A proposal was made at this year's American Nursery & Landscape Association convention in San Diego that would alter the organization's leadership structure. ANLA will vote on the proposal at the 2003 convention in Boston. Dick Campbell led a task force that took on this project. Here's what he had to say about the current structure, and how it can be improved.

Q. How are the ANLA Board and Board of Governors set up now? How would that change if the new proposal were enacted?

A. ANLA Board members are elected to two-year terms. The tradition, though, has been that once elected, a director is re-elected until that person has moved through the chairs of the association and served as president and past president.

This requires serving eight years. Often, directors have previously served as lieutenant governors and governors, and served on one of the division boards for up to eight years before being elected a director. As you can see, one can serve as a volunteer for up to 20 years before they're done in our present system.

Governors serve two-year terms, and are eligible to serve two consecutive terms. After that, they have to stand aside for at least one term.

Under the proposal, the governor terms would not change. What would change is a greater responsibility for the people serving governor roles.

In the case of the ANLA Board, the main change would be a shorter term of service, varying from four to seven years for individuals selected for an officer role. Governors could also serve in these capacities without having to go through the progression that currently exists.

Q. On what basis was the need for change made?

A. A self-evaluation was a part of ANLA's strategic assessment plan. The task force was appointed by the association two years ago, and one of its first tasks was to survey the current leadership, past leadership and members at large, who could become the future leadership.

Questions were asked to see how each of these groups understood the present system, what they liked about it, and what they'd like to see changed. With this information, the task force spent time educating itself on different systems of governance used at similar organizations. We looked at the good and bad points of a lot of different approaches.

This information, analysis of our present system and member and leader feedback led to the task force's recommendations presented to the board. The ANLA board took the report to the Board of Governors this summer, recommending that the association study and debate the report for one year.

This report has been laid out as a basis for governance. The task force intends for it to be massaged over, and the final governance structure may look very different from the initial recommendations, once adopted.

Q. What do you see as the greatest weakness in the current system?

A. There are two. First, we haven't fully utilized the talents of the people serving as governors. The new system would place greater emphasis on training these individuals, and using their talents more fully to advance the industry and strengthen relationships on state levels.

Secondly, due to the traditional long timeframe of service, many bright, talented individuals have been unwilling to serve. This new system would allow people to commit to different periods of service, allowing more people to get involved.

Q. How will governors' roles change?

A. It's important to understand that the proposed changes are not intended to create more spots for participation, but to create more meaningful roles for volunteers. For instance, the delegate body (currently, the Board of Governors) would be given increased responsibilities. The roles envisioned for delegates are critical, and the goal would be to identify individuals who have come up through state association leadership and are ready to take on national roles.

Q. How will this new system help recruitment and cooperation with state and regional associations?

A. Experiences and relationships at state levels would provide a crucial link between ANLA and state association leadership, which is currently missing -- at least formally. ANLA has a history of certain individuals doing a great job at this. The recommended structure would formalize and systemize the benefits that accrue when participating in leadership roles of both ANLA and state associations.

ANLA's link to state association executives is through the Lighthouse Program and Nursery & Landscape Association Executives activities. The vision is that service as an ANLA delegate at the national level would be a natural, respected next step in the volunteer career of a state association leader.

These individuals would continue to attend state association functions, would be the local voice of ANLA when issues were discussed, and would report to the regional director on the ANLA Board. These are functions that an association executive should not be expected to perform.

Q. Is there a concern that members from smaller states will lose representation?

A. No. In fact, the intent is to increase overall representation, even if fewer states were to have their own delegates. Currently, a state must have at least eight ANLA members to have a governor and lieutenant governor, so some states have no representation at all.

Also, states with only a few more than eight ANLA members have a difficult time recruiting delegates and attending the meeting each year, which effectively reduces their level of representation. Raising the limit for a state delegate and having regional delegates for the other states is an attempt to accomplish three things:

1. Provide representation to every state.

2. Legitimize the election process for delegates by raising the minimum to a level where there is an adequate pool of members competing for the delegate position, rather than have the same individuals rotate through the system.

3. Provide an incentive for members to increase the ANLA membership in their states if they want to have their own delegates.

The ideal regional delegate would be an individual whose activities in the marketplace and reputation for leadership go beyond the borders of any single state. In fact, there may be some individuals so ideally suited to perform this function that the notion was put forward in the task force to allow them to serve longer than a state delegate.

Q. Do you think the new proposal will pass at next year's convention?

A. I feel that something will pass. Will it be the full recommendation that the task force sent to the Board of Directors? Probably not.

A year's worth of discussion will lead to many new good ideas and modifications. This is all good and healthy. I don't think any task force members are so committed to each and every little part of the report that they aren't willing to make adjustments.

Our goal though, as directed by the ANLA Board, was to assess the governance of the association and make recommendations if changes were deemed appropriate. One of the biggest functions we will play as this moves forward is educating people on the proposal. How does each piece intertwine with others, and how does the whole governance structure fit together?

Each piece by itself can't stand alone. Changes can be made to the recommendations, but then other changes will also be necessary for it all to fit together. I know the Board of Directors is welcoming all ideas and I strongly recommend members call or write their directors to voice their opinions. If someone would like a complete copy of the report, they can contact Warren Quinn, ANLA director of operations.

Send this article to a friend

Enter your e-mail address:


Enter your friend's e-mail address:


Click the image below to send:

© 2002 Branch-Smith Publishing