Anybody here serve on or serve under a self appointed board of directors? I have heard of museum boards going this route, am wondering how it's working for you or your group. Any insight would be helpful for self knowledge. I would like to know which museum's are self appointed. I plan to reach out for a copy of their by-laws and how their election process, if there is one, takes place.

Thanks
Glenn

‘Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…’

Winston S Churchill, 11 November 1947
source: https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/quotes/the-worst-form-of-government/

My experience at Golden Gate Railroad Museum is that a self-appointed board was fine - at the beginning. Over time the board majority's goals and the membership's goals diverged. When volunteers had no way to change governance by voting in new people, many eventually "voted with their feet" and left - permanently.

- Doug Debs

If and when the goal of the BOD changes from growing the organization to better serve the community into perpetuating itself to serve it's own interest, it's time to start over. Better not to get to that place at all by writing in turnover from day one.

I thought you meant what I once saw for a small (non-RR) museum years ago.
A group of people actually just decided they would control the museum, formed their own board and the museum had no clue.
Then, they actually started issuing mandates. The museum people were more than baffled at this as these people had no authority over them at all. Restraining orders got filled out. Hilarity did not ensue.
I never understood the nerve that required.

I saw something similar to that happen at a RR Museum... things can get ugly really quick.

A railroad museum can be looked at and thought of
as a sort of microcosm of government.

As it goes with any form of government, a robust system of
checks and balances must exist.

I've seen rail museum BODs take off and get way out of
hand a few times before.

The very term "self appointed" seems doomed to me.

How about "elected", by the membership?

More than once I've seen a rail museum BOD become comprised
of non-railroaders with a non-railroad mentality toward running
the outfit. That can lead to some very non-entertaining and highly
revolting developments. Usually it leads to the next regime-change.

Yes... elected by the membership makes sense. Except for one group I worked with that while they had some 150 members paying dues; only about 12 of them were full members, which all sat on the board. Each year, those twelve members would elect the board...

Add to that that most on that board had sat in the same seat for decades...

Yes, term limits I believe are exceptionally important. They don't have to be permanent (eg two terms as president in a lifetime) just make them consecutive terms. Conversely, I'm sure a lot of us do not have long lines of people willing to sit on the board.

In theory I don't see why a self-appointed board couldn't have term limits; but ultimately I think a membership elected board is better.

.

Is this really a bad thing? Sometimes you need people on the board who have a business approach to running a museum.

I’ve personally seen the results of an business minded leadership and it’s not good, imho.

Ideally you want a mix.

Old Pueblo Trolley's Board of Directors is nominated by a committee and elected by the general membership. We do not have term limits nor a mandatory retirement age as we have never needed either provision. Directors who are representatives of the neighborhood associates or the subsidiary divisions are selected by their organizations and presented to the nominating committee to be submitted to the membership for election at the annual meeting. In my twelve years on the board, I have seen several changes of board members due to death or changes in life circumstances.

Vacancies may be filled by appointment, but the appointed directors are voted on at the next annual meeting. Thus, the membership always gets to approve or remove a director by vote at some time.

It all depends on what business they think they are approaching. If they think it's strictly entertainment, what's to keep them from scrapping all the old junk and replacing it with brand new amusement rides?

Exactly. Or selling historic pieces for quick $$$, or giving away historic pieces for a political good will move. When the members complain they are told "we needed the money" or "don't you think it's good to support the community?" and how do the members argue if there is no way for them to vote out the current BOD?

Ideally... everyone on the BOD would volunteer / work during daily operations (not just special events) and get a good feel for the visitor experience, the operations, etc.

You want a Board with some diversity in age and interest. I'm gonna take a big guess that the majority of board members for Railroad museums and attractions in this country are white males over the age of 40.

How about term limits?

Some Museums have term limits for the Board. Many specify a maximum of two terms of three years each. You can run again but must sit out one election cycle before you do.

Phil Mulligan

Currently, we have twelve elected trustees and up to three appointed trustees. The former are elected by the members. The latter are drawn from the community and voted in by the seated trustees. Trustees are elected for three-year terms and can serve no more than three consecutive terms (i.e. nine years) before they must rotate off for at least a year. Candidates for elected trustee seats must have been a member in good standing for at least three years before being considered by the Nominating Committee. That committee is appointed by the President and is composed of one current trustee and two non-trustee members. (Full Disclosure: I, a non-trustee, am the Chair of the 2019 Nominating Committee.)

We get a good turnover in the trustee seats. Age-wise, we have good diversity with a range of 30 to 75, an average of about 55, and one-third of the trustees are under 40. We're making gains on gender diversity. Ethnic diversity is a harder issue to resolve.

The President is elected by and from the Board for a one-year term and functions as the Chair of the Board of Trustees. The President can serve a maximum of two one-year terms before somebody else gets to swing the gavel.

Currently, our bylaws are under review and the above may change. One likely change is to increase the number of appointed “outside” trustees so as to facilitate community outreach and involvement. The inclusion of “outsiders” has paid off well by bringing in skills the elected Trustees don’t have and providing perspectives we can’t see. Plus, they pretty rapidly become “one of us”, even if they don’t get greasy dirty in the shop or help run the railroad. It also becomes a means of increasing diversity. Outside trustees also help satisfy foundations who are reluctant to give grants to organizations that are perceived as little more than a private “club”. We’re not a club anymore.

/s/ Larry
Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E.