Re: speaking out PARTIAL RESPONSE 1
iris@hort.net
  • Subject: Re: speaking out PARTIAL RESPONSE 1
  • From: R* P* <r*@embarqmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2012 16:59:31 -0400 (EDT)
Eugene wrote;
There should be a
place to complain and get an answer from someone instead of being ignored. We
are controlled by the members who attend the National meetings. That seems to
be between sixty and one hundred people.


I am answering a number of these comments individually;
There are usually at minimum 300-400 irisarians at convention. I would guess that only maybe 10 go early enough to attend board meetings. Despite the fact that that RVPs represent their region, usually only a handful attend board meetings. Anyone in the room at a board meeting is welcome to participate in the discussion. Usually it is so boring that many people leave. No one cares it seems about the minutia of running the society. But if present, any person can voice their opinion. 

It is sad that we really do not care enough to invest energy and time to make the society work.

But I do not expect that many people would want to spend the money or time that directors put in. I believe it is important that there be communication between the membership and the board. I have tried various ways of trying to produce these communication. Many have been very weak in their results. Often club presidents do not pay attention to questionnaires and do not pass them on to their club members. I do not wish to single out any level of the AIS organization. Everyone is guilty. Communication is poor all the way around. 

Mailings generally are too expensive, especially when we are running a deficit. I have been investigating a number of new ways to get feedback and communication. We may be using CONSTANT CONTACT very soon to provide headline news in the Iris Society. I also plan to use SURVEY MONKEY to poll irisarians on various topics. Each of these services is expensive. They favor people online, but if clubs cooperate we can still get feedback from those who are not computer literate.

 I really do not want to leave those who have built the society behind. I also seem to be falling more and more into that cohort. But remember, I am as computer challenged as many, and it is painful for me to learn how to do much of this. I would greatly appreciate some computer whizzes out there to volunteer for the PR Committee. I am old and slow and really need some younger or quicker people to help.


----- Original Message -----
To Robert Pries:
 
Just where does one speak out about dissatisfaction with
the AIS? You can get on IRIS TALK and talk your head off. No results. You can
write letters to the President. No results and no answer. There should be a
place to complain and get an answer from someone instead of being ignored. We
are controlled by the members who attend the National meetings. That seems to
be between sixty and one hundred people.
 
Concerning the votes for the Wister
Medal and the Dykes Medal, I believe the voting should be changed to require
that an iris gets a plurality of votes in two thirds of the AIS regions to
receive either award. This would prevent large regions, California etc, from
dominating the selection of Wister and Dykes candidates because they have more
votes than any other region. 
 
Frankly, I am fed up with the AIS and the
recent changes in membership (emembership). You can't get a hard copy of the
bulletin unless you are a regular member. You can't have access to the online
check list unless you are an emember. So, if you want both a hard copy and
access to the online check list, you must have dual membership. I think that
in December when both membeships expire I shall become a NON MEMBER. I can get
along very well without the AIS. I can register seedlings even if I am not a
member. 
 
For years the AIS let foreign hybridizers register their seedlings
free. Barry Blyth registered about 1300 iris free. The word finally got out
that the AIS was doing this while whining about budget deficits so it hit the
fan. And the AIS had to start charging foreign hybridizers the same as they do
us. 
 
If every person in the world had the same brand computer system and
they all  worked the same, emembership might be made to work. Now, on my
computer, the online bulletin access is a mess. I can barely read the bulletin
because it has such small print and i you enlarge the print the picture of the
bulletin gets St. Vitas Dance. 
 
E. Baxley

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