The staffing of the Association has always been a catch as catch-can affair, sometimes with only one person working all the issues (Dr. Tullbane) and sometimes with as many as 5-6 volunteers working the issues. Right now we have four volunteers doing most of the work - Dr. Tullbane does membership and the journal, LTC Steve Gotowicki (Defense Attaché to Yemen) does the web site, LTC(P) Volk is putting together the scholarship program, and Joyce Tullbane is our accountant (working with the Board of Governors' treasurer). Besides these hard working individuals, there are four Board of Governor members, other than Dr. Tullbane that live in the DC area and are generally available to help out when needed. These are: COL Ferguson, COL Smith, Mr. Herrick, and Mr. Olson.
Why mention these people by name? First, it is important that the membership know who is doing the work and providing the support for the organization. Second, it is important to realize that we are all volunteers. We don't even have part-time employees yet. Every penny that you send in dues goes specifically to support our programs and not to administrative overhead. Circumstances may soon change that, but for now ... A third reason for this outline is that the association is entering a time of transition. Dr. Tullbane, our founder and president is finally moving out of the military-industrial complex and into the real world. Actually he is moving into acadermia, so there might be some argument that he is still not moving into the real world but into another form of unreality. In any case, he has been appointed to the position of Associate Dean for International Studies and Director of the Center for International Education at St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI. St. Norbert's is a small four year liberal arts college and is one of the top small colleges in the mid-west. While he will still attempt to maintain ties to the association, his departure from DC and the center of our activities will obviously cause a "ripple" in the organization. Some of the Board members residing in DC are preparing to take up the slack.
This is the single area where the staff has the most contact with the membership-at-large. Members send in changes of address, they send in questions on professional issues and ask career advice, they air their concerns for how the association is being run, and they send in dues. This is accom- plished by a combination of "snail-mail," -E-Mail," and "voice- mail. Therefore, someone must man the answering machine, check the association mail box regularly, keep up with the e-mail traffic, and in general, funnel the message traffic to the person who can best answer it. Finally, there is maintaining the data base and sending out re- newal notices when memberships are up. Together, this job is very important, but not terribly time consunung. However, it requires that the membership person reside near the mail box, since changing association mailing address would add to the confusion of the upcoming transition period. So, this is clearly a job that Dr. Tullbane will have to turn over to someone else. You as the membership can help out during this period by keeping message traffic to a minimum and by renewing your memberships promptly.
Producing the journal quarterly is an interesting process that entails four distinct steps. Putting together the articles is the first and easiest part of the process. The second part of the process is getting the Service Proponents' input to the journal - this is both time consurming and fairly frustrating for the editor. The Proponents are cronically "behind the powercurve." The third part of the process is delivery to the commeicial printer and his printing of the document. Last, but definitely not least, is the bundling and mailing through the U.S. Post Office Bulk Mail System. Beginning in September, we will experiment with contracting the fourth phase of this process out to the commercial printer. It could be a great solution, but could also be a disaster, so bear with us! If the issues of proponent input and the bulk mailing above can be solved, Dr. Tullbane would remain the editor of the Journal, but if not someone else will have to pick up the slack. Happily, the association will now have at least two months to resolve this dilemma, before it goes critical. From your perspective, don't worry, we will have this resolved and you will get your September issue of the journal in early October (as normal).
Mr. Olson, the Treasurer of the Board of Governors, will at least temporarily take the job of accountant and check writer for the association. If you are sending in a receipt or need payment for a FAOA program actility just realize that as of next month your letter will pass through at least two sets of hands before a check gets issued.
The next few month's are going to be a little hectic here at FAOA headquarters. Bear with us as we transition to the new staff. We are pledged to do our best to keep UP all the services to our membership.