TOOOL US - Letter of Resignation - Eric Michaud

Dear fellow Board members, colleagues, friends and associates,

After much meditation, I hereby submit my resignation as Board member of TOOOL US.

As many of you know, I am one of the co-Founders of this amazing organization. So this probably comes as a surprise.

This decision was not easy, and I relate this news with a heavy heart. At the same time, I am beginning a new venture that is exciting, and I hope to share this with the incredible people I've had the privilege to meet and work with via TOOOL US over the many years I've been a member of the Board. Being a Board member for TOOOL US is a very serious undertaking, and requires a level of focus, sacrifice and vision that I have cherished: it is a responsibility I do not take lightly. That is, in part, and in light of launching my new business and life chapter, why I have made the difficult decision to resign from the Board.

When I participated in founding TOOOL US many years ago I had many hopes and ideas about where TOOOL could go, what it could do, and the changes it could affect. To say the least, where it has gone has exceeded my expectations and blown away even the harshest critics - I have felt much joy about this over the years, and pride, not just for the success of the organization but pride to be able to work with people that want TOOOL US to be the best it can be.

On the same note, it would be remiss if I did not also say that some visions I had - and still have - for TOOOL US have yet to be fulfilled. Like many of you, I see TOOOL US as a benefit to the public at-large, and hope to see TOOOL US bring back practices it seems to have abandoned, such as more contributions to the wider conversation about locksport and physical security, and the publication of white papers. One of the goals I had for TOOOL US was a closer relationship between the members and the Board, as well as a wider range of support for the growing independent locksport community.

To that effect I am compelled to reflect on what I see as a real need for transparency surrounding the current Board of TOOOL US - I think it could benefit and flourish with more transparency around leadership. Specifically in regard to the members having a say in Board decisions, being able to observe how significant decisions that affect the membership are made (such as budgeting, calendaring, the selection / election of Board members, having Board rules and policies easy for members to find), growing the reach of TOOOL US in concrete ways, and giving the membership more power to participate in those decisions - for everyone is affected here. Don't take this the wrong way; I understand from personal experience in my other work that transparency is not the easy road in the wider world of growing a cutting-edge nonprofit. The community / membership engagement process (via transparency practices) was not trivial. But it was worth it. I think it would be both exciting and productive to see TOOOL US do this.

As one final wish, I hope to see TOOOL US one day become part of solutions-based discussions with both the public and manufacturers about product and physical security issues - especially with the opportunities present in the always-lively responses to TOOOL US's talks and presentations. I think that TOOOL US is especially well-positioned to lead these discussions.

I sincerely hope to continue working with TOOOL US and its members in a variety of capacities from this time forward. I would like to encourage anyone who has questions, comments or feedback to please reach out to me anytime.

Warm wishes,

Eric Michaud
www.about.me/EricMichaud