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Show Time For A Change? Final election ballots for directors in three Garkane districts were mailed out Mar. 26. Incumbents are being challenged in two districts, and, in the third, two new people are seeking to represent the consumers in their area on the cooperative's eight-member eight-member board of directors. Garkane is governed by the board of directors, a team whose job it is to hire a general manager to conduct the company's business and administer its staff and employees. The role of the general manager is to follow the directives of the board, and the board is the place where the buck stops. It is not unusual, however, for a general manager to seek to promote his or her own goals to the board. It is absolutely necessary for board members to able to recognize if or when they , are being manipulated by the person they have hired to follow their direction. At that point, they must make it clear that they, not their hired employee, are captaining the ship. Perhaps even more destructive can be a situation where a minority of board members seize control and manipulate weaker members. It is always good if a board can operate as a smoothly functioning team, but no member should ever seek to exercise control of other members by manipulation, nor should any board member ever sacrifice or capitulate important principles simply to be a team player. In every Garkane district, it is important to elect strong directors who have the courage of their convictions and the capacity to think and act independently to bring diversity to the board. A strong board will equally and fairly represent consumers, provide direction, supervision and support for its manager, be fully informed and keep consumers informed on all issues, and be willing to face and try to quickly resolve controversial issues. Voters in three Garkane districts must carefully consider which candidates will most effectively address two critical issues now facing the board, at least one of which relocation of the company's headquarters is more than half a centiry old, and the other (on which the board has also been dragging its feet) the realignment of voter districts to provide fair representation in each district.. It is unrealistic to assume that patterns will simply change on their own when the track record clearly shows the team is stuck in a losing streak on these two very critical plays, despite its commendable moves on other business matters. Maybe it's time for changes on the team. |
