Reporting Meeting of March 17, 2008

(For Distribution March 24)

● Mark Gasporovic presided over the meeting in Ron’s absence. Jodie Turpin was welcomed as the only guest for the evening.

● Mark gave a report on his attendance at PETS where he met and established a working relationship with his counterparts from the Scotia and Glenville Rotaries. Mark encouraged the membership to attend the District Assembly on Saturday April 26 from 8 until 12. He will bring registration forms to the next meeting.

● Maple syrup and sausage let over from the pancake breakfast are on sale.

● Laura Linder announced that onions are now on sale. In 2005 when we started this venture we sold 55 bags and made $189.

● Walter Grattidge announced that Matthew Manning, the 2007-2008 recipient of the Mel Bartlett Scholarship did not register for the spring semester at SCCC. The spring portion of the Scholarship has been awarded to Rachel Nichols, a full time student in Fire Protection Technology and an active volunteer in the Scotia fire Department.

● Bob Rasmussen reported that Art Mengel was injured in a fall and will be confined to quarters for a time. A card will be sent.

● Bob Youmans reported that Doc Garrison’s 90^th Birthday cake was delivered to him by his grand daughter after the Pancake Breakfast which Doc was unable to attend as he had hoped.

Steve Caine led the discussion and began with some remarks on the organization and process that resulted in the By-laws hat were presented for adoption at the meeting. The committee, affectionately known as the Engine

Room Gang (ERG) comprised 169 years of Rotary experience and included four past presidents. The members led by Steve Caine were Fred Bailey, Ken Crotty, Bill Lonergan, Bill McClary, Val Mosier and Dick O’Rourke. There were three meetings of about seven hours duration and countless “virtual meetings” conducted in e-mail. The process was transparent with frequent updates to the membership who were invited to comment at each stage of the process. This interaction resulted in 14 drafts leading up to the final proposal. All decisions within the committee were taken by consensus.

The starting documents were the constitution prescribed by Rotary International and a recommended draft of Bylaws that was tweaked to fit the goals and objectives of our club. Steve reviewed both documents and summarized their contents with particular attention to attendance and the timeline for important annual milestones for Club administration. A careful reading of the attendance requirements and all of the opportunities for making up missed meetings indicates that no one with any interest in Rotary would ever be dismissed for lack of attendance. The timeline for Club administration milestones provides a useful roadmap for both the incumbent and incoming officers and directors and, if followed, will do a lot to provide continuity of leadership and member involvement.

Because several drafts had been circulated to the membership and the final draft was available well in advance of the meeting there were relatively few questions from the floor. The Bylaws were adopted by a unanimous voice vote. The club is indebted to the ERG for their tireless work and a job well done.

Reported by Garry Morrow