Floyd,
Just to clarify - there was a call for candidates in Burlington, then again via email and on the website, and - this is important to know - any member in good standing (meaning, essentially, dues paid up) can get on the ballot with 10 signatures from other members. (check out our by-laws, linked below)
What the BoD did is use its nominating committee to vet candidates who were interested (few!) - and seek out even more. That all said, I can understand what the appearance of a limited slate of candidates creates, and that is something I wished the nominating committee could have avoided. Much debate was had over this very topic.
The nominating committee (of which I am not on) felt it was prudent, at this point in time, to seek out very specific skillets that we need on the BoD (finance, in particular, as well as someone skilled at collaborating with multiple organizations). We also felt that any experience being on the board of another organization would be valuable.
Have a read of our by-laws for more information on all things TFG (especially how elections work):
http://www.tfguild.org/downloads/members/Timber-Framers-Guild-Bylaws.pdfYou can read about BoD job descriptions here:
http://www.tfguild.org/members/TFGBoardMemberDescription.pdfI can tell you that this is the most difficult non paying job I've ever held.
To comment on another point you make regarding $$ - I took it upon myself to present financial information about our current situation in Burlington (then repeated in various forms). As a member you should know that there is typically an annual 'Treasurer's Report' in Scantlings, and recent Auditor Reports are available to all members here: (2012-2007)
http://www.tfguild.org/members/audit-reportsScantlings is also available online in the Members Only section.
Hope this helps with the information flow.
