From Robert Mays – RSB-NC Board President.
I want to look back on the past year in the Branch at how the Board has assisted the life of the community and how we will carry forward into 2017.
In 2016, the Board continued to work to improve communications and sharing among our members, and to encourage, sponsor and support Branch festivals and events. The Board and the Branch as a whole faced a number of challenges during the year, including the deaths of two beloved members, Linda Folsom and Mark Eisen, serious illnesses among several Branch members and friends, and individual life challenges. As a result, many Board members and Branch members could not continue with their usual commitments, and some regular activities had to be set aside. Nevertheless, we managed to accomplish several things in 2016, including:
- Supporting a member with a serious health challenge by encouraging donations to our Heart Fund. Also, several members of the Board joined others in the Branch to help with round the clock care and with additional fund raising.
- Reviewing the Branch’s Bylaws and developing several proposed changes, which we will bring to the members later this spring. I discuss this item in more detail later.
- Bringing order to the Branch’s membership records such that we now know how many people are active members. We are always seeking to encourage our members to renew and our former members to join the Branch again.
- We had one resignation from the Board — Tatiana Zybin moved out of town — and we were able to elect Michael Navascues to serve her remaining term, through March 2018.
A number of challenges remain, among them:
- We continue to look at how we can grow the membership of the Branch and encourage new people to get involved with Anthroposophy.
- We continue to look at how we can best encourage the cultural activities of the Branch through organization, support and sponsorship, given that the Board has a central role in the cultural activities of the Branch.
- Our Newsletter editor, Kathleen Wright, decided to step down as editor of the monthly Michael Messenger for personal and health reasons. We are now looking to invite someone else to write periodic posts for our web site and add topical articles. In the meantime, we continue to maintain the Branch calendar and the Branch listserv, but we would like someone else to help enter the events going on in our community and send out the calendar each month. We can always use extra help to make flyers, pamphlets and enhance online communication and promotion of the Branch. This is a significant area of work where additional support is needed. Please contact me if you might be interested.
Our Annual Membership Drive Starts Now!
In carrying forward into 2017, there are several items that the Board wants to emphasize. First, it’s time to renew, reactivate or start up your membership in the Branch!
How do your dues help the Branch? They provide the funds to rent meeting spaces and provide refreshments for festivals, events and Branch meetings, and to meet other costs such as speaker travel and honoraria. Your dues also fund scholarships for members to attend Anthroposophical conferences and report back to the membership what they learned. Finally, your dues provide money for the overhead of providing the various services to the Branch — web site costs, liability insurance, post office box rental, postage, copying, supplies, etc.
Among the benefits of being a member of the Branch, you get access to the members’ listserv and members’ section of the web site, and you can vote at the Annual General Meeting.
There are several ways to join or renew your membership:
- Monthly on-line donation: is currently unavailable
Nominations for New Board Members are Now Open!
There are four vacancies on the Board, due to terms ending and one open position. Therefore, we are seeking individuals who would wish to serve on the Board and help shape the Branch for the future. Robin Haynes and Robert Mays will stand for re-election; Judy Frey has chosen not to seek re-election.
Self nominations are welcome! Nominations should be communicated to the President by the nominee sending a short (200 word) biography that will allow voting members to get to better know you and the gifts you bring, including, for example, your vision for the future of the Board, your relationship to Anthroposophy, and the skills that can help with work on the Board.
All nominations and nominee statements are due by Saturday, March 4, so sufficient notice can be given to the members of the people standing for the Board and their statements to the members.
Special Meeting to review and comment on proposed Bylaw changes – Save the Date!
The Board has scheduled a Special Meeting of the members to review and comment on several proposed changes to the Bylaws that the Board is considering. The meeting will be Saturday, March 4, 2:00 – 3:30 PM at the Mays home. There are 8 proposed changes which serve the following purposes: (1) clarify the wording and simplify procedures; (2) improve the procedures for organizing the Annual General Meeting; (3) restrict the power of the Board in deference to the members in setting the size of the Board and in spending over a certain limit; and (4) make explicit certain practices that the Branch already follows: in nominating members to serve on the Board, in voting for Board members and in amending the Bylaws.
All Branch members are welcome to attend this meeting to give the Board your comments and questions about the proposed changes. A more detailed notice will go out to all members shortly.
RSB-NC Annual General Meeting – Save the Date!
Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday, March 25, 2:30 – 5:00 PM at the EWS High School. The agenda will include reports from the Board, committees and the various anthroposophical initiatives in our community. We will also have elections for new Board members.
Current (dues-paid) members who wish to bring an item forward for discussion or a motion for a vote at the AGM need to get at least four other current members to agree to having the item or motion added to the AGM agenda.
If you wish to add an item to the AGM agenda, please send (email) the proposal, in writing with the sponsors’ names, to the President by Saturday, March 4, so sufficient notice can be given to the members that the proposal is going to be included in the meeting.
