Who is on your BOD and why?

Crescent-Zephyr · **Joined:** Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:15 pm **Posts:** 1799

I’m attending a conference for arts organizations this week and the keynote presentation last night was on non-profits and how they operate. A few of the questions...

who is on your board of directors and why?

Is your entire board made up of middle aged / older white males?

Have your board members been chosen based on wealth and power?

Interesting questions to ponder...

Becky Morgan · **Joined:** Tue Jun 22, 2010 4:22 pm **Posts:** 495

Good thought. Ideally, the BOD should look like the community served.

A potential difficulty is that wealthy older white men are often more accustomed to being on BODs and other project supervision tasks. As one of our local golf pros (who beats the bushes to bring in First Tee participants) says, “Nobody knows what they haven’t been told.” The rest of us can learn, but a good explanation, rather than a toss into the deep end of the pool, sure helps.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Fri Jan 14, 2022 1:31 pm

One of the issues that has arisen periodically in rail groups is "why is your organization all white older men?"

Ultimately, this becomes a chicken-or-egg question.

Social and "fraternal" organizations tend to self-select. People show up to help at a rail/transit museum BECAUSE THEY'RE INTERESTED IN TRAINS. (Or, in rare instances, they need a "community service" credit, an Eagle Scout project, or a college study credit project with a museum, and the place happens to be convenient.)

There is absolutely no barrier to an African-American woman, an Asian-American "queer," a Native American elder, or whoever participating in the volunteerism of any rail museum or club that I know of in 2022. Ditto magician associations, sci-fi special interest groups, ham radio, knitting clubs, book clubs, bird watchers, Scouting, drag racing, marching bands, you name it.

BUT people tend to self-select, for better or worse, with people "like them." From kids sitting in the cafeteria at school to church/synagogue attendance on weekends (Sunday mornings remain "the most segregated hours of American life" to this day), it happens. Railroading is hardly the only hobby or special interest that heavily leans towards middle-aged-and-older Caucasian males of means (meaning, done with family or job), and hardly the only hobby at threat of extinction from the increasing inability of younger people to do something that doesn't involve a screen.

So, counter-question:
Given the reality of self-selection, is there any "need" to go out and "fill a quota" by bringing aboard women, minorities, etc. to a board of directors if none actually are even involved with the organization to begin with?

*******************

Now, the "power and wealth" question is another issue entirely, and one worth debate.

All I can say is, better someone WANTS the "job" rather than a situation where I got called into one organization's BOD meeting after leaving their BOD and was asked (actually, begged) to reassume the presidency in place of an elected president that resigned in a huff, officially, under a convoluted reading of the bylaws and a cascading series of appointments and resignations................

Great Western · **Posted:** Fri Jan 14, 2022 3:01 pm

"who is on your board of directors and why?

Is your entire board made up of middle aged / older white males?

Have your board members been chosen based on wealth and power?"

I do not know the full context of the questions or the ensuing discussions. However, on first glance, it smacks of racism.
Would a conference host even consider replacing "older white males" with "black males?"
Also inherent in the questions is sexism and bias against elders.

Jeffrey Fefferlyn · **Joined:** Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:56 pm **Posts:** 46

Great Western wrote:

I do not know the full context of the questions or the ensuing discussions. However, on first glance, it smacks of racism.
Would a conference host even consider replacing "older white males" with "black males?"
Also inherent in the questions is sexism and bias against elders.

100% correct.

wesp · **Posted:** Fri Jan 14, 2022 3:25 pm

Our board has twelve trustees.
Nine are dues paying members
Three are community members
One of the board is Black, one is Asian, one identifies as gay, two are females, one is a college student.
All of them are on the board because they support the mission of the Museum.

Wesley
National Capital Trolley Museum

Crescent-Zephyr · **Joined:** Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:15 pm **Posts:** 1799

Alexander,

My experience is that most organizations have a good number of women who want to be part of the organization. I also usually see a wide range of ages represented as well.

race is a bit less diverse, in organizations I’ve seen and been a part of.

So I do agree, if an organization is 95% white / Caucasian members for whatever reason, you would expect perhaps only 1, if any, POC represented on a board. Of course, all the more reason to include someone to try to attract more POC in your organization and identity why 95%+ are all Caucasian, and can that be changed?

Crescent-Zephyr · **Joined:** Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:15 pm **Posts:** 1799

wesp wrote:

Our board has twelve trustees.
Nine are dues paying members
Three are community members
One of the board is Black, one is Asian, one identifies as gay, two are females, one is a college student.
All of them are on the board because they support the mission of the Museum.

Wesley
National Capital Trolley Museum

Wesley,

That is wonderful to hear! A great, and diverse group. I’m so glad to hear that.

superheater · **Joined:** Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:54 pm **Posts:** 2605

jayrod · **Posted:** Fri Jan 14, 2022 4:41 pm

Our BOD has two women, two guys under 40 and the remainder are resourceful “older white guys”. I think not bad considering this small town is in the middle of white bread, corn and soy fields America where any kind of diversity, though welcome, is almost impossible to achieve. The glue that makes it go? A strong desire to succeed in an uphill battle. That there is whatcha call good enough for me.

Kelly Anderson · **Joined:** Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:52 am **Posts:** 2477

Utah Josh · **Posted:** Fri Jan 14, 2022 5:22 pm

[Removed because my defense was considered inappropriate.]

Becky Morgan · **Joined:** Tue Jun 22, 2010 4:22 pm **Posts:** 495

superheater wrote:

Crescent-Zephyr wrote:

It's worth noting that serving on a Board is unpaid work, which involves time, effort and frustration. These positions aren't some honoraria designed for personal social enhancement.

This. Older white men tend to have the most time and disposable income and many tend to assume everyone else has what they do. It’s not malice; we all assume that to some degree.
Right or wrong, most women with kids feel more responsible for care and maintenance even when they work full-time. Missing work can be trouble for anyone not retired, since a lot of jobs now insist on constant availability on short notice (not uncommonly a 15-minute callout.) Zoom meetings don’t happen where internet access is bad, which is literally half of the country. Getting there is not half the fun.

Rick Rowlands · **Posted:** Fri Jan 14, 2022 7:12 pm

Utah Josh wrote:

As a Mormon (not "Morman") currently living in Provo Utah I am deeply sorrowful that you feel that I and my fellow Utah railfans, historians and preservationists are hateful bastards. I guess it's a good thing you make it clear that you are retired because I would think twice about visiting Strasburg now that I know this is the attitude of its (former) high-profile employees.

Did you and your fellow Utah railfans, historians and preservationists all go to the same high school at the same time as Kelly? Because that is who I believe Kelly was directing his comment toward.

Taking a comment, expanding it to suit whatever you want it to say, then commenting on this newly minted statement and taking offense to your own creation is exactly what seems to be driving a lot of online hatred currently. You might try dialing things back and resisting the urge to add your own spin to comments made by others as a good faith effort to preserve civility.

Txhighballer · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 10:49 am **Posts:** 773

superheater wrote:

Crescent-Zephyr wrote:

I’m attending a conference for arts organizations this week and the keynote presentation last night was on non-profits and how they operate. A few of the questions...

who is on your board of directors and why?

Is your entire board made up of middle aged / older white males?

Have your board members been chosen based on wealth and power?

Interesting questions to ponder...

Here's a suggestion: Stop pondering questions posed by people who see the world through the toxic smog of woke politics.

When the late Mr. Shore and I began to assemble a board a few years ago; the first and dominant requirement was willingness to serve, and a proven interest the advancement of the mission and some complementary skill set.

All but two people who were willing and able were white males over the age of 50. Two were white males under the age of 50. I make absolutely no apologies for the incidental demographics of that assembly.

We tried to assemble a diverse skill set. One person was chosen because of employment as a Class 1 Road Foreman, one was chosen for media and web knowledge, one was chosen because he has the ability to mend fences and we knew there would be times the secretary would put "and a vigorous conversation ensued" in the minutes.

Women that were approached weren't interested.

Most of us were financially stable, but could hardly be described as "wealthy" or "powerful" and we agreed that it was a good idea to have "skin in the game" in the form of mandatory contributions to the start up expenses. I think we all kicked in something like $150, with the exception of a "break" we extended to our youngest member who was then a college student.

Ultimately, several of the original Board members have left.

It's worth noting that serving on a Board is unpaid work, which involves time, effort and frustration. These positions aren't some honoraria designed for personal social enhancement.

The premise of that presentation is that there's an over supply of people who excluded for non-merit based reasons is only something that could be posited by an individual who is completely ignorant of the difficulties of getting anybody to serve.

And another thing. There are a lot of whites who suffered forms of prejudice and discrimination. My great grandfather had his lunch stolen, in order to make his job as a miner more difficult by other "whites". It's still permissible to portray Italians as mobsters, Irish as drunks and Poles as stupid. Men are routinely portrayed as abusive monsters or Homer Simpson.

Those might be interesting questions to ponder, but it might be more interesting to have an immediate response challenging the presuppositions and ideological framework of the individual making the "presentation"-some snowflakes need to be burned to a crisp.

I don't give a beep about skin or plumbing, except when I'm sitting with some noxious parasite from HR who tells me that some employees belong to a "protected class" and are thus to be afforded considerations I and other people do not enjoy.

Until you have had a crew quit rather than take orders from a POC, (I won't bother to use the word they used) you have no idea what discrimination is.