National Speleological Society, Inc.
President's Report
This report is the last report that I'll be making as President of the NSS. In preparation for the report, I looked over some final reports from my predecessors to see what format was traditionally used: based on apparent tradition, it looks like this has been used as an opportunity to laud the success of the past four years.
Rather than turn this report into a Puff Piece, I'd like to use the opportunity to review where we were four years ago, to discuss some of the changes that we've made, and to highlight a few concerns that you may want to address in the future.
Four Years Ago
I had only been Executive Vice President for nine months when I became President; effectively I only had six months as EVP to get my feet under me, so I did not come into office with the depth of awareness that Fred Wefer will bring to the job. I know I was overwhelmed and very much appreciated your encouragement. Fred, even with his greater experience needs the same encouragement.
At my election at San Diego Board meeting, I committed to improving relations between the officers and the directors and to opening up the decision making process so more members would be aware of the workings of the society. I also hoped to see the society draw in more non-affiliated cavers and use the synergy of a growing organization to allow the NSS to own more significant caves and to greatly improve its educational and scientific efforts and support.
However, one plays the cards one's dealt in this kind of situation, and it became quite apparent that the type of organization needed to attract non-affiliated cavers didn't really exist and the resources to improve our educational and scientific efforts simply didn't exist. Let me make something very clear . . . the problems I'm about to describe did not exist because we lacked dedicated and willing volunteers to manage our committees. We had outstanding volunteers who toiled diligently for the society. We were in difficulty because we (as an organization and a Board) had failed to keep our focus on serving our membership. We had tried to be a resource to the world and lost sight of the recreational caver, the caver-scientist, and the ardent cave-conservationist, who were loyal to the NSS and working within our ranks to explore, study and protect caves and their contents.
Four years ago these were the problems we faced:
We had just come out of two consecutive years where the Operating Budget had run a cumulative $60,000 deficit.
Our office system was extremely inefficient.
Our periodicals were reasonably timely but the content and formatting needed significant improvement. Many Board members will recall the many meetings we had with long discussions about how to improve the . . . (insert your favorite publication here).
There was a Western Revolt and a great many cavers west of the Mississippi strongly felt the word "National" did not belong in our name.
The officers actually reviewed the agenda in the context of deciding how to respond to Bill Mixon's sharp questions and seemed to fear his memo to the Board for all the caustic comments Bill managed to include. The focus was on anticipating attacks and developing a mutual defense rather than dealing with and resolving questions and issues. There were significant levels of mis-trust between the officers and the directors.
We had a "ton" of money in the Foundation-managed Trust accounts with virtually no input (we felt) into the management of our funds. We had no way of accessing our funds to resolve critical short-term needs
Four years ago, it wouldn't have been to much of a stretch to say we were stale, broke, and out of touch with our members.
What's Changed?
Lots have changed and not all has been smooth or easy. Folks that were friends were impacted in the changes and even today there are some members of the society who loathe individual officers. I have friends who will not speak to me and it hurts. There's not much I can do about that situation except to know that what was done was made extra hard because we delayed fixing problems when they were small and easily correctable. As an organization, I hope we've learned to fix problems when they're recognized and not to pass the problem along to the next officer/Board to resolve.
Today, we have a very modern office system. Over the past four years, we have significantly increased the workload in the office as personnel and equipment came up to speed. We continue to compensate competitively within the Huntsville market and have stayed reasonably consistent with our mid-range targeting pay scheme supplemented by flexible work rules. Camille, Avis, and Bill seem to be happy employees and your officers are very pleased with both their output and their attitudes towards our members.
The NEWS, Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, Members Manual, and American Caving Accidents are all better publications today then they were four years ago. With an unfortunate exception, the transition to new editors was handled very well and the level of cooperation during the transitions was a reflection of the dedication of our volunteers to the betterment of the society.
The Western Revolt? Their complaints were valid, and the Board dealt with them effectively by listening and moving good people into positions where the views of all cavers could be reflected.
One problem that has been a real struggle has been money. It seems like my whole time in office has been preoccupied with budgets. I HATE WORKING ON BUDGETS! We've attacked cash flow problems on several fronts from arbitrarily forcing cutbacks in budgets to raising member dues. The problem, of course, was exacerbated by the need to recover from the losses that were sustained 5-6 years ago and run-away inflation in the printing industry. We also been confronted with problems faced by similar organizations: flat membership growth and level sales of promotional items. None-the-less, we have managed to bring in budgets that were balanced and cognizant of the need to improve member services. I must comment that the other officers have demonstrated outstanding performance to budget.
Starting with Kevin Smith and continuing with Paul Stevens, we have worked to improve our relations with the National Speleological Foundation. The recently approved (and improved) agreements with the Foundation have helped promote better communication and encouraged the Foundation to look at new ways to prudently manage our funds while improving available funds to the Society. Paul's report will detail recent changes that I'm sure you will find exciting. To be honest, when we started this effort, my hopes were to see some small. immediate benefits from the rising market, but through the efforts of Larry Southam, my expectations have been greatly exceeded. In my judgment, we are no longer on our death bed from a financial viewpoint and well on the way to being healthy. Stay the course!
Officer/Director relations are better today than they were four years ago. The EC has stopped "block voting," but that's more a factor of personalities than conscience decision. Currently, you have the first, full time, professional EC in the history of the society. The use of e-mail puts each officer in the position to manage his department on a daily basis . . . that impact can not be underestimated. Each officer brings a wealth of outside professional, project and/or personnel management experience to the EC. I don't think we could have woven our way through the problems of the last four years as well without that outside professional experience. I would encourage the Board to look for cavers, with NSS experience, who have strong management skills, to be officer candidates. Based my last four years, I would place management experience well above experience within the speleo-political world (i.e., being a Board member) as a requirement for being elected as an officer. The day-to-day complexity of the society has grown too much to run without that professional management experience and depth.
My sense in talking with the Board members who have lived through the last six years is communication between officers and directors is much better now than earlier. Granted there are two or three directors who think the officers still engage in nefarious plots against the directors, but there are also folks who believe Elvis lives and little green men visit the planet. None is true, but you'll never change their minds.
There is one area of profound change in the NSS. Today, there are no insiders. The penultimate insider trophy was possession of an up-to-date Board of Governors Manual. If you had such a manual you had the secret decoder ring for the NSS. You knew what the rules were and, because you had the decoder ring, you were important.
The whole thing started with the recognition that Josh Abdulla, then a high school student, had the talent to develop an NSS Website. Today, anyone can buy the software and develop a site, but four years ago, that kind of individual was rare and the software didn't exist . . . giving the job to a high school student was daring. From that start, we added a secure bookstore ordering system, posted all the convention information, and provide sites for several IOs. The biggest change, however, was the inclusion of all the officer reports, the minutes of every Board meeting, and the complete Board of Governors Manual. No secret decoder ring, no special rite of privilege. The entire process, all the rules, and all the procedures are out in the open for every member to read and study. If asked to name the number one good change of the last four years, putting the Manual out for all to read would be it. When someone tells you about NSS insiders running the society . . . you know it's not true; they haven't bother to do their homework.
Naturally, those folks who liked being "insiders" aren't pleased.
Down the Road
We are not without problems.
Money
Money will continue to be an issue. We can breathe now; the patient isn't going to die. But, we are not ready for a marathon caving trip. As a Board, you must come to grips with Fund Raising. It is not a sin to ask for money, to ask for a lot of money, and to ask for money a lot of times. That's a key aspect of your job as a Board member. Like you, I have no inclination for asking other people for money. But it’s a key element of the job and something you must do. The lack of fund raising oriented members on our Board is a serious lack when one looks at similar organizations—their accomplishments, and their ability of generate capital.
Attitudes
The NSS is not Washington, DC. Right now, we have the dubious pleasure of watching our national political leaders engage in smear, innuendo, half-truth, and character assassination. With such fine examples, I guess it is only natural that we'd see folks beginning to emulate that style in the NSS. We even see tinges of it creeping into our Board and into other key areas of our society. STOP IT! It will kill this organization. As leaders you have a responsibility to raise the standards of discussion as an example for all cavers. Folks who tear down others and always find fault with things, aren't worth your time or the society's time. How often have you heard about some caver who is tearing the heart out of a grotto, committee, or IO, excused with the expression, "but he's a real caver . . ." Well, after four years I can assure you there are plenty of constructive, hard working, very bright REAL CAVERS who manage to work effectively in the NSS without causing turmoil. While we should welcome all with an interest in speleology, we don’t need to place destructive individuals in leadership roles. There’s simply too many constructive, good cavers willing to volunteer.
A Professional EC
The Board took a bold move when it decided to elect cavers with professional backgrounds to officer roles at the expense of strong speleo-political experience. It has been a difficult experiment for the officers and for Board members. It took time for folks used to dealing with professional management systems to learn "Boardeese" and it took time for most of the Board to learn "managementeese." How the Board works and how most of the officers function in their professional lives is quite dissimilar. We each had to learn (and continue to learn) from each other. Officers are very much results oriented: they want to decide what has to be done, how it's going to be done, and then they want to get the task done. That tends to drive directors, who tend to be much more process driven, nuts. That tension, however, is typical of most dynamic organizations. The experiment is working. Getting through the problems of the last four years is definite proof that it's working. Good directors do not necessarily made good officers and vice versa.
Don't stray from the course. We all long for the days of yesteryear and for the simpler NSS. It's gone. You are a member of a very complex, volunteer run, corporation. We aren't big business, but we are complex and we are a business. The day-to-day operations of this society do not require strong caving skills . . . they require very good business and management skills. Let the great cavers become directors and let them guide the policies of the society. Please continue to ensure you select officers who are dedicated members, active cavers, and who demonstrate strong, outside-of-the-NSS, professional management skills in business, project management, or personnel organizations. It's really critical in the next few years.
Continue to make the officers accountable as a team. The current legal structure of the society sets up each officer as an independent party reporting to the Board. Several pages could be written citing the advantages of our current set-up and even more could be written citing disadvantages. In areas specifically related to individual departments I have encouraged the officers to take ownership and act forthrightly to manage their departments . . . they’ve done that and would have done that without my encouragement. In other areas, such as the development of budgets, we have moved toward making the entire EC take ownership and responsibility for the preparation and presentation of the budget. The rational being simple: traditionally, the Treasurer has focused on the income side of the equation, and the officers have focused on the expense side. There has been little concern for the total picture. I believe that’s how we got into trouble (in part) 5-6 years ago. Making the officers accountable for the income projections and getting the Treasurer involved in the program side of the budget forced everyone to take ownership of the entire process. It worked, it got us out of trouble, and the approach should be continued. In areas where the management of an individual department are the focus, I would encourage you to maintain the independence of each officer. In areas related to the society as a whole are concerned, I would encourage you use the recent budget approach, and hold the officers acceptable for management as a team.
Finally
I'd like to claim my excellent management skills led to all the good things that happened in the last four years. It's not so. Our committee system is pretty strong with dedicated volunteers. You sent some excellent officers into the EC. You voted for the right things are the right time. It was a team effort . . . that's the way all good things happen.
Where things went wrong . . . I'll take the blame. Part of my job is to be able to step back, see trouble coming and to try and head it off. I was pretty good at doing that, but I sure blew a few. Well, I can't get those back, but they'll bug me.
I have often said, "This was the best job I ever had in the NSS." That's the whole truth!
Committee Reports.
Based on conversations, I expect to see a transition in the committees in the next few months. Several chairs have been in their current positions for over five years and will ask to be replaced as Fred gets his feet on the ground.
Ted Kayes is stepping down as Nomination committee chairman. Ted will be giving his report orally.
Greg Glazner has resigned as Fund Raising chairman. I feel particularly sadden by his resignation, feeling that this is one that I should have headed-off and will be willing to discuss the issues one-on-one with directors.
Mike Hood is stepping down as Awards committee chair. Mike's done an excellent job and I commend him to you.
Ed Sira continues to refine the Guide to Responsible Caving. His activity is no longer managed by the President but has moved into the publications area.
Bill Mixon, who is stepping down, will have a separate report (Attachment A1) discussion the Bylaw change proposals.
The remainder of the committees report they are in good shape and proceeding on their plans.