board members

I was thinking about the board positions. We originally had them because legally we were required to. Their only purpose was to sign legal paperwork. Since there seems to be an increased interest in being on the board maybe we should make that mean something. Perhaps there should be responsibilities to being on the board. For other orgs, what is the point of their board? Is it just fat cats who have donated a lot become on the board? Do they do anything?

I think we should hash out a meaning for what being on the board means. For those that want to be on the board, what are your reasons? Is it so it sounds more like a veteran to the hive or a high contributor? Maybe we should make a position for people who have been members for a year+ Kind of like how employees have “Senior” or “Lead” positions and what not…Even with board discussion aside this may not be a bad idea. It would be nice to recognize people who have been loyal to making the hive successful.

Just kind of thinking out loud and trying to get a conversation about it started.

Craig

The way I understand it, the Board holds all the authority and makes
final decisions about things. The officers are kind of just there to
get certain tasks accomplished, while the Board decides what needs to
be done at a high level. Members vote to decide on most issues, but
the Board votes to decide on big picture things.

According to the Bylaws, the Board's responsibilities are: upholding
and advancing the principles of the corporation, being responsible for
the legal, contractual, and financial affairs of the corporation,
and fulfilling all roles required by Ohio law. In addition the Board
can set the membership dues, suspend non-paying members, waive the
membership fee due to financial hardship, determine the location of
meetings, determine the date and location of the Annual Meeting, call
a Special Meeting, ensure that officers are performing their duties,
designate executive committees, and set the period of the fiscal year
for the corporation.

I do like the idea of some sort of veteran designation too.

~Dave

Some members continue to pay even when their personal time schedules are really tight because they think the hive is a good cause. I would like to recognize people who do that with something. Not knowing if you are going to get a membership check from people from month to month can make things a bit stressful on the financial guy :slight_smile: I know times are hard so to continue to give money when you can not attend is like a special donation and is one of the main reasons we are still in operation today. Without them we would at the very least have to find a smaller place to work out of.

Also most of the members that have been here for a year have helped out a TON at one point or another. I can’t think of any extra perks to give veterans other than title at the moment but we should come up with something. At the very least a cool title. Maybe some kind of plaque of names thingie??

i want to be on the board because i did a lot in the beginning to get
things going, and i would like to remain involved in the big picture
for the organization and help when there are tough decisions to be
made.

i also like the idea of recognizing long term members and our
supporters. maybe at the party or an annual meeting we could do a
kind of awards ceremony where we recognize people who have been
members for specific lengths of time?

what about making little trophies or something on the makerbot?

also, what about a yearly group photo? we sort of have the rogues
gallery up on the wall, but how about a yearly thing where we take a
picture of our membership and put it up on the wall somewhere?

as for titles, i think it would be great to have a progressive list of
achievements, like boyscout merit badges, for doing cool things, like
teaching classes or building/creating useful tools or cool art for the
space. this might also serve as incentive for new people to take over
stalled projects.

extra points if those titles have pseudo-evil genius/cheesy comic book
villain ring to it, for example: teaching a class earns you the title
of "corruptor", teaching 3 classes earns you the title of "vile
corruptor". getting an item on the wall of fail will earn you the
title of "destroyer".

thoughts?

Hehehe, it’s like unlocking badges in 4square or achievements on the xbox. I like it.

But I think you need to get that “badge” as well. Not just a title but some trinket to signify the event.
The makerbot would work, or once the CNC is done something from that. Maybe our new PR guy
cough Melly cough would like to take this on?

i hadn't thought about it like that but it's exactly what i had in mind :slight_smile:

physical badges would be cool as well. what about a coin, like the
makerbot or hive13 coin?

could people who want things done offer badges as a kind of bounty?

I want to be on the board because as a founding member, as well as a
member who has a not-insignificant financial investment in the space,
I would like to be in a position to influence the group in a positive
way to ensure it continues to grow and thrive.

I like the idea of recognizing those individuals whose continued
participation are why we are able to continue operating. I don't mean
to be a spoil sport, but I'm not thinking trinkets, however neat, are
the way-

I think the best way to do that is to continue pursuing the addition
of value to the space. Ed's ideas about the individual workspaces and
storage are such a project. Jim's coordination of speakers and other
activities is another. Things that give us capabilities that others
don't have like the MakerBot are another. Projects that we can brag
about and talk about like the Space Balloon are another.

This is where our focus should be - doing cool stuff and providing an
environment and space that lets other people do cool stuff.

Jason

How can we reward people who complete projects such as these?

A big blog post about them and whatever they did? I would love to reward
anybody who manages to get something done. Hell any completed project
should go on the Blog. Maybe with an interview or a tutorial?

Kinda relevant:
http://www.nerdmeritbadges.com/
Maybe someone could email them and see if you could get some custom
Hive13 badges made.

I like the suggestions here, and would definitely appreciate having a
physical token to rep; but I don't need one. Just telling people
about the hive, and being able to say I'm a founding member is cool
enough for me. "Makes me feel like a big man." -- Jimbo (from the
Simpsons)

I think there should be special hats.

Thanks,
Catherine

Catherine Sandrick
catherine@catherinesandrick.com
513.252.2024

As a new member, I think there are certain benefits to having the old
timers on the board. For starters, you guys know all the existential
details of the Hive that I do not: how rent and utilities get paid, to
whom, who to contact in case of building issues, who our neighbors
are, previous conflicts and their resolutions, etc. It would be nice
to see some kind of reward/recognition system, both to acknowledge
achievements as well as to inform new members of who are the people
who get shit done.

I don't know if badges are the best way of doing that; I probably
wouldn't find it personally motivating. It also seems to me that
badging systems require a strong cultural buy-in and impetus to take
hold. I don't know how easy one would be to institute. The privilege
of a special workbench or access might be a better idea. More personal
work/storage space, maybe?

I think there should be special hats.

like the lodge from the flintstones?

Precisely.

Thanks,
Catherine

Catherine Sandrick
catherine@catherinesandrick.com
513.252.2024