Over the last month there has been a plethora of Club chatter over the proposed bylaw changes. Some letters to the editor in the club’s newsletter, the Courier, and postings on the Club’s message boards extol the virtues of the proposed changes. Others rebuke them as sinister means to wrestle control of the Club from its membership. In reality, neither of these arguments are the justification for the proposals put before the Club’s membership by our board.

Like the proposed changes or not, there is neither a high mountain top calling to rectify a terrible wrong nor a back alley swindle to snatch power and glory.

The reality is that the Club’s board formed a bylaws committee to address what seemed to many board members and members at-large to be several poorly worded—and yes, maybe even egregious— bylaws. It is the board’s belief that these bylaws needed immediate attention in order to restore control of the Club back to its membership as well as to avoid possible situations in which Club boards could no longer govern.

I for one commend them for this effort. Furthermore, I commend them for their commitment to form a bylaw review committee in 2012 to review all of the Club’s bylaws. While we are still working out the details, it is my understanding that this committee will be empowered to make any and all recommendations to the board for bylaw updates and changes that they, the committee, deem necessary and prudent. As the Club’s governing body, it will then be up to the board to decide whether or not to send the various committee proposals to a vote of the full membership.

At this point in time, the Club’s new board—only elected in March!—and I are working in many areas to ensure good governance and management of the club. They are a dedicated group who want the best for the Club and we are working together to make this happen.

I invite you to continue expressing your opinions about our work. If you are a Club member, I encourage you to express your opinion at the ballot box; voting is your right, exercise it!  Finally, if you are interested enough to be concerned about the bylaw proposals one way or the other, I invite you to contact us about the 2012 Bylaw Review Committee. We are always looking for volunteers to help us fulfill our mission of Creating a Better Community Through Bicycling. To fulfill this mission, we need to constantly be evaluating how we operate as well as assessing what we do. The Bylaw Committee will play a big role in the former while certainly influencing the latter.

Thanks….chuck