I’m not someone who volunteers for much. I have. I will. I’ve been on a number of boards and committees, but all too often it feels like being part of one of those group projects where either you’re coasting and not getting listened to very much, or suddenly you’re the only one doing all the work. There’s not a whole lot of middle ground.
Communication is often tricky, politics and nastiness. Cliques and That One Guy who no-one really likes and the nerd who everyone cozies up to because they know all the answers and the other person that’s only marginally responsible but you’ve GOT to keep them cause they’re CONNECTED. Yeah – most boards feel kind of like high school all over again.
But somehow, they get stuff done. They make folk organizations run. They produce concerts and festivals, they raise funds and they spend funds, they advertise and book and argue and meet and don’t do anything till 24 hours before the NEXT meeting and then they do it all again in 4 weeks time oh you’re on vacation okay how about five wee – oh YOU’RE on vacation then let’s do 6 Tuesdays from today and just try to come and remember to lock your dog out of sight of the Zoom meeting cause you KNOW how he gets…
Ooof.
And then social media makes it INCREDIBLY easy to be hateful. To fling your opinions around and to judge others’ actions. And boards and committees don’t make it EASY to get stuff done, and just as a group project did in high school, it’s amazing how ONE person can be doing all the work – or one person can screw it all up.
A festival I was working with in the 10’s had a year when a couple of things went wrong, and a fair number of leadership positions all threw their hands up and left. There was some malfeasance and there was some general exhaustion (I think the politics surrounding Trump’s election led to a NUMBER of mentally exhausted people to sever there ties with volunteer positions) and then the festival… after nearly four decades of happening… didn’t.
People couldn’t believe it. They were angry, they had a lot of opinions, but until I stepped forward and PUSHED and rebuilt some momentum, the festival was OVER.
I got a lot of help, but I was a central figure and so when someone wanted to write an angry letter (cause though I made it go I didn’t do it the way THEY would’ve done it) it was me they knew how to contact, tag, call, message… I got some hate mail. I tried using an alias, or to hide a bit behind boards, but they knew it was me.
Now, I admit I went into the whole thing feeling like this festival was something that I owed something to, but it wasn’t on my home turf. It wasn’t local to me. I didn’t want to see it fail, but the locals should be responsible for it – and so every piece of hate mail got a “sorry you feel that way, we’re always looking for people to participate please join us at DATEOFNEXTMEETING” and generally they never did. After 5 years or so I was done, but then the Pandemic happened and I had the skills to take the festival along virtually – but being very clear (fending off MORE hatred for my decisions because we should’ve been in person / should’ve done it better / should’ve waited till next year / should’ve done it bigger / should’ve done it smaller) that I was DONE. I helped put together those that would follow in my footsteps and made it very clear that I’d help here and there, but this festival – long cajoled and pushed and prodded in my own tastes, beliefs and image – was going to be THEIR festival going forward.
And it hasn’t run how I’d run it. But I’m not coming back to “correct” it and I’ll keep my damned mouth shut about what I don’t like, because it’s not MINE anymore, and I’m not stepping back into that role.
Watching this chaos about NERFA – a moveon.org petition to remove the president and executive director? Really? I’ve got my issues with the organization. And the organization of the organization. And with Heather being so deeply involved with it, I’ve certainly heard more than my fair share of how their sausage is currently being made, and I’ve added my two cents here and there, but I’m not wading into that. It’s given Heather a LOT more sympathy to my own angsts over Focus, IMT, the folk festival, BSA, SAW… and sheesh… from what she’s told me there have been some really, really poor choices made. And beyond that, poor choices made about DEALING with those poor choices. She’s got my sympathy, and there’s some well-deserved ire. But – beyond using a website generally put to the task of facing political injustice and racial inequality to settle the scores of a folk conference – beyond the fact that said website has no power or authority over said folk conference – beyond even my knowledge that some of these laments are absolutely valid things that I wholeheartedly agree with – beyond all that: If you just receive the resignation of the president and the executive director of a primarily volunteer-led organization it PROBABLY just STOPS. And if it doesn’t simply stop in a headless stumble, it at least becomes so discombobulated that all the shit you’re complaining about is going to look like teeny little baby potatoes compared to the shit that’s about to come raining down.
And so. Whether it’s invading a nation or upsetting the leadership of a folk organization – have a damned plan for what you’re going to do if you eliminate an undesirable government! Whining online, clicktivism and signing a petition MIGHT get you some angry resignations – it’s NOT going to solve your problems.
Volunteer and get involved. Run for the board. Elections are December 11th. File a motion to amend the by-laws. It takes 10 members and then you can push for a vote. Didn’t know that? Guess you should’ve read the by-laws BEFORE complaining. It’s been 8 years since the last attempted amendment, and it’s been about that long since anyone actually RAN for the presidency…
…And once you’re involved, you better thicken up your skin, because as you start running things the way you think is right, there’s going to be plenty of people who think you’re doing a terrible job, and you’re going to understand just how good you had it, yelling behind your laptop back when you knew everything.
Someone asked if I was aware of this “coup” and additionally implied that things would be run better if I got involved… part of my response :
I don’t know that I’d describe it as a “coup”. Most of those involved just seem to want a decapitation. A coup involves swooping in and taking over the body. Additionally, there’s a voting process that, though lots of people are complaining about, to my awareness, not a lot of people have participated in.
My two cents is that there are definitely issues, and what they need is people who’re willing to step up and provide a new generation of leadership. What they DON’T need is a bunch of busybodies on Facebook and moveon saying “get rid of current leadership and leave a power vacuum that, though we have no faith in current leadership, we ABSOLUTELY have faith you’ll fill to our satisfaction!”
IF I was to get involved I’d point out this in the bylaws :
“These by-laws may at any time be amended by vote of the members, by a simple majority of votes returned in an electronic ballot... Description of the substance of the proposed amendment must be stated in the ballot notice. Proposed by-law amendments may originate … from the membership upon letter to the Board supported by ten (10) or more members.”
In other words, if 10 or more members of NERFA had proposed an amendment to the board and then put out an electronic ballot of some sort (rather than, for example, a moveon.org petition to the general populace) there might’ve actually been some motion on this. A good and proper coup would be to organize support of someone or someones who would be interested in BEING president and / or other positions on the board, then get 10 people to propose an amendment that moves the voting to sometime in the future, and forces a “popular” addition to nominations made by the Nominating Committee, and then campaign to get that ratified by a “simple majority” – and then get to work on the election process. There’s some other timing things that would have to be worked out, etc… but I’d absolutely start with legal process. Maybe it’s cynical of me, but if the president and executive director are either suddenly vacated (either forcibly, or more likely they just figure “fuck it, I’m out”) without someone clearly in a position to step in, I’m pretty sure the whole thing just falls over. (I’m imagining FocusMusic if me and the president just scarpered, or Institute of Musical Traditions if Dave Eisner and Loralyn and I just up and quit, the roadblocks to picking up the pieces + the acrimony are just too great).