Collective Responsibility is Red, White, and Blue
Collective responsibility is an elementary principle of organizational life. ABC members have the opportunity to vote on two bylaw changes via webinar on May 14 at 2 p.m. EDT or by submitting a proxy ballot by COB May 12 (webinar details: http://bit.ly/1u6028q).
Ballot issue #1 amends the bylaws to allow board members to complete their term of office if a job change results in more than one board member being from the same blood center. Issue #2 revises the bylaws to allow a board member to continue serving on the board if they move to another blood center. Both are prohibited in the current bylaws.
ABC's Bylaws Committee and board of directors unanimously support these revisions, believing they promote the strong and stable board leadership necessary for steady progress on ABC's strategic objectives. That is important, and there are more nuanced reasons that I give my full support to their recommendation.
There is a domino effect in maintaining the status quo. If the president steps down, the president-elect immediately becomes president, a change that can significantly affect the work-life balance for the president-elect, whose volunteer commitment becomes three years as president with an additional year as immediate past-president. The workload on remaining board members increases since the president-elect position will not be filled until the next member meeting. The exiled president is prohibited from sitting on the board as immediate past-president, eliminating a board member for a full year. If three board members change jobs during their three-year terms, they must vacate their positions, which must remain open until the next member meeting. We need to have all hands on deck to continue to move forward in serving our members ably and efficiently.
This change was born out of the Bylaws Committee's comprehensive review of the bylaws, recommendations from which will be presented at our Summer Meeting.
Back to collective responsibility. This past presidential election saw - by historical standards - a large voter turnout. Almost 60 percent of eligible voters went to the polls - the highest rate since 1968. Whether you vote red or blue in national elections, ABC members must do better than that. Changes to ABC bylaws are a serious matter and require that two-thirds of ABC members vote and three-fourths vote affirmatively. The obligation to make your voice heard is as red, white, and blue as America, and the results will impact our association.Please vote at the special member meeting on May 14 at 2 p.m. EDT or submit your proxy ballot by May 12.
Christine S. Zambricki, DNAP, CRNA, FAAN, Chief Executive Officer; [email protected]
Posted: 05/09/2014 | By: Christine S. Zambricki, DNAP, CRNA, FAAN; Chief Executive Officer | Permalink
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