Guest A. Combs Posted June 14, 2012 at 12:34 PM Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 at 12:34 PM An official election took place with an overwhelming vote for a new Treasure. However, this person is a grandparent and has been a member for the past year of two gymnasts. The current by-laws state “Family membership is available to any two (2) parents or legal guardians). The past Treasure term expired in May 2012. However, the current President and past Treasure has refused to acknowledge and relinquish any responsibilities or legal documentation over to the newly elected Treasure. The Board President is now requesting documentation of the legal guardianship of the grandparent which in will be verified within the Judicial System. Also the current by-laws state “Board representatives will serve two (2) year terms period. My questions are.... What actions can be taken to remove the past Treasure? And can the newly elected Treasure be recognized even though they are a grandparent? A proposal has been presented to change the bi-laws. However, the President if stating it is after the fact, and will not honor.Concerned Grandparent wanting what's best for her children. HELP!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted June 14, 2012 at 12:53 PM Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 at 12:53 PM How do you know they're wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted June 14, 2012 at 01:29 PM Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 at 01:29 PM RONR doesn't require that a person be a member of an association to serve as an officer. p.447.Do your bylaws require membership? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted June 14, 2012 at 11:31 PM Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 at 11:31 PM What actions can be taken to remove the past Treasure?Well, it sounds like he's already gone (unless the new Treasurer is indeed ineligible, in which case the Treasurer may or may not continue in office depending on how the Bylaws are worded). I suspect your real question is how you force the Treasurer to turn over the documents. From a parliamentary perspective, you could pass a motion ordering him to do so. If he refuses to comply, you could discipline him (see your Bylaws or Ch. XX of RONR if your Bylaws are silent) or take legal action if necessary (ask a lawyer).And can the newly elected Treasure be recognized even though they are a grandparent?Maybe. It seems there are issues of interpretation of facts (whether the grandparent is the legal guardian) and of the rules. As Dr. Stackpole notes, it is not a given that an officer must be a member, so how your Bylaws define membership may not have as much bearing on this issue as the President and former Treasurer believe. Ultimately, it is up to your organization to interpret its own Bylaws - see RONR, 11th ed., pgs. 570-573 for some Principles of Interpretation.A proposal has been presented to change the bi-laws. However, the President if stating it is after the fact, and will not honor.Well, the President is actually in the right on this one. You can't retroactively make his election valid. If he is indeed ineligible (which appears to be in doubt), you will need to hold a new election. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina Posted June 15, 2012 at 11:40 AM Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 at 11:40 AM Maybe. It seems there are issues of interpretation of facts (whether the grandparent is the legal guardian) and of the rules. As Dr. Stackpole notes, it is not a given that an officer must be a member, so how your Bylaws define membership may not have as much bearing on this issue as the President and former Treasurer believe. Ultimately, it is up to your organization to interpret its own Bylaws - see RONR, 11th ed., pgs. 570-573 for some Principles of Interpretation.Pages 588-591 in the 11th; the pages cited by Mr. Martin served the same purpose in the 10th edition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest A. Combs Posted June 15, 2012 at 07:28 PM Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 at 07:28 PM Current By-laws state..Membership - Family membership is available to any two (2) parents or two (2) legal Guardians of each gymnast.Associate Membership has no voting rights, nor serve as officers or redeem points.Only members in good standing will be allowed to work sponsored fundraisers, serve on the Board of Directors, and redeem points.Also noted - Board of Directors ...Each Board Representative shall perform the dities prescribed by these laws and by the parlimentary authority as defined by Robets Rule of Order, Newly Revised wih these by-laws having president in all matters of conflict. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted June 15, 2012 at 09:46 PM Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 at 09:46 PM It looks like this comes down to whether this person is the legal guardian of a gymnast (since being a grandparent seems irrelevant). If he's not, he's apparently not eligible to be a member (even though he may have been treated like one for two years) and, therefore (presumably though the bylaws you cited don't explicitly say so), ineligible to serve as an officer.I think the burden of proof is on the grandparent to show he's a legal guardian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sMargaret Posted June 16, 2012 at 05:31 PM Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 at 05:31 PM A couple of things - apparently the bylaws state that: "Only members in good standing will be allowed to work sponsored fundraisers, serve on the Board of Directors, and redeem points."Has the grandparent in the past worked sponsored fundraisers or redeemed points? Was the question of whether or not the grandparent was eligible or not raised at the time of the election?Is this drama happening in meetings, or outside of meetings? Is it just that the current president and past treasurer aren't transferring the information based on how they see their responsibilities, or is it a decision of the board or general membership not to turn over the information?Lastly, "the board president is now requesting documentation of the legal guardianship of the grandparent which will be verified within the Judicial System" - is this based on a motion, or is this solely based on the decision of the president? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nancy N. Posted June 16, 2012 at 06:05 PM Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 at 06:05 PM Why doesn't sMargaret post more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest A. Combs Posted June 17, 2012 at 11:00 PM Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 at 11:00 PM Drama happening inside meetings. Current President and past Treasurer have held the positions for sometime, the non-profit’s Tax Exempt was revoked due to failure to submit all required Federal Forms (still has yet to pay taxes on 40,000 from last year)! This is a Gymnastics Booster Club and family members earn points for volunteering, point turn into monies - guess who gets paid. The Points Director has failed per the by-laws to provide anything to the members, and the past Treasurer has only provided two word documents with no explanations on revenue or expenses for the booster club. Something fishy has been going on for sometime and when you ask questions this is what happens!The grandparent has earned points in the past, and at no time has the issue of eligibility brought up by anyone ... until the grandparent started asking questions...Only the President and past Treasurer is questioning and requesting the legal guardianship papers - all other members have no issues and have understood that they a grandparent! No motion has ever been made; the request was by one email and just recently at an open house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted June 18, 2012 at 01:53 AM Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 at 01:53 AM Only the President and past Treasurer is questioning and requesting the legal guardianship papers - all other members have no issues and have understood that they a grandparent!Unfortunately, if the grandparent is not eligible to be a member (because he's neither the parent nor the legal guardian of a gymnast), what happened in the past is immaterial. And the fact that he's being singled out only after he won an election may seem unfair but . . . if he's not eligible then he's not eligible. No one cared where Barack Obama was born until he was elected President.As you suggested in your first post, changing the bylaws may be your best option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary c Tesser Posted June 18, 2012 at 06:59 AM Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 at 06:59 AM ...And, again, Guest A Combs, do the bylaws require a person to be a member in order to be an officer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina Posted June 18, 2012 at 11:30 AM Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 at 11:30 AM And, again, Guest A Combs, do the bylaws require a person to be a member in order to be an officer?I think the answer is 'yes' --Current By-laws state..Membership - Family membership is available to any two (2) parents or two (2) legal Guardians of each gymnast.Associate Membership has no voting rights, nor serve as officers or redeem points.Only members in good standing will be allowed to work sponsored fundraisers, serve on the Board of Directors, and redeem points.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sMargaret Posted June 18, 2012 at 02:33 PM Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 at 02:33 PM Drama happening inside meetings. Current President and past Treasurer have held the positions for sometime, the non-profit’s Tax Exempt was revoked due to failure to submit all required Federal Forms (still has yet to pay taxes on 40,000 from last year)! This is a Gymnastics Booster Club and family members earn points for volunteering, point turn into monies - guess who gets paid. The Points Director has failed per the by-laws to provide anything to the members, and the past Treasurer has only provided two word documents with no explanations on revenue or expenses for the booster club. Something fishy has been going on for sometime and when you ask questions this is what happens!The grandparent has earned points in the past, and at no time has the issue of eligibility brought up by anyone ... until the grandparent started asking questions...Only the President and past Treasurer is questioning and requesting the legal guardianship papers - all other members have no issues and have understood that they a grandparent! No motion has ever been made; the request was by one email and just recently at an open house.Something I still don't understand is whether or not the grandparent is a legal guardian or not - this has not been answered. If they are a guardian, then presumably they have some paperwork around and can prove their guardianship.If the grandparent actually is a guardian, then I would suggest that the grandparent write a letter to the board and bring it to the next meeting:* state that they have been asked to verify their guardianship* ask what the normal procedure is for verification of parenthood or guardianship (ie, do they ask for birth certificates to verify parentage?)* suggest that this procedure be applied when people apply for membership, as Grandparent was not asked for verification when volunteering or redeeming points previously* state that they would be happy to supply verification of guardianship if there is an actual process that respects privacy rights, and is voted on by the membership - put forward a motion that proof of qualification of membership will be supplied by ... process, supplied to ... directors. Copies (may/may not) be kept.* and finally, put forth a motion that that the financial information be supplied by old treasurer by ___ date.If the grandparent is not a guardian, then point out that you have an incomplete election. Depending on the language of the bylaws, either the old treasurer is still serving (unlikely), or that position is vacant. And then find someone else to run for that position and start cleaning up the mess!If the grandparent was elected with a strong majority, then presumably the general membership is concerned over the situation. You have the votes - use them.I would also suggest checking the bylaws for an audit or financial review committee, and putting forward a motion that one of those be implemented. Given the situation as posted, perhaps a lawyer would also be in order - especially given the situation with the taxes, and how directors may be legally liable for those taxes.PS: have taken Guest_Nancy_N's post seriously and am posting more. Hope that's what she meant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted June 18, 2012 at 02:38 PM Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 at 02:38 PM PS: have taken Guest_Nancy_N's post seriously and am posting more. Hope that's what she meant.Your guess is as good as anyone's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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