87TH
ANNUAL FAMILY REUNION CONVENTION
INDIANAPOLIS,
IN. AUGUST 2012
The Governing Board met on
Monday, August 27, 2012 at 9 a.m. in Indianapolis, Indiana. We had
67% attendance for a quorum. The Northwest Area had a total of
18 delegates present.
The Standing Rules and the
Agenda were adopted, the head table was introduced and the reading of
the Minutes was waived per Standing Rule #4. Treasurer, Wil Young,
gave the Treasurer’s Report followed by the Executive Director’s
Report and Standing Committee Reports.
It was reported that the
Executive Director resigned during 2011 and the position was filled
with an Interim Executive Director from within the current staff.
Jerry Yeatts was selected to fill this position along with his
responsibility of Director, Membership Services and Benefits. At the
recent May meeting, the Executive Board voted to make this position
permanent. With his selection as Executive Director, there are no
plans to hire a replacement for the Membership Director position.
With the departure of
several members of the Accounting Department, FMCA is in the process
of hiring an accounting professional. The Accounting Department will
then have a Director and three staff members.
Current staffing is 36
full-time and 4 part-time employees--a reduction of 16 employees
since 2009. No changes have been made to the staff benefits.
However, the cost of these benefits keeps going up. FMCA has also
contracted with a human resources and payroll company to keep them in
compliance with current employment rules and regulations, both
federal and local. They also provide employee training in employment
and personal growth programs.
Treasurer, Wil Young,
reported that our investments are still providing positive returns
and increased market value. Revenue from magazine advertising is
showing signs of improvement and web site advertising continues to
improve.
The biggest item on the
budget was the de-funding of the medical evacuation program known as
FMCAssist. On Call is currently supplying this benefit and has
chosen not to do business with us after September 30, 2012. The
Governing Board, after much discussion, voted for a Member Purchased
Plan at a cost to the members of $105 per year for a couple or $85
per year for a single. There are some inclusions for children,
grandchildren, disabled, etc. Information on this program will be
available soon. The contact claims phone number will remain the
same. More information on this will be sent
out via email blasts and can be seen very soon on the FMCA website at
www.fmca.com.
There were several
housekeeping items passed by the Governing Board to make the Policy
and Procedures and Bylaws conform. Electronics meetings were
approved for the Executive Board, Committees, and Chapters. This was
to conform to the latest change to Roberts Rules of Order, 11th
edition. Temporary Delegates must be members of the chapter they are
representing, this was inadvertently deleted during a 2008 Bylaw
proviso. Some changes in wording for updating the supplemental budget
to match the change in the fiscal year were approved with a slight
correction in wording. The Board approved some investment policy
changes allowing the Investment Manager the ability to invest in Real
Estate Investment Trusts.
The Governing Board
eliminated P&P 2031D. There will no longer be any Stipends,
Travel Allowance or Per Diem paid to any Association Member. All
positions will now be Volunteer. The Indianapolis, IN. Convention
was the first all Volunteer convention in years, and was very
successful. The Volunteers proved that it can work very well. The
Governing Board also voted out it’s own stipend for attending the
Governing Board Meeting for the near future.
The Governing Board
approved $10,000 for Area Support to be divided by the 10 areas.
This will help with our
area expenses. The Board also approved P&P 3017, allowing a
member to hold offices in
two different chapters as long as it is not two National Director or
Alternate National Director positions. A member, however, can be a
President in one chapter and a National Director in another chapter.
The proposal for allowing
Towables to become FMCA Associate Members was voted down. They will
still be welcome to come to Conventions and Area and Chapter Rallies
as guests.
Membership is still
declining due to people aging out and/or selling their motor homes or
the rising fuel costs. The new memberships are not keeping up with
the number of declining members. FMCA urges all chapters to recruit.
The next Convention will
be the 88th Family
Reunion & Motorhome Showcase, celebrating the 50th
Anniversary of FMCA to be held in Gillette, WY, June 19-22, 2013.
Thank you for allowing me
to serve as your National Director. If anyone has any questions
regarding the meeting, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Submitted by
Kathie Balogh
Vancouver Islanders
kabalogh@telus.net
