15% - Involved as a local competition volunteer
12% - Served as Delegates or Alternate Delegates at the Annual Convention
11% - Served as Regional officers

One could conclude from the above that of those familiar and involved, there is more involvement at the local level. Respondents therefore feel that their interests are best represented more at the local level than at the national level. Given that most of those responding with an opinion feel that clubs and Delegates who emanate from clubs represent their interests the best, one could conclude that the members place a fairly high degree of significance on Convention Delegates representing them. However, they also feel fairly well represented, but less so, by the Regional Directors and the Board of Directors.

 B. OPINIONS ON GOVERNANCE FROM INTERVIEWS AND FOCUS GROUPS

 In addition to 259 randomly selected current members with whom a telephone survey was conducted, telephone interviews were also conducted with 42 Officers, Delegates, Directors and Committee/Commission Chairs. The following represents a summary compilation of opinions expressed during the telephone interviews:

 q         The governance structure is complex and cumbersome.

q         Having regions allows for good geographic representation of the membership, but realignment of regions with approximately an equal number of members in each would provide more balanced member representation.

q        Many Delegates are self-selected based on who can afford to attend the annual convention.

q       Although local clubs may have some criteria, AHA has no criteria for eligibility of a Delegate, other than having to be an Affiliate member, and some delegates may not be representative of the membership.

q       A great number of Delegates may not be informed voters on many matters.

q       Delegates deal mainly with show rules, exceptions and infractions; they do not necessarily represent all interest areas of the membership.

q       Delegates have too much power, including the power to block any changes to AHA’s governance. It may not be possible to achieve a different governance with less power and authority for the Convention Delegates since the Delegates would have to approve the changes

q       The annual convention is too long of an event for many members, but a large number enjoy serving as Delegates, feel the convention is worthwhile, and are willing to invest their personal time to participate.

q        Commissions have too much power and need to focus more on policy and less on execution.

q        There are many opportunities for members to participate in AHA with its current governance structure, and an expanded structure would not necessarily benefit the organization.

q         There are too many committees, too many members on some committees, and
some committees are ineffective and should be retired.

q         Eliminating or downsizing some committees would reduce opportunities for members to participate in the Association.

q         The roles and responsibilities of the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors and Convention Delegates is not always clear and some overlap exists.

q         The Board of Directors ratifies Executive Committee decisions and there have been times when the Executive Committee decisions have been reversed by the Board.

q         Directors are not always knowledgeable enough to make decisions.

q         A smaller Board of Directors may be desirable, but allowing for Board representation from each region, which is good, results in the current board size.  

The above represents frequently stated opinions obtained during the telephone interviews. A wide range if views obtained from interviews and surveys were taken under consideration by the Governance Committee.

 V. OPPORTUNITIES TO MODIFY AHA’S GOVERNANCE

A.    INTRODUCTION 

AHA today is an organization with heavy volunteer involvement and a staff that provides support to the volunteers who are the key decision-makers. Perhaps this is the way the membership wants it, or those who serve at the level of Convention Delegate or higher want it. However, this way of running an organization is more in line with the way fundraising social organizations function and less like modern day membership associations that have revenue generating operations like businesses.

 Today’s membership associations with significant business operations are transitioning implementation activities and routine decision-making away from volunteer leadership to paid staff. This is being done for a variety of reasons including a declining interest in volunteerism, volunteers who wish to spend less time volunteering, and staff who wish to work for organizations where they have more responsibilities and are better able to advance in their jobs and in their careers. In addition, research shows, that a staff charged with greater responsibilities is likely to bring more ideas and recommendations for change and improvement to volunteer leadership. This is because they have the time and resources that volunteers usually do not have to conduct the research necessary to stay abreast of the marketplace and their constituents’ needs. Thus, they are better able to furnish meaningful data and information to volunteer leadership in connection with higher-level decision-making.

 Staff with more involvement and responsibility tend to be active in their peer societies made up of individuals in similar organizations. This allows the sharing of ideas and learning for the benefit of the organization. Individuals involved in their industry associations or professional societies frequently discover that the issues and situations facing their organization are no different than those that face other organizations. They can learn about how those other organizations deal with similar matters in similar situations.

 B.    OBSERVATIONS ON AHA’S EXISTING GOVERNANCE

 The above section is a more general description of the typical division of responsibilities between association volunteers and staffs. Below are some more specific points which describe AHA as an organization:

 1. The governing bodies at many levels of AHA’s organization frequently deal with how to achieve outcomes rather than just dealing with what the outcomes should be.

 2. The governing bodies are not always strategic in their activities; they often do not deal with how the organization should be changing and reinventing itself to deal with a more competitive marketplace and a decline in the breed, breeders, owners and members.

3. Top volunteer leadership individuals are dealing with many routine matters that could be delegated to staff.

 4. It is difficult for volunteer leadership to hold the Executive Director and staff accountable for performance because staff direction is often received from the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors and many committees and commissions rather than clear lines of authority.

 A well directed staff can provide top volunteer leadership with time to think strategically and focus more on the strategic direction of the association, what it needs to accomplish, where it needs to be, and over the short-term, how to reinvent itself. A staff with greater responsibility and accountability is more likely to be more entrepreneurial, feeding top volunteer leadership with ideas and proposals and thus creating a more synergistic relationship.

 C.    WHY MODIFY AHA’S GOVERNANCE  

Many AHA members may wish to leave the current governance structure and decision-making as is. However, there may be several compelling arguments for changing AHA’s governance and streamlining it, depending on one’s point of view. Some of the arguments are as follows:

 1. To reduce the number of governing bodies and the number of individuals required to be involved in analysis, deliberation and decision-making

 2. To create less layers of governance and fewer governing bodies, resulting in less bureaucracy and quicker decisions for the Association

 3. To place authority and decision-making in the hands of the most knowledgeable
and informed members

 4. To reduce the number and length of meetings and, therefore, the attendant costs

 5. To allow AHA to be more strategic and more dependent on staff to carry out
more of the routine business activities of the Association.

 6. To relieve volunteers from participating in activities that could be performed by the staff and perhaps performed even better, more efficiently and more cost effectively

 D.    RECOMMENDATIONS TO MODIFY AHA’S GOVERNANCE

Many AHA leadership individuals interviewed for this project feel that nothing is broken and,therefore, nothing needs to be fixed with regard to AHA’s governance. Many individuals have enjoyed their participation at various levels of AHA’s governance and cannot envision it working any other way. Others have expressed dissatisfaction over having to contribute so much of their time to the organization and the enduring processes required for decision-making. Consequently, some members and volunteer leadership individuals will be adverse to changing the governance while others will be inclined to support changes. For sure, there is no governance model which will appeal to all. Nevertheless, the Governance Committee believes these recommendations are right for AHA and will enhance implementation of the strategic plan:

 1. Create the position of Chief Executive Officer.

AHA should create the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with greater responsibility and authority to implement the goals and objectives of the organization. This would be a significant change in the organization and how it is run. The CEO would report to the President.

 2. Move the duties of Chief Financial Officer to a staff position.

The function of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) should not be the responsibility of the Treasurer, a volunteer position. It should reside within the staff reporting to the CEO, so the CEO will have operational accountability for the fiscal soundness of the organization. By continuing its annual certified audits, by establishing a treasury function that oversees rather than executes, and by establishing a Budget and Finance Committee chaired by the Treasurer (see Section V.E.1.), AHA can entrust the CFO function under the CEO.

 3. Maintain the Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee should continue as is, having the responsibility to deal with business matters of the Association between Board meetings.

 4. Maintain the Board of Directors and clarify its responsibilities.

The current powers and authority of the Board of Directors, as specified in AHA’s bylaws, are listed under Section III. D. on page 11 of this report. The Governance Committee does not recommend any reduction in the Board’s powers. However, since the Board has the power to admit a Member Organization (club), it should also have the power to reinstate a club once it meets the requirements for readmission. This would allow reinstated clubs to legally function as Member Organizations between the time they qualify for reinstatement and the convening of the Delegates at the Annual Convention. The Delegates today have the power of both revocation, which the Governance Committee does not recommend changing, and reinstatement. The bylaws should also be amended to make it clear that any powers that do not rest with the Annual Convention (Delegates) actually lie with the Board of Directors.

 5. Maintain the Convention Delegate body and clarify its responsibilities.

The current scope of powers of the Annual Convention (Delegates) as defined in the bylaws is listed under Section III. C. on page 9 of this report. The Governance Committee recommends that reinstatement of clubs be the responsibility of the Board of Directors instead of the Delegates. It further recommends that it be clarified that since responsibility for budgetary matters lies with the Board of Directors, and not the Delegates, responsibilities for AHA’s business operations, especially those things dealing with the efficiency and effectiveness of staff, should be the exclusive responsibility of the Board.

 6. Modify the committee structure.

The current committee structure provides desired opportunities for Delegates and

other members to participate during the Annual Convention. AHA should modify its existing committee structure and provide a voice for groups that are currently underrepresented. Specific recommendations include:

   q         Create a new Budget and Finance Committee, chaired by the Treasurer, consisting of the current:

·         AHA Finance Committee

·         Ways and Means Committee

·         Internal Audit Committee

 q       Create a new Breeders Committee to provide an opportunity for those involved in breeding to have a forum for their special interests.

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Lorry Wagner, Copyright 2004