Firstly I would like to thank all who have replied to my original email, both through this forum and directly. It is now a week since I received my last reply so I assume all have had their say.
The replies have raised more questions that they have answered.
Firstly, to those that thought I wrote in anger, you have misjudged me. I wrote in frustration at not being able to find answers to my questions, all of which I felt were reasonable for an interested member to ask. I was finally motivated to ask my questions when I noticed that one of our Board members is not a financial member and nobody seems to have noticed.
To those that felt this is not the appropriate place to discuss issues relating to the Society, I notice nobody suggested an alternative forum. There is so little communication about Society issues and it is sad that some thought it should be shut down.
I thank Zach for his response though it did raise more issues and confirm some of my concerns. I recognise and appreciate the work done by volunteers and am aware that the IAS would not survive without them.
I have seen so many (including international) plant societies fail and I do not want to see that happen to the IAS. It has certainly shrunk from what it once was.
As I see it, there are a number of reasons why societies dimish and fail, especially ones that do not have regular meetings.
The first of these is a lack of communication. To the ordinary member there is little communication between the Board members. It did disturb me to watch the communications between Board members trying to find out what was happening at the Show and Sale. Communication from the Board to the ordinary members also appears to be almost nonexistent. One hopes that this is not because there is nothing to tell us. I also see little evidence of communication between the Society and the general public.
The second issue is a lack of planning. If you don't plan to do anything then nothing will happen and you end up responding to issues rather than driving them.
The society does not appear to have any plans for the future and, from a management perspective, that is a major concern.
The third issue is the failure to put plans into action, but without plans then little will happen.
These are not matters that can be dealt with by the members, they are the domain of the Board.
I hope that the new Board might look at some of these issues to help drive a bright and growing future for the IAS.
Greg Ruckert
Nairne,
South Australia
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