Drenched, but still happy

 Yes indeed we all got drenched at about 3:00 pm but until then it was a lovely day with sun and plenty of customers. I think sales were pretty good, because there were maybe a third of the booths, clustering together more, and that spread sales farther around. You could see people going around more than once, seeming to be looking for something to buy, for whatever reasons. One guy was carrying flowers and seemed especially pleased so I asked him if it was his birthday, and it was. He was carrying too many things so I gave him a bag, because I knew it would allow him to buy more, which he looked like he wanted to do. And it worked, as he had actually been considering a hat. I was careful to tell him I hadn't known that and didn't do it to get his business, and I didn't. I just hate to see people carrying everything awkwardly and not connecting that with the obvious need for a carrying assist. 

I could give away a lot of bags but am trying hard not to. I'm nearly out of the regular bags and won't be replacing them with commercially made ones. I'll have black bags and small ones for a longer time, so will focus on them and making my load lighter. I saw a woman who had on a shirt of an iris that I had made in the 80's! It was really surprisingly beautiful and she said she hadn't worn it, but found it in her drawers and brought it out. It would make a stunning tote bag so I will see if I can find the old art. I know I would have saved it, or at least a paper print I could make new art from. 

We had some fun conversations about art yesterday. One of the upsides of slower days is more conversing with other artists, birders, botanists, and many types of appreciators. Market is such a lovely place to receive guests and I treasure that social day once a week. The rain can't spoil that although of course it did remove all the customers from the mix. It was especially wet. I had to spread everything out in my shop to dry, every bag and hat, and it is nicely sunny today so I could put the popup and sides and weights outside for a few hours. Those weights seem to never dry. I think I brought home at least ten pounds of water in place of a few pounds of hats I sold. 

I was even wet through my rain pants which I don't remember experiencing before. At least we had a pretty dry setup period which makes the rest work fine. I don't mind as much getting wet at the end of the day, with all of my treats ready for later and all of the satisfaction tucked away. I know I will be going home to a dry and warm house and that makes me feel very lucky.

Got some choice gossip but it's mostly kind of depressing. Apparently many of our young staff does not get any training on how to behave in the workplace or in their off hours with their coworkers. I won't repeat any stories as none of them were firsthand, but an hour or two of expectations and a different setting of the professional atmosphere would greatly benefit these workers as I hope they do not carry those behaviors on to their next jobs. We've lost so much from the days when we did actual hiring processes and didn't have a toxic workplace that members avoid and find out later that they've been roundly trashed in by people they are paying with their hard-earned sales. Where is the Personnel Committee and Board in this scenario where we are now known as a place you would definitely not want to be employed? 

One thing that seems to be not reaching those in power is that we live in a small town. All of the artisan communities are connected, with hundreds of us knowing each other, working together, sharing studios and selling next to each other in shows all over the region and in many other places in our own town. You know it is said that 90% of people will talk about their negative experiences and a much smaller percentage will talk about the positive ones. Yes many of us love the market in many ways and promote it and have worked for it, but those glowing testimonials are falling flat when everyone can see that something is terribly wrong.

The food court is now marked up with irregular pink and black paint lines that must look shocking for the six days a week that market is not there. I remember being horrified when a Tuesday market food booth set up on our stage and left grease stains there. All of the safety paint on the irregularities of the sidewalks are sort of excusable, but the idea that the park is practically owned by market is so short-sighted and sad. It is the premier and only downtown park, used by many residents and visitors to downtown. I have always maintained that the city should be able to use it in the ways that serve the city, as long as we can negotiate with them about our needs and make sure we are collaborating on the best use of the space. I complained loudly when a Sunday Streets event marked up the west block with paint for two days, marks that lasted for a very long time. I wish we had a lot more collaboration and that I was still in communication with City staff, as I noticed yesterday as I stood in a puddle along with most people in our neighborhood, that the sidewalk cracks had been filled with asphalted gravel, which meant they no longer drained rain toward the fountain, or anywhere. I bring a broom, but there was too much water yesterday to sweep, and in my space I would be sweeping it into my neighbors' booths. But I can't just email the city and ask them to think about drainage again. I even have a map of the lakes that form I could share with them.

Oh well, just one thing. The poor new food booth had to wait until 11:30 for the ribbon across their front counter to be cut, and looked closed for the busiest morning hours of their first day. Removing it would have been the first thing I did in the morning, but they are new and I'm sure were wanting to start off complying, no matter how confusing that was. It feels repeatedly that no one is thoughtful about the members' ability to make sales, that no one really cares about anything except our payments, which must increase despite the increasing difficulty of our existences. We've lost the real "heart of Beth" as we used to call it, the empathy and knowledge of our experience that leads to decisions that work for the members and not just the org. They're not even working for the org anymore. Policies are having to be made for specific instances, sometimes for one person, for things that used to be understood, with no need to be widespread. Like the letter we got, everyone got, by email that they say they can only use so often, to tell us all to be nice at Holiday Market. We are nice. We are some of the nicest, most mutually supportive people you can find anywhere. Some people in power just do not know us, and aren't trying to know us anymore. They have a warped view of our special place and our amazing culture.

But the worst news I heard yesterday was at farmers. They voted, by a member vote even, to eliminate their seniority system. I'm not sure if they got any benefits out of it except for space allocations, and am not sure how any points they used were counted. I have a memory at one point of how much money you made and paid being integrated into that seniority, but I can't be sure if I got that right, as I'm not a member. But for people like the Bergs, and others, who have invested their lives in the organization, they were disenfranchised. Farmers started long before they became LCFM in 1979, selling with us from the very beginning. Some were even generational farmers, having connections to the old Producers Market that ended in 1959. Farms tend to stay in families if possible. So those older folks just got pushed out by the new and younger folks, who of course voted out that system they weren't benefitting from yet. It would be like taking away all of our member points, which only go back to when points started anyway, which was in the 80s.

Member votes are manipulated and we've seen that happen too, when everyone got to join the survey about closing for a week in November, even those who didn't sell then and had no real stake in the issue. I lost an important selling day, and I'm still shocked by the wording of that survey, pitched as "if you love your staff, you will vote to close." It was the first time I really saw the manipulative ability of this GM and how she would be using it, and I did complain, passionately, about being manipulated. But now it is the norm. Check out the newsletter cartoon. Prepare to be ridiculed if you have an opinion.

It has been that way. Membership organizations are different from other businesses. I also found out that no farmers got to vote on closing at 2:00...and they don't like it. They lost an hour of sales and the long setups and short selling hours just hurt them. I feel like it is a result of adding a Springfield market and stretching their staff out, so they have to cut selling hours to manage their work hours. That's backwards for a membership organization. We are also going in that direction, having lost any sense of balance about who benefits from decisions and policies. This is tragic. I feel for the farmers. There was already a lot of space assignment without choice, and we saw that at Holiday Market too. We saw Standards erosion to fill those HM spaces, and the minutes where the Standards Committee was informed of that choice, were never published. The Chair soon quit. Standards, arguably our most important committee, is also captured now. 

I hope the people who have the power to take our market back wake up soon and do it. There are now so many facets to work on that it is becoming a daunting task. I can't do it. What can you do? Must be something. We have an election in June, coming right up.  

A Rainy Market

 Yes, tomorrow looks like a wet day, though there might be a break from 9 to noon so that will work great for those of us who can still go. I debated becoming a "fair weather market" person this season, as taking the popup and weights is a lot harder on my body, but I think I'll do it anyway. There is a certain comraderie on the wet days and the bills still need to be paid.

Things are heavy around the blocks. There seems to be a lot of shock about the fee increases, and many that I spoke to on Opening Day, a glorious weather day, were not selling well at all. One woman sold one card. One man sold nothing until way past noon, and then very little. I did well, and others did too, but it was not widespread. Mostly the first few weeks are about the food booths, anyway, as people come again for their favorites and spend their money there. I looked back at last year and I was making more, but it's too soon to assess my own trends for the season. 

Virtually all of our customers are feeling the economic pinch that is worldwide, still unfolding, and scary as can be. Tourism is down at least 25% and will be impacted for years. Costs are up for every craft, if materials are even available. Metal costs for jewelers are fluid, but investing in silver and gold must be hard when you don't know what your sales will be like. Everything is up. My costs are up 25% for materials, inks, and art supplies. 

I believe the market is making a serious mistake pushing more of the problem onto members. It is the job of leadership and management to find ways to support the members, not just the staff. Increasing our sales with fresh new and well-done promotions is a no-brainer. We're still using things from 2018 in our published ads and promotions. Depending on some unending supply of new crafters is not a strategy that will work when they are at the same time being priced out of selling. It will only take a few weeks of bad sales to make a person quit or just come less frequently. Gas costs are going to be a huge problem for people.  

And Holiday Market costs going up another 10% is just not going to have the desired effect. Even I may considering skipping weekends, though to be honest I don't know if I can afford to. If my sales go down consistently over the season though, I may have to. A half-empty hall is going to be visible evidence of a decline that we won't be able to tell shiny stories about. It was always a risk to take on the extra hall and now the Atrium. What it looked like was that a lot of standards were relaxed to bring in a lot of the new booths, and that erosion takes away what makes us different from any of the many other markets and venues that shoppers can access. They don't need us. We need them. People noticed that we tried to force out Bill Sullivan's artists and authors event. It was a poor reflection on our community care aspect. 

Having higher quality and that direct connection between the maker and appreciator is our strength. That is what is meaningful to people and why they love us. This will just become harder to keep in play if we grow too large and disconnected from that strength that has sustained us through many hard times. We mean something to people. That is what we have to nurture and we absolutely must draw on our experience and history to be consistent with that. New is not always better. 

I have work to do today so can't elaborate on the poor management of the first market of the season...the smoke in the food court is something that should not have happened. It was blowing right into the customers' faces...did no one remember that our prevailing winds are from the west? That's true nearly every week. This was a big issue with DeFrisco back in the day, and they had to put in high smokestacks and do other mitigating things, plus be in a location that minimized harm. These are things that are not "lost" to history. They live in our memories of all of the problem-solving we have done over the fifty-seven seasons and we have plenty of people who hold those memories. They just feel silenced and disrespected so they don't bother to try to help and become targets for retaliation. 

We can't afford this poor management. I know some are stuck in the sunk cost fallacy and think we can't make a change, but we must make a change. We are paying for excellent management in our salaries and benefits. We deserve to have it. This has gone beyond any historical times when we wanted to retain staff to the degree that we put up with things going wrong. Way too many things are going wrong. You don't have to believe me...do your own survey. 

And thank you in advance for coming tomorrow. It is almost never worse than the predictions...every market day is worth experiencing. If I had the time I would have written one of those glowing posts about the enriching, satisfying experience of last week's sunny market. There were so many wonderful moments. 

It is such a joy to have our market. I know I will still believe that tomorrow evening at 7:00 when I am finally finished and can sit down and get into some dry socks and comfy clothes so I can fall asleep in the recliner. I have become a person who takes naps. I am sure I will need one. 

 

 

Next? Who's next?

 Rough week for me...exhausted after all that effort in the Jell-O Art Show; I worked too hard on props, which looked fantastic, and should have memorized my cues harder. I also had a costume malfunction, which seems the norm for me. I guess doing these things once a year leaves me rusty. It showed. I was slow, needed help, and although people did help me, (packing the car for me afterwards was a completely stellar effort by several people who were really good at it!) I did not meet my own approval, performance-wise. Next year, a less pivotal role perhaps.

But that is over. It took all day Sunday to put it all away, and there are still a few things to wrap up. Today I am expecting a huge shirt delivery. It's rainy, and I was planning to sort things on the sidewalk to fit them into my small space with a minimum of lifting, but it's too wet. I thought about putting up the popup, for some protected space, but it's gusty winds too and we all know how that can go. Plus, then I have wet weights, sides, and the popup to somehow fit into the space so it can all dry. Just have to wait and see how it plays out.

The Board is meeting tonight. There are still topics I should weigh in on, but giving my opinion seems to make things worse, so I'll just stick with this little tiny soapbox. They selected, out of all the possible food booths that might have applied (no one mentioned how many applicants there were) a second Thai food booth and sited it right next to Bangkok Grill. There is a serious duplication policy still on the books, and their menu of "grilled proteins" seems in violation, as we already can purchase grilled chicken, tofu, pork, and beef (at the Afghani booth.) So...guess we'll see how that plays out. It seems in bad faith toward two booths with over-40 year family investments who will have to absorb direct competition. Not how anything was ever done before. 

The other booth, deep-fried wontons, might compete with the other deep-fried foods, but maybe not so much. Anyway, I guess these members are on their own to make it work. Publicity featured the new booths, as it has for the last several years. Today I even read that staff said "We're not going to run out of artists!" which I think is core to what some of the current policies are based on. Raising prices beyond the means of new people or older people is okay, because someone will come along to replace them. Kicking out members the staff or Board can't control or dominate is okay, because there will be new members who can be sucked in until they too become inconvenient. Sigh.

For those of us who have our lives wrapped up in this increasingly unprofitable enterprise, it looks daunting. Another fee increase in June, and HM up another 10%? That's what is being discussed or is already voted in. Everyone I talk to has seen a decline in sales. Without great promotions we don't even look fun and interesting...promotions are supposed to bring us new customers and entice people who might have lost interest. So far I have seen one blurry FB post of a poster that just looks the same as the last few. We need professionals!

The reality is that we are in a decline and those are tough to reverse, without some substantial, visible improvement that draws participants. More of the same is not what will help us right now. Hopefully we will get lucky with weather, won't have to cancel for fires and smoke intrusions, and the mere fact that we are at the center of town will work for us. We'll get some help from farmers, after helping them draw for so long, as they take over our longstanding role of the community gathering place. Let's hope it's real help that doesn't end at 2:00 pm, their new closing time. We will stay open until 4:00 so if people stay with us, maybe it won't be a big change for us.

It's discouraging to feel like there aren't discussions going on about how to mitigate our challenges, but I'm just hoping they are and not making it into the minutes. I have to pass on commenting on the lack of a Secretary and proposal to strip the responsibilities and duties out of the position. Obviously there is a lot that particular officer does for the membership organization that cannot be done by staff and will not be done. There's an oversight role that keeps the org legal and functional with the bylaws and laws of the state and federal government, that brings forward lessons learned from the past, that keeps the org consistent with its values, but it seems that responsibility ended with me and it doesn't look like it will come back any time soon. I was thwarted by a staff that wouldn't support or respect those roles, and that staff is still in place, so the next person would have a slog to even get back to half of what I did.

The organization, the membership, suffers this loss. It's similar to the macrocosm: what will be lost for the short term, and what will not be recoverable? What will take decades to restore? It's a tragedy I will have to just live with as I doubt I will be around to see any restoration. Then again, I am not one to stop hoping.  I've seen a lot of phases in the fifty years I've been there at the tables. It's living and breathing.

Meanwhile, I'm listening for the big truck and the wind and rain and trying to be ready for it. This is likely my last year for this level of work. I've thought that before, and kept going, so I wouldn't want to carve that in stone, but at some point I generally go from still trying to accepting reality. I don't know...reality is so harsh. Where did I put those rose-colored glasses? 

 

Can't Write When It's Like This

 Rule number two for me is don't write when you are upset. (Rule number one is Be Honest.) so I'll just say a few small things.

One, the SM Budget Committee did its job and presented the Board with a balanced budget for the next year, as well as a year-end financial statement, and they are both well-prepared and informative for anyone who takes the time to study them. I gave them a once-over but I am way too busy for the analysis I usually give those, so that will have to wait. No one really wants to hear what I think anyway. I'm happy to even just see them. The work isn't done as there are some problematic proposals on the table for the Board to sort through, and some conditions that are still not going to help anyone thrive, but at least there is a semblance of a plan and an assurance that some people are looking with skill at the financial picture. 

Two, The US is insolvent and crushed and the rage and grief are overwhelming. I can't think about it. I have a show to produce and manage and be in, and am wildly trying to finish up the props and other tasks and learn all my important cues. Sorry, world, I have these little tiny responsibilities to help fund an art gallery with my energy and I have to honor that commitment. Never mind that the whole world is burning up and won't stop until we are all cringing in the ashes hoping we can somehow survive it. Sorry, breaking rule number two, so I'll stop. 

Three, the sun is out, though it is cold. All of my cherry and pear trees are in complete, full bloom and it is glorious around here. Bees are attending and squirrels will never be able to eat every blossom so it might just be a year I get some cherries. The tulips are overlapping the daffodils and the quince is still blooming while everything else pops out early and if it didn't all say El Nino and climate emergency, I'd be happy as can be. If I had time to sit on the deck and take it in, I would.

Four, I had an incredible dream last night. Something occurred that made everyone emotionally honest and transparent all of a sudden. People in romantic fantasies saw through them. Liars stopped lying. You could look at a person, see their inner honesty, and even make wry jokes with them that didn't offend, just gave a shared empathy that anyone could access and go forward with as a shield and sword. It was a transformation beyond imagination. Mistakes were set aside. Everyone had the skills they needed and the confidence and strength to succeed in every way. I rushed from person to person with extreme joy and hope. I think I might have experienced death, in a way. Everyone felt a perfect love, though of course words are inadequate to describe it. And then I woke up. 

The kitty was cold and wanted to be fed. The show loomed and my anxiety shot through the roof. I had emails I could barely read without crying.

I just don't think Jell-O Art can fix this. But...I will give it my best effort. Last year it was a battle. This year it is a Jamboree. Perhaps next year, a Jubilee. We need one. 

 

More fee increases? Any other ideas?

 I just have to say rather quickly that I find it shocking that the market will have another fee increase this June. These rapid increases are at a time when everyone is suffering from the world situation that will make literally everything more expensive. Our micro businesses are generally fragile in that all of our income depends upon our individual ability to make and sell our products. So many things can get in our way, from supply issues, energy costs, and domestic survival costs to the kinds of small crises that to an individual artisan tend to be debilitating. One month of lower income can put a person out of their rental, out of their studio, or out of luck.

The market is supposed to be the safety net for hundreds of people. Many of us do not have adequate resources, adequate health insurance, or any way to make money if we cannot work. This is just the worst time to increase our fees, and it looks and feels extremely insensitive. Nothing in the letter saying that the Budget Committee was unanimous looks like an effort to cut costs, to trim spending to fit the reality, or to ask for and find alternate solutions for us except yet another fee increase.

Let's say you sell fairly well and make an average of $300 in sales, with a reserve booth. In 2022, you would have paid on opening day your $50 membership, your $150 reserve fee, and your $15 plus 10%, for a start-up cost of $245. This year you will have paid $85 for membership, $200 for your reserve fee, and $20 for your space, for a start-up cost of $335. That is a 37% increase. And in June that cost will increase another $5, so that in 2027 it will be $340. If there are not even more increases. Yes, your start up costs are spread over the year, but you still have to come up with them in the spring to be a member in good standing. Which could become important if you need to ask for a leave, or any other special arrangement. And in June you're going to have to register for HM. We've seen outrageous increases there as well. 

Even the 4x4s are not getting a break. To start up in 2022, you would have paid your $50 membership, and would pay $8 plus 10%, and if you were lucky enough to even get a space, and make that $300, you would pay $88 just to sell that first day. That is already a 29% fee. This year, you will pay a start-up cost of $85, plus the $40 for a total of $125. If you made that $300, you will pay 42% in fees. That is just untenable. Plus I'm guessing not a lot of 4x4s make $300. I hope they do but you can't fit much inventory in that small space on the perimeter. 

Every time we used to contemplate a fee increase in the past, I would make a chart showing the possibilities, so that we could see what the fees would look like for all of the income levels. It was generally accepted that somewhere about 25% was a bearable fee. If you just look at the daily space fee of what will be $25 plus 10% and $13 plus 10%, you have to make $200 in an 8x8 and about $80 in a 4x4 to get to around that 25% threshold, and anything below that means you will pay more than 25% in fees. If you reserve, you're paying around $6.45 per market now instead of the $5 you were paying only 4 years ago. That is again, a 29% increase. If you have a zero day, best of luck finding a way to come back now that you invested that $85 for the season. 

The financial statement we got for the end of February showed that some spending had been cut, but not nearly enough. The bottom line was negative $13,900, and did not indicate that the staff and office costs for March would not be covered by any additional  income, putting us even farther in the red for the second year in a row. And we didn't get a statement of what has happened with our savings. And we didn't get real reports or minutes from the budget committee, just the statement that it was unanimous. By how many members? How many people are making these life-changing decisions for the membership? We deserve to know. We deserve to see the real minutes and the real votes in matters this impactful. In all matters. 

We know we paid for that website rebuild that has dubious value and isn't completed. We know we're paying for a legal retainer presumably to make it "more legal" to throw out members who ask difficult questions. We've been told repeatedly that an audit would be "too expensive." Yet in the past audits were done every year on part of our financial processes. We haven't seen one since 2021 or before. 

Fee increases are a tool that has to be used with finesse. The presumption is that membership levels will stay the same, people will still reserve booths, people will still attend regularly. Perhaps it is cynically thought that members will be even more desperate to come to pay for all the many things that also went up in their lives. This is entirely speculative. The perception can also be that a few people are being supported by a large number who are sacrificing beyond their means to do so. Just like what is happening in the macrocosm. Guess we'll see.

I do appreciate that we got a financial statement, which looks carefully prepared. It does show us in a better position than last year at this time. I'm trusting the Budget Committee and Treasurer that they are doing their jobs. I'm not trusting the general direction that we can just pay more. 

The two-year fix for new members is unfair, as there is no reason to believe that all of these members are at the same position; some may come in and sell way better than many established members, who will not get any kind of a discount. That discount does not establish us as a business incubator. We are not just a pass-through for micro businesses that will go on to open storefronts after they are more successful. We are a community that provided mutual support for hundreds of artisans of all kinds and income levels, including many who are just hanging on. Older members face many diminished capabilities that also limit their sales. People who are disabled or ill do as well. It's a gesture that is not based in reality. 

And don't get me started about a flat fee. This is regressive as can be, virtually guaranteeing that any low-income artist will not succeed. We are not Portland. We do not draw crowds that large, and with what is happening with tourism we will be lucky if we don't see dramatic decreases in attendance. The weather is supposed to get hotter and dryer...so we may face fire and smoke issues, something we have no control over. We can't promote ourselves to people who aren't here...and since we don't have professional staff we know we won't get more dynamic and more exciting promotions. And farmers are now closing at 2:00, so again, we have two hours at the end of the day that will need additional support to keep those crowds we do get. We have issues! We need leadership!

It is not easy to run our market and our events every week. We're paying professional salaries. We need a lot more expertise at the helm. We need innovation and fresh new ideas, to be aligned with all of the other organizations facing similar problems. We're not going to succeed with these seemingly simple, but damaging decisions. 

A Different Membership Organization with some Similar Struggles

 I went and listened to the 2.5 hour Board meeting of the OCF because they had a contentious issue regarding appointment of a Board member to fill a seat opened by the death of one. I had to catch up on a lot of passionate and very considered statements from members, seated Board members, and the Membership Secretary, who resigned after writing a letter in the Fair Family News about this process.

Records showed that over the last decade, appointments had not been made mid-term for many other resignations, in fact, no appointments had been made or even discussed. This is obviously not about the person the Board wanted to appoint, who did get the highest votes under the election threshold in the fall election. However, the next person was only 2 votes behind, and they split on several positions. It's a bylaws procedure to appoint, but it hasn't been done in the past because the membership is so passionately concerned about their membership rights and past Boards have supported respecting the members choices. But the power structure really wanted to do this one. And succeeded. And spent most of two hours deciding the question. 

The OCF has a 13-person Board, and can operate just fine with 11 or 12 members. There is an election every October that hundreds of members participate in (over seven hundred.) For many this is a very concerning erosion of member rights. The OCF also has a somewhat hidden political party that supports the current power structure. The vast numbers of people who do not support this party and power structure have been besieged with oppressive policy changes and lack of transparency in the years since this party politics developed. I have personally received emails lobbying for certain candidates and disparaging others. This is highly unethical, and many people who should know better have participated in that effort to sway voters in non-public ways, which is also offensive and if not blatantly illegal, it's highly suspect.

The Membership Secretary resigned over this appointment issue. Anytime an officer resigns over ethical concerns, it is a huge red flag for the organization. Perception is everything in a membership org. They've gone through three membership secretaries in the past two years, all highly qualified and dedicated to service. That red flag is getting bigger and waving wildly.

I'm looking at you, Saturday Market. When I resigned for ethical reasons in August 2024, I did not use my soapbox to explain it, for fear of further breaking what I felt was in a fragile state. I view that lack of a statement as a personal failure at this point, but I did what I thought was best and tried not to make things about me. I doubt it would have changed anything that's happening now, if I had spoken up. But I should have, except I was convinced that no one would listen or want to hear my opinion. I fell for some gaslighting and manipulation. But that's a different story in most ways. They do also have a narcissist in a power position, though.

We have the luxury of watching zoom recordings of the OCF Board meetings. It's a great way to watch directors in action and form your own opinions about what's going on, as well as get vital information for your own informed participation. I was against the recordings when they began, but for the 501c3 that they are, it's at this point, vital that they hold onto this transparency. It has helped them avoid a lot of mistakes. They still have a lot of problems, and I won't really elaborate on them at this time. You can go and watch a few meetings for yourself. 

For market, member rights and transparency barely exist right now. I know of several Committee reports and minutes that have never been shared. I've waited in vain for even attendance at committee meetings; I don't even know who is on committees right now. This means I have no way to effectively communicate with these committees and members, outside of attending in person, which I won't do due to the toxic atmosphere of the office and power structure for me.

I've heard rumors of a ruling that will affect me...I don't feel confident I will even be notified if it comes up. I know of many things that have been done and not done which are at best, ill-advised. I've seen election interference by officers, staff, and other members, that was at best, unethical, and at worst, illegal. I'm glad I resigned when I did, but there has not been an effective and thorough Secretary since, which has been a great loss to the organization. The Board needs to address all of the root causes of this situation, but as far as I know from the minutes, they haven't. The most recent proposal was just to strip out all the oversight and parliamentary responsibilities of the position so someone would take it. Maybe you can imagine how that hits me.

People have to remember how hierarchies work. Those at the top will deny that they hold positions of power at the top of the hierarchy. They don't see anyone beneath them. All of the many people who are beneath them do see it, clearly, and attempt to fight for their equal rights, usually to the derision of the people at the top. Membership organizations are not supposed to be hierarchical. All members are equal members. Positions of responsibility are about service, not power. This is essential to maintain.

I know I, and others I served with, understood this and refused privilege or any ways we were treated as having any advantage from our positions. We didn't want points, we didn't want special favors, or to be seen as a member of a special group. That stance seems to have left our organizational values. We see quite a lot of favoritism. Of the three committee chairs who resigned their positions recently, only one was remarked upon, and repeatedly praised for her whole two years of service. 

The lead professional is supposed to learn about the legalities, foster Board education and support the Board and Committee volunteers to do their jobs well and serve with honor and pride in their work. Not pride in their positions...their service. What progress they are able to produce and nurture together. For the organization, and for the members who placed their trust in them. Not for the benefit of the power structure. Not to "support the staff." 

We just don't have that in place anymore. It's a huge loss, and until we restore some trust we will not see people step up for positions of responsibility. We have to do better. We have to do our best. And like OCF, we have to have an atmosphere where member rights are honored, supported, and held up by both the members and the power structure. We are supposed to be working together. We are not supposed to be in a situation laced with oppression, retaliation, and fear. 

You can watch the meeting here. 

Has to Be Said

 Just going to park this here so I can come back and listen some more. It's on a far deeper level than stuff I've found on FB. It's long so I couldn't really absorb it all at once. 

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLQzcOoWBmE