[nabs-l] Sustaining a student division in a rural state

[Jedi]

Jim,

These are all good questions. I have a similar problem in Washington in 
that our affiliate is mostly comprised of older people who are not 
students, and our student membership is quite scant and spread out. It 
does indeed make sense to alter the constitution to apply to your 
situation. consider having a President, a VP, a Secretary/Treasurer 
officer, and two board members. That way, you have a little more wiggle 
room. Also, as much as it can really suck in the short run, you as 
President may need to make decisions for your entire group to benefit 
them in the long-run, particularly if your other members seem somewhat 
unresponsive. Luckily, having a small group means better communication. 
To bridge the distance, consider conference calling or Skyping. Either 
option works well. Good luck.


Original message:
> Hello,
> My name is Jim Reed. I am president of the Montana Association of Blind 
> Students (MABS). I am puting this email out to reach out to other 
> student division leaders for advice.

> Background:
> The whole state of Montana has a population of less than 1 million.
> The largest city in Montana has approx 100,000
> The two largest universities in the state have a combined enrollment of 
> approx 50,000
> The largest university has less than 10 blind students
> The MABS has approx 5 members
> The MABS consitution requires 4 officers (pres, VP, secretary, 
> treasurer) and 4 board members
> The MABS has less total membership than we have officer/board positions.

> I am trying to convince our members that we need to restructure our 
> leadership to reduce the number of people required, as I personally 
> doubt the MABS will ever have more than 10 members.

> I am running into resistance as some members seem to believe that our 
> organization will grow. One person is making the argument that it is ok 
> to leave an empty board as the student population is transient anyway. 
> I disagree on both counts.

> In the meantime, we have no board, and we have only filled our 
> secretary position. With out a board, we are essentially stalled, as I 
> dont know what I can do indepoendently before I cross the line from 
> being a president to being a dictator.

> I would be curious to hear what some of our other rural [presidents 
> have to say.
> Thanks,
> Jim




> "Ignorance killed the cat; curiosity was framed."



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-- 
REspectfully,
Jedi

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