to a lot of the personal information listed above. I don’t share it. Period. If it is something really urgent I’ll email something to another member explaining someone wants to contact them and provide that person’s contact info. Then it’s up to that person. I’ve done this maybe 3 or 4 times in the last couple years.
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Kris Anderson
What are your thoughts on the freebie shelf and are you for or against it?
I personally liked the Freebie shelf, I’ve discussed this above, it was an on-going problem. There is a now a group forming to take responsibility for it. If they can do this, then definitely bring it back, if it doesn’t work – then it’s gone.
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Zach Metzing
#3 Do you think we need an employee? What responsibilities and authorities would that employee have while doing work for DMS? How will the employee’s performance be measured? What is the expected pay range for the employee?
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3.1 Not an employee but an independent contractor, 1099 not W-2. 3.2 Maintenance person, see discussion above. 3.3 There will be tasks to be accomplished. Are they being accomplished. 3.4 I’m going to guess $20~$25/hr.
Robert Davidson
What are you willing to sacrifice to be on the board of directors?
Time and effort. I’m retired, I have time, am willing to put into the effort - I’ve be doing so on multiple committees and enjoy Making Makers.
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I don’t expect it to be easy, I expect attacks because you can’t make everyone happy.
Because of my legal education, the threat of personally being sued is less intimidating to me. At the same time, this background can help avoid some traps or pitfalls. I’m strong on delegating and would make extensive use of ad hoc groups made up of members to help out. There’s a lot of talent here yet to be tapped. I think my background would also make more effective use of any legal queries we pose. I can frame the issue more narrowly, define the fact pattern at issue, a focus the question more sharply. This will reduce their billable research time and probably get us the actual question we want answered with less hedging.
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Nicole
Three word descriptions of other candidates.
Alex: Compassionate, Dedicated, Committed
Kris: Personable, Creative, Committed
Luke: Passionate, Concerned, Committed
Mitch: Personable, Maker, Committed
Robert: Concerned, Geek , Committed
Walter: Tenacious, Maker, Committed,
Steve: Personable, Concerned, Committed
Brian: Volunteer, Maker, Committed
David: Focused, Intelligent, Committed
David K: (Full disclosure: Nicole’s latest 3 words for me are: Dirty Rat Bastard)
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Note: I think all of the folks running are sincerely concerned and committed to seeing the success of Makerspace. We’re fortunate.
**JSWilson64 **
If the DMS board only had 3 seats, which two of this year’s candidates would you want in the other seats?
This sounds like a cop out, but isn’t. Truly, the two that are voted in by the membership. If they vote in folks that have the same philosophical viewpoints I do, good. If they vote in others, then they are also represented by those viewpoints.
Mark Havens
I count at about 10 different matrixed questions requiring short essays. I’ll answer what I think you are after and I’ll take Alex’s approach to answering generally.
When in ROTC they defined “Leadership” as the ability to get others to take on your goals as if they were their own. Most of what I think your questions are about is: How do you motivate people to get involved, volunteer, and help make the Space run as smoothly as possible.
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One of the things that I think has come out of the candidates meeting is all the postings on Talk asking for volunteers on specific, “I can do this” projects or tasks. They aren’t over-whelming, they look for what people can identify as something they can do. Then they are pretty much being empowered to do the task as they see fit.
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Getting people involved and giving them ownership is my personal style of leadership – you can see it in how I worked within CA & now Machine Shop. Give members a true voice and say. At our Machine Shop committee meetings, we vote on almost everything. They know their vote counts – so it’s worth the time to attend or send a proxy. I also try to keep meetings to less than an hour.
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Because I value their input, and I have time, I hold committee meetings two consecutive days in a row so they are more likely to attend. It’s working. SIG’s in CA are working. The work load is spreadout.
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Like Alex, Communication is the key. I let people know what’s happening, look for opportunities for them to become involved in whatever aspect interest them. My goal is to get ALL the tasks done, if each of them take a piece out of something they enjoy, then it’ll all get done and they are happy.
3 Likes
Time and effort. Fortunately since I don’t have dependents and I’m retired, I have time. I’m willing to put into the effort - I’ve be doing so on multiple committees and enjoy Making Makers.
I don’t expect it to be easy, I expect to put in a lot of time, to be attacked because you can’t make everyone happy.
I guess because of me legal education the threat of personally being sued is less intimidating to me. At the same time, this background can help maybe avoid to traps or pitfalls. Definitely not into CYA on everything - that will kill us.
I’m strong on delegating and would make extensive use of ad hoc groups made up of members to help out. There’s a lot of talent here yet to be tapped.
3 Likes
David: N/A
Alex: Compassionate, Dedicated, Committed
Kris: Personable, Creative, Committed
Luke: Passionate, Concerned, Committed
Mitch: Personable, Maker, Committed
Robert: Concerned, Geek , Committed
Walter: Tenacious, Maker, Committed,
Steve: Personable, Concerned, Committed
Brian: Committed, Volunteer, Maker
Note: I think all of the folks running are sincerely concerned and committed to seeing the success of Makerspace. We’re fortunate.
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Cannot say about the last time, but https://talk.dallasmakerspace.org/t/this-is-the-thread-that-we-talk-about-dms-picnic/19844/20
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Robert (@Robert_Davidson), Alex (@AlexRhodes), Kris (@Kriskat30), Luke (@lukeiamyourfather), Steve (@Diplomat), Mitch (@themitch22), David G (@DaveG), David K (@Photomancer) and Brian (@Tapper) ~ Thank you ALL for taking the time to respond with thoughtful answers to the various questions asked on both this original Questions for candidates thread, as well as the new Questions For Candidates (Organized) thread!
I imagine having some idea of where the candidates stand on various issues will be helpful - especially for members who were not able to attend the Meet the Candidates meeting yesterday (Thursday, April 14th).
Thanks again! :dms:
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@Raymond ,
Walter would like you to PM your email address so he can send you responses to your questions.
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You have a reply with a limited use, self destructing email address. I won’t reply, but will post what he sends.
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As I said in the PM, I would post his replies, but not anything else.
Folks, here’s a response to some of the questions by Walter:
Raymond asked:
- What are your thoughts on the freebie shelf and are you for or
against it?
Personally, I think it was a well used tool at DMS. I don’t approve of
the way its disposal was handled; however, I believe that Brandon,
acting chair under Erik’s authority was within its authority to get rid
of it. I believe his posted reasons for doing so raise grave concerns
about his suitability for any official role within DMS. However, I do not
believe the freeibie shelf is a board level issue. This is why I
scheduled a logistics committee meeting to allow me to explain to its
members what there choices are within our current rules and to allow
them to exercise any response they choose. Which would include none if
they so choose. At which point the removal of the freebie shelf will stand.
Raymond asked:
2. How do you see the board moving above the day-to-day operations
and more into strategy for the future?
I believe all three of my major points listed on my statement of intent
address these areas already. Increase (and directed) savings, removal
of financial dependence upon a single member, and addressing the many
issues with the current by laws. That said, a lower level strategy I
would implement would be initiating strategic planning functions within
DMS.
Specifically, I would start with working with the various committee
chairs to develop a six month strategy in the short term (July ->
December), then onto a plan for 2018. This would start with the
development of a revenue and expense model for the remainder of the
year, based upon past data. The idea would be to produce a monthly
revenue forecast, a monthly required expense forecast (which would
include increased savings), then using that data determine an estimate
of the monthly funds available for discretionary spending.
The next item will be how to forecast the disbersement of these
projected discretionary spending funds. First, I would suggest that
some percentage (say 10-15%) be taken off the top to allow for spending
on unforseen new developments such as a new committees or SIG areas. I
would then suggest that the remaining projected funds be ‘allocated’ to
the individual committees based upon the percentage of either classes
(or students) taught in the first half of this year. It is important to
note that these are only budget allocations and that the actual dollars
will vary and the spending priorities can (and likely will) change as
the situation changes for the forecast period.
Then with this information, the respective committees can meet and
discuss what items they would like to purchase/fund in the forecast
period with the funding that is predicted to be available. They can of
course include more items that the predicted funding, but the likelihood
of those additional items being pursued in that period would be much
less then any more prioritized items for which funding may be available.
The short is that this is a complex sounding process, but it is one
that I have implemented hundreds of times and for organizations far
larger then DMS. Then as the remainder of the year progresses, I would
post updates at member meetings with out we are performing compared to
forecasts and allow us to modify plans as circumstances change.
The most important point about the above is that it fosters involvement
at all levels of DMS members and removes most of the decision making
process (beyond the actual approval for spending) from the board. It
empowers Committee chairs and the committee members. It also starts
giving DMS the experience of planning for the future so that more long
term planning can start to occur.
Thanks Walter!
I’m happy to post replies to the other members’ questions as well.
1 Like
It was relatively common at Ladybird.
And the logistics have changed.
It is pretty easy to say DMS will foot the bill for 50 people to have link sammiches. It is a steeper climb when cooking for 300-500. Just buying that much food, then cooking, and serving.
I LOVE the potluck dinners. Last one, was entre heavy with staggered arrivals. “I am done”, “Oh wait, what is that?”, “Now, I am done”, “Oh wait, what is THAT?”…And on and on.
I am in favor of events that go across “personal interests” and get people talking.
1 Like
Here is Walter’s response to the questions I posted:
> >> Lisa Selk asks: > >> 1. What makes you stand out above and beyond the other candidates?
A career spent managing large groups of people working on very large
projects and ultimately running my own company. I have managed
multi-million dollar projects/organizations and worked with private,
local, state, and federal agencies in the process. I believe this
skill set is something DMS needs.
Lisa Selk asks:
2. Regarding our Class/Event and Honorarium approval processes, do
you feel we are currently balancing our Mission Statement1
(https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Mission_Statement1) with what
membership and the outlying community are interested in learning? If
not, do you feel that our processes are currently too restrictive
or not restrictive enough?
Since, we have never asked that question of either our membership or
the community at large, I really have no way to know what they are
interested in. I do believe that our Class/Event and Honorarium
processes have improved considerably, thanks to @AlexRhodes and others
and hope we continue to strive to improve those processes by making them
even easier and better documented. I particularly love the new
initiative by many folks to improve the training for teachers themselves.
Lisa Selk asks:
3. As a Board Member - between the following two items - Would your
focus be on saving money for a future move and/or unexpected
expenses, or would it be focused on purchasing newer/bigger/better
tools in the near future?
These are not an either/or choice; however, I believe we need to shift
our current emphasis on new/more to savings. But that the savings
should be done properly. Right now we save a very small amount and call
it savings. The reality is that you need multiple types and levels of
savings.
First, you need an emergency fund, and it really needs to be AT LEAST
3-6 months of your expenses. Once this fund reaches a ‘proper’ level,
it only needs to be maintained to that level. These funds should be in
some easily accessible, but interest bearing account.
Then you need ‘project’ savings. The most obvious example is a moving
fund. Regardless of what happens, one thing is certain, at some point
in time we will need to move our location. It could happen at any time,
if there was some kind of disaster with the current building. It could
happen at the end of the new lease we are currently working on. It
could be ten more years, but a move WILL happen. Such a move will
result in both enormous expenses for DMS as well as coincide with
significant possible revenue losses as members let their membership
lapse while the move occurs and tools are down. Such things need to be
prepared for.
Another possible ‘project’ savings would be for something like the
‘Space Shuttle’ project that was envisioned late last year. If their is
a desire for such a project, then instead of ad hoc purchases and such,
a solid estimate of project costs should be developed FIRST. Then a
plan, which could include saving for large expenses, should be developed.
Lisa Selk asks:
4. Management of Dallas Makerspace is always a “hot topic”. In your
idea of a perfect solution, how would the “power” distribution of
our community be handled ("Who has ‘final say’ on what items,
etc…). The “players” in the solution include: “The Board”,
“Committee Chairs” (or committees as a whole…), “The Membership”
(via member votes, etc…), and possibly an “On Site Manager”.
NOTE: If your plans include an “On Site Manager”, please
elaborate with additional details such as expected duties, hours on
site, etc…
I believe that the power distribution that was clearly envisioned, and
poorly documented, by the folks that created DMS is perfectly acceptable
for our organization.
The board should focus on handling authorizations of the spending of
funds, and monitor the use of those funds to ensure they are spent
wisely and in compliance with all rules, regulations, and laws.
Committee chairs should exercise wise leadership to hand the day to day
exercise authority to spend the funds as allocated. Ensure the various
areas they are responsible for are operating and to foster a ‘team’
spirit among the members interested in their areas. The later is the
most important, since without actively involving as many members as you
can you will overwork yourself and burn out.
Finally, the most crucial aspect of our management is an active and
involved membership. It is the memberships responsibility to monitor
the board and any individuals acting on behalf of the board (officers
and chairs) to ensure they are following our rules and acting in the
best interest of the entire organization.
Lisa Selk asks:
5. If you had to choose one of the following, do you feel that we
should focus on “being the biggest and best” or “inter-committee
projects and hackathons”?
Not really sure what this question is asking, but I would say we should
focus on whatever areas the membership (as a whole) wants us to.
Lisa Selk asks:
6. In your opinion, which types of agenda items should be included
on Regular Member Meetings, and which should be included on Board of
Directors Meetings?
I believe that legal compliance issues, discipline and funding
authorization should be handled at the board level. Nearly everything
else should be handled at the committee or membership meeting level.
However,
I believe that funding authorization requests should first be made at
the membership meeting level to provide the board with feedback as to
the members concerns/desires.
Lisa Selk asks:
7. We are nearing 1500 members. What do you think the optimum number
of members should be for our community?
I don’t believe there is any fixed number since it will be highly
dependent upon the types of members (occasional users, regular users,
people earning a living out of the use of space resources).
@Photomancer has suggested an interesting idea as to how we might
possibly self regulate our member numbers that would be
a possible solution if we experience significant issues in the future.
Lisa Selk asks:
8. What will You do personally to encourage and ensure better new
member experiences?
Frankly, not much. This really isn’t an area where I would have a
strong skill set. I would rely on those with both the interest and the
skills to handle this area.
Lisa Selk asks:
9. What is one of your major pet peeves about Dallas Makerspace?
People leaving their crap, particular used food containers and left
overs, for others to clean up.
Lisa Selk asks:
10. Finally: Paint Booth or Not? Why or Why Not? If so, then where
would you suggest it be located? Do you plan on sacrificing existing
committee space(s)? What about the government regulations? And,
since our lease does not allow storage of paint, how would that be
handled?
A paint booth introduces issues with our lease, but most importantly
significant issues with how we could possibly comply with local, state,
and federal regulations related to its operation. None of the people
who have been pushing this idea have yet produced a viable plan to deal
with those issues. Until such a plan was introduced (and I don’t
believe that is going to be possible) I really don’t see this concept as
anything more then a means to remove groups based upon personal bias.
Basically, while I am certainly our members (at least some) would
appreciate such a resource, I don’t see it as viable for an organization
structured as we are.
Lisa, thank you for posting my answers to your questions. If anyone
else would like me to answer their questions, send me a PM with a way to
email (or other tech) you my answers for you to post.
@wandrson ~ Thank you for taking the time to respond with thoughtful answers to my questions. :smiley:
4 Likes
First, I will state that current and past boards have a less then stellar record of keeping information private. As examples is the handling of Formal Complaints. On multiple occasions, when I have seen a formal complaint that was posted to a board agenda, without names to protect privacy, I have simply asked members whom I know to be friends of board members and learned the details of the complaint. To be clear these people had no reason to know anything about a private complaint. Further, we have a record in the board minutes of a board member sharing the content of a third parties formal complaint with a member who had filed a formal complaint against the board member themselves. Something that none of the other board did a thing to punish for the clear violation.
Finally, I will point out that much of the information you seem concerned about, phone numbers, email addresses, etc. are readily available to our members through the active directory system we are using. Apparently any member can use standard tools to download that data. So as someone interested in privacy, I suggest helping to tighten up the controls (or even the need for that information to be in the active directory).
Now to answer your question. I have always been clear on this issue. I believe we should follow State Law, which differentiates between the information we are required to share with the public; such as financial records and voting member names and addresses, and with MEMBERS of DMS which basically states ANY corporate record for which the member has stated a legitimate purpose for their need. As you can see from the actual text of this State Law there is no provision for exclusions based upon privacy
So if we as an organization want to ensure some members information is kept private, the only legal way is to simply not maintain that data; however, that would require a by law change since the by laws specifically indicate that they be included.
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No I do not believe we need an employee; however, I believe that we do and can occasionally need to hire contractors to handle tasks for which volunteers are either unsuited or unwilling; such as fixing toilets.
2 Likes
David K: Experienced, Charismatic, Dedication
David G: Detailed, Maker, Dedication
Alex: Integrity, Passionate, Dedication
Kris: Talented, Experienced, Dedication
Luke: Passionate, Empathic, Dedication
Mitch: Maker, Compassionate, Dedication
Robert: Consistentcy, Tenacious, Dedication
Walter:
Steve: Sense of humour, Passion, Dedication
Brian: Passionate, Experienced, Dedication
I believe our by laws established a sound basic delineation of power between the members and the board (and its appointed agents). It is clear that the authors understood the need to grant executive power to individuals to ‘get things done’ It is also clear that they fundamentally distrusted individuals with such power since they provided (though not always clearly) the ability of the members to overrule and/or remove such individuals if the members perceived them as abusing that power.
I think this system works remarkably well, even with the vast growth the organization has experienced.
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Clearly yes, I do. After all I am the first member (at least in recent history of the organization) that followed our procedures to put potential changes to the by laws before our members. Further these are changes I have been telling board members (and others) about almost since my first month as a member.
To answer the remainder of your question our by laws have a specific procedure for changing them.
First, proposed changes, need to be made to a member vote in which at least 2/3’rd of the voting members are present to vote.
These proposals can come from one of three sources:
- The board can, on its own initiative, make such a proposed ballot item.
- A member may request that the board make such a proposed ballot item
and finally - Members may create a petition signed by at least 10 voting members or 10% of the total voting members, whichever is larger, to require the board to put the proposed item to member vote.
FInally, if a majority (51%) of the voting members who actually vote in that election then the by law modification is made.
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Questions Regarding Interpersonal Styles of Volunteer Engagement
Consider a hypothetical community project in which the following interpersonal styles of volunteer engagement are used:
A) I hear a complaint! It sounds like you want to volunteer!
B) Since there are no volunteers, how much would it cost to hire someone?
C) I know someone who would love to do that! I’ll ask if they’re interested in volunteering.
D) I can tell that you’re passionate about this kind of thing. We’re all getting together this weekend to work on it. It would be awesome if you would come and hang out with us. I’ll introduce you to everyone, and then afterwards, we can get some dinner. We usually all pitch in to buy dinner for the newbies. You should totally come!
E) I don’t need help. I can do it alone.
Questions:
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Explain what you believe to be the strengths and weaknesses of each of the listed styles as they would impact Dallas Makerspace.
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Describe your own interpersonal engagement style. Explain what you believe to be the strengths and weaknesses of this style as it would impact Dallas Makerspace.
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As a community leader, your interpersonal engagement style may become a model for other members to emulate. This may be especially true of new members. Do you believe members should emulate your interpersonal engagement style? Why or why not?
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OK, here’s a question. Hope it’s not too late.
If the DMS board only had 3 seats, which two of this year’s candidates would you want in the other seats?
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