4-H Council sheds top-down operating structure

The members of the Canadian 4-H Council have approved new bylaws that are expected to put responsibility for the council’s operations largely in the hands of its staff and place the board in a “visionary” role.

Member representatives voted on the change at a special general meeting yesterday.

Pending approval (expected by mid-October) from Industry Canada, which administers the federal Corporations Act governing non-profit corporations, the council’s board will be responsible for setting policy and end goals, “strategic visioning” and “organizational stewardship” as well as approving the staff’s annual work plan.

The staff, meanwhile, led by Mike Nowosad — who, under this change, is re-titled as the council’s chief executive officer — takes responsibility for achieving the board’s set goals and providing quantifiable results.

Under the existing structure, decisions such as approval of new sponsors or new programs have had to be made by the council’s board, Nowosad said. Since the board met only three times per year, some decisions were difficult to make quickly.

“We believe this structure will allow the board to plan well into the future, while enabling our staff to more quickly respond to changing membership needs and an increasingly competitive business environment,” said council past-president Marie Logan in a release.