MEMBER MEETING POSTPONED: The full member meeting scheduled for Tuesday, August 29, is postponed until early Fall. We are NOT meeting at Chris King tomorrow as scheduled. If you are still free come meet us at Rocky Point, see below for more details.
Additional administrative changes to the Bylaws have been proposed, and the Bylaws as currently written require giving membership 3 weeks to review the proposed changes. The NWTA Board of Directors has also recommended an outside Bylaws professional review of the proposed changes to ensure we’re doing right by our intent to create a more open and equitable voting process that allows greater participation in Board elections.
We know this is an inconvenience, but the Board is excited to be taking this next big step for the organization in a fair, transparent manner.
On the bright side, if you’ve already scheduled the time to come to the meeting, grab your bike and come meet us at Rocky Point! We’ll be grilling hotdogs, and have chips and beverages for everyone to enjoy. Come get a ride in, grab a dog and beverage and pick our brain on all things NWTA. We’ll be there from 6:30 till dark.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
The NWTA has grown tremendously in the past few years, and that has highlighted some challenges with the way we elect our board members. We are proposing changes to our board election process in order to create a more open equitable system, and bring more members into the elections process by increasing access and convenience.
Current NWTA bylaws specify that the Board of Directors election is in person at our January member meeting. With over 5000 members, it is not realistic to gather a majority of the membership together in one room for in-person voting. NWTA also has members throughout the region, and it can be challenging to get to the meetings. To address these issues, we propose the following system for Board of Directors elections: NWTA will have an annual 4 week voting window. The voting will be linked to your membership account and will be conducted electronically so that members have ample time to make informed choices and vote. Winning candidates will be announced at the January member meeting.
With this new proposed system, we are also clarifying the process of how candidates apply to and qualify for the Board of Directors ballot.
- Candidates will apply through an application process for specific roles within the organization and compete in the election only among those who applied for that role
- Incumbent board members shall compete in the same process as new candidates
Our bylaws specify that any change to how board members are elected requires a ⅔ majority vote of members present at the meeting where the change is proposed. If those present at the August membership meeting do not vote in the package of proposed changes by a ⅔ majority vote, no change can be made and we will have to continue using the current method of electing board members.
NWTA’s Board of Directors supports the proposed change to a voting window and electronic voting, as a way to increase participation and equity in the elections process for all members. Please come out to our August membership meeting Tuesday 08/29/2023 at from 6:30-8:30 at Chris King and make your voice heard, and help us modernize our elections process.
Chris King Precision Components is located at the address below. Follow NWTA signs to the meeting room.
2801 NW Nela St
Portland Oregon 97210
See below for proposed changes to NWTA bylaws: (strike through shows what has been removed, red shows what has been added.
Article III
Membership
Section 1: PRIVILEGES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. Membership may be established,
from time to time, by NWTA and provide both voting and nonvoting privileges. Members shall support NWTA’s mission and purpose, although members may choose to not participate in or publicly support any particular action taken by NWTA without relinquishing membership privileges. NWTA members are also members of IMBA.
Membership categories may include:
A. Supporting Members Membership – shall consist of such an individual, multiple individuals, organizations, and or agencies, as are interested in furthering NWTA’s purpose mission.
B. Board Members.
Section 4: VOTING. Individual members Each annual membership whose dues are current shall be entitled to one vote per position/topic (1) on election of Board members and (2) on any other matter the Board may refer to the membership for a vote; which vote may be electronically submitted at the discretion of the president. Election of Board members shall be done by vote each year with ballots open for the 4 weeks preceding at the January general membership Meeting.
Article VII
Committees
Section 1
B. NOMINATING ELECTIONS COMMITTEE. A Nominating An Elections Committee consisting of at least five (5) members, the make-up of which may be some current Board members and at least one Supporting Individual Member who is not a current Board member. The Board shall appoint members of the Nominating Elections Committee. The Committee’s duties shall be to:
1. Assess and identify specific skills, and expertise, and qualifications needed for the Board.
2. Solicit and recruit names of Board member nominees candidates from the membership and community at large by the means of a public application process with clearly defined qualifications.
3. Nominate Board member candidates who agree to become members in good standing meet the published qualifications
4. Evaluate the performance of existing Board members and Officers and recommend actions to the Board.
Existing Board members running for reelection shall run against the other candidates. Nominees Candidates for a Board position cannot be a member of the Nominating Elections Committee.