Good Afternoon All!
I wanted to give you an update on the Redmond Convention that was held in August. It was smaller than the past two Redmond Conventions that Andy & I attended but all the comments were very positive. Most felt, as I did, that the smaller number of coaches meant a unique family atmosphere. FMCA reintroduced some of the past events that really made the convention enjoyable and lots of fun. (i.e. bonus bucks were handed out and could be used at the vendors, Card Bingo, a dunk tank (Andy went down 6 times…thanks Ian), a Free Hugs Day, FMCA day and some very good entertainment(The Texas Tenors and Forever Motown).
I represented the Vancouver Islanders at the Governing Board Meeting in Redmond and would like submit the following report:
On Tuesday, I attended the Northwest Area Caucus. At the Caucus, the Northwest Area Chapter National Directors discuss the items that will be on the follow day’s agenda. It was very interesting and many of the questions that I had were answered there. Wednesday was the Governing Board Meeting and registration began at 7:00am. There were 290 delegates in attendance.
The business at the meeting included a proposal to change all National Officer Positions to ONE year terms, with a maximum of 3 terms. This was quickly amended to read “they shall be elected for TWO year terms and not to exceed 2 TWO year terms or exceed a total of FOUR years in each position.” This passed as amended.
Proposal #2 – Article XI – Fiscal Year
It was voted to change the fiscal year to October 1 thru September 30…this will begin October 1, 2011. The proposal passed. This does not affect the Chapters and Areas only FMCA National. This allows the Finance Committee to have more accurate figures for the International Conventions and the Governing Board would be approving the budget in July/August and it would be implemented in October instead of January.
Proposal # 3 – Article XIII – Nominations and Elections
This article was amended to say that after nominations are closed, if there is only one candidate for an office, the Chair may take a voice vote or shall declare that the nominee be elected by acclamation. The proposal passed. This will be a time and cost saving process.
The Bylaws amendments will now be published on the FMCA website within 30 days. This change provided communication to members by a less costly and timelier method.
The Governing Board will now be reimbursed at the same rate as the early bird registration fee, instead of the set amount of $130. The delegates must attend both morning and afternoon sessions to be reimbursed.
Ross Boyer made the presentation on the insurance programs. We are covered by MEDEX until December 31, 2010. The new improved Evacuation Program will be FMCAssist. There was a discussion on the changes and the information on this program will be sent to all members as soon as possible, probably in November or early December. The coverage is much better and will be a savings of approximately $143,000 per year. Out of country Medical Insurance is also available and information on this will be in the FMC Magazine and online.
The afternoon session was devoted to the budget. National Treasurer Wil Young gave his report and immediately a delegate called for the question, therefore stopping all discussion and the budget was voted on and approved.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 2:00pm.
We are now in the planning process of Albany 2011…the Northwest Area Rally will be held from June 2 -5, 2011, with volunteers arriving on May 30 and 31. Keep those dates in mind; if you will be attending the Vancouver Islander rally in Sidney, you can just carry on to the ferry! The theme is a Carousel theme-- as Albany has a terrific Carousel Museum…the logo will be “Grab the Brass Ring”.
Enjoy your winter wherever you may be. If you are in the Yuma Area or going to the Western Area Rally in Indio, give us a call…..U. S. Cell 503-530-0166
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent the Vancouver Islanders!
Kathie Balogh
