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PROPOSED FAA Bylaws Revision

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Daddy Dave

Well-known member
I am one of the folks who are currently working at revising the bylaws of FAA. Our committee will gather shortly to perform this task. The revised bylaws will be announced at least 30 days prior to the October quarterly FAA meeting and will be voted on at that time.

One area I am working on is delegates. After much consideration, here is an idea that I am seeking constructive comment on.

An idea for proposed wording:

Florida Airboat Association shall be governed by a Board of Delegates. FAA policy and positions shall be determined by a majority vote of the delegates present at any regular or special meeting of FAA providing that meeting is held in accordance with meeting requirements spelled out elsewhere in these bylaws.

Airboat Related Businesses: Any business with interests involving airboats is entitled to membership in Florida Airboat Association. Each FAA member business shall notify in writing to the FAA President and Secretary, email accepted, who is the appointed delegate for that business. Each currently dues paid FAA member business shall be entitled to one delegate.

Airboat Enthusiast Organizations: Delegates to FAA shall be the President of each member airboat enthusiast organization, or a member appointed by that President, and shall allow additional delegate(s) that will be elected by the membership of each member airboat enthusiast organization. Each enthusiast organization shall be entitled to one additional elected delegate for every 50 currently paid members of that organization. In the event of an online airboat enthusiast group, those who are currently paid site supporters shall be considered "paid members."

Individual Memberships: Individual airboat enthusiasts are encouraged to join FAA and to actively participate in the business of running the organization. Individual FAA membership dues shall be a minimum of $35.00 per year. Individual FAA members shall have the right to elect delegates by vote. Any current dues paid individual FAA member can announce to the FAA President and Secretary, his or her intent to run for a delegate position so long as that announcement is made at least 30 days prior to a FAA individual delegate election. Each FAA individual member shall have one vote to elect an individual member delegate. There will be one FAA delegate for each 25 current dues paid individual members. At any time individual FAA memberships attains an additional 25 members, the President shall announce and conduct an election for an individual member delegate.

Your comments and suggestions, please.
 
I'm not high on the delegate process, HOWEVER, this is huge. It is a tremendous advancement. You have done well working on this. I can't find anything negative to say. How soon do you want my $$$$. I'll definately join under this plan.

EDIT: Thinking a bit here. As new members sign up there needs to be some way fo them knowing who THEIR delegate is and who will give them feedback and carry their concerns to the meetings. I can see several ways this "could" work just curious what you had in mind for it.

It might on the surface seem inappropriate for a new member in say Tampa to have their delegate be in say Cape Canaveral etc. I can see how e-mail "might" aleviate that but how many airboaters actually have email or computers for that matter. Hmmm this is worth discussing I think? Im all ears though and I like where it's going.

Is/will there be a membership identification and maybe a patch or something for individual members? (Looking ahead)

Ya done good !

Scotty
 
This is definitely on the right track Capt. Dave. Looks good! :)

As an individual business owner, Member/Supporter of KRVSA (and soon an additional club), Supporter of S/A.com, and a general enthusiast, it looks like I have several options to have my "voice" heard in the FAA.

Maybe this is too many choices? I hope not. I like having the choice, but sort of fear it may be a source of confusion, or worse... abuse for some.

I mean, is it possible that given these different ways to be heard (vote) would it be possible for one person to have more than one vote?

Just a thought.

Keep up the good work! This is indeed good news to see this is actively being worked on!

matt.
 
Many of us are members of more than one airboat enthusiast organization that is a member of FAA. Many of us will have multiple opportunities for representation within FAA. I am also a stand alone member of FAA with my airboat guide service. I simply do not see where any airboater can say their voice can't be heard in FAA matters. The revision for individuals allows those who fall into that category to have plenty of voice. As with many discussions, there seem to be more who want to voice an opinion than there are those who will attend and use their voice. I hope all who are involved with airboats in any enthusiast fashion will make the scarifice and step up.
 
Get it done Bigdaddy. You and the rest of the excecutive commitee make it happen, and I will join as a regular individual member.

I'm all for it.
 
Individual members and delegates.

ok IM going to comment on "A" way this could work.

To prevent delegates from having a geographically diverse constituency it might be possible to assign delegates by either ZIP code or AREA CODE. This would allow delegates to have face to face time with every individual member. If they don't already know eachother its a chance for them to get to know one another.

A delegate "could" set up a web page or an email mailing list to report the minutes of FAA meetings. Discussion would be on an IRC channel or other internet chat server OR even telephone conversations. If they chose, even regulary scheduled in person meetings to hash out concerns etc.

If an individual member is not a computer user then a regular old time snail mail list like a news letter could even work. Sure doesn't cost much to print a few pages and drop them in the mail. Since the Delegates group would be approximaqtely 24 members the cost is very limited indeed.

Areas with less than 25 individual members could be combined until one of the areas reaches 25 then simply split into separate working groups with one new delegate. as a group fills up it simply spawns another group. To designate between groups in the same code simply add a -1, -2, -3 & etc, after the code.

This makes the network expandable and collapsable as memberships ebb and flow as they always do. As a group loses members then it can simply collapse into the next nearest existing group. Say on a quarterly or simiannual basis.

I can envision this might initially create groups of somewhat less, or more than 25 individual members but it should fill in and the expansion and contraction process would become self regulating, requiring only some administrative oversight at the State level. This allows the 25 individual member target to be a focal point though not an absolute. If it is to be an absolute it might need to be a TOP limit not a bottom limit. This might permit some groups to have less than 25 individual members while in the process of filling in. This is not necessarily a negative it simply allows for a certain flexability while limiting the max number a single delegate must work with, and that is a good thing. It should allow the delegates to be more responsive to their constituency.

Didn't mean to be overy verbose but wanted to lay out a thought about the problematic area of geographic diversity.

Scotty
 
There ain't nothing wrong with what you propose in my book Scotty.
I know others are not gonna except anything but flat-out up or down voting power for an individual member.

I know that may not be workable at a quarterly meeting.

This internal club for the FAA made up of individual members can be made to work.

One way or the other.
 
Cowboy

I was simply thinking of the expansion/collapse administration part when I commented, not on quarterly meetings.

It looks to ME there will be no individual members voting in this organization. I feel they simply do not want that. They seem to think the delegate process is best. I simply point to our own government for WHY I don't feel it works. I personalloy feel EVERY member should have a single vote, and the opportunity to speak at every meeting. With that being very remote with this group I DO perceive that small working groups of individual members gives at least SOME representation for individuals. Enough for ME to be willing to sign up for it if bugs can be worked out and make it run smoothly.

Im not trying to be argumentative Im trying to add something that "may" help out some.

Scotty
 
ok individual votes:

It "might" be doable to have delegates of ANY organization to vote by ballot instead of verbally or by hand. A ballot could consist of 1: their identifying information. 2: the carrying vote. 3. The VOTE SPLIT ( # for, # aganst, # abstaining)

This would ensure that EVERY members vote is counted and recorded. As long as this ballot was made an official part of the FAA records this could go a long way toward making a delegate accountable and the overall organization representative of ALL of its members.

It does not address individual members being given a fair chance to be heard though, but it does give their vote an equal standing with all others.

Scotty
 
Guys N' Gals,

The meeting on FAA bylaw revisions is coming up this Sunday. If there is something any of you feel is worthy of serious consideration, please state it pretty soon.

The folks charged with this task are taking it seriously. We believe there is strength in unity on the big issues and we understand that airboaters by their nature seek to separate themselves from others.
 
My above posts were intended for serious consideration. Youre on the right track and hopefully this is going to carry the day. You have my attention for sure and for certain.

Scotty
 
Same here Scotty.

I thought this thread was gonna be a real fireworks display.
I like your suggestions, and proposed considerations.

Hope the FAA makes this proposal possible.

Many airboaters now say FAA? what? who?

This proposal can help change that, and allow individual airboaters to get involved if they so choose.
 
I am a bit confused.

I am unaware of any organization whose members are spread across a large geographical area that does not use a representative democracy form of government / administration. How would you determine a quorum in a one person / one vote setup? How would issues be ammended? How could that organization deal with unexpected shifts or changes in necessary decision parameters?

This is an attempt to redefine the organization that will hold the future of airboating in its hands. If we cripple the ability of the organization to function, who among us will not throw their arms up into the air and go screaming into the darkness?

This proposal will give individual FAA members TWICE the vote influence as any member in an affiliated airboat enthusiast organization.

I respect those who have sacrificed before us and have brough FAA to where it is today - Walt Shirley and Ralph Hedgecoth are but two examples of airboaters who gave of their time and efforts selflessly for FAA. Their format was that established airboat organizations would have a unified group voice.

On Sunday, the FAA Executice Committee will consider changes in FAA's structure to better address coming challenges. I feel the suggested delegate selection process will give independent airboaters - who put their money where their mouths are - a strong voice in the decisions and actions that determine our future. At some point, we should maybe say "this is much better than it was and it's worth a try".

If one of you would like to develop wording for another proposal, I will certainly carry it into that meeting.
 
Bigdaddy,I beleive your on the right track with your proposals it sounds like a sure fire way that every airboater in florida can have representation.
 
Right-on Stan!
Again, same here.. Ditto.

Not sure where your at on that last post Bigdaddy.
It sounds like your addressing Scotty's suggestions in the context that he is demanding individual members have a direct vote at the quarterly meetings. He does say that he would prefer it that way, but acknowledges that it is not feasable.

Perhaps I'm reading you wrong, or I'm reading his posts wrong.

I read Scotty's words to be contemplating the mechanics of individual members voting within the delegate structure. I see it as him thinking through the mechanics of how it may be feasible to implement the voting of these proposed individual members, and how they will interact with their delegates. Then how the individual members majority voice be carried to the quarterly meetings.

I also thought his suggestions of the structuring of the delgates, and membership groups was a good idea. Perhaps that granular level of commenting is not what you need at this point in time. I still thought it sounded good to me.

I made the comment above that many will not except anything less than a vote for each member, at the quarterly meetings. I do not include myself in that position.

I believe that this new way of including individual memberships can work, if it's implemented in the right way.

Even then it will take work and energy from all involved to make it successful, but it can be done. It will take strong delegate, and an involved group of individual members to really work. It can work.

I applaud the FAA for giving serious consideration to these endeavors.

I'm all for it.

If I read correctly, I believe Scotty is as well.

But then again Bigdaddy, perhaps I've missed your point entirely.
 
Nope. You and I are on the same page here.

My experience so far is that many will give input here on the forum. If this proposed wording is accepted, SA will have delegate numbers based on the number of current Florida based site supporters.

The independents will have their opportunity to make themselves heard and felt. Guaranteed, with me, that will be welcomed.

There are far more tasks that must be completed then there are current volunteers who have accepted the responsibility to Get R Done. Many more individuals will have to step out from behind their grass rakes and determine this to be important enough to actually get involved in.

That's gonna mean giving up a ride or two or a boat repair party to participate. Many talk, few act - we gotta get this done.[/u][/b]
 
BigDaddy,
Thankyou for working so hard on this.
If I read everyone right, and to simplify (for my simple mind), there would be delegates for businesses (one each), airboat clubs (min. 2 and more according to club size) and then Regional delegates for Indiviual members ( based on numbers of course).
Even with the best of planned structure, without involvement, nothing gets done.

Thanks again Captain.
 
You are doing a good job Big Daddy and I appreciate the time that you and all the others are taking to revise this and make it better for us. I am in with you 100% and I am here to help in any way that I can to make it better for us. So if there is anything that I can do to help please let me know.
 
Not that I have added anything really constructive to this thread myself,
But I am suprised that so few have commented on this proposal.

Perhaps you should re-name this thread to aircraft vs automotive, and it'll get 5k views by the end of the week!
 
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