Greetings, friends.

Regardless of tomorrow’s weather, the Kick Off Meeting will be held at Harry Dunham Park at 9 AM.

Enjoy the wonderful weather and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Best regards,

Michael

Greetings, friends.

The Board of Directors has voted to make changes to the club’s bylaws and needs YOUR feedback.  These changes are intended to eliminate some things that no longer exist, to add a conflict of interest policy, to make voting more accessible, to improve the nomination process for persons interested in running for Board positions, and to establish an election timetable.  According to club bylaws, the revisions require a 2/3 majority of votes for approval and a vote is anticipated to take place during the second half of May 2026.  I encourage all of you to review these proposed changes and to direct comments and questions to president@mafw.org by May 1, 2026.  All of these will be discussed at the Board of Directors meeting in May. The following are the proposed revisions to the current bylaws with changes specified or indicated by text in italics.  These changes can be compared to the current bylaws which can be found on the club’s website by clicking on “Our Club” and then clicking on “Club Bylaws”.  The proposed changes are also available on the club website.

Proposed bylaws revisions:

Article III-Membership and Dues, Section 2b, Classes of Membership

Delete “Dual Adult” from Classes of Membership

Article IV-Meetings and Voting, Section 1, Biennial Membership Meeting

A Biennial Membership Meeting will be held during the first week of November of the election year.

It will include a block of time for candidates to make a brief presentation and allow for questions from club members and any other necessary business.

Article IV-,Meetings and Voting, Section 8a, Voting

Change to:

All members of the club in good standing are eligible to vote in elections.

Article IV-Meetings and Voting, Section 8b, Voting

Delete “present and”

Article V-Officers and Directors, Section 3, Nomination Procedure

Change to:

In an election year, a Nominating Committee shall be established, one of whose members shall serve as Chairperson. The Nominating Committee shall consist of three members, at least one from the Board of Directors and at least one from the general membership. The Board shall choose those person(s) selected to serve on the Nominating Committee by majority vote no later than August 7 of the election year.

The Nominating Committee’s function is to solicit candidate(s) for each of the Board’s positions, obtain the advance consent of those who have expressed a desire to be a candidate, and present a list of those names to the Secretary of the Board of Directors by September 1 of the election year.

The Board President shall ensure that the announcement of upcoming elections specified in Article V, Section 4, Election Procedure is made.

ARTICLE V – OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS, Sections 2b, c, and g

b) The chairman of the Morris Area Freewheelers Foundation, or his/her designee, will serve on the Board after being approved by the Club Board with voting rights consistent with those provided to the Club representative on the Foundation Board.

c) The most immediate Past President who is an active member of the club and was not removed from office and/or resigned from office to address a conflict of interest shall be invited to serve on the Board as an ex-officio member.

g) Board members must disclose potential conflicts of interest and are prohibited from voting or representing the club on any matter in which there is a conflict.  Conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to, individual or close relation financial conflicts, personal conflicts, conflicting organizational interests, and/or competitive conflicts.  The determination of whether something is a conflict of interest is to be determined by a majority decision by the Board Members and recorded in meeting minutes with a recorded vote where the vote of each individual is documented.  If a majority is not reached declaring a potential conflict as a non-concern, the potential conflict will be treated as a conflict, and the associated member(s) will recuse themselves from voting and/or representing the club in the associated role.

Article V, Section 4, Election Procedure

Elections shall be held in even numbered years.  Voting shall be conducted electronically, e.g., through the club’s website.  Elections shall follow the following protocol:

An announcement of upcoming elections shall be provided on the club’s website, by email blast, and in the club’s newsletter no later than May 31 of the election year as follows:

“Elections for the Officers and Directors of the club’s Board of Directors will take place this coming November.  The club’s Nominating Committee will provide the names of all interested candidates for all positions to the Board Secretary. The Nominating Committee needs one or two club members to serve on the Nominating Committee.  Interested parties should send name, contact phone number, and email address to the Board’s Secretary, secretary@mafw.org no later than July 31 of the election year.  Selection will be made no later than August 7 of the election year.”

The current positions on the Board of Directors are: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Ride Coordinator, Membership Coordinator, Safety Coordinator, IT Coordinator, and Member at Large.  Duties of the Officers and Directors can be found on the website on page 6 of the club’s Bylaws

Any club member in good standing is eligible to be a candidate for any office, however, all candidates for the position of IT coordinator must be able to provide evidence that s/he has the necessary knowledge and skills required of the incumbent.  Any club member can declare interest in being a candidate for a Board position by contacting a member of the Nominating Committee no later than August 31 of the election year.

A candidate questionnaire developed by the Nominating Committee and approved by the majority of the Board of Directors will be sent to all candidates no later than October 1 of the election year by the club’s Secretary.

Candidates shall have until October 15 of the election year to return the questionnaire to the club’s Secretary.  The IT Director shall post candidates’ names, office running for, and candidates’ responses to the questionnaire on the club’s website by October 17 of the election year.

The club President shall send an email blast to all members no later than October 18 of the election year advising that candidates’ information is posted on the club website and that voting will open on November 10 of the election year and close on November 17 of the election year.  Voting shall take place electronically, e.g., through the club’s website.

A virtual Biennial Meeting shall be held in the evening during the first week of November in the election year.  If any of the Board positions are contested, i.e., there is more than one candidate for a position, each candidate for the contested position(s) will have the option of speaking for no more than 3 minutes to make his/her case for office.  This will be followed by a question and answer period lasting no more than 60 minutes.

The IT Director shall tabulate vote totals and email results to the Board of Directors by 11/19 of the election year and post election results on the club’s website no later than 11/21 of the election year.

The club President will send an email blast to membership with election results no later than 11/22 of the election year.

Elected Officers and Directors shall take office January 1 of the following year.

Article 8, Section 2

1. Change “voting shall take place at a membership meeting” to “voting shall be conducted electronically, e.g., on the club’s website.”
2. The proposed amendment(s) to the bylaws and a brief explanation of them shall be posted on the club’s website by the IT Director no later than 5 weeks after the Board of Directors approves the proposed amendments. The club President shall send an email blast to membership containing the text of the proposed bylaws and a brief explanation of them at the same time as they are posted on the club’s website.  Membership will be apprised that there will be a 2 week period before voting begins to allow for questions and discussion of the proposed amendment(s) and that the window of time for voting shall begin two weeks after the aforementioned has been accomplished and will close 10 days later.
3. The IT Director shall tabulate the votes and report the results to the Board of Directors no later than 72 hours after the close of voting.
4. The IT Director will post the results of the vote on the club’s website 48 hours after apprising the Board of Directors of the result.  The club President will send an email blast to membership 48 hours after the IT Director has apprised the Board of Directors of the result.
5. Passage of the proposed amendment(s) requires the approval of 2/3 of those voting.
6. The results shall be entered into the club’s records.

Article X-Adoption

Change to:

Voting for proposed revisions and amendments to Club Bylaws shall be conducted electronically, e.g., on the club’s website and are adopted and made effective upon approval of two thirds of those voting.  If approved, these will replace and supersede any and all previous Club Bylaws and henceforth all activities and actions of the Club shall be taken and pursuant to the requirements of these Bylaws.

The original Bylaws were adopted by the Trustees (Executive Committee) on February 16, 1994 and have been periodically amended since then.  This document is an amendment and restatement of those Bylaws adopted by vote of the club membership on xx/xx/20xx and effective as of that date.  WITNESSED by:

 

Thank you for your attention and input!

Best regards,

Michael

Greetings, friends.

It must be spring since the annual Kick-Off Meeting will be held on April 19, 2026 at 9 AM at the indoor building at Harry Dunham Park.  Refreshments will be provided, as always.  The meeting will be followed by a variety of rides at different paces.  You can sign up by clicking “Calendar” on the club website and then clicking on the Kick-Off link.  The meeting agenda will include a question and answer period regarding the proposed changes to the club’s bylaws, a brief review of the club’s finances, upcoming club Board elections, and a brief Ramble update.  All members are encouraged to review the proposed bylaws revisions prior to the meeting which have been posted on the club’s website and will be sent shortly by email blast.

IMPORTANT:

The building cannot be accessed until 9 AM.  We will need assistance setting up the room for the meeting before we can start the meeting and no rides will leave until the room is cleaned up.