Message from Juliann Olsen, NAHUC President:
Last Revised 3/22/10
The NAHUC
Board of Directors held their semi-annual meeting February 17-19 in
The
majority of the time was scheduled for board governance and
restructuring. For several years, the board has researched how other
professional associations govern themselves and divide their workload.
This meeting, the board was prepared to move past discussion and on to action.
The board worked diligently to prepare a plan to move the association into the
future.
In
planning for the future, the board first looked at its past to examine the
strong foundation on which NAHUC was built. NAHUC Treasurer Sandy Ayres
explained the process stating, ‘The decision to change the structure came after
a great deal of discussion over the past years. Discussion focused on how
NAHUC communicates with members and potential members today compared to the
past. In the beginning, region representatives were the main point of
contact with members during the time period of no centralized NAHUC office, no
email and no free or low-cost long distance communication. The NAHUC mission
statement, vision and core values were used as our guide.”
The board also spent time defining who they serve and their
purpose and functions. Certification Board Director Betty Lamb
summarized, “The main purpose of the board of directors is being accountable
for the functions and financial sustainability of the board.” The board
considered the budget with each decision made and met its goal of being
efficient and effective.
Region
Representative Nadine Stratford listed the key items that were considered:
· First
and foremost, how to best serve the members and grow the association.
· Many
hours of researching how other professional associations are structured and
what works for them.
· Looking
for more ways to involve the members and provide them with opportunities to
help the future leaders of the association.
· Structure
the board in the most cost effective way so that funds can be better utilized
to provide education and services for the members.
After much
comparing and contrasting, the board developed a structure based on service
area instead of geographical area. It was decided that the NAHUC board
structure should include a President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer,
Certification Board Director, Education Board Director, Member Service
Director, and Communication Director.
An action
plan was made to roll out the new structure. The first task is to inform
the members. Information about the new structure will continue to be
published in the Coordinator and on the Web site and presented at
General Assembly. Board members were given assignments to review any necessary
bylaw changes and develop job descriptions and qualifications for each board
position. Nominations and elections for Fall 2010 will
be suspended to allow for the implementation of the new structure. The board
will also be looking at how the NAHUC committees communicate and report to the
board. Easy and open communication is a key feature of the new structure.
Region
Representative Sara Brown shared, “The new board structure is leaner and more
transparent. With open communication systems now available worldwide, combining
and redirecting the various positions is a more efficient way of
doing business in the 21st century. We combined the treasurer and
secretary positions and restructured the six geographical region representative
positions to two Directors of Membership and Communication. Once the
complete job descriptions are finalized, the new positions will allow for
delivery of better service to the members and the association. Though we as
"Coordinators" don't always like change; we do pride ourselves with
our added sense of organization. These changes, I believe, will enable the
association to expand its credibility and provide better service
to the members.”
The board
worked together and voted for the plan they thought was best. NAHUC Treasurer
Sandy Ayres said, “My decision to vote for changes to the board structure and
bylaws was driven by the desire to move NAHUC forward. There are projects
that need funding to help market NAHUC. In order to provide funding in the
future, NAHUC needs to decrease expenses. Thus the number of board members was
decreased which led to a change in the structure of the Board. I feel this is a
positive change for NAHUC.”
Education
Board Director Linda Winslow explained, “Restructuring the NAHUC Board of
Directors will allow us to continue to provide quality service to our members,
focusing on education and certification. We are being fiscally responsible to
our members by decreasing expenses and increasing opportunities for our
members. We will be focusing more on communication and member services.”
President-Elect
Sandy Geter is encouraged about NAHUC’s
future and stated “I like that we are a smaller intimate group who work well
together. We can better serve our membership by being more
accessible. No one job is absolutely that person's and any of
us are available to answer questions. I was convinced to move from
geographical representatives to service directors when it was demonstrated how
a director could serve many people because we are just e-mails and phone calls
away. Communication was a little harder when we had to rely on mail and
it took us longer to get a response to an individual. This change will be
good as we move our association forward and utilize 21st century technologies.”
NAHUC
President Juliann Olsen summarized, “We as a Board of Directors have decided to
proceed with moving forward to realign the NAHUC Board of Directors. This
was done after careful consideration, much discussion, and keeping the members
whom NAHUC serves in mind. We hope the members will also embrace the
future and the great opportunities it holds.”
As always,
the board encourages you to contact them with your comments.
Juliann
Olsen, CHUC
NAHUC
President