NCJOC 

Bill, When I first became president in 2009, the club had maybe 175 members and well-organized committees. I was approached by the then-president, and asked to think about serving as president. After some consideration, I agreed to run for the two-year term, and was replaced in 2011 by the nest nominee. I had to learn the committee operations that carried on much without my "interference," and I also benefited from a few mentors in making judgements about the various issues that arise from members and outside groups. In the absence of a nominating committee, I see the Planning Group (or Executive council; or Leadership group,... etc.) as selecting the group leaders. I noted that Greg volunteered to serve as president, and I think he would do a good job, especially when other members volunteer to lead in various activities. At the June 24 Town Hall meeting, I think the club should understand the status of the administrative leadership as: President Greg Furst (by acclamation) Membership Graham Harlow Website Bill Owen Treasurer Scott Hoffman Communications Dan Drude I think Dan's role in Communications needs to be defined better, e.g. to what kinds of requests from whom does he respond; who asks him to do what; for what purposes does the recipient use Dan's "products." How can Dan work with the Website to enhance the flow of communications, not just from admin to club, but also within the club? What kind of standing committees are useful for the club: 1. Concours, 2. Chief judge, 3. Slalom, 4. Communications; 5. Tech meetings and info; 6. Tours/Driving events; 7. Social gatherings (Picnics, annual party, Scottish Walk Parade, (collaborate with Tech and Tours as needed). I didn't identify a separate Calendar committee, because each of the groups contributes to the calendar of events, coordinating with the president as necessary. MEETINGS: I think it would be useful for the planning group to hold monthly meeting during the third quarter of this year while the group leadership positions are being formed. We aspire to in-person meetings, but Zoom meetings are more realistic for the time being. (The meetings should be open to all members interested). The purposes of the meetings are to: 1) Fill the leadership positions; 2) Complete the 2024 calendar; 3) Clarify the group interactions useful for each calendar event. 4) Refine the club's admin organization and procedures for communicating with the club and among cub members. Bill, could you send an email note to the planning group encouraging them to read this comment and all the others, and to respond with their thoughts and recommendations by Saturday, June 22 ? Thanks, John

I'll note this topic as a separate comment. We heard many good ideas on the 6/10 meeting, but very little on who will serve as president, and how that person will be selected. I see 20 Views but just 3 Commenters on this forum. If that issue isn't resolved, then on July 1 NCJOC will have no president. Let's hear it, folks. "Not to decide is to decide." (Harvey Cox, 1967)

John here (6/13/24) 1. Tim reported that the best club he has seen makes decisions in a small group, then reports to the club. Diane (and possibly others) suggested that the leadership group holds monthly meetings via Zoom. I think that, with a clearly-defined leadership group, this would be a good idea, particularly in the getting-acquainted stage of the revamped NCJOC admin team. Such monthly meetings can strengthen the calendar planning, integration and implementation. As the group gains familiarity with each other and consensus on the calendar, the meetings could perhaps move to a bi-monthly or quarterly schedule. 2. Regarding such periodic Zoom meetings, I would like to summarize what I observed from our June 10 session. I thought it was an impressive gathering. From the original group of 26 who received the invite in May, 15 members responded about the June 10 meeting, and one more responded with apologies. From the 15 agreeing to the June 10 meeting, we had a maximum of 14 in Zoom attendance at one point(!) The Zoom "gathering" included members from the following geographic jurisdictions: MD, VA, DC, PA, FL, CO, and one from multiple states while commuting on AMTRAK. I think that the bond of interest, if cultivated, that produced a meeting from that diaspora bodes well for NCJOC. 3. Bill continues to build a website that can serve the club well. That can happen only if members access the pages periodically. Using the old maxim, "If you want a friend, be a friend," perhaps the website could become proactive by sending emails to members about its recent postings. I know, that implies just another email to scan, delete or reply in our too-crowded inboxes. Nevertheless, members might be enticed to read with words such as: rare E-type part; riverside picnic, gas and coffee at 10:00, 24-hrs @ Le Mans on big screen.... you get the idea. (quiz Dan for inspiration). 4. Potential activity leaders, based on Zoom discussion. -- Slalom -- Greg, Doug W, Dave dH; Activities/calendar -- Greg; Chief Judge -- Dave dH (some limited duties) Website - Bill O. Membership - Graham H. .......

John here again (6/13/2024) Regarding paragraph 1 on Bill's note, "John is looking to divest himself of some, but maybe not all of his current duties." Actually, in my "Message from the President," I make it clear that I am stepping down from my role as president. I offer to serve as mentor or consultant in the "how to,,," issues of various activities, but remain divested of responsibilities for leading and implementing such the activities.

John here: I intend to make a comment on Dave dH posting, but I couldn't get my comment to appear below Dave's entry. Nevertheless -- Dave Serber contributed to the discussion on Co-presidents vs single president. Dave reported his experience in the San Diego club where they ran a more military admin structure with Commander/Pres, Executive Officer/VicePres/ followed by the various committees. I mentioned NCJOC's experimenting with co-presidents, an arrangement that I thought didn't function well. The old maxim is: "If more people are in charge, then nobody is in charge." Due to imperfect communication, there can be lapses in continuity, missed calls, confusion with the parent organization (JCNA), and needless debate over which person gets to handle which unplanned events that always arise. A vice president who is understood to be in training for the presidency provides a smoother admin flow. Dave dH also described how his former club had an annual change in officers,a situation that I at first thought invited too much turmoil. On the other hand, aboard submarines everyone learns multiple duty stations for purposes of emergency backup. In the less fraught world of car clubs, I could imagine that a core of people who have rotated among leadership roles would function quite well with their mutual understanding of the club's operations. Regarding the presidency, there could be a three-year flow from VP(or president-elect) to Pres to Past-president. Terms of more than a single year could be negotiated and limited to a stipulated maximum number of continuous years. That whole approach implies, for me, well-kept digital notes to pass on to the next office-holder.