@Juiceman, you have posed a number of great questions. I don't think the board of directors knows who paid for the mailing, we presume the “group”. The Club has consulted with an attorney in accordance with the responsible thing for any board to do. 

You bring up a great point about allowing current members to term out, in August there was a notice posted for board nominations as there are current board members that are “terming out”, to my knowledge, not one of the people that have “signed” the “concerned” letter submitted their name for consideration. Speaking for the BoD, we find this puzzling and disappointing. The proper way to affect change is by working within the by-laws of the organization, and yes, it would be cheaper and far less hard feelings than the “blow it all up” attempt being made here.

It is not proper to enlist the club’s employee in this effort.

Yes, this approach will cost the Club funds for no good reason, funds that cannot afford to be expended.

The bottom line is that I know the current board agrees 100% with your statements about enjoying the hobby. We are in an unfortunate situation in that we have to address issues that have been around for over 15 years in terms of Chapter organization. The Chapter “problem” existed when several of the “concerned” group were on the board, they chose not to address it at that time. This board has chosen to do what is right and make changes that need to be made. 

Stay tuned for more to come - thank you for your comments.

Kurt Bangert

@Deas Plant - Deas - Absolutely agree with you! We have been in tough times before and we can certainly get through this too. The current board has been working on this and we feel we are on track to get to a better place. 

One thing that I would like to point out and I feel is very important is that this board has made more progress with the Caterpillar corporation in terms of support and affiliation than any other board in the past. Members of the current board have gotten commitments for support directly from Cat that have never been attained before.

@Cheshire Cat - Thank you for your comments. In July this year I volunteered to take on the issue of the ACMOC Store, and I assure you it was an issue. I tend to agree that the Club should not be in the "store" business other than items that directly support the mission of the Club. The "Model Program" was the largest culprit in terms of a drag on the Club's resources. 

I am well aware that there are a lot of folks that don't want to hear that, count me as one of the people that like the models, but the Club cannot afford to be in the Model business as it was being run. I won't get into all the details here.

The store can serve the membership and be an asset to the Club, there are ways to do it and I am looking at those options now. 

I personally agree with you that Club dues should cover the costs of operating the Club and that a store should only exist if it is a net benefit to the Club overall. The good news is that I am confident that the Club can have a store that is a net benefit and not a net detractor.
 

@Deas Plant - You are correct, none of the letter "signers" brought their concerns before the board in any way other than this letter. I also reiterate that there were/are two board seats coming vacant at the end of the year, not one of the signers has put forward themselves or others on that list as nominees. These two things are facts, you can decide what the intent is from there.

I know that the current board is dedicated to building the strength of the Club and is encouraging to input from any and all members, and certainly welcoming of any volunteers that will put their time and talent toward the betterment of the Club. 

Kurt Bangert

Old wrote:

How ironic!!!! The same folks that long term got us in to this mess are now going to save us!!! Not.
Has a characteristic  "Blue" smell to it in my opinion.

 

@Old Magnet - Thank you for your comments.