About 20 PR Society/North Florida chapter members "vigorously" discussed the pros and cons of new national bylaws Aug. 20 and rejected the new bylaws in the five areas under discussion. The chapter has 118 active members.
Bylaws chair Dave Rickey took part in the Skype videoconference, explaining the reasoning behind the bylaw changes.
Jay Magee |
Chapter president Jay Magee, senior marketing coordinator of the Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, who conducted the meeting, said chapter leaders realize the revision process is "vital to the growth of the Society and will impact members for years to come, regardless of outcome."
"We realize this is a monumental event," he said.
Discussed were five sections of the bylaws re-write: membership classes (allowing anyone in "communications"); makeup and function of the Assembly which would no longer elect board and officers; elimination of district directors on the board with all directors being at-large; makeup of the nominating committee, which would be headed by a sitting board member, and qualifications for national board service (APR, leadership role, Assembly service or 20 years in PR "with increasing levels of responsibility").
Magee said the proposals were "vigorously" debated one-by-one. Following discussion and Q&A, each proposal "was voted down by a majority of those present by a straw poll," he said.
He said the straw poll was "unscientific by design."
The chapter will continue to encourage members to follow the revision process and make suggestions.
The meeting was not recorded, said Magee. No further details are as yet available. Rickey, who recently became SVP-communications, Birmingham Business Alliance, did not respond to a request for further information.
Sunshine Fought EC in 2005
The seven Sunshine district (Florida) chapters in 2005 fought the executive committee’s bid to be able to exercise the power of the full board between board meetings.
The district, headed that year by Lisa Johnson, demanded that the EC be abolished and all references to it removed from the bylaws and Policies & Procedures.
PRS/Miami complained to the Miami Herald that the Society is "too secretive" and its EC wants too much power.
The rest of the board would become "political eunuchs," chapter leaders told reporter Christina Hoag.
Ron Fredman, president of the 200-member Kansas City chapter, supported PRS/Miami, saying K.C. is against "consolidating power in the hands of an executive committee."
He wanted the Assembly to "return to a deliberative body with full and year-round opportunity to influence the direction of our organization."
Sunshine wanted the full board and not just the EC to hire the COO.
Andrea Finger, 2009 chair of Sunshine, has been asked the district’s views on the proposed bylaws.
Despite such opposition, the EC was empowered at the Dec. 3, 2005 Assembly meeting in Chicago (replacing the Miami Beach meeting Oct. 22 that was cancelled by a hurricane).
For the first time in the Assembly’s history, proxy votes were cast (81) although there were far more delegates present in person (159) than needed for a quorum (103).
Printed Members’ Directory Ditched
Also an issue in 2005 was the discontinuance of the 1,000-page One Source Directory that had more than 600 pages of member listings and indexes.
This action was taken without the knowledge or consent of the Assembly. It was not discussed at the 2005 Assembly.
When members complained about the substitution of an online directory for the printed version, they were told by director Mary Barber that an online directory was "more up- to-date," that PRS was "taking advantage of technology," and was being "environmentally sound by cutting back on paper use."
Members then pressed for an electronic PDF version of the directory for those who desired it, pointing out it would be both up-to-date and would be printed at the cost of individual members.
"That would also be taking advantage of technology," said the members, who noted that text takes up little computer space.
PRS leaders refused to discuss the topic further and continue to do so.
Some members are complaining that some items previously in the bylaws are being shifted to "Policies & Procedures," a manual that is not available to rank-and-file members.
"There is a shell game of governance rules that keeps members in the dark," said some senior members.
Not in the bylaws is exactly how the "full membership" would vote on national candidates. The bylaws committee has said that will not be decided until the Assembly first votes for the new election process.
Proposed bylaws say 500 members, voting in person or by proxy, could constitute the full membership for the purpose of electing board members and officers.
Plans are to reveal the P&P later, Rickey has said.
Major Changes Listed
Below are some of the main points of the bylaws proposal.
- The Assembly would no longer elect officers and board members. That power would be in the hands of the full membership represented by 500 members voting in person or by proxy.
- All directors would be at-large. There would be no requirement to have at least one director from each district as there is at present.
- The board could expel a member after a hearing "at its sole discretion."
- A board member (immediate past chair) would chair the nominating committee.
- Directors could serve two, two-year terms consecutively and then return for five more years on the board in officer posts.
- The PRS COO (currently Bill Murray who has received a new contract, details of which have not been revealed) would join the nomcom as a non-voting member.
- Proxy votes would be allowed under NY State law since they are not specifically forbidden in the bylaws. An attempt in 2005 to bar proxy voting was defeated in a vote that allowed 81 proxy votes. Present in person were 159 delegates. A quorum was 103. PRS was long governed by Robert’s Rules which forbid proxy voting, saying that "a fundamental principle of parliamentary law is that the right to vote is limited to members of an organization actually present..."
- Volunteer leaders might be paid for services (Article 2, Section 2).
- New categories of Society members and Assembly delegates could be created at will by the board.
- Some 25 national committee heads would join the Assembly (which already has the 17 directors, 20 section heads and 10 district heads).
- The board could raise dues or initiation fees between Assemblies with the permission of the Assembly which could meet electronically.
- Chapter presidents, president-elects or their "appointees" would be the preferred Assembly delegates. The presidents-elect attend the annual "Leadership Rally" and each receives $500 from national to defray expenses.
- Delegates would be either "elected" or "appointed" (new word) for one-year terms (vs. three at present).
- Anyone in "communications" including those in advertising, could join as long as they agree to abide by the PRS Code of Ethics.
- A "quorum" of 500 members, meeting in person or by proxy, would have the sole power to elect board and officers. The Bylaws Committee has been talking about "direct" elections by "the full membership."
- Only those who have served on the PRS board would be eligible to be officers.
- All 11 members of the Ethics Board would have to be APR.
- Article III, Section 3(a) says "general members" shall have the right to hold national, district or section offices but Article V contradicts this, saying national directors must be either APR, had a leadership role, "served as an Assembly delegate," or show 20 or more years in PR "with increasing levels of responsibility."
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