DPSOA Considers Board Structure Changes

DPSOA Members:

As you all are aware, the Department has drawn up new Highway Patrol Regional and District Maps, based around Council of Governments (CoGs).  While the final approval has not been officially handed down, it looks as if there will be 6 Regions with 19 Districts.

The DPSOA Board of Directors has formed a Committee to review the new Maps, and determine how the Association can best represent its Members on the Board.  We currently have one District Representative for each of the 17 DPS Highway Patrol Districts plus the 3 Officers who are elected at large (statewide) for a total of 20 Board Members.  There is some concern that if our Board continues to grow, the size will not only contribute to the substantial cost of conducting Board meetings, but will also begin to be cumbersome, making it difficult to conduct business in a timely, efficient manner. When the leadership voted to move to a dues-based organization, we did so with a commitment to being good stewards of our Members’ dues dollars. A smaller Board would result in significant cost savings to DPSOA.

The ad-hoc DPSOA Board Structure Committee consists of: Brian Hawthorne, Gary Chandler, Beau Clark, Robert Zamorano, Wayne Williams, Jason Hester, and Jimmy Jackson.  We are very much interested in your thoughts and comments regarding the best way to organize the Association’s governance in such a way that it will effectively and fairly represent the interests of our Members.

Below are some of the preliminary ideas discussed by this Committee.  We have not made any decisions and are open to any and all ideas and comments.  The Committee did agree that their preference would be to reduce the size of the Board if it were practical. When this organization was founded in 1974, the District Representatives played a vital role in disseminating information to our Members. In today’s world of the internet and email, most information reaches our Members well before a District Meeting can be organized and held.

Some Options:

1. One District Representative per DPS HP District (most likely 19 District Reps plus the 3 Officers)
2. Two Representatives per HP Region, elected at-large within the Region (12 Reps plus the 3 Officers)
3. Two Representatives per HP Region, combining some Districts in Regions that have more than two Districts (12 Reps plus the 3 Officers)
4. One Board Member per HP Region plus 19 District Representatives to conduct District Meetings (6 Board Members plus the 3 Officers, and 19 District Representatives)

Please review the above options and consider commenting on them or submitting one of your own.  Most options will require a bylaws change, which will be voted on by the Membership.  Please post your comment on this “President’s Message” blog , or contact any of the Members on the Board Structure Committee listed above. The Committee is scheduled to meet again next Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 1:00 pm, and we hope to have your feedback by then.  The Committee will make a recommendation to our Board of Directors at our Board Meeting in Granbury on September 11.

Thank you for your interest and comments.

Brian Hawthorne
DPSOA President