Membership Advisory Board March 2012 meeting

So, after presenting my transparency ideas to the GVEA Board, I thought it might be useful to also present them at the next MAC meeting, particularly as a couple of these ideas were mentioned from the previous board meeting (reducing executive sessions).   It is apparently rare that non-MAC members show up at the monthly MAC meetings, like only a couple per year.  


As a courtesy, I printed up paper copies for each of the members and, as I was walking up to where I would speak, I passed them out.    Up jumps GVEA Vice President of Marketing & Member Services Dave Gardner, who says I'm not allowed to pass out anything, only speak.  When a MAC member asked why, Dave indicated it was against policy, that I might be handing out Avon brochures. 

I don't normally call out individuals on issues, but in this case, the individual called himself out most unflatteringly.

I found this pretty absurd and was embarrassed at his shameless sputtering and what would seem to be a complete fabrication.   GVEA has no policy on what members can pass out at MAC meetings, particularly as members rarely show up.     I asked Bill Nordmark, president of the GVEA Board and he was unaware of any policy about this.    Of course, their policies are far from transparent, so one can't look them up.

It seems to me that Dave Gardner, having been the facilitator of the MAC meetings for a couple of decades (according to him) needs to let someone else do it for a while.     The perception is that he thinks the MAC is HIS committee.

GVEA does provide a lot of good educational information to MAC members at these meetings, but I'd like to see the MAC run their own meetings.

On Transparency

It's been a while since I posted, but I have been attending GVEA board meetings and, as usual, bringing up various aspects where I believe GVEA could increase transparency, which is a part of their proclaimed mission/policy.

In that vein, at the last meeting in February, I presented the board with a 12 item list of things they could do to bring about increased transparency.   The entire presentation can be viewed here, but listed below are the 12 topics.  At the subsequent MAC meeting, one suggestion was actually on the agenda: to post MAC meeting minutes on the GVEA website historically (not just the most recent meeting's minutes) and it passed.   More on that meeting in a subsequent blog.

Post complete meeting packet and maintain historically

Post list of GVEA committees and membership

Post a list of external committee membership

Notification system

‘Parsimonious’ executive sessions

Executive session notice

Subsidiary transparency

District based two way communication

MAC (Membership Advisory Board) transparency

Webcast Board meetings

Post Board policies

Post Form 7 (this is essentially a monthly financial statement GVEA is required to submit to the Rural Utilities Service and is thus a public document)