This week Monique Hammond will address on the subject of hearing loss and how it occurs regardless of age or gender. The club will also vote on amending its constitution. (See related article below.) Join us at noon on Zoom!
The Rotary board will also meet this Tuesday at 5:30. Contact Cari if you are interested in attending.
Vote on Constitution Begins Tomorrow!
On May 27, you were sent the proposed amendments to the club constitution. In last week's bulletin, you received a summary of the substantive changes. Now it's time to vote. There are two ways you can vote:
1. An email will be sent tomorrow asking whether you approve or do not approve the amended constitution. You reply YES to approve it or NO not to approve it. Your ballots will be counted by the Bylaws Committee and President Yturri, but otherwise are confidential.
2. You may vote by raising your hand when the question to approve or not approve is raised at next week's Zoom meeting at noon. It will not be possible to vote by secret ballot this year.
It is very important that you vote! Unless 1/3 of the membership votes, we do not have the quorum required for constitutional amendments. That means we need 35 votes. Because our typical Zoom meeting attendance is 20-25, replying to the email (method #1 above) is the preferred method, but we want to keep the opportunity for discussion at a meeting open.
In the view of the Bylaws Committee, there is nothing controversial in the proposed amendments. We are merely making the changes necessary to bring our constitution in line with Rotary International's, modifying it slightly to reflect typical practices of our club. Those changes are itemized, once again, below.
Attendance requirements have been updated, allowing attendance to occur “in person, by telephone, online, or through an online interactive activity. An interactive meeting [such as one on Zoom] shall be considered to be held on the day that the interactive activity is posted.”
Our constitution does not have guidelines on satellite club language. RI’s constitution does provide guidelines “when applicable.” That language does not commit us to having a satellite club, but ensures that if we do entertain that notion, we comply with RI guidelines.
RI’s guidelines for satellite clubs require all officers to attend meetings of the satellite club. Our experience with the evening membership option suggests that requiring all officers is overkill. Therefore, we are recommending that “at least one club officer" attend each satellite club meeting.
We have added the Camp Rotary Committee to our standing committees.
We have clarified that an admission fee is part of the cost of becoming a member.
Our current constitution requires rather rigid classifications and caps on representation of profession, businesses, and occupations in our membership. RI’s constitution has become more flexible on membership and we have adopted its language: “This club’s membership should represent a cross section of the businesses, professions, occupations, and civic organizations in its community, including age, gender, and ethnic diversity.”
RI’s template establishes an attendance requirement and language for removing members for non-attendance. Then it says you can make exceptions to all that in your bylaws. We see no reason to give the impression we are monitoring one another’s attendance in our constitution, so we have stricken that language.
Since we allow for electronic mailing in our bylaws – and who knows what the new forms of communication may be? – we have eliminated the langue in the constitution.
RI’s template does not include a process for amending the constitution. We are incorporating the requirements we have in our bylaws, allowing the constitution to be amended at any regular club meeting. Notice of the amendments must be sent to each member 10 days before the meeting, a quorum of 1/3 of the active membership must be present, and two-thirds of the votes must support the change. Voting may be done electronically 48 hours before the meeting.
Last Week at Rotary
District Court Judge John Parker was kind enough to join us on Zoom last week to discuss the challenges the court is facing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jury trials have been postponed until June 15 and the courts are in the process of developing protocols to comply with state, local, and occasionally federal guidelines to keep people safe. County Attorney Josh Racki has been especially helpful in this process because he is not only savvy about digital platforms, but also adept at helping the judges working through the shared authority that comes into play. As examples, the bailiff's are under the authority of the Sheriff; the county attorneys are county employees; and the judges operate under the authority of the Montana Supreme Court.
One of the challenges in conducting jury trials will be dealing with jury pools. Voir dire will occur at the fairgrounds, where each member of the jury pool will be screened for COVID-19 before the typical selection process begins.
Since March 13, the courts have operating entirely through video hearings, dealing with criminal matters and children in need of care. Neglected and abused children have historically consumed a great deal of the court's time and that continues to be the case. Drug use, particular meth addiction, drives a large percentage of crime in the community. Mental health is also a factor.
Asked if the pandemic had resulted in a decrease in crime, Judge Parker said, "At first, it seemed to be a deterrent, but now it's like everything else - the crowded parking lot at Home Depot, the people not wearing masks in the grocery stores. It's like COVID-19 was the #1 hit two months ago, but now it's down to #44. People seem to be thinking they're done with it."
Much of the session was left open for a question-and-answer session, full of good questions and interesting answers. Thank you, Judge Parker, for carving out time for us in your busy day!
Sad News and Best Wishes
Yesterday District Governor Sandy Wong sent us some sad news. Dean Boyle has resigned as our District's Governor Nominee, due to family considerations and medical issues that would make it difficult to honor the time commitment for travel and other Governor Duties. We all know how active Dean has been with our club and how much he was looking forward to leading the district as Governor. The decision to resign must have been a difficult one, but Dean has always had his priorities in order.
Dean, you have our best wishes for nothing but blue skies ahead.
Milestones
Happy birthday on Monday to Jennifer Creed and on Tuesday to Tim Peterson! May the year ahead be full of accomplishment and enjoyment!
Weekly Wisdom: Black Lives Matterut
Dr. King once told us, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Yesterday was not that day in Great Falls. When the workday ended, a crowd gathered in front of the Civic Center to express their sadness about the death of George Floyd and too many other black people in our country, to show their unity in responding positively but powerfully to those injustices, and to promote a new and better day.
When I say "crowd," I mean "throng" - somewhere between 400-500 people. Peaceful. Respectful. Determined. Sometimes the beauty of our community just knocks me off my feet.
