Guest guest Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 I am not against the business side of LPA yet. But I would like to know that the GOALS of LPA as a business will bring forth? Lois Randy Bradford <bradfra@...> wrote: LPA Members and List, It's been an interesting year for LPA and a lot has gone on. I am not privy to a lot of it because I no longer sit on the board. As Ted Spencer (D11 Director) pointed out to me, LPA needs to transition to more of a business format and - since so many have such a personal connection to it - such a transition is very difficult. LPA's business moves affect people more personally than those of another organization because of the strong personal connections to it. While the current administration has had many successes, its one single failure was its inability to recognize and manage the above phenomenon before some very deep wounds were created. And, quite frankly, the behaviour of some of the people involved is inexcusable. I hope that - as we move forward - that all of us - board members and non-board members alike - can shove our egos up our asses and start leveraging off our successes. We must remember the one post about Barty and his assistance of the one child. Those of us who have been around awhile have helped at least one kid with some physical or emotional issue of short stature. While a business format is necessary, we cannot lose sight this aspect of it. After all, that's why were here in the first place. Randy Bradford Former Senior VP P.S. No, I will not be seeking an office in 2004. My career is still placing way too many demands on my time. === Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 Thanks to all who have posted responses, both to the list and me personally, to my question for clarification as to the " " situation. It has given me more insight into the situation. I will reserve judgment until I have had more time to research and study the issues. It is clear to me that this issue has caused strong feelings, emotions, and views from all sides of the situation. As with most things the " truth " probably lies somewhere in the middle. A few points I would like to make. While LPA is a non-profit organization it is also a " business " . A business that is not set-up to make a profit but rather to support the goals as outlined in the organization papers filed when the non-profit status was established. I have seen several non-profits that have failed or not reached their full potential because the " business " end of the operation was not being tended to properly. Yes, we should not lose sight of why we were founded, but in order to continue to accomplish those goals we need to continue to exist. I have not seen anything that would put our Non-profit 503c status in jeopardy, in fact I have seen many programs proposed and implemented that enhance that status. While I have not seen a copy of LPAs' constitution and by-laws most organizations are set-up with members, Board of Directors, and an Executive Committee. It is impractical to think that all matters should or could be voted on by all members. That is why the members vote for Directors to represent there views. It also it is not practical for all Board of Director members to vote on each issue, nothing would ever get done. So most organizations delegate certain decision to the Executive Committee. These powers should be outlined in the constitution as to which decision can be made at each level of the organization. If decision where made outside of the organizations stated constitution and by-laws then this would be improper. If the members are not happy with the structure and procedures of the organization then they need to follow the procedures to change those Articles and By-laws. It bothers me when I hear people talk about giving up their membership or not joining LPA. If you truly believe in what LPA was founded for, then join, be active and work to accomplish those goals. One other point, and this is not meant as a defense of Matt or the Executive Committee. As an employer there are certain areas concerning personnel matters that, by law, the employer is prohibited from discussing or divulging publicly, for that reason there may be some things that factored into the decision made by the Executive Committee that we may never know about. As much as we feel that we " should " know or " want " to know; or as much as Matt or the Executive Committee wish they could tell us, this unfortunately is the law which they must follow. Bruce, Proud Grandpa of Brenden Re: LPA Candidates : > Bruce, Marty, Randy and all, > > Well said. > > However I think we have to remember that LPA is NOT a business, it is > and has always been a non-profit. It is an organization ran by the > people and for the people, not for financial gain. The financial gain > we do get should go directly back to benefiting the organization and > for the people of short stature. > > With that said, if LPA continues to work like it currently is under the > new administration, I (along with many others) fear that LPA may lose > it's 503©3 status and that could be disasterous for LPA in obtaining > any sort of future support later on. > > If we would like to run it like a business, then that lack of > foundation should be taken into consideration. > > While the current leadership has done tremendous work in making LPA > grow, the amount of damage in the past 4 months have finally > outweighted the positive. > > I urge again to those who wish to make a difference to please step up > to the plate and run for national office or for any vacant positions in > your District. It is imperative we get more independent thinkers out > there who only want what is best for LPA and our future. > > Irene > > > > > LPA Members and List, > > > > It's been an interesting year for LPA and a lot has gone on. I am > > not privy to a lot of it because I no longer sit on the board. > > > > As Ted Spencer (D11 Director) pointed out to me, LPA needs to > > transition to more of a business format and - since so many have such > > a personal connection to it - such a transition is very difficult. > > LPA's business moves affect people more personally than those of > > another organization because of the strong personal connections to it. > > > While the current administration has had many successes, its one > > single failure was its inability to recognize and manage the above > > phenomenon before some very deep wounds were created. And, quite > > frankly, the behaviour of some of the people involved is inexcusable. > > > > > > > === > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 27, 2004 Report Share Posted March 27, 2004 Rose, Thanks for your response. Please,Please, Please, do not assume that I am defending Matt or the Executive Committee. I am asking questions so as to be able to make an informed decision concern the issue that have been brought forward. Some of the statements I have made in previous posts have been made from my understand of certain rules and laws that apply to certain situations. Non-profit organizations are bound by many of the same laws concerning disclosure of " personnel " matters as any other business, profit or non-profit. To publicly disclose some of this information could allow LPA and the individual officers to be subjected to lawsuits which could be very detrimental to LPA. The matter of how much money was involved in the establishment, relocation, and set-up costs of the new office ARE subject to and MUST be reported and made available, as are ALL FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS. Perhaps some of the decisions recently made by the Executive Committee should have been decided by a vote of all members, however to expect the membership to be allowed to vote on all matters is not practical. This is why the BOD or Executive Committee is empowered to make these decisions when needed. I have served on many non-profit boards as a member of the BOD and in various officer positions. Many of the decision making was done by the Executive Committee or the BOD. The Executive Committes' of these non-profit often met to handle the day-to-day business and issues as they arose. These were not " secret " meetings, but were within the course of normal business as needed at the time. At all times the decisions were subject to the scrutiny of the members and if the members were not pleased or disagreed then it was reflected in the next election of the BOD and officers. While most records of non-profits are subject to public disclosure laws the " sunshine laws " do not apply to them. What is the Sunshine Law? The Sunshine Law requires the governing board of GOVERNMENTAL BODIES to advertise their meetings, and to hold all meeting in the open so that members of the public can attend. Perhaps there will be a time when this will apply to non-profits but currently it does not. Again, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not assume that I have taking sides or that I am defending anyone. I feel that it is important to know ALL the facts before making a decision. I will be posing questions to Matt concerning some of the issues that have been raised. Bruce, Proud Grandpa of Brenden PS: If anyone knows were I can go on-line or has a copy of the LPA Constitution and By-Laws they can e-mail me please let me know. Thanks. Re: LPA Candidates : > Bruce F. Bachmann wrote: > >One other point, and this is not meant as a defense of Matt or the > >Executive Committee. As an employer there are certain areas > >concerning personnel matters that, by law, the employer is > >prohibited from discussing or divulging publicly, for that reason > >there may be some things that factored into the decision made by the > >Executive Committee that we may never know about. As much as we feel > >that we " should " know or " want " to know; or as much as Matt or the > >Executive Committee wish they could tell us, this unfortunately is > >the law which they must follow. > > Bruce -- > > This is all fine & good for a business & employee/employer > relationship but what about in the world of non-profit organizations? > The story of the Portland office has been kept under tight wraps and > why is that? How much money was paid for this relocation & set up? > How was the vote handled? Was it presented to the membership at large > or was it only handled within the small group of the Executive > Committee. What were the deciding factors? I'm not asking that the > Tale of the Firing of Pratt be written & published, but as a > non-profit one's actions need to be above reproach or else we are at > risk of losing our tax-exempt status. Additionally, since > Pratt was the first paid employee of LPA, who has been hired in her > place? > Under sunshine laws, the answers to these question are not legally > allowed to be kept secret nor is the Executive Committee allowed to > hold secret meetings. If the Executive Committee is as concerned with > fund raising as they claim to be, I'm surprised they are this willing > to play fast & loose with their tax-exempt status. > > Rose > > > > > === > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 I apologize if I am catching up on " old " news; I just returned from the D6 regional in Springfield, IL (had a wonderful time and saw some good friends). But I have a few things about Matt's email that I feel compelled to point out. I believe there are several inaccuracies in Matt's recollection of the aforementioned events. - This meeting took place during Leroy Bankowski's presidency. - I recall around 15 to 20 initiatives on the slate. - An improved Newsletter was among the Top 3 initiatives in the final prioritization. - An improved I.T. Infrastructure was #4 on the priority list. I am intimately familiar with this meeting and these results because I too flew to FL on my own dime to take part in it, and I tabulated the final spreadsheet which ranked the priorities. Since Matt has been elected President, I have dedicated a significant amount of my own time, money, and skills to make 4 of the actual top 10 programs a success. Most of this has been done on a purely volunteer basis. Sincerely, Bradford On Sat, 27 Mar 2004, Matt Roloff wrote: > Finally! ...A constructive question. > > Thanks Lois. > > When I fist took over as President of LPA almost 2 years ago we sat down > with the board and asked them to tell me what the top ten priorities of > LPA were- At that point there were more unfocused, unfunded, > understaffed, misdirected projects that I could believe-- I think we > gathered up about 40 " initiatives " that were floating around LPA. Very > few were have measurable success primarily due to lack of focus and > funding. I (flew on my own dime to FL) and asked the board to vote and > prioritize all 30. We took the top 10 from their votes... and within 30 > days I published those goals/projects (and the money required to be > successful both short term and long term) in the 2002 Annual Report-- > Every member should have gotten that comprehensive report. (we're > working on the 2004 Annual Report as I type) > > The 10 programs are as follows: > > 1) Health Advocacy Fund -- Provides financial assistance to > those in need with medical bills etc. > > 2) Kitchens Conference fund - Financial help to those 1st times > attending Conferences > 3) Scholarships--We've had the most success with this and have a > big announcement in next LPAToday > 4) Adoption- Great success raising funds to help with this-- > Thanks Marty for recent funding. > 5) Dwarf Artist Coalition -- LPA has offered financial > assistance in purchasing new display panels for SF. Irene has done a > wonderful job with DAC. > 6) Public Access - ANSI-- Gas pumps being lower success > 7) Communities Outreach-- Project issues now being overcome and > several parents taking the lead. Should see results before SF. > 8) Technology Infrastructure - New membership Database in place > many new services to members on the horizon. continued great webpage > updates. (Thanks Dave and Dan K.) > 9) Medical Resource Center-- On-line (Thanks Dave and ka) > 10) Membership Census- First pilot survey funded and > completed-- DMV analysis completed for height records. (Thanks Rick S.) > > > These projects were detailed-- and all found great success in > the past 2 years. They have been our very focused goals and objectives > for the past 2 years.. But wait there is more... I suspect that this > list may be added to in the coming years as we stabilize the revenue > streams to adequately support these projects and develop the appetite to > increase our services to you. In addition to these and completely > revised Newsletter was published, SF conference will be the most > elaborate production and schedule of events ever before attempted by > LPA. > > We are also seriously looking at adding the following 2 membership > services new term-- They will go for vote in SF. > > 1) Employment assistance webpage and counselor-- In the process > of raising funds from many large corporations they are asking us to help > them find good employee candidates-- We must formalize that process and > provide that service to potential LP employees. Look for this service > to be rolled out in late 2004. > > 2) More Events- We frequently hear that LP's like to get > together more often. We are in high level negotiation trying to find > better locations and ways to make our conferences and mid year > conference get-togethers more affordable and more frequent-- (i.e. HI > islands, a cruise, a film festival in Hollywood, LP's meet big Apple! > Etc. etc.) > > 3) Parents information and support-- Just this past week I > received a significant donation to begin work on a professional quality > video tape that will offer new parents of dwarf children a powerful tool > to demonstrate (early on) that the challenges and joys of having a dwarf > baby- This DVD style product will eventually offer an introduction > chapter and then menu selection to retrieve comprehensive information > about the most common types of dwarfism. Hit the Diagastrophic > selection and learn (by watching) everything you may want to know about > having a Diastrophic child from medical issues to triumphs to career > possibilities. > (Thanks Carten for this idea-- it's now well in the funding stages) > > These and many other exciting programs are being developed and worked on > EVERY day-- I'm in the mists of publishing the most exciting Annual > report for every member to see the incredible successes we have had this > past 2 years and the potential for far more then we ever imagined is > overwhelming-- > > Now -- back to work! > > Matt > > > > > Re: Re: LPA Candidates : > > > I am not against the business side of LPA yet. But I would like to know > that the GOALS of LPA as a business will bring forth? > > Lois > > Randy Bradford <bradfra@...> wrote: > LPA Members and List, > > It's been an interesting year for LPA and a lot has gone on. I am > not privy to a lot of it because I no longer sit on the board. > > As Ted Spencer (D11 Director) pointed out to me, LPA needs to > transition to more of a business format and - since so many have such > a personal connection to it - such a transition is very difficult. > LPA's business moves affect people more personally than those of > another organization because of the strong personal connections to it. > > While the current administration has had many successes, its one > single failure was its inability to recognize and manage the above > phenomenon before some very deep wounds were created. And, quite > frankly, the behaviour of some of the people involved is inexcusable. > > I hope that - as we move forward - that all of us - board members and > non-board members alike - can shove our egos up our asses and start > leveraging off our successes. We must remember the one post about > Barty and his assistance of the one child. Those of us who > have been around awhile have helped at least one kid with some > physical or emotional issue of short stature. While a business > format is necessary, we cannot lose sight this aspect of it. > > After all, that's why were here in the first place. > > Randy Bradford > Former Senior VP > > P.S. No, I will not be seeking an office in 2004. My career is > still placing way too many demands on my time. > > > > > === > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.