NEW MISSION, NEW FORM, NEW FOCUS
CHECK OUT THE NEW USROWING!
• Responsiveness • Fiscal Responsibility • Transparency • Efficiency • Change •
Does USRowing come to mind when you read these words? Well . . .
Should they? Yes -- and USRowing and its Board of Directors is working hard to make that happen.
What’s the catch? We cannot achieve these aims without the support of our members.
On July 19, 2008, USRowing’s organizational members (your club) will have the chance to make a real difference by voting to approve the proposed by-laws at the Special Meeting in Camden, N.J. Or, you can vote by mail – submit your ballot by July 12, 2008.
A Bit of Background . . .
In 2004, the Board of Directors undertook a top-to-bottom review of USRowing, with a primary aim of improving the organization’s performance – at all levels. Four years and thousands of people-hours later, USRowing has prepared a plan – with three components – to accomplish this: a New Mission, a New Form and a New Focus.
New Mission Statement
Complex, hard to follow, and even harder to implement and measure, USRowing’s former mission statement was ready for a remake. In 2005, the USRowing Board of Directors reformulated and adopted a new, simpler and more focused mission statement.
New Form
Next, the Board of Directors evaluated whether, in its current form, the Board and the current USRowing committees could effectively implement the New Mission. Quickly realizing that the current governance model had exhausted its utility, in 2006, the Board adopted the “best practices” model for non-profit governance, the Carver Model of Governance, which tasks the Board of Directors with developing “the ends” (or policies) and makes the Chief Executive Officer and the organization’s staff and committees accountable for developing “the means” (or the plans) to implement the Board’s “ends.”
2006: Board Downsizes
In keeping with the Carver Model and in order to improve its efficiency, the Board decreased its size from 18 members to 12 members by eliminating six of 12 regional representative positions. The Board also added staggered terms to improve institutional history.
2006: Board Appoints Governance Task Force
The USRowing Constitution and Bylaws had repeatedly proved themselves to be outdated, inconsistent with Pennsylvania law and the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act (TSOASA), internally inconsistent and a hindrance to effective organizational leadership. The Board assembled the Governance Task Force (GTF), a group of key stakeholders from the USRowing community, and tasked the it with rewriting the Constitution and Bylaws to embody the Carver model and to enable USRowing to implement its New Mission.
2007: Board Restructures Referee Committee
Last summer, the Board voted to accept the recommendations of the Governance Task Force to restructure the Referee Committee by decreasing its size from nine to five members, separating the Committee into a policy body (the Committee) and an implementation body (regional reps), and substituting three at-large members, one regional referee coordinator member, and one athlete member. The newly-constituted Referee Committee has been active and successful since that time.
Proposed Bylaws
Key changes to improve functionality and efficiency:
Structure of Committees
- uniformity (size, election process, composition)
- decrease size
- 20% athlete representation
- appointment of at-large member and committee chair
- appointment of chair
Other
- decrease quorum in line with non-profit best practices
- add at-large board members
New Focus
With the New Mission and New Form in place, USRowing will be able to implement its New Focus – on you, the rowers, coaches, and officials.
The New Mission, New Form, New Focus are critical to enabling USRowing in becoming the membership service organization your Board and staff know you want. The Board of Directors urges all organizational members to consider the proposed bylaws and to vote for the change.
For more information on the proposed governance changes, please contact a member of the Board of Directors. (Our contact information can be found in the “Contact Us” section of the USRowing Web site.)
Delegate Credential Form and Ballot
Letter and Amendment Proposal from May 15
USRowing Proposed Governance Changes Sponsoring Organizations
Proposed By-Laws
USRowing Governance Proposal PowerPoint Presentation (pdf version)
Don Langford on Proposed Governance Changes Part One
Don Langford on Proposed Governance Changes Part Two
A Letter to the USRowing Membership on Governance
Governance Changes Frequently Asked Questions
Open Letter to the Masters Rowing Community Regarding Governance Changes
Become a Sponsoring Organization of the Governance Changes -- 2008 By-Laws Sponsor Form
Governance Calendar
June 19, 2008 -- Date of Record for the July Special Meeting
July 12, 2008 -- Delegate Forms and Proxy Ballots Due at USRowing
July 19, 2008 -- Special Meeting of the Association, Camden, N.J.