By Laws Change Proposal

Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel
No, No, No, No, No.
You have to run again!
Please, Please, Please.
Reconsider.

Stew Cleave
JOCO Chief Judge
'69 E-Type 2+2
and other LBC's

Daniel,

I personally think it is a tremendous lose to JCNA that you are not standing for re-election, either as an officer or director. The future of any organization is always with the next generation of leaders. You stepped up to the plate, took on the job and did what was needed of you. Your presence as a director is a symbol of what the future of JCNA should be.

This is not said as a criticism of the long-standing leadership of the organization. But every organization, be it a corporation or a volunteer group like this one, needs to grow and evolve. The challenge for JCNA, as I see it, is to attract a new generation of Jag-Lovers. BMW seems to do it with its modern car owners. There is no reason why JCNA can't do it as well.

But to do that, there needs to be examples in the leadership that show that we are more than an "old car" club with only "old car" ideas. Members like you and Pascal, who bridge the gap between old and new, are prime examples. That's why having you on the Board is important. And that is why losing you as a Board member will leave a void that will be hard to fill.

But we can talk more about this over dinner next Thursday in Charlotte.

Steve Weinstein, JTC-NJ
'72 E-type 2+2
'89 XJS Coupe

Agreed Pascal, but two separate issues. The question is, if a regional director is not doing an effective job, what is the penalty? There does not appear to be any, as regional directors by and large can run unopposed year after year after year. Positions frequently go unfilled (as happened in your very own region recently). To answer your question, JCNA does have guidelines for regional directors (look in the Rule Book and the Corporate policies) but they are quite generic ie: promote activity in your region. I think we should be much more specific with respect to director's duties, asking for a report card every year and...... articles to be written for local newsletters and the Jaguar Journal. This is not unusual, it can be seen in other Jaguar clubs and other car clubs.

Probably the single biggest problem we have at the JCNA level is the lack of enthusiastic, dedicated people to fill positions. If you look at the executive (4 people), the board (15 people?), the various committees (maybe 30 people), we need about 50 of these busy beavers to make this organization fire on all cylinders. If we can't get these people, we're going nowhere and.....we may even be going backwards. Priority number one is to locate and encourage these people to come on board. More than that, we have to find ways to make people WANT to participate.
I'm not running for re-election for either vice president of JCNA or regional director for the northeast. Why? Because I firmly believe that it is in the best interests of JCNA to make room for others to participate. If it is good for JCNA to have one Daniel Thompson on board, then it is even better for JCNA to have two Daniel Thompsons, or three, or four......... substitute the name Pascal Gademer if you'd like. Imagine having 10 Pascal Gademers helping out at the JCNA level, the club would explode!
Also, there are no shortages of jobs to be done at the JCNA level. Pick any of them: website, communications, concours, rally, slalom, high performance driving, Jaguar Journal....... the list is endless. Why should I hang around and take up space on the board when I could make room for someone else AND make a positive contribution in a specific mandate?

See you in Charlotte!

Daniel Thompson
2002 X-type
1968 E-type
1958 MkIX
1952 XK120

Pascal,

For that matter, what about having Regional Director's reports in each issue of Jaguar Journal? Since that gets to all members it's the best way of assuring that the message is getting out there. Some clubs have limited space in their newsletter, so trying to reserve space there might interfere with local club news. But with the expanded format of JJ, there should be plenty of room for a monthly update in JJ, region by region. My $.02.

As for the proposal that spawned this thread, the by-laws of any organization are supposed to be the members' road map for the directors and officials to follow in running the club. The members define the rules and those running the organization follow the rules to carry out the will of the membership. By-laws, by their very definition, limit the power of officers and directors. If those governing can set their own rules and change them at any time, why bother having rules at all? As I see it, this proposal returns the power to set the rules to those with whom it belongs -- the membership at-large.

Think about it this way: The US Constitution is like the by-laws of an organization. It sets down the framework by which the governing organization operates. While Congress (not the executive or judiciary) can propose to change the Constitution, any such action must be ratified by the states. All that the proposal now pending here does is return to the process that ratification by the constituent member clubs of any changes to the rules governing JCNA. Again, my $.02, personally. Not an official position on behalf of JTC.

Steve Weinstein, JTC-NJ
'72 E-type 2+2
'89 XJS Coupe

re lack of interest... why should the rank and file care about directors when they do not hear from them! for instance, why don't JCNA directors send in monthly or bi monthly messages on JCNA news to be published in their regions newsletters? some do from what I've seen, most don't.

We need to have some guidelines for the directors to follow, especially the newly elected ones... having a monthly message printed in club newsletter woudl be a good first step.

Pascal Gademer
SFJC

Close, but not quite there. One has to remember that it was the "elected directors" who gave rise to this problem in the first place. By giving power back to them to change bylaws as they see fit you do not eliminate the possibility of a reoccurrence.

An interesting question would be: which came first? The "disenfranchisement of the members" or the lack of interest when voting for directors. I would think that the two occurred more or less in parallel over a period of many years. The directors and the JCNA board slowly evolved into a situation where the goings on at the board level bore little relation to the day to day goings on within the various clubs. The membership voted in the only way they knew how: apathy.

The delegates at AGM's are not an ignorant or uneducated bunch. They are able to vote "correctly" on matters that the board of directors deems to be important. If a proposed bylaw change makes good sense and is in the best long term interest of the membership, it will give the necessary vote of approval at any future AGM.

Daniel Thompson

2002 X-type
1968 E-type
1958 MkIX
1952 XK120

Seems to me that a simple resolution is to limit bylaw changes by BOD to the votes of the elected Directors. The disenfranchisement of the members, who do not show great interest when voting for Directors, would be eliminate yet leave the elected BOD as a powerful unit to oversee the continued operation of JCNA and permit them to keep JCNA on track.

Dick Howe

This bylaw change proposal is a reactionary move, no one is debating that point. But I firmly believe that it is justified. I think the membership will remain apathetic to the JCNA board until such time as they see a significant change in attitudes (and that will take years). Until evidence of change is seen and trust is restored, this measure provides an element of security for the membership. I will vote yes on this proposal.

Daniel Thompson
2002 X-type
1968 E-type
1958 MkIX
1952 XK120

A little revolution is sometimes a good thing! Or thy this one "let them eat cake". She did not understand the problem either.

George Camp