Northwind April 13, 2017

Posted by Linda Quinn on Apr 18, 2017
 
 
President Dale called the meeting to order and led the assemblage in the Pledge of Allegiance.
 
Deb provided a moment of reflection.
 
No visiting Rotarians or guests of Rotarians were in attendance at this meeting. Fourteen club members were present.
 
Returning Rotarians included: (1) Rollo, who recently returned from his beach house; and (2) Dale who is returning from a job-related tour last week of Whatcom County businesses.
 
Celebrations featured Lauri, whose 50th wedding anniversary was April 11, 2017.
 
President Dale shared several announcements and upcoming calendar dates:
 
  • The Career Fair on March 24 was a success. Dale thanked everyone who recruited speakers and presenters; Bill for setting up and running the hospitality room for presenters; Ken for helping with the hospitality room and the presenters’ lunch; Rick for serving as Master of Ceremonies; Greg for taking care of various logistics; Jill for organizing the foyer and coordinating with Interact group; Tim and Jake for doing critical errands; Rollo for picking up sandwich fixings in Mt Vernon;Patty, Jill and Sharon for prepping lunch for the students; Sharon for making room rosters and stacking chairs; and Tim, Greg, and Chris for making presentations about their professions. (Also to Dale who filled in during the first session for an auto mechanic who hadn’t yet arrived.)
  • The next Ferndale Chamber of Commerce Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, April 19, at the Silver Reef Casino. Dale plans to attend and invited others to join him.
  • The annual Youth Award Luncheon is coming up on Thursday, May 18.
  • We are lagging behind our goals for sponsorship of the Rubber Duck Derby, which is scheduled to occur on August 26, 2017, in conjunction with the annual Ferndale Street Festival.  
 
Rotarians shared Happy and Sad Bucks:
 
  • Tim was happy ($5) for a successful Career Fair and also “just to be here.”
  • Lori was happy ($50) for 50 years of wedded bliss.
  • Bill was happy that the weather is turning toward spring and also for a successful Easter Egg Hunt at the Elks’ Club last weekend.
  • Rollo was happy ($2) about his daughter’s imminent graduation (only 25 more days) and also about RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards).
  • Sharon was happy ($5) about the success of the Career Fair in general; about the excellent keynote speaker specifically; about having her grandkids visit last week; and about her puppy’s lasting two weeks in obedience school without getting kicked out.
  • Deb was thankful for Sharon’s graciousness, since Sharon, not she, was supposed to give the blessing at this meeting. She was also happy about the Career Fair and about the sunshine and beautiful views she experienced in Anchorage recently.
  • Linda was happy ($5) about the prospect of becoming a grandmother in a few weeks.
  • Greg was sad ($5) about having to have surgery next Monday to have a defibulator implanted in his chest.
  • Stan was sad ($1) to learn last week that his hot water heater had been disconnected and for some time had been pouring hot water onto the ground under his house.
  • Dale was happy ($1) to inform his fellow Rotarians about how they could order a book by Gordon Heinrichs and also happy ($3) about getting to spend time helping his dad sort out his finances.
 
Rollo served as fine master. He levied fines against:
 
  • Everyone not wearing a Rotary pin and/or badge ($1).
  • Everyone who did not attend the recent District Assembly ($1).
  • Everyone who has not yet bought flowers for his/her spouse or himself/herself this spring ($1).
  • Everyone who did not work at the Career Fair ($1).
  • Deb for being the last to arrive to the meeting ($1).  
 
There were no Rotary banners at this meeting. However, Stan did point out that it was the 275th anniversary of George Frideric Handel's Messiah, which was originally played on Easter Sunday in Dublin on April 13, 1742. 
 
The day’s program consisted of a Club Assembly facilitated by President-Elect Tim.
 
Tim opened with a list of dates ranging from 1973 to 1999, asking about each, “What were you doing on this date?” The nine dates he inquired about were the dates on which the nine most senior members of Whatcom County North Rotary were sworn into the club. He used this information to illustrate the long history of the organization.
 
Tim went on to share several other statistics and observations about our club:
 
  • We currently have only 22 club members.
  • 40% of those members are retired.
  • Ten of those members are serving on the Board at any given time, and they tend to be the same ten.
  • We do not on a regular basis have enough members plus guests and visitors to cover our weekly meal guarantee of 25, so we are currently subsidizing the cost of lunch.
  • Our Rubber Duck Derby fundraiser appears to have stalled out; we are not close to raising the number of pledges we said we needed to make the fundraiser viable.
  • We are not growing. The club does not seem to be resonating with the community in which it resides, and we haven’t been successful in bringing in new members.
  • The active club members are getting worn out. There aren’t enough of them to spell one another, so they all continue to do all the work all the time.
 
On behalf of the Board, Tim made the recommendation that we dissolve the Whatcom County North Rotary Club, thereby releasing its members to find other Rotary clubs in the region where they can continue their service.
 
A discussion ensued, during which the following questions were raised and, to the extent possible, answered:
 
  1. What is the process for dissolution of a Rotary Club? 
Our club’s by-laws do not speak to the issue of dissolution. Wherever our bylaws are silent, we follow the by-laws of Rotary International. We aren’t exactly sure what that means for this case yet, but we do know that (1) we want to get club member input before proceeding too far; and (2) we want to follow an orderly process. Regarding club member input, our bylaws say we can only change the by-laws with a 60% vote of the entire membership. It seems logical, therefore, we would need to meet at least that same minimum standard to dissolve the club. At our current membership level, 14 votes constitutes a 60% threshold.
 
  1. Has this proposal to dissolve the club been run by the District Governor?
We have not run this by the District Governor yet. Our first priority was to discuss the proposal with the membership, which is what we are doing today. If the members direct the board to move forward, we will contact both the District Governor and an attorney who has done work for us in the past.
 
  1. Can members of this club transfer to other clubs or do they have to go through the process of joining as new members?
We believe every club will enthusiastically welcome new members. As a member in good standing of Whatcom North Rotary, a person requesting membership in another Rotary club would not need to be vetted. It should be a fairly straight forward process.
 
  1. Where are other clubs and are they thriving?
There are a number of small clubs and some larger ones in our region. If we decide to proceed with dissolution of this club, members will be provided with a list of other options.
 
  1. How will the transfer of membership to other Rotary clubs be facilitated?
Our president and president-elect will connect with other Rotaries in the area, facilitate discussions, and request visitations. They will do what they can to help each club member make an informed decisions about where he/she can best serve as a Rotarian in the future.
 
  1. What will we do about all the Whatcom North Rotary annual events like the Duck Race, the Youth Service Awards Luncheon, and the Career Fair?
We will hold the Youth Service Awards Luncheon in May, because we will still be an active club at that time, and we have established expectations about this event. If we decide to move toward dissolution, we will not put on the Duck Derby in August because we will not still be functioning as a club at that time. We have made no irreversible commitments to the Duck Race, nor do we have any legal obligation to proceed with it. We will just need to cancel and/or return the pledges that have been made. Regarding future years, no other Rotary Club would be obligated to take on our projects. However, if a number of our members joined another club and brought with them the expertise and energy to put on a Career Fair or a Duck Derby, it seems entirely possible that other club would embrace the idea.
 
  1. When would we officially dissolve the club?
The end of the Rotary year is June 30. That’s when our dues run out. We think it makes sense to synchronize our shut down with the Rotary year, which would make our drop-dead date for a decision June 1.
 
  1. If a member were to resign today, would he or she get a dues refund?
There are less than three month’s left in the Rotary Year, so the answer is no.
 
  1. If we decide to dissolve the club, how will any remaining funds be dispersed?
All remaining funds at the time of dissolution will be donated to worthy community projects.
 
  1. Have we sufficiently considered all aspects of this idea?
Until today, only the board has discussed this idea. The purpose of bringing it here today is to involve the entire membership in the consideration. We don’t intend to take any kind of final vote today, only to find out the wishes of the membership about whether the board should continue to pursue this idea in earnest, which will mean getting legal advice and working with the District Governor.
 
  1. What happened to Rotary’s attendance requirement?
Rotary used to require 60% attendance for continued membership. That requirement went by the wayside some years ago. The present work life of many people does not allow them to attend weekly meetings in the middle of the workday. This is likely one of the barriers to attracting more members.
 
  1. What should we do about paying for lunches?
Part of our use agreement for the current meeting space is a guarantee of 25 lunches per week. We only have 19 paying members, so our current assessment level of $120 every quarter is not covering the cost of lunches. There are nine weeks left before June 30. To cover costs, we have three options: (1) change our process to a pay at the door system and make up the difference from the Rotary treasury; (2) assess members $175 for the final quarter, which is the actual per capita cost of what we are obligated to pay; or (3) assess members $120 for the final quarter and make up the difference from the Rotary treasury. By consensus, the group chose option 3.
 
Deb made a motion and Lori seconded it that the board should move forward with pursuing an orderly dissolution of the Whatcom North Rotary Club, which would eventually involve taking a dissolution vote of the entire membership. The motion was classified as “advisory only,” aimed at providing direction to the Board. The vote was eight (8) in favor and four (4) opposed. Although there was not a quorum present at the time of the vote, the majority who voted in favor did provide direction to the Board.
 
Door Prizes were awarded as follows:
  • Dale won the daily prize, which was a collection of bath products.
  • Lori’s number was drawn for a chance at the pot. However, she did not draw the lucky lady, so the pot will continue to grow. Her consolation prize was an adult coloring book.
 
The meeting was adjourned at 1:35 pm