The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society Twin Cities Branch will hold its Annual General Meeting on Monday, 16 May at 7:30pm at Tapestry Folkdance Center, 3748 Minnehaha Avenue South in Minneapolis.
» Agenda
» Slate of Nominees for the Board
» Proxy Ballot (for use if you cannot attend in person)
All members are strongly encouraged to attend. The agenda and the slate of nominees for the 2011-2012 board are below. Please follow the links to the RSCDS Twin Cities Branch Yahoo Group files section for relevant reports. If you are a member and cannot access the Yahoo group or are having trouble downloading documents, please contact the chair (chair [at] rscds-twincities.org) to have documents sent to you directly. If you cannot be present at the meeting, there is a proxy ballot you can print out and give to another member to submit at the AGM. Please note that at this time we do not have a full slate of candidates for the open positions on the board, so we expect to be taking nominations from the floor.
Meeting Highlights:
- Bylaws Changes
Of particular importance this year are several proposed changes to our branch bylaws the board is proposing. There are two main categories of changes:- Changes reducing the minimum age for membership in the Branch to 12.
These changes are proposed to implement recommendation #1 of the committee on children, which released its report this past January. - Changes to the structure of the board
The board is recommending these changes to make it easier to fill board positions and to encourage and make it easier for vice chairs to become chairs.
Please see the document detailing the proposed changes (via the Yahoo Web site).
- Changes reducing the minimum age for membership in the Branch to 12.
- Donation to Tapestry Folkdance Center
As many of you know, Tapestry was offered a grant that would match up to $10,000 in donations. In recognition of the value of our long-time partnership, the Board authorized a modest donation of $500 from the RSCDS Twin Cities Branch as a contribution to this campaign. As part of the treasurer’s report, we will also be asking for your input on the possibility of an additional donation.
- 35th Anniversary Recognition
As has previously been announced, 2011 is our 35th anniversary as an RSCDS Branch. We’ve reserved some time on the agenda for a discussion on how we might mark this milestone, so bring your ideas.
NOTE: Bring your checkbooks! At the AGM we will start collecting dues for the 2011-2012 membership year. No change in dues is proposed, so the same bargain rates will apply.
AGENDA
1. Approval of minutes from AGM 2010 (via the Yahoo web site)
2. Treasurer’s report
a. Report on membership and finances for 2010-2011
b. 501c3 application update
c. Donation to Tapestry Matching Grant Fund – discussion of possible additional donation
d. Proposed budget for 2011-2012
3. Reports from committees (presented for information), followed by 10 minute Q & A
(All reports will be made available via the Yahoo Group before the meeting. They will not be read at the meeting, although paper copies will be available for review.)
a. Teachers report
b. Webmaster
c. Blue Ribbon
d. Socials
e. Performances (non-RenFest)
4.”The Year in Review”
5. Recognition
6. Announcements
a. RenFest Committee (rehearsal schedule, etc.)
b. Summer Dancing
– June dancing schedule
– Performances at Southwest Center, and River Falls, and Stratford.
7. Bylaws changes (via Yahoo web site)
a. Changes to Articles III and IV concerning minimum age for membership
b. Changes to Articles IV and V concerning board structure
8. 35th anniversary recognition plans
9. Open Forum
10. Election of Officers
NOMINEES FOR OFFICE
(as of 2 May 2011)
Chair: Eric Salo (2-year term)
Vice Chair*: [no candidates] (2-year term)
Secretary: [no candidates] (2-year term)
Members at Large: (1-year terms)
Bill Brown
Gail Fagerstrom
Andrea Helebrant
Angie McCracken
*Although Eric Salo’s term as vice-chair technically does not expire until 2012, we expect the position of Vice Chair to be open as of the AGM. Whether the proposed bylaws change (changing the years in which vice chairs are elected to the same year as that in chairs are elected) passes or not, the only way we won’t be needing a new vice-chair for 2011-2012 is if Eric is NOT elected to the position of chair, which seems highly unlikely, as he is the only candidate. Since we anticipate the position to be open, we felt it would be best to give the membership the opportunity to participate in the election of a new vice-chair. However, under the terms of article 4.5 of the bylaws if the position is unfilled after the AGM, the board can simply appoint someone to serve until the next AGM.