January 2014

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season (not yet quite over as I write this missive) and can put off for a few more days resuming the serious pursuits that have happily been out of mind for the past few weeks. I, on the other hand, am hard at work preparing my Letter for January. 

Knowing how much all of you hang on my every word here (well …. maybe a few of you, then) it is possible that some of you will feel what I am about to convey sounds quite familiar. In fact I wrote about the same subject in the January, 2013 the Skyscraper, only this time I need to use new words to express old ideas. I gave serious consideration to starting a tradition like that of the New York Sun, which for one hundred and sixteen years has printed the same editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church, commonly known as “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus”. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending upon one's perspective, our worthy Editor nixed the idea. I suppose he feels that he is paying so much for these Letters that it is only right that I give him new words each month. 

Church saw the opportunity to rise above answering the simple question and went on to address the philosophy behind it. In many of my Letters I have tried to follow Church's practice and address the philosophical underpinning of how your Board has addressed the issues facing us. The subject this month (I'll bet you thought I had forgotten what I was supposed to write about!) is the annual process of nominating members to the various elective positions on the Board and the Trustees. 

The facts about nominations may be found in last year's Letter at: http://www.theskyscrapers.org/january-2013-message and the philosophical considerations will follow.

It requires a lot of dedicated, hard working volunteers to keep Skyscrapers functioning. This is not limited to just the Board and Trustees but extends to members of various committees, both standing and ad hoc, members who transport themselves and their telescopes to star parties, others still who stand watch on Saturday night Open Houses at Seagrave, others who write columns for the media, those who speak at schools and other venues, and still others who faithfully show up regularly to handle other tasks like lawn mowing and building maintenance. It is my estimate that about forty percent of the membership is involved in these and other extra-meeting functions. This is a much higher proportion of membership involvement than most organizations can hope for. 

It is not a lack of humility that makes me observe that among the hardest and most burdensome of these jobs are found on the Board of Directors and the Trustees. These functions at Skyscrapers are fundamentally different from the leadership of “clubs” not only from the time commitments but the potential consequences of the actions of these bodies. Skyscrapers has a considerable asset base, some of which is priceless and absolutely irreplaceable. You have entrusted those you elect with not only diligently studying matters that are of concern, but when they act of “getting it right”, so that the Society does not suffer but instead flourishes.

Finding candidates to fill these important positions is the responsibility of the Nominating Committee. If you believe you have something to offer on one of these boards it is your responsibility to make your feelings known to members of that committee. If you have been impressed with some other member then you should bring that person to the attention of the Committee. If you are not prepared for one of the elected positions but are interested in developing your knowledge of the Society for a future position you should talk to the Committee as one of their collateral responsibilities is to identify members who might develop into future leaders.

About this point you might be asking why anyone in their right mind would take on these tasks. I assure you that all of us on the Board and the Trustees have asked ourselves that question once or twice. While the burdens are great, so are the benefits. The nurturing instinct is strong in the human species and taking care of Skyscrapers strikes that chord powerfully. There is a strong feeling of satisfaction from helping the Society improve its lot. Association with talented and dedicated members serving in the elected positions is very rewarding, frequently leading to lifetime friendships. And there is the old saw “you get out of it what you put into it”, which is an old saw because it has truth to it. I wouldn't trade the four plus terms I have served on the Board for anything. So whether you may be ready for an elected position or one of the many other positions that might lead you to an elected office come along and join the fun. You won't regret it.

Thanks for all you do for Skyscrapers.

Ed Haskell, President