Good Morning,
I saw the invite for the December meeting on Facebook and I have a few questions.
Will members who are unable to attend the meeting in person be afforded the opportunity to vote on the board elections, be nominated for board and trail steward positions or be allowed to join committees? If no, please explain why not. I know I have a previous engagement which prevents me from attending and I would like to be allowed to vote on the direction of the club and join committees.
It appears to me that we have recently "elected" a trail steward without following the published CORP bylaws. The bylaws regarding non Officer Board positions states:
Section 10 – Vacancies: When a vacancy on the board exists mid-term the remaining board members may nominate a replacement. Nominations will be ratified by a majority vote of the membership at the next meeting. These vacancies will only be filled until the end of the original board members term.
Based on the published meeting notes from September there is no indication any nominations for the vacant trail steward positions were taken yet we now have new trail stewards. Presumably elected at the October board meeting. (no meeting notes have been published)
I am concerned that these "elections" are taking place without any communication to the general members that there is even a need for a new trail steward thus we are eliminating the opportunity for members at large to volunteer. This is compounded by the fact that there have been a very limited (if any) number of general membership meetings in the past year. I know CORP claims the "board meetings" are allegedly open to all members but that is not entirely evident to members who have never been to a board meeting before.
I know a couple of people who were interested in the potential trail steward position who were disappointed to find the position was filled without any communication to the membership or opportunity to volunteer.
Finally, are there any published guidelines for board of director/trail steward expectations and experience? Or a system for training and promotion? It seems counter intuitive for CORP to be placing people with limited trail building experience into such vital roles without any form of training or mentoring and expecting them to understand the complexities of managing a mountain biking trail.
I hope this post will help to clarify the procedures to the general members at large who do not have access to the secret message boards that most of the club decisions seem to be made and communicated.
Thank you and I hope you have a wonderful day.
