Unless the Board withdraws these proposed changes, realizing that they are unlikely to be passed, it is my understanding that these proposed Governance changes will be put to a by-laws vote by the Membership sometime this month (March 2010).

The proposed Governance changes, as I last viewed them at the National Board Meeting in Las Vegas, essentially eradicates most of the important responsibilities of the CoR (i.e. nominations and election of Board Members and nomination of National Officers). These proposed changes also totally eliminate the Membership, including the CoR, from voting on - or even nominating - any of the National ASHI Officers.

With the proposed Governance changes, only the Board will select and elect the National Officers which include our President, President Elect, Secretary & Treasurer. The proposed changes eliminate the V.P. slot as well.

Additionally, it is my understanding that the current petition process will be eliminated for nominating any additional candidates for our National Officers. In other words, you as Members and the CoR will have no vote, and no direct say as to who the President, President Elect, Secretary and Treasurer will be. You simply will not be allowed to select or vote for any of them.

In 1995 we changed our Governance by establishing the CoR in order to create a better communication network between the Chapters, the Membership and the Board. And, to reduce the unruly size of the Board (approx. 50 members, one from ea. chapter at that time), and to help prevent conflicts of interest or abuse of power, and to create the needed checks & balances which were lacking in our former governance model. i.e. we abolished the Executive Committee that put too much power into very few "hands".

Allowing too few people to hold too much power is one of the major concerns I have with reducing the manageable size of the current Board. Particularly with a relatively new executive director - no matter how good he may be - with very little history of ASHI and limited experience with our unique association, of independent home inspectors.

The reasons stated for the current proposed reduction in the size of the Board, and for the Board to self-elect all the National Officers were to make it more 'nimble' and 'fluid'.

Yet, our lack of so called 'nimbleness' has never stopped ASHI and the BoD from making the right decisions. In fact, a smaller, nimble Board with self-elected Officers would be more conducive to lack of diversity of ideas, deliberation, and balance. I feel these issues far outweigh the benefit of 'nimbleness' and 'fluidity'. It is far better to take ur time, hear all the sides, and get it right, than to be more exclusive and nimble.

If we remove the checks & balances currently in place - either by design or by circumstance - for the current ASHI Governance, by reducing the size of the Board and phasing out or eliminating the important duties & responsibilities of the CoR, and eliminating the nomination process and Membership election of all the National officers, we create a troublesome situation for ASHI.

Frank Lesh, our recent past president, comments on these concerns: "We've been down this road so many times I feel we're in a rut. This most recent trip has taken over two years, two different Governance Task Forces, a hand picked "gang of five", countless staff time and a paid consultant. The motions brought forth fail to ask and answer the most obvious question: Does ASHI's governance model work?

Other than some vague references to other associations and the desire to be more nimble, I don't see the benefit to this new model. Not when one considers the turmoil and divisiveness these motions bring about, nor the amount of time and resources - both volunteer and staff - that will be squandered to force this issue to a head."

At the most recent annual CoR Meeting, the proponents of these proposed governance changes were asked more than once, to cite any examples on how our current Governance model has inhibited ASHI and the BoD from approving any worthy policy, program, idea, etc. in a "nimble" or any other fashion. Personally, I'm not aware of any, with almost three (3) decades of active involvement in ASHI, both nationally, and on a chapter level. They also could not cite even one example.

Our Board has always had the exclusive authority to make policy, and run ASHI in a manner befitting our pre-eminent association and profession. And, historically, has done a wonderful job doing just that, with few exceptions. However, when critical matters arise (like this Governance change), it seems to me that Membership and CoR input would be encouraged. In my opinion if those proposing change can't handle constructive, justifiable, (or any!) criticism, and can't deal with the CoR, we might question the issues at hand, not the Governance, nor the Members who espouse them. We might even question the leadership.

I think we can all agree, ASHI will benefit, if we improve on the development and training of our leadership. That applies to the Cor, the Board and all of us involved in the leadership of this wonderful association. That should continue to be an important goal in our strategic and long-range planning.

Our Governance is not the problem. We have developed and approved the very best standards and programs in our profession, bar none. Great accomplishments we are grateful for, and proud of, including our nationally recognized Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics, National Home Inspector exam, ASHI Education, Inc., well thought out guidelines and position statements for developing State Licensing and regulations, real Certification, excellent Chapter development programs, the best Lobbing efforts and Public Relations programs for our profession, to name a few. These have all been accomplished, with-out even a hiccup, under our current governance. I know this for a fact, since I have been actively and personally involved in many of these committees, task forces, and programs over the past 29 years.

In summary, all of the National group leaders of the CoR along with Lisa and me unanimously agree that a great deal more deliberation on any changes, along with sufficient Membership input should be allowed, and taken into consideration, before our Association makes dramatic and questionable changes to its governance. And, all of the CoR's National group leaders, as well as Lisa and I strongly and unanimously recommend a NO vote on the proposed Governance By-Law changes.

Please remember to vote on this most important issue.

If you'd like to discuss this matter further, or if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Lisa (877-898-9990) or myself (617-698-0945).

Bill Sutton, Senior CoR Representative