The official dates are last ballots due by 9/22, announcement 10/1.
[grumpy rant]
As for the person who recommended stuffing envelopes, where were you when we were begging for volunteers for the million tasks we need done? Almost every time we've relied on a volunteer for a task, they've bailed on us. There are exceptions, of course, like Eddie and the Houston Group, the newsletter volunteers, and a few others. But recently we asked people to help answer calls to the 800 number. Two people committed and then bailed at the last minute -- only the third one followed through. Ditto with getting help putting brochures into the mail for people who request info -- we went through a couple iterations of people who promised to help and then at the last minute pulled out before someone finally followed through.
The ballots were too important to trust to volunteers -- volunteers necessarily think that they can bail if they don't feel like meeting their commitment, since they're not getting paid.
Also, the ballots were complicated, including several pieces needing to be printed and assembled, not to mention the confidential mailing list. So it was better to go with a printer, esp. one who was a member.
Now, as for the specifics: I was not involved with the ballot process. I should have been, because I think I'm the only one on the Board with any experience in project management and dealing with printer deadlines. But I was moving at the time this all went down, and I wasn't on the ballot committee to begin with. Thus, Jason and the rest of the committee -- who volunteer hours and hours of time every week, for years, now -- made some mis-estimations on turnaround time, etc. That's not unexpected, given the lack of experience on this kind of thing. They didn't think to ask if it was first class mail or not -- foolish mistake, but a perfectly reasonable one. Also, to be honest, Mike let some deadlines slip as well. So both sides mis-estimated.
DA, you need to quit bitching and expecting us to be perfect. Jason has tanked his chances at a career because of the FSP. I've had employment problems myself, and could cause them for my husband if his employer knew. Another Board member has been arrested handing out FSP literature. We are all super-committed, and happy to be involved, but we're not perfect and we do make mistakes, especially when we're so burned out without people to help us take over basic tasks. Hindsight is 20/20. If you think you can do it better, feel free to pitch in.
[/end grumpy rant]
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Topic: Who Here Has Gotten Their Ballots already? (Read 36061 times)