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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>For those that have not visited the club website recently,
we made a $250 donation to Catalyst a few weeks ago. I have posted this
explanation on the website as well, but also wanted to send it out in email
form.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>During the meeting this week I will be available to talk to
anyone with suggestions for changes to the club By Laws.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Please let me know if you have any additional questions.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Thanks,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Alex<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Posted Message:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I want to try to answer a few questions
here before we meet at Catalyst on Thursday.<br>
<br>
1. How did this happen? A few weeks ago, Catalyst was having a silent auction
fund raiser as a final attempt to keep their doors open. The majority of the
board (7 out of 9) was there having a few beers along with a few other club
members. The idea came up about the club donating some money to help them stay
open.<br>
<br>
2. How was the decision reached? We first discussed the clubs finances. We are
in better shape now than we ever have been in the past. If the money donated
was going to make it harder to fund the things that we do each year
(Competitions, BBQ, winter party, etc), we would not have done it. The amount
that we donated, $250, was determined based on the need to keep plenty of
operating cash in our account. The money was purely carry over from the 2008
year. No 2009 dues were used at all.<br>
<br>
3. What key factors contributed to making the decision? As a few people have
pointed out, we are often on the receiving end of much generosity, and this was
a way to be on the giving side and help a local company that promotes good
beer.<br>
<br>
4. Was this legal? It was entirely legal. We can do with our money as we want.
Just as any person could choose to write a check to anyone else (person or
business) in a philanthropic gesture. What would not be legal would be for us
to claim it as a Charitable Donation on any sort of taxes. However, since we
are not an official Non Profit organization, we don’t file or pay taxes
of any sort.<br>
<br>
5. Where does this lead us? I feel that at this point, this is the most
important question. We are still a young club and this is a growing pain. The
board made a decision that some members disagree with, so how do we mitigate
that in the future? I feel like the discussion now needs to look at changes to
the By Laws that will provide some guidelines for the board with regard to
expenditures and that will also provide some expectations for the club at large
with regard to when the board includes the club in those discussions. At
present there is not a single sentence in the By Laws related to how money is
spent. Not one. So, at present, if the Board agrees that something should be
done and the follow through, they are acting as they best see fit to guide the
club. All discussions will never be brought to the club at large, and they
shouldn’t be. Doing so would cripple the ability for the board to make
decisions and accomplish any goals. Other discussions should be brought to the
club at large and what we need to do is define that process and its parameters
a bit better.<br>
<br>
Any discussions that we have at Catalyst during the meeting I would like
centered on this last question. The other questions relate to something that
has already happened that can not be un-done and it would not be fair to
Catalyst to spend a lot of time discussing them. Personally, I don’t like
to live in the past. I don’t see the benefit to expending a lot of energy
on something I can’t change. What we can do is spend energy on what we do
going forward. So, I want to hear ideas on any By Laws changes, whether they
relate to spending money or not. If you want to write something down ahead of
time and bring it to the meeting, great that will help the board collect ideas
to use to modify the By Laws. If you don’t have the chance to write
anything down, please still voice your ideas, we will do our best to write them
down so we can include them in our discussions.<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
Alex<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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