ANA holds off, awaiting member input

?Our goal is to put the membership into information overload,? American Numismatic Association President William H. Horton Jr. joked Oct. 31, following the meeting of the ANA board of governors held during the Oct. 27-29 Las Vegas Coin, Stamp and Collectibles Show.

Action on important issues was put off by the board, he said, until the March 2007 meeting in Charlotte, N.C. In the meantime, the board will use its Web site feedback mechanism, the Numismatist monthly magazine, mail and press releases to get the word out that member opinions are being sought on these isssues.

Revision to the bylaws, an issue that has revved up member concerns, is a process that is expected to go through multiple steps.

Bylaw task force recommendations were to be posted on the Web site in the middle of November. Some of the expected changes would include the creation of a nominating committee, which Horton said would actually make it easier for members to get nominated. Currently there is a requirement for a board candidate to get nominations from five fellow members and five member clubs. Under new proposals, a member could simply nominate himself, Horton explained.

?The membership has a concern about the nominating committee. They think they are being cut out of the loop,? Horton said in acknowledging member concerns. He then expressed the board?s determination to include member input in the decision-making process.

Feedback on the posted proposals will be taken until the end of December. Modifications will be made by the task force from the feedback received and then a report will go to the board in the middle of January 2007. This report will also be posted online and be published in Numismatist. This would then be followed by a further round of feedback that would be assembled for the board to consider at the March 2007 meetings.

Other things that could change through bylaws revision is the creation of new classes of membership, and introduction of staggered board terms as was the case in the 1980s.

A proposal to revise exhibit classes was sent back to the exhibits committee with the feedback that the proposal has generated. The board asked the committee to also consider the questions, ?Why do we do exhibits and what do we want to accomplish with them??

When the exhibits committee has worked through this, its revised proposal also will be posted online for member reactions.

Commenting on an Advisory Council report presented by Arthur Fitts, Horton said he hoped it would lead to a fact-to-face meeting of its members and the ANA board at the Charlotte convention. There would also be a written response, he said. Concerns raised by the council run the gamut from numbers of members, the state of the organization?s finances and bylaw revisions, among other things.

As for the finances, Horton said, ?We?re tracking OK. We?re a little off, but we?re only half a year into the budget.? Horton pointed out that whereas prior boards had authorized taking five percent of the endowment fund every year, the current board is attempting to fund the annual budget without doing that.

Keith Love of Independent Coin Grading addressed the board. He asked that the ANA board set its criteria for being an ANA-endorsed grading service and then let any and all firms that meet that criteria get the endorsement, rather than setting an arbitrary number of endorsed firms.

Action on grading firm endorsements will also come up at the Charlotte meetings.

The Charlotte convention, formally known as the National Money Show, is slated to begin March 16, 2007. The board usually meets for several days prior to and during the convention.

The ANA's Web site address is www.money.org.