Indiana Camp Board

The Indiana Camp Board consists of 14 members. Of this number, 3 District members are appointed by each of the two districts, 4 At-large members are appointed by the Board and approved by the two districts, South Central (S/C) and Northern Indiana (NI) District Executives serve as ex-officio members as well as a treasurer appointed by the Board and the Executive Director. Board member appointments are for 3 year terms and a member can serve two consecutive 3 year terms.

Indiana Camp Board Members — January 2023

The Indiana Camp Board is responsible to clarify the desired results that carry out the purpose of Camp Alexander Mack, and to assure that these results are achieved in a manner consistent with the values and beliefs of the two Indiana Districts of the Church of the Brethren. The board considers its ownership to be embodied in the members of all of the congregations of both the Northern Indiana District and the South-Central Indiana District of the Church of the Brethren.

The Indiana Camp Board functions as a Policy Governance Board and carries out its work in three functional areas:

1. Linkage with Owners
The board wants to hear from all persons in the two districts who care about the purpose and future of the camp. The board has developed outcome/result statements (Ends) to clarify the direction for the camp. The board may change these from time to time based on the interests of its ownership. These Ends Statements establish the priorities for the Executive Director.

2. Board Policies    
The board governs according to policies that it has created that deal with the various categories of organizational decisions.

3. Organizational Performance     
The board has delegated the operation of the camp to the Executive Director. The board assures the performance of the Executive Director in carrying out Ends in a manner consistent with the board’s policies. The board does this by evaluating monitoring reports on a regular basis.

The board realizes that it carries both total authority and total accountability for the work of Camp Alexander Mack. It has delegated much of its authority to the Executive Director, who is responsible for operating the camp in accordance with the board’s policies. The board’s policies identify the priorities for the Executive Director’s work. The board’s policies do not specify exactly what must be done to achieve these priorities. The board’s policies identify appropriate constraints for achieving these priorities in a number of areas including: treatment of staff and guests, finance and budgeting, asset protection, and communication standards.

The work of the board is the work of a group. The board encourages diversity of opinions and engages in healthy debates regarding the direction and policies for the camp. However, when the board makes a decision, they do so as one voice.

As key stakeholders in the success of the camp, board members may assist with a variety of tasks throughout the year. Board members provide help in capital campaigns and related fundraising activities as representatives of the board. If the tasks are in support of operations (like serving as a guest speaker, or helping with a building project), they are really working as volunteers under the oversight of the Executive Director.

Policy Governance Diagrams for Indiana Camp Board

Relationships and Functions
Policy Governance provides a method for clearly allocating an organization’s work. The board’s primary responsibility is to represent the interests of its owners. It identifies what the owners expect and delegates to the Executive Director (CEO) the responsibility for achieving these expectations. Accountability flows from the owners to the board to the CEO. The CEO is the first point at which full ownership is expressed in one person. The board speaks with one voice to the CEO. The primary role of the board is to act as “ownership one level down rather than management one level up.”

The three “products” that cannot be delegated by a board are:
     a. Linkage to ownership,
     b. Assurance of CEO performance, and
     c. Explicit governing policies.

The Board’s Policies
Board decisions should predominantly be policy decisions. Board policies are documented in writing in the four categories indicated in the circle diagram below. The left-hand side of the circle deals with board means policies. On this side, the board delegates to the Chair the right to make any reasonable interpretation of these policies in order to carry them out. Likewise, on the right-hand side of the circle, the CEO’s role is to ensure the organization achieves the board’s stated Ends by using means in compliance with Executive Limitations.

Ends determination
is the pivotal duty of governance.

Ends answer the questions: what benefit or what good? for which people? at what cost? Ends policies are written on behalf of the owners. The Board’s best control over staff means is to limit, not prescribe. These limits are recorded as Executive Limitations policies. CEO performance must be monitored, but only against policy criteria identified in Ends and Executive Limitations.

Ends Statements
These statements reflect the results/outcomes that the camp will strive to achieve.

Global Ends Statement
All who pass beneath the Camp Mack arch experience God’s love in a safe, Christ-centered, faith-forming environment.

Second Level Ends Statements
Children and youth will have safe experiences which will lead them to identify the need for God in their lives leading to a commitment to Christ and the church, through:

• Faith
• Service
• Positive Social Interaction
• Creation
• Adventure/Exploration

Within the heritage and ethos of the Church of the Brethren, adults will:

• Experience an environment for safe dialog, inclusion and respect.
• Find opportunities for in-depth worship, spiritual growth and renewal, and meditation.gain respect for nature and it relationship to our lives.
• Form safe and enhanced relationships.
• Have opportunities for leadership growth.
• Learn and develop skills in specific areas of interest.

Each user group will meet their event goals through holy hospitality, which includes:

• Clean and attractive accommodations
• Staffing resources
• An appealing natural setting
• Equipment and supplies
• Food service

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