A time for change.

The coatings industry has undergone enormous change since the time I entered it in 1982. The number of coatings companies in the U.S. has been cut approximately in half. Our industry is far more global than it was. Competition is cut-throat everywhere. The Internet has happened, making information on all the products we work with just a click away. Research budgets have shrunk, and the number of truly new innovations in coatings technology is decreasing.

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The FSCT has had no choice but to respond to these forces with a number of changes. We developed new venues for education, such as Virtual Learning Conferences, that furnish state-of-the-art programs to coatings professionals without requiring them to leave the office. We split JCT into two publications: JCT RESEARCH for the "hardcore" scientists, and JCT COATINGSTECH to disseminate a wide variety of more "practical" information. At the behest of our exhibitors and members, for the first time we will be holding the International Coatings Expo biannually instead of annually--2005 is the first year without our trade show. Since ICE accounts for about 90% of the FSCT's revenues, there is an urgent need to cut costs and develop new sources of revenue. We are currently developing new programs like the Advancements in Coatings Series (ACSeries) seminars to accomplish the latter.

These changes didn't happen by accident. They are the products of a group of dedicated volunteers, plus a small but energetic staff. It is ironic that in a time when it is becoming more and more difficult to recruit volunteers, their ability to effect the changes so critically needed for the FSCT to survive, and hopefully flourish, are severely hampered by the unwieldy structure and governance of our Federation.

We have a Board of 36 members. Its composition is highly inflexible: four Officers, 25 local Society Directors, two Past-Presidents, an NPCA representative, and four at-large Directors. No one is elected by the membership. With such a large Board it is virtually impossible to conduct important activities such as strategic and program planning and budgeting. For that reason we have a smaller Executive Committee with 11 members that meets much more frequently than the full board to conduct this business. The process for amending our bylaws requires publication of the proposal twice in JCT with 60- and 45-day intervals after publication before voting. In reality the amendment process takes a full year if all goes smoothly. Could any business survive with such governing rules?

In the belief that there must be a better way, your leadership, led by immediate Past-President Rick Hille, decided to form a Structure and Governance Task Force. Over the past year it has been my privilege to chair this group, which was composed of 12 strong-willed members with an outstanding record of service to the FSCT (and at least 13 opinions on every aspect of what needed to be done!). When we delved into our task, many of the changes required became obvious. Our recommendations were submitted to the Board in a report entitled "A Commitment of Trust." A copy of this report is available on the FSCT website (www.coatingstech.org). The report received the unanimous and enthusiastic support of every member of the Task Force.

Our cumbersome current bylaws appear to have been developed on the assumption that our leaders cannot be trusted to act in the best interest of the members. The Task Force chose an entirely different tack--assuming, like most well-run associations, that those chosen for leadership will act in a way that will serve the best interest of the organization and its stakeholders.

The changes recommended will require a complete revision of our bylaws, and are too numerous to be fully described in this column. Here are a few of the most important changes:

* Reduce the size of the Board from 36 to 11, and eliminate the Executive Committee;

* The sole requirement for election to the Board is membership in the FSCT, leaving the organization maximum flexibility to recruit the "brightest and the best" volunteers it can find;

* Allow bylaws amendments by vote of a supermajority of the Board (seven members), but with only 30 days notification; and

* Empower our membership by giving them the right to elect the Board.

These revisions are long overdue, but they will not happen unless the current Board approves them. I urge you to read "A Commitment of Trust." If you agree that these proposals make sense, encourage your local Society Director to support the bylaws revisions with his or her vote. It is time for a change--the long-term existence of the Federation is at stake.

by Frederick H. Walker, FSCT President