In early April 1998, the following E-mail message was sent to on-line Regional Brevet Administrators of record (per the December 1997 IR Newsletter), as well as, a few well known US randonneurs.


Dear fellow International Randonneurs Administrator,

For the last year or so, some of us have been discussing IR and its
future. After much discussion, we have  concluded that  IR needs  a
change in structure if it is to continue to grow and prosper.

This note's purpose is to outline our reasoning for coming to  this
conclusion  and  to  seek  your  approval  or  disapproval for  our
proposed solution.  (This note  is being  sent to  all IR  Regional
Administrators who have E-mail, i.e.,  approximately 15  of 24,  as
well  as,  some  other  well-known  randonneurs  who  have  already
expressed their support.)

Please review the following  discussion and  reply expressing  your
approval  or  disapproval  and making  any comments  that you  deem
necessary or relevant.

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Current IR Structure (to the best of our knowledge):

Officials:

Director of International Randonneurs, Mr. Jim Konski, founder,  US
representative within Randonneurs Mondiaux

23 Regional Administrators appointed by Mr. Konski
15 member Advisory Board appointed by Mr. Konski
No elected officials.

Governing Documents / Rules:

No constitution
No bylaws
IR Brevet Requirements (translation of ACP brevet rules)
Other IR brevet requirements set by Mr. Konski

Membership / Dues:

$20 per year per individual
Financial Statement unavailable
Membership List unavailable

IR Publications:

IR Newsletter, published quarterly (approximately)

IR Functions:

  1) Promote randonneuring in the US
  2) Set IR rules and requirements in the US (with ACP/RM approval)
  3) Submit a US calendar to ACP each year
  4) Submit US brevet results to ACP each year
  5) Return US brevet numbers/medals to IR Regional Administrators
  6) Vote for US at the quadrennial RM meeting after each PBP
  7) Communicate randonneuring information to IR members
  8) Fulfill other general administrative functions

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The problems with this structure as we see it are:

   1) One person is in charge of everything.
   2) There is no formal document governing IR.
   3) Members are not represented by elected officials.

We find the implications of this structure quite disturbing. Should
Mr. Konski's other  obligations come  to dominate  his spare  time,
should he become incapacitated, or worse, there is no formal way to
replace him. There is  no successor.  The organization  essentially
ceases to exist structurally.

For  example,  in  the  worst  case  scenario,  IR, finding  itself
unexpectedly without Mr. Konski, would have no access to any of its
vital  records.  The  organization--with  no  membership  list,  no
financial statements, no access to its funds, and no mechanism  for
an orderly transfer of responsibilities, etc.--would be rudderless.

With no formal document defining the structure of IR, there are  no
means to change anything except through petitioning Mr. Konski.

With  no  elected  officials, members  have no  effective means  of
voicing their concerns within IR. They can't express their approval
or disapproval through the ballot box.

In  addition  to  these structural  problems, we  have had  several
complaints  about  IR's  responsiveness.  These  have  ranged  from
unanswered  letters,  calls,  and  E-mail to  not returning  brevet
numbers and medals to Regional Administrators. In talking with some
members of the Advisory Board, we have been told that they have  no
responsibilities of which they are aware and that  they have  never
had a meeting of any sort.

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To us, all of these things point to the need for restructuring IR.

We would like  to propose  calling a  constitutional convention  to
restructure IR. The proposed convention's  delegates would  consist
of  the  current  IR Regional  Administrators and  Mr. Konski.  The
convention's purpose would be to set up a constitution for IR  that
defines  an  elected structure  for the  organization, defines  the
powers / rights / duties of members and elected officials, etc. The
constitutional convention would be organized via E-mail and regular
mail,  so  as   to  permit   participation  by   all  IR   Regional
Administrators.

Once a constitution has been drafted, we would propose  that it  be
submitted to the current membership for approval.

Mr. Konski has been instrumental in  establishing randonneuring  in
the US. He has done a marvelous job these  last 20  years with  IR.
He's almost single handedly established IR. He has  helped IR  grow
from  an  organization  of less  than a  100 with  a few  organized
brevets to one with a large  membership with  brevets organized  in
some 20 states. He started the IR Newsletter which keeps us abreast
of randonneuring events in the US and abroad. He's represented  the
US within RM since its inception. He's  promoted randonneuring  and
IR both on and off the road. In short, Jim has given his all to the
cause for an extraordinarily long time.

We  think it's  time to  ease this  burden, allowing  Mr. Konski  a
well-deserved rest, but more importantly moving IR on  to the  next
level of organizational stability. Specifically, we think it's time
to create a constitutionally based organization with member elected
officials.  We  feel  this  will remedy  the short  comings of  the
present organization's structure and prepare IR for the future.

If you find the above to be reasonable  and to  have merit,  please
indicate your approval with a return E-mail. If you find the  above
unreasonable  or lacking  merit, please  indicate your  disapproval
with a return E-mail.

If a majority of you reply favorably, it is our intent to submit  a
formal request to all IR Regional Administrators to sign a petition
asking Mr. Konski to call a constitutional convention and to  abide
by its outcome.

Thank  you  for  taking the  time to  read this  proposal. We  look
forward to your reply.

Johnny Bertrand,
Bluegrass Cycling Club (Lexington, KY)
johnnyvb@ix.netcom.com

John Wagner,
Seattle International Randonneurs (Seattle, WA)
jmwagner@cnw.com

Jennifer Wise,
Boston-Montreal-Boston (Middletown, RI)
wise@edgenet.net

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A quotation from 3 time PBP winner, Scott Dickson:

"Bravo!!! I agree with your assessment of the current situation and
your recommendations."