In a message dated 8/2/2009 9:05:26 A.M. Central Standard Time,
hager@aredee.com writes:
The
food has to fit the dish. When you order a 16 ounce rib-eye, you expect it
to arrive on a platter--not a salad plate.
Quite humorous! But we should sell the sizzle, the size of the platter
doesn't matter.
The famous restaurant Durgin-Park in Boston serves hubcap sized prime rib
on regular sized plates. I like my prime rib hanging over the plate.
While all this conversation is interesting, fun even, we should be
spending
time on a meaningful mission statement (only two people commented) and
setting attainable goals first before we make changes just to be making
changes.
If pictures are worth a thousand words (our movement to more pictures and
more color pictures and a website redesign speaks to that), then blooming
iris plants are worth ten thousand words, and grass roots affiliates speak
to
that with their programs, shows, garden tours and sales/auctions. There
are many good irisarians in clubs who will never become AIS members and
anything we do probably won't change that.
In Region 18 we started with a newspaper type bulletin in 1947, converted
in Dr. Hugo Wall's term as RVP in 1959 to a "bulletin" size. That was
maintained until the "Fall" 1988 issue converted back to 8-1/2 x 11" size.
This lasted until the "Fall" 1990 issue which came out in the "winter" and
by
which time the uproar of protest at the publication size crescendoed and
resulted in firing of the editor and a reversion back to "bulletin" size.
When I had become Region 18 editor in 1982, I was so brash as to change
the
cover in 1983 and never heard the end of it. The new editor in 1984
reverted back to the old cover which held until we conducted a design
contest and
changed to the current cover in "Spring" 1999. Change is hard to foster
in
any organization, liberal or conservative.
I agree with Clarence Mahan, Terry Aitken and Hal Stahley, three wise past
presidents of AIS who have all been through this many times. But
meaningful change based on goals and plans is good and something to be
attained.
Bob Pries has done a fine job of bringing new thoughts and proposed
actions
to the attention of the Board. That has been exciting. I know we
haven't
made as many changes as he would like or maybe that we need, but there
have
been more in the past five years than I can remember in any comparable
period. Gosh, just think back when RVPs weren't even invited to attend
Board
meetings until 1972! The general membership wasn't encouraged to speak
until much later. Keep plugging Bob. Decline is not inevitable.
Jim
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