May I suggest to all in the U.S. and maybe even Canada, an excellent publication out of the Aspen Institute, entitled Board and Director. I is a monthly newsletter. The shell is directed at Executives, and includes a pullout section for Board members. It focuses entirely on the Board and Executive relationship. I have subscribe to it for a sum total of eleven years over two organizations. Board members like it because it clarifies their role vis a vis the Directors. ------ Robert Handy Brazoria County Historical Museum 100 East Cedar Angleton, Texas 77515 (409) 864-1208 museum_bob [log in to unmask] http://www.bchm.org ---------- From: Pat Roath[SMTP:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Sunday, February 07, 1999 12:16 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: volunteer horror stories This thread has somewhat played itself out by now, but I've been unable to get to my email because of opening deadlines and visiting family. I appreciate Herve's response, as I'm preparing to write a very carefully drafted letter to my board describing precisely this problem--they are the most active volunteers and committee chairs, insist on having final decision-making power in ALL matters--curatorial, financial, and otherwise, and have utterly no idea that this is a difficulty. Needless to say, I am their first Director. We are doing our best to stay open and cooperate...I hope... On a lighter note, shortly after beginning a position as the curator of costume at a mid-size art museum, I was familiarizing myself with the collection records. One piece, an 1870s day dress, had undergone significant "conservation". Actually, a volunteer had taken it upon herself to completely dismantle the dress, line the shattered silk, and put it back together. She carefully documented the process both in photograph and text. The last line of her text read something like this: "...I was able to reconstruct the dress even better than it had been originally, as I had fabric left over!" Pat Roath [log in to unmask] or: Central School Museum, [log in to unmask]