Membership Poll, Part II. Dues Increase Related

[mfine]

The revenue estimates in this thread assume no advertising revenue. I suspect it is a substantial sum.

I highly doubt the forum will go away. I personally don't think anyone is being dishonest yet, but the purpose of good governance is to have a system in place before it happens rather than as a reaction.

Besides financial oversight, an active board can offer vision and strategy and divide up the workload so one or two members don't end up with 90% of the burden.

[Al Benton]

A lot of good discussion went on today while I've been driving. I find myself in Beckly, WV tonight.

Matt (mfine), let me clarify why and what I intended back in my last post regarding locking down this topic.

First, Gary's comment "I think it's happening here" following his story of a dishonest person implied that someone was indeed steeling funds from this club. It was blunt and unfounded. He later explained that he was "playing the Devil's Advocate". I hadn't made that connection with his previous post.

Second, 'Lock Down" in the same fashion that Bill Basler did yesterday morning while testing a means to accomplish doing that. For any who missed it, he set up topic areas so members needed to "log on" in order to see a topic contents, thus, "locking out" guests from reading them.

As for Brass Bell ad sales, there is potential of some revenue when the quarterly publication is current but it may be tough to charge full fare when they're not. I am confident that CCABC (Bill) is working fairly with all of the great businesses that help support this club year after year.

I think we need to wait and see the email, possibly an E-Newsletter, that Bill told us he is preparing based on these Polls and comments. Hopefully it will address many of these critical discussions and clarify many of the concerns that have arisen here. No pressure Bill but... OK, could you hurry up!!!

I and about 15 to 20 other Boat Buzz folks will be at The Mariners' Museum Saturday for the first ever "Boat Buzz - Unplugged". If you're in the neighborhood drop in. We'll start in the Library on the Christopher Newport University at 9:30 to see the Chris-Craft Archival Collection, then go to the near by Museum for lunch in the Cafe and then tour the permanent collections. This will be followed by dinner at The Crab Shack on The James River at 6:30 to wind out the day.

[Bill Basler]

I have been reading this thread continuously, and have been agonizing over how to respond. Much of what is presented here is good banter. I am, of course, just fine with all of that. I do feel we have collected enough information to take to our other club officers and to make a definitive decision.

Unfortunately, one particular person on this thread has crossed the line. His comments are based on pure speculation. And I will tell you he is nearly 100% WRONG in those allegations. I am sorry, but phrasing questions with "Maybe" at the beginning and a question mark at the end does not make the statement anything other than the slanderous statement that it is.

I will choose to deal with gbraker's comments privately with him. Strangely, a person who appears to have so many deep level concerns has never emailed me, pulled me aside at a show, or picked up the phone and called. My contact information is all over this web site and published in every Brass Bell. I have to question the intentions of someone who chooses to engage in this manner as his first line of questioning.

For all of your benefit, this club does have a mission statement, articles of incorporation, and a governing body. We just happen to have a governing body that is not all that active on Boat Buzz. We also have a bank account, keep meticulous accounting records (all member related transactions are double entered into an SQL database, membership management system and Quickbooks. Monthly statements are reviewed by an independent accountant who prepares our year end return.

This organization follows GAP accounting practices, files an annual return and annually defends its non profit status. We are incorporated in the state of Florida, as we have been for over 25 years.

Admittedly, we have been terrible about sharing this information with our members. Speaking absolutely candidly, this comes more from our grass roots origins, more so than any intentional effort to not share. This is something that we are putting at a high level for 2012.

I can assure you that my time here is—and always has been—in the best interest of this club...often at the expense of my business, my family, my personal activities at shows, and so on.

If any of you feel the need to know more, email me or better yet, pick up the phone. I do have an 8-5 job. My company Basler Design Group has been around for 22 years....about 16 years prior to me having any involvement with this club. I do the best at picking up the phone when I am not in meetings.

I am a happily married man with six kids. My two oldest are in college...one in the Army, and one in the Air Force. I have directed my own design firm for 22 years, and have been working in the marketing niche for nearly 30. I am an adjunct professor at one local college, and a full time instructor at a local university. I have been teaching in addition to my business responsibilities for over three years. My firm has long term relationships with many of our clients. I have been working with John Deere Corporate, for example, for 23 years. My admin person that we employed (up until 2010) had been with us 18 years. My other employees for nearly as long. One of my clients, is a defense contractor requiring extensive background checks for security clearance on highly confidential projects. Both colleges where I teach require background checks and drug testing.

Somehow, through all of this, I must have fooled every person, organization, accountant, the IRS and chemical test. This is the only way that I can possibly be the person that gbraker speculates.

I can assure you that review of our by-laws and and of our disclosure is in process. We are working towards the ideal that many of you suggest.

To run an organization with an Antique & Classic Boat Society, Inc-like structure and governance is very time-consuming and expensive. To serve as an Antique & Classic Boat Society, Inc. Board member takes personal cash...and lots of it. Ironically the ACBS board often gets reviewed as "out of touch" "elitist" and "acting not in membership's best interest." And these comments are directed at persons who are volunteering their time, and using thousands of dollars of personal funds to attend quarterly meetings, etc. I personally know several persons who have turned consideration for an ACBS officer role, because the time and monetary commitment was too heavy.

I asked two simple questions by polls on this forum? Why? Because I wanted to hear from you. And many, on this very forum, said, "why don't you poll our members?" "What we need is a poll."

Mission accomplished. The poll will be closed, and the ratios, relative to the poll responses will be taken into consideration as we move forward.

Again, any of you who have questions or concerns, please pick up the phone and call. This notion of collecting everyone's email addresses in case this forum goes down? Honestly, I do not know where this even comes from.

And my final point. I have not taken this organization hostage. I was asked, by Wilson Wright, our prior executive director to take this club and move it forward. Since spring of 2006, we have introduced Boat Buzz, an SQL-based membership management system, the online archive, the Wiki, an online Hull Registry, Tradingdock.org, and online member directory, and so on. These things did not exist prior to 2006. They have happened since the start of my involvement with the club, and they have been available to you all ever since.

Somehow this discussion about value, dues, and self reflection got inverted into malicious attacks based on 100% speculation.

I will state this publicly. Gbraker's comments go well past playing devils advocate. His comments are based on pure speculation and are absolutely slanderous.

[gbraker]

We will see how this plays out.

There is more than what has been posted. It isn't all speculation.

I really do hope my speculation is wrong, but you brought it on yourself, by not being open.

If I turn out to be mistaken, I will be the first to apologize.

[Hopatcong Buddy]

I would get that apology post ready, you are going to need it. The CCABC & BB are very lucky to have Bill doing what he does, as we were having Wilson before him. What you wrote is reprehensible at best, and the fact they you did not speak with Bill before making the accusations you did show at lack of many things. Class being the first that comes to mind.

Bill, thank you for all you do.

[gbraker]

Sometimes things happen for a reason. Everyone just follows along and hides there head in the sand, and is afraid to speak up.

Well I spoke up, and whether I'm right or wrong you will all end up better informed than you were before.

Everyone wants to shoot the messenger, like this is all my fault.

We will all be better off when its over. You can hang me later if you can catch me.

I have a little hidey hole in mind, you will never find me.

[Don Vogt]

Thanks bill for your comments. The overwhelming number of suggestions are motivated, I am sure, by a spirit of wanting to make a positive contribution to the club and acknowledge the tremendous efforts that you and others have put forward to date. Making a claim of dishonesty in a forum like this a very serious matter and in my view is wholely inappropriate unless accompanied by facts to support such a charge.

[Terry Fiest]

Greetings all,

I had this letter slated for the Fall Brass Bell, but due to all of this discussion I have decided to post it here on the Boat Buzz. Hopefully it will address some of your questions, as we want to be up front with the membership:

To All Chris Craft Antique Boat Club Members:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support and membership in the largest Marque club in our hobby. As most of you know, five years ago Wilson Wright reached a milestone in his life and elected to pass the CCABC on to myself, Bill Basler, Bill Baldwin and Don Ayers. For the past five years we have operated the club in Cedar Rapids Iowa utilizing the electronic data base of Basler Design Group, owned by Bill Basler.
Brian Robinson came on board in 2006 and more recently Angilla Baccus as Associate Editor have since joined the staff and we have been operating the Club and producing a world class magazine, the Brass Bell. As with any organization we have experienced the customary ups and downs but we have managed to work together and build the club to a membership of 3500 plus, depending on renewals. Your $35.00 membership per year resulted in a quality magazine, on line “Boat Buzz”, access to historical information and an opportunity to buy and sells boats at no additional costs to you as a member.
As you can imagine, the publication and expense of the Brass Bell has been our focal point and we have managed to provide this high quality magazine because of the electronic services and personal involvement of Bill Basler and Basler Design Group. Like most business’s in the US today, Basler Design Group has been affected by the economy and Bill had to make a decision to sell Basler Design Group to another company. Bill has become part of a larger corporation and the sale of his company has impacted on the CCABC.
Let me assure all of you that you will still receive the quality Brass Bell and all the services; As the President of the Club, I met with the board and laid out a path forward that would facilitate the continued success of the club. Since Basler Design Group has been sold, Bill Basler will assume the leadership role of the club and he will operate the club in Cedar Rapids from his residence. He has done everything to transfer the files, archives, Boat Buzz and the production of the Brass Bell to his office in his residence.
As you may know, in October Don Ayers and Brian Robinson resigned their official positions, Angilla will stay on as the editor and I will pass the Presidency to Bill and resign myself. All of us have agreed to continue to provide stories and information to Bill and we have all pledged to continue our support. If any of you would like to get involved with the club, we would like to cover every boat show and we would welcome stories, pictures and input from all of you.
I want to thank all of you for your past support of the club and I ask all of you for your continued support for Bill Basler and he continues the proud tradition of the CCABC.

Thank you all,

Terry Fiest

[mcisaac inc]

wow !!!!!!!!!!!!! as Paul Harvey says, "and that is the rest of the story:thanks for coming clean and letting us really know what is going on................markmcisaacinc.com p.s. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS MY TWO BRASS BELLS , MY TWO BRASS BELLS ,MY TWO BRASS BELLS . ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS MY TWO BRASS BELLS, THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT. Bill you can send mine c.o.d. ,I can handle it..............................thanks, Merry Christmas to all and to all God Bless Our troops......

[gbraker]

Now you are beginning to find out the rest of the story.

I will accept apologies any time.

[Brian Robinson]

gbraker,

You have no idea what you are talking about.

Do us all a favor and keep your comments to yourself.

[Matt Smith]

This has been a very difficult thread to read over the past several days. By the way, I found another golden pond boat!

[mcisaac inc]

That's the ole' Christmas spirit Matt...Now how about a rendition of "SILVER BRASS BELLS"..It's Christmas time in the city.........mark

[Matt Smith]

This is my time to escape and have fun.. The club will be fine, some cool things under way..

[mcisaac inc]

Good deal Matt. It has been a long day. I Started out on the air file for around four hours on the Garwood this morning and my five year old lost his first tooth today. Anybody know what the going rate for a tooth is from the tooth Fairy ...........mark

[Matt Smith]

A silver dollar! Needs to be coin..

[Bill Basler]

Again, I need to absorb this all. I certainly knew that Terry's letter was coming. Gary, we do talk and have considerable respect for each other. AS for Brian? He is an awesome individual...the most knowledgable I have ever met within this niche, and a good friend. As for Don Ayers? Our relationship is a bit strained at the moment and we have agreed to disagree for the time being. But he is a friend and our relationship will mend. Please read the tone of Terry's letter. It's hardly vindictive.

[Bill Basler]

Mark...sadly, it's about two dollars. Anything less and they will protest.

[mcisaac inc]

Bill, thanks , I know you have a basketball team of kids at home. By the way, for what it's worth, I'm with Matt, the club will be fine. Truth,honesty, and most of all,hard work always prevail......thanks mark ps, I'm not kidding about the c.o.d. if it will help

[Bill Basler]

You will receive an email about the Brass Bell tomorrow. The latest issue is really nice.

[farupp]

Terry and Bill, thank you. There are many members such as myself who remain 1000% supportive and willing to help.

Frank

[parroteyes]

I have a little hidey hole in mind, you will never find me.

I'm thinking that a hidey hole would be good. The tone and confrontational nature of your "advocacy" has left a sour taste which inevitably will raise in my throat anytime I see a gbraker post.

I'd request that you hide under a new posting name for this forum and try real hard to be civil.

[mfine]

Anybody know what the going rate for a tooth is from the tooth Fairy ...........mark

A 17' sportsman will usually do.

[DLKster]

As a former National Director of an Antique Automobile club this whole discussion sounds to me like what Yogi Berra used to call "a deja vu all over again."

There's no doubt that Bill Basler and all the others involved in the Club put in an extraordinary amount of their time and energy when they could be doing something else like actually working on their boats or going for a boat ride or going fishing.

It's unfair and improper to make allegations of wrongdoing when there is no evidence that suggests there has been any. But this is what happens when there is an actual or perceived lack of transparency in dealing with other people's money.

There are some issues (no pun intended) that have been raised that should be addressed without delay.

It is now winter and unless I am mistaken, the Brass Bell is behind schedule. It is not unreasonable for Members who paid their dues to demand an explanation of what is up with that.

There have been no elections, even though we now read that there has been a major shake-up in the Club leadership that was not disclosed until yesterday or the day before and on this blog which probably most members don't read on a daily basis and of which most are probably not aware. I've never seen the by-laws, so I don't know how directors and officers are selected. Among other reasons, every member should know this information to make sure they am not chosen in absentia. :wink: When there is a shake-up of the magnitude that apparently has occurred, it naturally raises questions in the mind of some members about what exactly is really happening. That the magazine is behind schedule only exacerbates this concern, regardless of whether the two issues are related or not.

Finally, there has been no actual accounting of the Club's finances made available to the dues paying members. Whether or not the bylaws require this I obviously don't know since part of the membership package does not include a copy of the Club's bylaws and to my knowledge, they are not even available on this web page. (Hint)

It has been mentioned that IRS Form 990s are filed annually, and while these are not the same as an income and expense statement, they would provide some level of information. Obviously, in order to prepare a Form 990, one would have to have an income and expense statement and the latest club bank account statement.

I appreciate that it is kind of a pain in the neck to make all those disclosures, but after all, it was the Club management that started this discussion of dues in the first place and they could reasonable have forseen that any intelligent evaluation of that issue would lead -- sooner or later -- to some discussion of club finances. We don't have the data, or even a summary of it, and it raises the question in some people's minds -- "why not?".

In addition, the highly defensive reaction to questions about the financial issues that seem completely logical to me (and FWIW, I am a lawyer!) when it is not coupled with access to any of the relevant accounting information tends to set off alarm bells to anyone that has occupied a position of trust or fiduciary relationship in any organization.

In the interest of transparency, and in the interest of the long term survival of the club, instead of spending another fifteen minutes or half an hour writing a high spirited defense of Bill Bassler's integrity, dedication and so forth, I think it would be in everyone's best interest if someone just scanned the Form 990s for the last two or three years and also the annual income and expense statement(s) and posted them on this board. If there is nothing to hide, that would be an end of unfounded suspicions of embezzlement and suggestions of slander. That is not what I joined the Club to hear, and I would guess that out of +/- 3500 members, about +/- 3490 of them agree with that sentiment.

A full and prompt disclosure would put the whole discussion to rest, if, as we have all been reassured everything is indeed in order, and we have no hard evidence to suggest any different. By the same token, to the extent there has been any lack of transparency so far, the longer it continues or is perceived to be contining, the worse this is going to get.

My suggestion FWIW is for Bill or whoever has copies of the accounting data to go fire up your scanner and get the facts out, and also the Brass Bell before this discussion gets any further out of control than it already seems to be.

[mfine]

So what is the process to nominate and elect a new board? How many board members are there?

I think getting a new team together is important and should be done ASAP, even if it is an interim team that stabilizes things and updates the bylaws before implementing a more member centric election process.

[Bill Basler]

David:

I will follow your advice. I have recently moved our club office. I need to find that file and when I do I will scan the 990s and post. Until then, I am concentrating this weekend on getting an email out to all of you with a link to download the Spring and Summer issues.

Spring is printed and is sitting on a palette. Summer will be done very soon, and both will be mailed ASAP.

From there I am concentrating on Fall. My highest priority is to get the issues back on track.

[gbraker]

Just so you know. I was the one that made the posts that have angered so many.

I did so because of information that was provided to me. I can't reveal the details with out breaking a promise.

It is gratifying to see that the last two posts have turned the direction, and are positive. I would encourage all of you to get behind that movement and keep things rolling in a positive direction.

This is what I was after from the beginning. Sometimes you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

[gbraker]

One last thing.

I made that post that angered so many people, and I insinuated that what Bill was doing had criminal ramifications. I went overboard, and I could probably have made my point another way. I know that words spoken can not be retracted, but I apologize for what I said.

I'm sorry Bill that I have disrupted the club and you with no hard evidence to support what was said.

All that said, lets all get behind Bill and support getting the club going stronger and better.

If you want me to resign to help the club heal from all this that's OK to. Just kill my username.

[gbraker]

One last thing.

I made that post that angered so many people, and I insinuated that what Bill was doing had criminal ramifications. I went overboard, and I could probably have made my point another way. I know that words spoken can not be retracted, but I apologize for what I said.

I'm sorry Bill that I have disrupted the club and you with no hard evidence to support what was said.

All that said, lets all get behind Bill and support getting the club going stronger and better.

If you want me to resign to help the club heal from all this that's OK to. Just kill my username.

[farupp]

Gary, here are some quotes from your posts:

"There are things like income tax evasion, embezzlement. Across state lines. This is serious stuff. I can't think that there is any other valid reason for things being the way they are."

and

"Just so you know. I was the one that made the posts that have angered so many people and I insinuated that what Bill was doing had criminal ramifications."

"I did so because of information that was provided to me. I can't reveal the details with out breaking a promise."

Saying those things are hardly insinuations, they are accusations by you and whoever provided you the information.

I feel you owe Bill a truly heartfelt apology and the rest of us an explanation.