Flyfunston

EC committee meeting summary, 12-10-2012

Dear members of the Fellow Feathers,

As anyone reading the discussion board can tell, there are a number of contentious issues in regard to elections and voting privileges. We have had a number of club meetings this year turn into chaos due to heated debates and arguing and would prefer that the December meeting be calm and civilized so elections can be held without issues and the membership could experience solidarity rather than division.
With this in mind, the EC agreed that it would be in the clubs best interest to work out as many issues as possible prior to the next club meeting.

Per our bylaws which state: “ARTICLE IX, Section 2: The Executive Committee shall meet at any time that reasonable notice is given to Executive Committee members for the purpose of conducting emergency business that should not wait for the next regular meeting or for a disciplinary hearing.”,

The Executive Committee of the Fellow Feathers held an emergency meeting last night, 12/10/2012. Our club Secretary Tom White kept the minutes and will present them at the next club meeting. As a matter of public information and transparency, I’m presenting a summary of our proceedings as follows:

The majority of the EC (6 of 7) agreed on the following:

That, in some cases, the wording of the Bylaws was ambiguous and prone to multiple interpretations. It was our intent to have the EC come to mutual agreement as to how we would address these issues and show the membership unified leadership without internal bickering.

In regard to how many people could have their 20 hour requirement waived in order to vote: While many interpret that “The Executive Committee shall not waive the flying requirement for more than 3 members at any one time” means the EC can waive up to three pilots at each meeting, the EC agreed that until the Bylaws can be clarified, we would respect the most restrictive interpretation and have only 3 people waived total. Some previously waived pilots informed the EC that they no longer needed or wanted their 20 hour exemption, so their waivers were rescinded and allocated to other deserving pilots. There are now a total of just 3 pilots that have the 20 hour requirement waived. Those pilots are: Patrick Pannese, Daniel Pifko, and Tracey Story.

In regard to determining who or who does not have their 20 hours of flying time: It was noted that log books were kept on the honor system, and that ultimately, a pilots hours were based on their word.
The club Bylaws state: “By majority vote the Executive Committee shall determine whether members are voting or non-voting. In making its determination, the Executive Committee shall consider logs, pilot statements and all other relevant information.”

The majority (6 of 7) of the EC agreed that, in the tradition of hang gliding, on both local and national levels, we would observe the honor system. If there is any contest over a person’s hours, we would accept the pilots’ word, on their honor.

It was agreed that the true intent of the 20 hour requirement was NOT to keep hang glider pilots from participating in the democratic process of our club, and that to use that requirement for political means was simply wrong. The EC agreed to uphold the original intent of the 20 requirement.

In regard to ballot takers and vote counters at the election: We would ask for volunteers at the meeting and choose those whom we mutually agree are the most impartial.

The majority of the EC also agreed that each Director can only have one vote. This is supported by California Corporate law, Section 7211, “(c) Each director shall have one vote on each matter presented to the board of directors for action. No director may vote by proxy.”

The California corporate code also states, Section 7610: “Except as provided in a corporation's articles or bylaws or Section 7615, each member shall be entitled to one vote on each matter submitted to a vote of the members.”

It was noted that while 20 hours was appropriate in the old days when the rule was written, 20 hours is probably too high a number given our current demographics and site use. Members of the EC, including Tom Rust and Steve Rodrigues, agreed that 10 hours would probably be a more reasonable number.

The EC plans on proposing minor changes to the Bylaws in order to clarify ambiguities and make it easier for Funston pilots to participate in our club in a more democratic fashion.

The Bylaws state: “ARTICLE XII: AMENDMENTS
Section 1: These bylaws may be amended by an affirmative vote of two thirds (2/3) of the members present at two consecutive meetings. Proposed amendments to the bylaws shall be posted in their entirety on the Fellow Feathers website at least ten days prior to the meetings.”

Please monitor this discussion board for proposed changes to the bylaws. And most importantly, come and vote!