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Op-Ed - 107ist Election: Is the Board Prepared to Be Replaced?

11/13/2014 1:29 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)

—by Andrew Brawley

No, really, are they? I'm not necessarily talking about next month's election. I'm speaking in more general terms.

We've all heard grumbles here and there about how the people "running" the Timbers Army are the usual suspects, seen at every event, with four scarves saving their one front row seat in section 107 at every home match so they can avoid the Oklahoma Land Rush for seats and stroll in five minutes prior to kickoff. How they do everything together (parties, away game buses, weddings, bar mitzvahs, front yard gardening, back yard chicken coop construction, etc.), vote in blocs, and look to be inseparable.

OK, so maybe the Board can come off as a bit clique-ish now and then, but what they do for this thing we love truly is a thankless job. Case in point: have you, the reader, actually THANKED them for doing this job? That's what I thought.

The point I'm trying to make is that the Board of XI (as they're known in the 107ist Bylaws) has some consistency to it, and that might not always be the best thing. New blood for the sake of new blood is not what I'm pushing here. So let's go back to my original question:

Is the Board of XI prepared to be replaced?

As in, have they taken the steps needed to ensure this great thing known as the Timbers Army can maintain such a legacy after they're gone? Or are they clinging onto a seat at the table because they're not comfortable with who might fill the seat once they leave? I hate to break it to folks, but people can't do one thing forever. Even the most dedicated member of the Timbers Army (you know...scarf kilt, patch vest, USL-era everything, etc.) will eventually have to pass the torch, usually due to things like jobs, marriage, kids, illness, etc. It happens.

Is the Board of XI prepared to be replaced?

Have you, Mr./Ms. Board Member, taken the time to document and share your learnings with potential future Board Members? Have you identified younger Timbers fans (ideally late teens through late twenties) that appear to have a brain and be capable of manning the ship after your time is up?

One of my great fears for the Timbers Army is that a large number of Board Members (who may or may not associate with each other outside of Timbers-related events) just decide they're fed up and suddenly abandon ship all at once. They're certainly within their right to do so, but where would that leave the ship? I don't care how much money is in the bank account, if you replace a large number of capable people with a large number of less-than-capable people, the results won't be great.

Is the Board of XI prepared to be replaced?

As a youth, I belonged to a youth organization. The keyword there is "youth." Once I turned 21, I was ineligible to call myself a member anymore. So as I approached that age, I was constantly asked this question: "what did you do to replace yourself?" Did I do everything in my power to ensure that the organization was in capable hands as I left the building?

One thing I'll be looking out for in the next couple election cycles is a quality related to ensuring that this Timbers Army will continue its legacy of high standards among supporters groups well beyond our time in this realm. If it's only going to deteriorate down the road because we didn't solidify the foundation during our time in charge, then what's the point?

This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the 107ist or the Timbers Army.


Comments

  • 08/15/2016 8:58 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Lexi says:
    Thursday, November 13, 2014 at 11:34 pm

    Germane to this discussion, and IMO this has been handled well in some ways so far and perhaps less well in others: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founder's_syndrome

    I gotta say I disagree with targeting TA in their late teens through late twenties for 107ist board positions now. Board positions later, sure, but there’s something to be said for having folks at the helm with a bit of life experience under their belts.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 8:58 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Andrew Brawley says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 6:40 am

    @Lexi

    Not necessarily kids in board seats at age 18, but identifying and indoctrinating them at a young age would help. Getting them appreciate volunteerism and committee work. That type of stuff.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 8:59 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Padre says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 6:08 am

    trying to imagine Brawley in a eagle scout uniform at 21
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 8:59 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Andrew Brawley says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 6:38 am

    @Padre

    Whatever floats your boat.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 8:59 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Scott Jeffries says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 7:14 am

    I thought we were an autonomous collective.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:00 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Ryan says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 7:54 am

    @Scott Jeffries

    You’re fooling yourself. We’re living in a dictatorship. A self-perpetuating autocracy in which the working class–
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:00 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Brent Diskin says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 8:17 am

    @Ryan

    Have we no moistened bints nor watery tarts to sort this for us?
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:00 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Shawn Levy says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 10:17 am

    These are legit questions and I’m glad they’re being asked. Thanks, Brawley.

    Worth noting: As I look at the names of the current board members, I see at least five people who weren’t especially active (or, in some cases, even present,) during the last years of USL. I take this as a very good sign. These folks came to the TA when the 107ist was already formed or forming, threw themselves in with long hours, and took sufficient ownership of their connections to the group that they stepped up into leadership positions. I truly believe that we’ll continue to see that trend in coming years. But it’s good to be reminded of the need for it.

    I have another, perhaps even more uncomfortable question:

    What does the 107ist do to counter the grumblers? We don’t wish to fall prey to the Tyranny Of Some Dude On The Internet (TOSDOTI), but we ought to, as a group, have a way to talk to people who take issue with the way the 107ist acts/speaks/exists. And, ideally, we ought to turn those thumbs-down into thumbs-up. This puzzle vexes me, I’d love real feedback.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:00 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Shawn Levy says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 10:18 am

    And I rabbitted-up the HTML tag. DERRRRRRP.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:01 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Sherrilynn "Sheba" Rawson says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 10:25 am

    @Shawn Levy

    Un-rabbitted. ;-)
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:01 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Scott V Swearingen says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 10:26 am

    It’s like brawley came to the last board meeting, took the meeting minutes and re-posted on TA.org
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:02 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Andrew Brawley says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 10:35 am

    @Scott V Swearingen

    Uh oh…who’s mass-quitting? ;)
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:02 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Jeremy Wright says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 2:52 pm

    Brawley brings up very salient points here and rest assured the board is already thinking about this and will make it a focus. In a few short years a lot of us who have been around since the beginning will no longer hold board positions and this is a good thing for the organization. “Founders syndrome” can be bad for a non-profit. We just need to make sure that what is in all of our collective brains is put into a more systemic form.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:02 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Darrell Fuhriman says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 3:25 pm

    Term limits are one good way to force this. Two terms of three years (or three of two) for any board member seems not unreasonable. Optionally add the ability to hold another two terms, but only after at least 2 term break.

    FWIW, I also think terms are too long, too, which might scare away potential candidates. That and I also think the board is too big, which I think can cause governance and execution to become dangerously conflated.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:03 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Garrett Dittfurth says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 4:38 pm

    @Darrell Fuhriman

    I disagree entirely with term limits. When states enacted them in their state houses it created chaos as a bunch of people that don’t know how to to anything were elected and the people who knew who to talk to, how to talk to them, and the way to talk to people were ejected and nothing happened. It’s why most states got rid of term limits.

    We staggered elections for a good reason. 3-4 people are up for election every year. It’s so there isn’t a gigantic turnover every single year. You need people who have established relationships ongoing over time that something like term limits can kill.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:03 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Darrell Fuhriman says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 5:17 pm

    @Garrett Dittfurth

    Running the TA is nothing like being a legislature. It’s much more akin to the governor’s office, for which 36 states have term limits.

    Relationships should be established between organization(s), not between individuals (which isn’t to say that individual relationships aren’t valuable, just that they can be dangerous).

    To not do that (i.e. to confuse the individuals and the organization) is another symptom of the aforementioned Founder’s Syndrome.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:04 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Robert W. Cross says:
    Friday, November 14, 2014 at 5:11 pm

    I think a significant challenge 107ist faces is integrating new people, ideas, and visions into the existing structure that originated in the USL era when the size of the TA was much smaller. I hear countless gripes, objections, and so forth from many people within the TA in regard to 107ist. At the same time, I am not cognizant or aware of how much effort the individuals have taken upon themselves to become involved with the powers that be.

    In support of the former and existing board, just running a non profit of this size and complexity, with continued and significant growth, is a serious job in and of itself. The rubber meets the road somewhere in the middle and I’m not sure what that reality is. I should note that Scott Van Swearingen has been fair and objective in all the dealings between American Outlaws Portland and Timbers Army and this type of volunteering in SCUSA is harder than it looks to the outside eye.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:04 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Jeff Dean says:
    Saturday, November 15, 2014 at 9:30 am

    I heard Brawley is Pro-Spiced Ale and Against Olives! #BrawleyOUT
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:05 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Brock Gallien says:
    Saturday, November 15, 2014 at 10:10 pm

    I only have one piece of not so insightful response to this. Andrew referred to them as the usual suspects. I have always called them “The OGs” (Original Gangsters of course), and they do in fact deserve respect for the work and time they put in for this group. They deserve a seat where they chose at any game, and I respect that idea. The thing is sometimes I think they lack respect for the 1200 other members that wait in line on average of 12 hrs most match days by laying scarves across the entire front row of the 105 for their friends that show up without wristbands at all or well after kick off. I don’t demand the world but I think if someone shows dedication to stand in the rain and cold hours before sun up to be 15th in the building only to find the seat they had their little heart set on is covered by scarves of people that aren’t even there it can be frustrating.
    Thanks for the mug last season. Use it daily.
    Link  •  Reply
  • 08/15/2016 9:05 PM | 107ist Admin (Administrator)
    Lexi says:
    Monday, November 17, 2014 at 12:02 pm

    @Brock Gallien

    FWIW, front of 105 has a lot of flag crew members. They’re inside and working before everybody. Saving a +1 is allowed.
    Link  •  Reply


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