We had a great rally in Paso Robles this October. The weather was great, the people were
wonderful, the food awesome and ………. the wine was the best. What would you expect deep
in the heart of the Paso Robles wine country? When you read the other reports on this rally,
you will get a more complete picture of the event.
During the rally, I spoke with the Executive Board members about a proposed change of the
bylaws to expand the definition of “member” and add “associate members”. The Board
proposed some wording for the changes and adjourned.
At the general membership meeting we announced that we would be discussing the issue
following that meeting. Therefore, we opened the next hour to said discussion by all members
present. There was a lively debate pro and con. The proposed changes to the bylaws were
projected on a screen, and we made changes and corrections as needed to conform to the
consensus and the legal minds of the group. After an hour or so we closed the session by
reading the process for a bylaw change as follows.
GMCWS bylaws Article 10 Section 2
2. AMENDING PROCEDURE: These Bylaws may be amended by a 2/3 affirmative vote of
the members present and voting at a duly-called Chapter business meeting (or by mail in
ballot), provided that prior notice of at least thirty (30) days has been given of the
proposition(s) to amend and are not in conflict with applicable provisions of the
Constitution and Bylaws of FMCA. Any member of the Chapter may propose changes in
the Bylaws. Approved amendments to these Bylaws become effective immediately upon
their adoption, or at such time as specified in the amendments.
As you see, we could have changed the bylaws in this meeting, but we wanted the input of all
our members. Therefore, we have mailed the proposal to all members, to be followed by the
mailing of the ballots after 30 days. You will have 10 days to return your ballot to me, at which
time I will announce the outcome. Please mail your ballot back quickly, as we are headed for
the holiday period and we all get very busy. Your dues for 2018 are also due soon, and we need
to collect updated info for the membership roster. Busy, busy . . . .
I personally feel that we should let our friends and members who choose to let go of their GMC
and opted for another brand, or who lost the “driver” of their GMC and now no longer have the
use of the coach, stay in the club to which they have belonged for many years. They have made
many beautiful friendships with other members. The other effect is the brain-drain of the
expertise by the long-time coach owners. The fact that their circumstance has changed does
not make them less valuable to the club and our members .
Please vote promptly when the ballot arrives at your door.