One has to wonder why current board members would participate in a recall letter.  That surely cannot be left unnoticed.

trainzkid88 wrote:

they say about publishing the club magazine more often. my state auto club which has many many more members has decided due to cost to drop to a quarterly publication. it would be nice to have a bimonthly magazine but only if the club can afford it.

You are on target here, ACMOC produces a very high-quality magazine, at four issues per year the cost of the magazine is nearly what the club brings in in dues. To add two more issues is not financially responsible, nor achievable without an increase in dues. The question then becomes: Is that what the membership wants, or are there other things that are more important to members?

no face to face meetings well the global covid situation has put paid to that for the last 3 years and continues to do so. and more members are overseas than in the US. people are also holidaying at home to save money. the australian government actually ran ads to encourage people to do so to support the tourism & hospitality industry which is the largest employer in australia. im sure other governments did the same. yes it would be nice to have a rally in australia.

Exactly, the discontinuation of face-to-face meetings was not entirely a decision of the board! There has never been a discussion on ending shows, etc., but there are discussions about how to do them within the means of the club.

there is nothing wrong with defining what a chapter actually is or isnt. and making one type of affiliation is a good idea it makes things more simple.
i have mentioned this previously as i muck around with stationary engines too among other things. the club im a member of is affiliated with our national association and it pays dues and so do we as members to the association this secures our nationwide insurances for public liability and personal accident cover that allows us to hold displays and god forbid anything ever happened we would be covered. they also hold other insurances for the member club management committees.

One way or the other proper insurance needs to be in place and filings, reports, and regulations need to be complied with. Unfortunately, the Club has not squared up to this issue for many years and what that has done is left the impression that these items are not needed or can be ignored. I can understand the concern now that this BoD has decided to address the issue, there is no question that being insured and in compliance is more costly than being uninsured and ignoring compliance. It is this board's desire to find the least costly and least burdensome way through this. There is no silver bullet on this topic.

i personally think the renewal date should be set to the same time each year say the 30th of june each year this would make it easy to remember and the accounting easier for the treasurer and secretary it could be set up automatic every member gets a renewal notice with the club magazine.

That is a fantastic idea

for these people to air thier grevences this way is wrong it should have been done at the agm. and raised as a no confidence motion. this gets tricky as not everyone could attend it and various members are scattered worldwide and so are the directors.

I agree with you as to the AGM. Moving forward the board will have meeting time set for North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific regions so that more members can personally attend.

so the only way that's fair is to post a ballot to every member and wait until those are all returned and counted.this would take a long time and cost quite a bit. if carried a nomination form would need to be sent out so everyone would have the opportunity to put their name forward. and then another ballot sent out to all members to elect those nominees for the various positions.

i think it would be good to have a representative from each country where there is a chapter on the board get a wide range of opinions and experience.how to do this with it out becoming unwieldy would be a challenge.

ctsnowfighter wrote:

Magazine -
Which published magazine continues to have the circulation and quality it did in previous years?
None that I am aware of - that includes those that held/hold world wide circulation! Even National Geographic for example has cut down- reduced quality and circulation.
Times have changed!

They certainly have and methods of the past will not make a robust future. Let's face it, if Caterpillar were still offering machines with 1960's-70's, frankly 2000's technology they would be out of business. Adding two magazine issues per year will not improve the Club's health.

Another thought -- Since the posting of the "letter" - and understanding the electronic submissions to the forum and attaching various documents and pictures -
Can anyone state that the names posted on the letter were placed by those persons with their permissions or was the "author" posting names ambiguously? NO SIGNATURES!
Whom submits a "DECLARATION" without signatures of those persons submitting same?

This is a very good point, the BoD has no idea how many of those named know they are on the letter. However, none of the folks named on the letter have stepped forward to say that their name was improperly put there. 

Much of the discussion on the "meeting" has centered upon the location - time. Who is carrying out the logistics of setting up this venue and whom is picking up the tab?
Is the facility and locality capable of providing accommodations for the "possible multitude" of attendee's? It is really hard to set up a meeting with no known figures or details.

There is no question that the proposed meeting is problematic on many levels, not the least of which it is designed to effectively exclude our international members including current Directors and our club President. I think that all members have to appreciate the fact that just like Caterpillar is an international corporation, this Club is an international organization. Without our international members, this club could not financially survive.

Covid has been mentioned as a factor in face to face meetings - and yes - it is a huge and life changing concern! Additionally - travel has become less than reliable, costs have increased exponentially - inflation is eating up our funds. No consideration of this has been discussed or placed upon any agenda that I am aware of.

You are correct.

Since ACMOC is bound by the Laws and Regulations of it's founding in Oregon, does Oregon Law not prevail in the governing of such body?
Any changes are bound by those laws and regulations?

Both the Club's by-laws and Oregon law dictate the structure and operation of the club including how its leadership is determined.

The very survival of the club requires changes to the structure - including the use of all "modern" electronic means for the transaction of business.
Members must have a reliable and safe way to provide their input and concerns - not an impossible task. Even BANKING is done on the electronic stage!
This is paramount in my opinion to put on the agenda for the Board of Directors to consider.

I agree with you completely! Modern times demand modern methods.

There are many questions to be answered and many more will arise - address each and resolve them one at a time.

That is the exact plan of the club's BoD.

IS there not a database established and maintained by ACMOC of the members?
WHY IS IT NOT USED?
Nothing better than the rapid and accurate dissemination of information and if it is to be factual and fair - such communications must be with the approval and direction of the governing board.

There is one and it does get used. In this specific case, the Board thought it wise to give a bit of time for two reasons, 1) Allow anyone who's name is on the letter to step forward and disavow it if their name was improperly added, and 2) Form a a response that does no further damage and sets the stage for a better future.

Any employee, paid or volunteer, must follow the direction of the board, especially when it comes to actions regarding club as a whole!
That would include any communications, financial decisions, etc.

That is true. It is not proper for resources of the club (lists, personnel, funds, etc.) to be deployed outside of the Board's direction. Any member that does not agree with the board has the opportunity to volunteer for a committee and put their name in the hat for a board seat. 

It appears that the time for decisions by the Board and Members is long overdue - a fracture in the structure is apparent and growing rapidly!

"tools" are available - one only has to embrace the technology to use them - the survival of the club depends upon that insight and direction.

I cannot agree with you more. The current board under John Gaunt's leadership has taken the right and difficult steps to address long-standing issues. John and all of us knew the solutions would not be popular with all members, but the time to deal with them was long past. True leadership means that you take the difficult decisions and not the easy way out. I give John a tremendous amount of credit for doing what needed to be done knowing the backlash could be harsh.

CTS

Thank you for your comments
Kurt Bangert