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Secretary's Report - Green Mountain Club Northeast Kingdom
(NEK) Section Business Meeting - Saturday, February 8, 2003
Burke Mountain Club House- East Burke, Vermont
By MICHAEL CHERNICK
Welcome
Section President Patty Aubin opened the meeting, and personal
introductions, by all present, immediately followed.
Fire Report & Donation to Main Club
Section Secretary Michael Chernick reported on the major fire,
which struck the South Barn at main club headquarters in Waterbury
Center, on Saturday, January 24, 2003. The barn housed the
club’s large meeting, retail and storage space. Among
the items being stored in the facility were 12,000 copies
of the recently published “Day Hiker’s Guide”
and registers and logs from shelters along the Long Trail.
The former will need to be replaced, while the latter appear
to be salvageable. Fortunately, the soon-to-be- issued new
edition of the “Long Trail Guide” has yet to be
printed.
Thankfully, no one was injured. Neither the club’s
adjacent offices nor recently restored North Barn, which serves
as the club’s tool shed and equipment workshop, was
damaged. While the South Barn’s exterior is mostly intact,
albeit with roof and wall damage at certain spots, the interior
is mostly gutted and charred. There is insurance coverage
for both the building ($150,000.00) and contents ($40,000).
$25,000.00 of the insurance payments has already been advanced
to the club to help finance the replacement costs for the
destroyed “Day Hiker Guides.” Whether the structure
is rebuilt from scratch or restored, inclusive of portions
of the burned South Barn, remains uncertain. However, the
club is committed to erecting a barn-type structure on the
site.
The interior will be designed to meet the club’s future
needs. Tentatively, the club hopes to hold a “barn-raising”
ceremony in the fall of 2004.
The insurance proceeds will be inadequate to meet all the
costs associated with site clearing and construction. To this
end, the club has established a fire emergency fund. This
unfortunate event occurred, as Section Director Jean Haigh
explained, at a most inopportune financial moment for the
main club. Currently, there is a projected $80,000.00 deficit
for the new fiscal year commencing on May 1.
To show our support for the main club, the Executive Committee
voted to request the section to contribute $300.00 to the
main club’s General Fund (equaling the amount the main
club donated to the section in the fall of 2000) and $250.00
(approximating the $248.00 in proceeds from the recent Taylor
Series lecture the section sponsored) to the Fire Fund. Jean
reported the Montpelier Section has also donated its recent
Taylor Series proceeds to the Fire Fund.
Joan Harlow moved and Luke O’Brien seconded that the
section contribute $300.00 to the main club’s General
Fund and $250.00 to the Fire Fund. The members in attendance
approved the motion unanimously.
Bylaws Amendment
The Executive Committee of the Northeast Kingdom Section of
the Green Mountain Club proposes to the membership to amend
the section’s bylaws as follows:
In Section 4, by striking Subsection C in its entirety and
inserting in lieu thereof the following:
“C. The President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer
shall serve not more than three consecutive terms in the same
office.”
The intent of the amendment is to apply the three-consecutive-term-limitation
only to the four named officers. Other officers, including
the Trails & Shelters Coordinator and the Membership Coordinator,
who are elected to one-year terms by the full membership (those
in attendance at the annual meeting), and the Newsletter Editor
and Publicity Director, who are executive-board appointees,
would not be subject to the three-term limitation. The purpose
was to enable those officers, whose positions were perceived
as more technical, to remain for extended periods of time.
Walter McNeil expressed a concern that individuals in other
offices, specifically those appointed by the Executive Committee,
could serve indefinitely regardless of their competency. In
order to address Walter’s concerns, which were supported
by other members, it was decided that the warning to be presented
to the membership in advance of the 2003 annual meeting shall
contain two proposals of amendment to the section’s
bylaws addressing both the elected term-limited officers and
those who would serve subject to the executive committee’s
pleasure. The positions of Trails & Shelters Coordinator
and Membership Coordinator would no longer be subject to the
three-term limitation, but they would continue to be elected
to one-year terms by the full membership. The warning shall
read:
At the annual meeting of the Northeast Kingdom Section of
the Green Mountain Club, which is to occur on Saturday, April
12, 2003 at the Burke Mountain Club House in East Burke, Vermont,
the following two proposals of amendment to the section’s
bylaws shall be presented to the membership for their vote
of approval or disapproval.
Shall the Bylaws of the Northeast Kingdom Section of the
Green Mountain Club be amended as follows:
First: In Section 4, by striking Subsection C in its entirety
and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
“C. The President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer
shall serve not more than three consecutive terms in the same
office.”
Second: In Section 7, by striking the section in its entirety
and by inserting in lieu thereof the following:
Section 7. APPOINTED OFFICERS
The Executive Committee is authorized to appoint a Newsletter
Editor, Publicity Coordinator, a Program Coordinator and a
Webmaster who shall serve at the pleasure of the Executive
Committee.
The proposed language would eliminate the current division
between officers who shall (Newsletter Editor) or may (all
the others) be appointed and authorizes the Executive Committee
to appoint the officers. This gives the Executive Committee
flexibility on a year-to-year basis. It also adds the positions
of Webmaster and Program Coordinator to the list. The latter
is added to enable the Executive Committee to appoint a separate
Program Coordinator in those years when the Vice President
will not be performing this role, as is the current plan for
2003-2004.
Nominating Committee
Kevin Williams, as chair of the nominating committee, reported
the following slate for 2003-2004 elected officers:
President: Patty Aubin
Vice President: Luke O’Brien
Secretary: Open
Treasurer: Joe Anastasia
Trails & Shelters Coordinator: Luke O’Brien
Membership Coordinator: Jerry Philips
Positions Explanation
Jim Fearon, the section’s Publicity Coordinator, an
appointed position, has announced to the Executive Committee
that he will be stepping down from this position at the annual
meeting. Jim explained his role preparing news releases for
the press. He cautioned that the text of submitted releases
is not necessarily what a newspaper actually prints. Jim was
asked if he lists only one or multiple activities in a release.
Jim explained that he lists all of the activities of which
he is aware. He also advised the section to maximize publicity
opportunities. It was noted that members receive information
through e-mail announcements, the website, and “Northeast
Passages,” the section’s newsletter. Michael Chernick
explained the Secretary’s role preparing and distributing
Executive Committee and section meeting notes. Luke O’Brien
expressed a willingness to serve as publicity director should
no one else volunteer.
Trip Planning
Following the March 15 trip to Victory Bog, there will be
a trip planning meeting to be held at the Burke Mountain Club
in East Burke at 1:00 p.m. Jim Fearon raised the issue of
trip reports. Jim and Luke both suggested that at least participant
count should be reported.
Trail Adoption
Kevin Williamson, who is serving as the trail adoption coordinator,
announced that six individuals have agreed to serve as trail
adopters. This commitment involves two to three days per year
working on a trail performing various maintenance activities
such as water-bar construction and blazing. Kevin explained
that the program for trail adoption is based on the main club’s
and that he has prepared information packages for the adopters.
Luke offered to conduct a basic training session for the adopters
and then a more detailed instructional presentation later
in the spring or during the summer.
Treasurers’ Report
Jay Anastasia reported the following financial information:
November Meeting Balance:
$1,019.00
Income:
$413 (including $248 proceeds from the Taylor Series, a $10.00
individual donation, and dues remittances from the main club.)
Expenses:
Paper Supplies: $26.96
Advertising: $45.15
Postage: $39.50
Newsletter: $53.83
Balance (prior to voted disbursements to the Main Club)
$1,366.92
Vermont Leadership Center
Luke O’Brien, who directs the Kingdom Corps program
for the Vermont Leadership Center, announced the availability
of opportunities for both crew leadership (for adults) and
crew members (12-15 year olds) for the summer of 2003. Interested
individuals should contact Luke at the Vermont Leadership
Center (<mailto:luke@vtlc.sover.net>luke@vtlc.sover.net).
Bald Mountain
On both April 12, prior to the annual meeting, and again on
National Trails’ Day, June 7, Luke will be leading trips
to Bald Mountain where the section has been restoring the
tower and assisting with trail maintenance. Luke also announced
he has submitted a proposal to restore the summit cabin.
Past Trips
Liz Kennedy reported on recent outings which have occurred,
and she encouraged participation at future events.
Membership
Cynthia Barber, the section’s Membership Coordinator
reports 76 memberships of which 20 are family memberships.
This represents 96 voting members.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 6:45 p.m.
Evening Program
Annie Gibavic presented an entertaining talk focusing both
on her recent end-to-end experiences and the colorful adventures
of her ancestors who undertook unusual outings in the north
country a century ago.
Other news and events
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