IAC Governance

I normally use this space to encourage our competitors and volunteers, but for this installment I’d like to try to introduce the membership to some of the IAC’s inner workings.

The IAC’s governance docs are all online and found at iac.org by going to the “About” menu, then selecting “Governance Docs”. Available here are the Articles of Incorporation, the Bylaws, and the IAC’s “Policy and Procedure” documents. The Articles of Incorporation establishes the legal entity’s reason to exist and its most basic functions. These functions are fleshed out by the Bylaws, which explains the details about board composition, elections, IAC membership, chapters, and how the Bylaws themselves can be amended. The “Policies and Procedures”, or P&Ps, as we tend to call them, are the rules the board makes to guide itself, IAC staff, and IAC volunteers. While the P&Ps are not binding on the board as a whole, because they are created by the board and can be changed by the board at their discretion, they lay the groundwork for most of our operations.

Our P&Ps define how we run our committees, such as the Rules Committee, or the Sequence Committee. The P&Ps also include letters of agreement with the NAA and the EAA. In P&P 301A we see how the IAC has been delegated the task of selecting and managing Team USA, choosing the national champion, and administering aerobatic competitions by the National Aeronautic Association. In P&P 301B we see that the IAC has a working relationship with the Experimental Aircraft Association.

Contrary to widespread belief, the IAC is not a legal “Division” of the EAA. It’s unfortunately the case that the EAA chose to use the word “division” as a marketing term. But regardless of how you word it, we enjoy a productive relationship with this important partner. Our cooperation is not just one of our traditions, it makes good business sense.

Sometimes I am asked “Why are we involved in international competition?” or “Why are we involved with the EAA?” These documents explain how these relationships function and why no President of the IAC can unilaterally decide to take the IAC in a different direction.

Per the Bylaws, our board is composed of 15 members. 4 of those are officers, including the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer.

The officers are the only board members with specific jobs. My job as President is to preside over the board meetings and to manage the general operations of the IAC. In accordance with the governing docs, I can sign contracts, fill vacancies, sign checks, represent the IAC in meetings, and manage the IAC’s employees. The Secretary’s job is to serve notices to board members and record notes at meetings. The Treasurer’s job is to manage the finances. No one knows what the Vice President does. Ok, that’s a joke to see if Rob Holland reads this. In reality, the Vice President’s function is to serve as a backup to the President.

We have four board members who are unelected: two appointed by the board, one appointed by the EAA, and one appointed by the NAA. The rest are all elected by the membership and serve two year terms. There are occasionally questions about whether it is wise to have unelected board members. It is not uncommon for boards to reserve some seats for board appointment, but I do see the argument that it could be better to have all positions accountable to the membership.

The Bylaws state the IAC Board shall meet at least twice a year. We do one meeting in the Spring and one in the Fall. These are called “Regular” board meetings. We also can hold “Special” board meetings, either by request of a majority of board members or at the discretion of the President. Our Regular board meetings are very busy affairs that can sometimes go two full days, but our Special meetings are called for important issues that can’t wait for a Regular meeting and are sometimes over in a matter of minutes for trivial issues.

The board conducts business during meetings by making motions, debating, and voting, with the majority having their way. It can sometimes be hard to be on the losing side of an issue (I’ve certainly been there a few times) but at the end of the day the majority gets to decide the path we will take.

Sometimes people want to get involved, and I love to see that! Members sometimes want to attend our board meetings in person. This is entirely at the board’s discretion, but thus far in my experience the board is unlikely to say no. The board knows that it serves at the pleasure of the membership and tries very hard to accommodate reasonable requests. Unfortunately, we cannot allow guests to record meetings and in particular we cannot allow any kind of “livestreaming”. While I understand the reasons for this rule I do sometimes think it is a shame because the membership would be very pleased if they could see the board in action.

This was all possibly more detail than many IAC members care to read about, but I think it’s important that we all understand a bit of our structure. A final important detail to mention is that every procedure, policy, rule, and bylaw of the IAC is ultimately up to the membership. If you have comments or questions please feel free to reach out to me at president@iac.org.