Rumors and Conspiracy Theories

I have not heard rumors about pending changes.

Great to hear John.  There are so many positive things happening all around the Kiwanis world...making it a great time to be a Kiwanian!

Scuttlebutt has it that there has been talk of making the international convention a bi-annual event, not sure how that would work with elections and bylaw changes.  Also it is my understanding that convention actually raises some revenue for KI, so I'm not sure why you would want to cut a convention.

Thank you for your open and honest comments.

Rob-

"They" includes anyone in the hierarchy of Kiwanis: staff, international board, past presidents, etc.  As a new staff member, you do not have the experience of history that many of the members do.  There has been an "us" and "them" component to the organization for some time.  Like most Kiwanians, I love my club, enjoy my district, and have no use for the international level of the organization.  So, when "they" begin to infringe upon those aspects of the organization that "we" like, "we" are going to get a little cranky.

Should either of the two "rumors" above come true (and I suspect more so the former, than the latter), then "we" will know where "we" really stand and whom among "they" we can trust.  Where will you be and how would you explain those realities then?

Rumor:  Convention to become a bi-annual event.

Reality:  I may have been the one that inadvertently started this rumor by asking the delegates in San Antonio if they felt that the Convention should be held every year, every two years, or every three years.  That question was part of a phone polling process we are testing.  As soon as I have the results to that question, I will post it here.

Although there is on-going discussion about how to improve the International Convention, I am not aware on any proposals to move it to a bi-annual. The International Board is appropriately concerned that people are not attending like they use to, and are looking at ways to make the Convention more attractive.  There are some organizations who have gone to a Convention every other year, or every third year.  For those that do that, they use other means to do elections and legislation.

We do not consider the Convention as a funding source, and do our best to make it a break-even proposition.  Any surplus is used to fund shortages from past or future Conventions. If we were to consider a change to the frequency of the Convention it would not be for financial reasons.  The only reason I can see to change the frequency of the Convention would be if we felt that the effort to put it on was greater than the impact or "lift" that it gave the organization.  Right now, it is the only time we come together as an International Organization and I believe it can have great value for us.

Thanks for asking the question Matthew.

Dave,

I agree that Kiwanis is best enjoyed and experienced at the local level, where our clubs and members are having a great impact.  It is my hope that one day the International portion of the organization would be viewed in a much more positive way than it is currently. I recognize that we have a long way to go to make that a reality.

As you pointed out, my limited history with Kiwanis (one year), means I have not experienced the decisions that have helped foster an "us" and "them" feeling in the organization.  In my heart I believe that this can change, but only if we take the steps necessary to listen, communicate, and respect what our members are telling us.  

Dave, please know that one of my personal goals is to earn the trust of our members ... not with words, but with actions.  My request is that you would communicate with me when you feel that we are making decisions that might have a negative impact on our clubs.  I am a Kiwanis member too, and love the organization like you do.  You can reach me by e-mail almost anytime at robparker@kiwanis.org.  

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Rob

Rob-

Thank you for your reply!  I look forward to meeting you soon and will take you up on your offer to email.

Dave Kelly

At one of the round tables in San AQntonio we had quite a spirited discussion regarding  annual versus bi-annual meetings. One of our stumbling blocks was what was or is the legal requirements for our type of organization.

Regargles we were unable to come to a majority decision on the question and there were only six of us at the tabale. Rob I hope you have better luck.

Rick

Rob, The questions that you posed at SanAntonio. ie. frequency of convention and lterm in office are very interesting especially to smaller clubs. Our club has an average age of 76. Mostly retired. In talking to former officers of the club they are in complete aggrement that you know your job when you are half way through your one year term. They would favor extending the term of office to two years.

        In regards to conventions, district and International the biggest deterent to members attending is cost. Either to the club or the individuals.

        See you in Spartanburg.  Regards,  Walter

Rob

I like some of the changes. specialty with the reporting on line. When will we be able to add and delete members on line?

As for the Convention I have been to over 20, and get a lot out of them, the only problem I see is the cost to the member or club. I think we need to go to cities that are airline hubs, and the price to the hub are always lower, because that is one of the biggest costs next to the hotels.

Ernie

Ernie,

We are working to upgrade our current database (a significant investment of both time and money) which will allow us to develop an on-line member management system where clubs will be able to add and delete members.  That would be followed by online rostering and invoicing.  Although there is always a chance it could be accelerated if we can concurrently develop it as we are upgrade our member database, I do not think you will see this happen for 12-18 months.  So, it is coming, but not as soon as we would like.

Rob

Re : two year term

We seem to overlook a salient point in Kiwanis Ledership. THe job is already 18 month long..Your term actually starts in April, when you are elected designate, The problem seems to me that the officers are not using the six months April-September to prepare themselves for the term October - September. They need to attend to training, analysis, ideas generation,and practice during the April-September period so that at October, they would have a good idea of where,when, what and how they are going to perform the duties of leadership