The CMM Board of Managers met on Saturday, 24 Aug 2019 and approved a few motions that the general membership needs to be aware of, including some proposed changes to the CMM constitution and by-laws that will require approval by you, the members of the Culpeper Minutemen.
First - sorry, this is going to be long, but it is important that the decisions that were made are explained so you have a good understanding of the thinking of the Board of Managers. If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to e-mail CMM President Tom Hamill at [email protected].
Item #1: It was Moved, Seconded and Approved (MSA) to set the annual dues for the CMM Chapter to $20/yr starting with this year's dues cycle, and further, to set the annual dues to $25/yr starting in 2025.
Rational: The current dues of $15/yr appears to have been set sometime in the 1990s (at least, I cannot find anyone that knows for sure when that level was set). Adjusted for inflation, it takes about $22.30 in 2019 dollars to equal the same buying power that $15 had in the late 1990s. By 2025, it will take roughly $25 to equal the buying power of $15 in the late 90s. So at present, we are only able to execute 2/3 of the activities we'd like to, and not raising the dues only delays and exacerbates that issue. Raising the dues to $20 this year closes alot of that gap, and moving it to $25/yr in 2025 restores the rest.
Item #1: It was Moved, Seconded and Approved (MSA) to set the annual dues for the CMM Chapter to $20/yr starting with this year's dues cycle, and further, to set the annual dues to $25/yr starting in 2025.
Rational: The current dues of $15/yr appears to have been set sometime in the 1990s (at least, I cannot find anyone that knows for sure when that level was set). Adjusted for inflation, it takes about $22.30 in 2019 dollars to equal the same buying power that $15 had in the late 1990s. By 2025, it will take roughly $25 to equal the buying power of $15 in the late 90s. So at present, we are only able to execute 2/3 of the activities we'd like to, and not raising the dues only delays and exacerbates that issue. Raising the dues to $20 this year closes alot of that gap, and moving it to $25/yr in 2025 restores the rest.
The following items are changes to the CMM Constitution. As per the CMM Constitution, this is your written notification of the proposed changes. These items will be discussed at the September CMM Monthly Meeting to be held on Saturday, 21 Sept at 11:30am at Warrenton Presbyterian Church. Final vote on these changes will be at the October CMM Meeting to be held on Saturday, 26 October at 11:30am at Little Fork Church in Rixeyville, VA. If you are not able to make either meeting and would like to contribute your thoughts and concerns, please e-mail CMM President Tom Hamill at the e-mail noted above. You may vote Yea/Nay on these measures on-line if you cannot make it to the October meeting. Please e-mail your votes to CMM President Tom Hamill and to CMM Vice President Charles Jameson ([email protected]) before noon on Friday, 25 Oct 2019.
Item #2: It was MSA to move the CMM monthly meeting from the 3rd Saturday of the month to the second Monday of the month. This affects the monthly meetings in January, March, May, June, Sept, Oct and Nov. So the proposed CMM meeting calendar would be:
Jan: BOM Meeting 1st Saturday; Chapter Meeting 2nd Monday
Feb: No Chapter Meeting - VASSAR Annual
March: Chapter Meeting 2nd Monday
April: Grave's Mountain Multi-Chapter Meeting - 3rd Saturday
May: Chapter Meeting 2nd Monday
June: Chapter Meeting 2nd Monday (It would be reasonable to keep this meeting on the Saturday closest to Flag Day in conjunction with our CMM Muster Ceremony)
July: CMM Picnic 3rd Saturday (Not an official meeting according to our Constitution)
Aug: BOM Meeting 3rd Saturday
Sept: Chapter Meeting 2nd Monday
Oct: Chapter Meeting 2nd Monday
Nov: Chapter Meeting 2nd Monday
Dec: Joint SAR/DAR Christmas Party - no offical set date
Rational: Over the past year the Chapter has been involved in a number of events held by neighboring chapters. Also, there have been quite an increase in State level events. Almost all of these events have occurred on Saturdays. It is very important to participate in these events as it provides an opportunity to get to know others within the State society which in turn increases the esprit de corps with our fellow SAR members. Increasingly it has become difficult to deconflict CMM meetings with other SAR activities. As an example - only one of our CMM Chapter Meetings in 2019 will have been held on the date designated in our constitution. By moving the meeting to the 2nd Monday of the month (proposing an evening meeting time) deconflicts the meeting with other SAR events allowing chapter members to participate in those events, and allows members who might be traveling to events out of state to still make the monthly meetings when they return. The BOM would also like to see more members attending the monthly meetings. Saturday is typically one of the few days that members who are still working have off and may have other family obligations that take precedence over the SAR. The BOM is hoping that moving the meeting to Monday evenings will allow more members to attend.
Jan: BOM Meeting 1st Saturday; Chapter Meeting 2nd Monday
Feb: No Chapter Meeting - VASSAR Annual
March: Chapter Meeting 2nd Monday
April: Grave's Mountain Multi-Chapter Meeting - 3rd Saturday
May: Chapter Meeting 2nd Monday
June: Chapter Meeting 2nd Monday (It would be reasonable to keep this meeting on the Saturday closest to Flag Day in conjunction with our CMM Muster Ceremony)
July: CMM Picnic 3rd Saturday (Not an official meeting according to our Constitution)
Aug: BOM Meeting 3rd Saturday
Sept: Chapter Meeting 2nd Monday
Oct: Chapter Meeting 2nd Monday
Nov: Chapter Meeting 2nd Monday
Dec: Joint SAR/DAR Christmas Party - no offical set date
Rational: Over the past year the Chapter has been involved in a number of events held by neighboring chapters. Also, there have been quite an increase in State level events. Almost all of these events have occurred on Saturdays. It is very important to participate in these events as it provides an opportunity to get to know others within the State society which in turn increases the esprit de corps with our fellow SAR members. Increasingly it has become difficult to deconflict CMM meetings with other SAR activities. As an example - only one of our CMM Chapter Meetings in 2019 will have been held on the date designated in our constitution. By moving the meeting to the 2nd Monday of the month (proposing an evening meeting time) deconflicts the meeting with other SAR events allowing chapter members to participate in those events, and allows members who might be traveling to events out of state to still make the monthly meetings when they return. The BOM would also like to see more members attending the monthly meetings. Saturday is typically one of the few days that members who are still working have off and may have other family obligations that take precedence over the SAR. The BOM is hoping that moving the meeting to Monday evenings will allow more members to attend.
Item #3: It was MSA to change the term of office for CMM officers from 1 year to 2 years, and to remove the office of 2nd Vice President.
Rational: At this time the Chapter is pretty thin in the number of members capable of taking the reins and running the organization. The BOM believes that moving the term of office to 2 years will ensure stability in the officer ranks for the next few years in order to build up members' experience with the organization so they will be ready to take on the leadership of the Chapter in 4 or 5 years. The leadership structure of having a 2nd Vice President makes sense if the Presidential term is 1 year. This gives a person 2 years of experience to learn how to lead the organization so they can be effective right away in their presidential term. With the officer terms set to 2 years, that 2 year "training" period is accomplished as the Chapter Vice President.
Rational: At this time the Chapter is pretty thin in the number of members capable of taking the reins and running the organization. The BOM believes that moving the term of office to 2 years will ensure stability in the officer ranks for the next few years in order to build up members' experience with the organization so they will be ready to take on the leadership of the Chapter in 4 or 5 years. The leadership structure of having a 2nd Vice President makes sense if the Presidential term is 1 year. This gives a person 2 years of experience to learn how to lead the organization so they can be effective right away in their presidential term. With the officer terms set to 2 years, that 2 year "training" period is accomplished as the Chapter Vice President.
The following item is a change to both the CMM Constitution and the CMM By-Laws.
Item #4: It was MSA to require a review and renewal of both the CMM Constitution and CMM By-Laws every 5 years.
Rational: The changes being proposed above are a re-alignment of our business in order to correct problems and issues unique to the Chapter in 2019. The Constitution and By-Laws should be reviewed regularly to ensure the Chapter remains strong and vital.
Item #4: It was MSA to require a review and renewal of both the CMM Constitution and CMM By-Laws every 5 years.
Rational: The changes being proposed above are a re-alignment of our business in order to correct problems and issues unique to the Chapter in 2019. The Constitution and By-Laws should be reviewed regularly to ensure the Chapter remains strong and vital.
Thank you for your continued support for the SAR and the Culpeper Minutemen. Hopefully these changes will help to make a stronger organization, and I look forward to seeing everyone at our Chapter meetings this Fall.
Sincerely,
Tom Hamill
President, Culpeper Minutemen Chapter
Virginia Society, Sons of the American Revolution
Sincerely,
Tom Hamill
President, Culpeper Minutemen Chapter
Virginia Society, Sons of the American Revolution
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