And it begins... Motion to begin the perpetual ad-hoc meeting.

[Thulium]

I'm certain this format will change, but here's the place to change it. I move that this thread be used to begin an ongoing "meeting" of CASAA. Discussions in other threads can get sidetracked with nominations or requests for organizational movements, so I would suggest moving those side points to this thread at least for now. We can continue this online "meeting" as long as needed but it can be closed immediately if necessary.

As we are still in the beginning stages of this organization, I think our first order of business should be the discussion of bylaws and organizational structure. Nominations for board membership positions seem appropriate, but we might want to decide how many board positions there will be.

With all that mind, I move to call the first ad hoc open forum meeting of CASAA to order. Do I have a second?

 

[mtndude]

Aye!

let it be so

 

[mtndude]

I would also like to open the floor (forum?) for recommendations to the board. Nominations will be received until by Midnight, October 4th, 2009 at which point all potential board members will be contacted and asked if they would serve if elected.

The list will be posted online and users will have one week to cast votes via the web for their candidate(s).

Note: Board Members MUST be willing to provide their real names and contact information. (The IRS isn't exactly going to buy that we are a valid entity with member names like "fluffybunny241" or "ecigzZmoker")

I realize that there are many e-cig users who are not on this forum or do not read ECF regularly, so for them please tell any e-cig users or suppliers you know that they may also email their recommendations to board@casaa.org

What say:

* The CASAA Board shall consist of 12 voting members.
* Each Board Member has one, equal vote.
* The Board will be comprised of (no more than) three suppliers, three subject area directors and six general users.
* The six general users will be made up of individuals from all walks of life.
* The three Subject Area (SA) Directors will be comprised of experts in the field of Legal, Financial and Medical issues.
* Each SA Director will manage a team of users who will help in making recommendations to the Board and provide depth in the event that the SA Director isn't available or drops out.
* Additional COG bylaws to follow.

The discussion of CASAA's board structure/nominations can be relocated here if it helps to move things along more smoothly.

I like the proposed structure of CASAA's Board.

 

[Webby]

Sounds good to me - I have 16 nominations so far and will start checking with them individually on Monday to see if they would agree to join the Board should they be elected. If you have recommendations, post here. If you'd prefer to recommend someone anonymously, email board@casaa.org

 

[Kamanjah]

I move to call the first ad hoc open forum meeting of CASAA to order. Do I have a second?

Aye!

Board structure needs to be defined before nominations start!

Board Positions:
Chair
Vice Chair
Secretary
Treasurer
IT Manager
Public Relations/Communications
Legal - should be an attorney
Medical - should be a medical doctor, or perhaps a PA or RN?

That's eight titled positions, which leaves room for four 'at large' members. Combining PR and Communications makes that "job description" huge.

Next, these positions need to be defined.

 

[mtndude]

I understand that IT is no small task, but I would like to propose that this can, possibly, be tasked from within the ranks of CASAA .

As for the structure of the board, I'm, personally, for a co-chairmanship.

 

[Thulium]

Aye!

Board structure needs to be defined before nominations start!

Board Positions:
Chair
Vice Chair
Secretary
Treasurer
IT Manager
Public Relations/Communications
Legal - should be an attorney
Medical - should be a medical doctor, or perhaps a PA or RN?

That's eight titled positions, which leaves room for four 'at large' members. Combining PR and Communications makes that "job description" huge.

Next, these positions need to be defined.

Does someone have a set of bylaws or constitution from a similar organization that we could build from? Seems pointless to re-invent the wheel on every little issue when we can follow in the footsteps of those that have gone before us.

 

[kinabaloo]

Sounds good to me - I have 16 nominations so far and will start checking with them individually on Monday to see if they would agree to join the Board should they be elected. If you have recommendations, post here. If you'd prefer to recommend someone anonymously, email board@casaa.org

My nominations are yvilla and kristin. Maybe already on the list; any chance to see the list so far? If already nominated, I might add another.

And in case this got lost, let's have each candidate prepare a statement so we can make informed choices; preferably by putting the candidates in order.

 

[Thulium]

My nominations are yvilla and kristin. Maybe already on the list; any chance to see the list so far? If already nominated, I might add another.

And in case this got lost, let's have each candidate prepare a statement so we can make informed choices; preferably by putting the candidates in order.

Kinabaloo, not all the nominees have accepted their nominations and not everyone is eligible for every board position. The Legal and Medical expert slots, for example, may need to be filled by appointment rather than election.

Nominations are quite welcome in this thread, but official elections can't feasibly take place until we have a set of bylaws to dictate how elections will occur. Therefore it is somewhat premature to recommend candidates make prepared statements. Depending on what being on the board actually entails, we may or may not want board members who have a desire to express their personal opinions rather than acting on the consensus view.

In fact it is quite possible that the initial board would consist largely of appointed positions until they can work out the details for a potential full election. Instead, I would suggest leaving your nominations here and maybe you can state your justification for each nomination in particular. That way, if we fill the positions by vote, you'll be working toward swinging votes that agree with your position...or if we have to appoint an interim committee, we'll have full disclosure about it.

A friend of mine is on the board for a non profit organization that provides services for and by people with disabilities. Her nomination and election to the board was made entirely by the other board members. CASAA is probably more democratic than that, but we haven't really decided that yet.

 

[kinabaloo]

I thought noms needed to be in by today.

Regardless of acting in the concensus, still good to know personal positons; much more effective though if they are similar.

btw, i nominated kristin for example not because we share the same ideas, but because she would be active and good for the group. Where we certainly do agree is that getting out our point of view and winning in the court of public opinion is the key. And that's why CASAA is being created.

I agree though perhaps we should have some rules first and then start over. I thought the process had started, but if so, it's been completely shambolic.

btw, as you seem to know who is currently nominated and has accepted, why can't we all know?

edit:

"Originally Posted by Webby :
I would also like to open the floor (forum?) for recommendations to the board. Nominations will be received until by Midnight, October 4th, 2009 at which point all potential board members will be contacted and asked if they would serve if elected."

So has it already cllosed or not started yet???

 

[kinabaloo]

ps: Really liked this post Thullium: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...daily-docket-sheet-update-186.html#post624707

Maybe you can start your blog here with that.

 

[Webby]

I thought noms needed to be in by today.


So has it already cllosed or not started yet???

Nothing is really "closed" I have received a bunch of nominations and haven't gotten around to contacting everyone or getting replies from the ones I have contacted. (no point in nominating anyone who doesn't wish to serve)

 

[Mighty Cowphin]

very good point Webby....lol.... good luck!!

 

[kinabaloo]

Nothing is really "closed" I have received a bunch of nominations and haven't gotten around to contacting everyone or getting replies from the ones I have contacted. (no point in nominating anyone who doesn't wish to serve)

This is just obfuscation. The process has been anything but 'transparent'. And that's one reason why the momentum and enthusiasm has been lost.

No point in nominating someone already nominated you should have said. 'no point in nominating anyone who doesn't wish to serve' - where's the logic in this?

 

[Webby]

This is just obfuscation. The process has been anything but 'transparent'. And that's one reason why the momentum and enthusiasm has been lost.

No point in nominating someone already nominated you should have said. 'no point in nominating anyone who doesn't wish to serve' - where's the logic in this?

KB,

I think you misunderstood me. I have 43 names and am still in the process of trying to contact those individuals. Just because someone writes in "Smokey Joe" doesn't mean he will be willing to be on the board. Nor do we need to go through the trouble of adding his name to the vote if he has no interest in serving. This obviously isn't a draft.

You're right though, what I should have said was those nominated need to be willing to serve.

 

[seminolewind]

How many members do we have and how many have voted?

 

[BigJimW]

May I make a suggestion? Nu-vapor has a great video chat setup web based system that we meet in nightly. I think we may want to consider setting up something similar for these meetings so we can all chat in real time video. Or maybe set up something on skype.

It can be a weekly board video meeting like we were all in the same room. It is a very effective way to organize meetings instead of some text based chat system or board.

Just something to think about.

 

[kristin]

May I make a suggestion? Nu-vapor has a great video chat setup web based system that we meet in nightly. I think we may want to consider setting up something similar for these meetings so we can all chat in real time video. Or maybe set up something on skype.

It can be a weekly board video meeting like we were all in the same room. It is a very effective way to organize meetings instead of some text based chat system or board.

Just something to think about.

Awww, man! That would mean I'd have to put on my makeup for meetings! LOL!

 

[halfevildruid]

The chat works pretty good, I have popped in and out a few times. This is becoming very exciting.

 

[Webby]

How many members do we have and how many have voted?

Good question. To answer that I really should explain how CASAA is different from any other group. First and foremost, CASAA's biggest strength is our vast depth of member's talents.

1) Since the site isn't completed (new revision - Welcome to CASAA.org ) most of the components are still being coded. Most importantly, the member registration and login. I can personally vouch for the fact that I have four of our best folks redesigning the site.

2) There are currently seven members of the CASAA IT staff (all volunteers) who are building out a redundancy network to make sure "Server is Busy" and denial of Service (DOS) attacks won't happen.

...of course, that really doesn't answer your question.

How many members does CASAA have?

To fairly answer that question, the answer is 31. yvilla, eric, Webby, Sun Vaporer, Þornbjörg, SSRob, ladyraj, halfevildruid, Drewsworld, TropicalBob, dperino, nitewriter, Moobyghost, Kristin, webtaxman, stevo_tdo, mtndude, mister, HaploVoss, MrKai, BigJimW, Vocalek, breakfastchef, RIMP, Kate51, Robert, Kamanjah, gr8dane, SLDS181, seminolewind and Thulium.

To date, those are the 31 prospective CASAA Board members who provided their personal information (the ONLY pre-requisite for membership)

The CASAA.ORG web site will be open to accept charter members for CASAA on Sunday, October 25th, 2009. This is the day the Board member election results will be announced and CASAA becomes a TRUE User Advocacy Group.