Announcement emailed to all members April 16, 2009:
Dear Members of VOTF,
The By-Laws of VOTF, Inc. (approved by the Board of Trustees on June 6, 2006) established three centers of governance responsibility—the Board of Trustees (Board), the National Officers, and the National Representative Council (NRC). Articles I, II, and III set forth the respective roles and responsibilities of each center.
The NRC began its work in the summer of 2005 and has operated under procedures it adopted for itself since March 2006. Following actions taken by the Board in October 2008 to prompt the NRC to restore its interactions and communications to a level of civility consistent with VOTF’s objectives and welfare, the NRC has conducted no business or communications as a governance body. Having received no responses to several Board requests for an indication if and when the NRC will resume its roles and responsibilities, the Board unanimously decided at its meeting on April 3-4, 2009, under its authority in the By-Laws (Article I, Section 1 A), to declare the NRC inactive and proceed to conduct VOTF business without reference to the provisions in the By-Laws relating to the NRC.
By the end of 2009, the Board will propose a new model to incorporate the voice of VOTF members in governance of the organization, and it will soon form a committee of Board and non-Board members to develop alternatives to replace the NRC. Until then, Officers will seek member input through the 40 or so members of the five platform committees currently working to shape VOTF’s Strategic Plan into a final form by the end of June and through a listserv of 45 or so affiliate leaders around the country.
Members can submit questions or comments about this notice to me at caseyvotf@yahoo.com or 617.558.5252.
Sincerely
Bill Casey, Chair of the Board
