AlfaSeeYas Meeting
Bakersfield RV Resort (at the Alfa Owner’s Club Rally) May 5, 2009
40 AlfaSeeYas coaches in attendance, plus 15 guests
John Bohn opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, at 1:45 p.m. He then introduced the present officers, and candidates, as follows:
John Bohn, President (incumbent; present at the meeting)
Dave Kiesig, Vice President (incumbent; not present)
Belle Bohn, Treasurer (incumbent; present)
Rhonda Dean, (candidate for Secretary, not present)
Tim Dean, (candidate for National Director, not present)
Don Rowe, (candidate for Alternate National Director, present)
Patty Rowe (new Newsletter Editor)
John commended the following officers who are retiring, and thanked them for a job well done: Karen Hugo, Secretary; Tony Monson, National Director; and Jim Huber, Newsletter Editor. Their many years of service and hard work are greatly appreciated by the AlfaSeeYas.
Since there were guests present, John explained the differences between the Alfa Owner’s Club Chapters (such as Roadrunners and South Loafers), and our AlfaSeeYas Chapter of FMCA. Though AlfaSeeYas membership requires FMCA membership, John pointed out that we can have events that are separate from FMCA events, and that we can invite non-members, including 5th wheelers, to such events, for example, the 2010 Rose Parade Rally that is being planned, and can be attended by RVs of all types.
John asked Patty Rowe to comment on the 2009 Rose Parade Rally that she and husband Don attended. She shared some of the Rally highlights, and said that it was very well organized, a great deal of fun, and, in her opinion, worth the fee charged.
Randy Scott spoke about a possible 2010 (mid October) NASCAR Rally in Fontana CA that he has been working on. More information will be forthcoming as plans proceed. John told the group that there would be Rally Interest Sign Up Sheets after the meeting, for people to indicate their interest in these and other planned AlfaSeeYas events.
The previous minutes were distributed, along with a copy of the financial statements. Motions were made to accept the minutes and financial statements, and were seconded, and approved unanimously.
John spoke about a proposed FMCA By-Law Amendment, which will change the requirement for business meetings from two per year, to one per year. He suggested we amend our By Laws to remain in agreement with the FMCA’s By Laws.
A motion was made, seconded, and unanimously approved, that the AlfaSeeYas shall amend our By Laws to remain in accordance with the FMCA By Laws, with regard to Proposal #2 – Article XVI, Paragraph 4 if this proposal is approved at the Bowling Green, Ohio Convention in June 2009.
The amended article would read:
“(4) In each fiscal year, a Chapter shall hold at least 1 business meeting at which a quorum is present. Said meeting shall be duly announced in advance to the membership.”
Nominations were read for the election of officers. It was moved, seconded, and unanimously accepted, that the nominations be closed. There was a motion made to accept the slate as presented, which was seconded, and unanimously approved. As a result of the election, the AlfaSeeYas officers are now as follows:
John Bohn, President; Dave Kiesig, Vice President; Rhonda Dean, Secretary; Belle Bohn, Treasurer; Tim Dean, National Director; Don Rowe, Alternate National Director
John stated that going forward, the Newsletter will be in PDF format, which can be optionally emailed to members, or printed and snail-mailed to those who don’t have email. This will save the chapter money for printing and postage. However, emailing the Newsletter does present a problem. A notice about membership expiration date was previously included in the mailed version to members whose dues were coming due. Tim Dean is developing a way for members to be notified automatically via email when their membership will be expiring so they can send in their payment. For members who will be receiving the Newsletter by snail-mail, a notice will still be included.
John talked about our current “Membership Drive” to bring new members into our Chapter. Hand-out cards were printed and sent to all members, so that they can be given to Alfa owners we meet in our travels. If a member would like more cards, John will send them, or they can be printed from our website. There is space on the card for folks to write their name. On October 1, there will be an award of $100, or two AlfaSeeYas jackets, to the member who has the most referrals.
John told the group that he arranged with FMCA to send out, at FMCA expense, letters and information about our chapter, to 466 Alfa owners who are not AlfaSeeYas members. Eight new members have joined because of that mailing, and more are expected.
There was discussion about ways to recruit more members to be wagon masters for rallies. A motion was made, seconded, and approved, that the Chapter will pay for site fees for a wagon master, if the park does not already provide that. There was discussion about the possibility of paying a stipend to wagon masters. No vote was taken, but it appears that the majority of members, for various reasons, would not be in favor of that. John asked for future input from members on ways to get more wagon masters to put on rallies.
With no further new business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 3:00 pm.
Submitted by Patty Rowe, News Editor
In closing, John invited Alfa motorcoach owners in attendance to join our Chapter, and provided Applications for both the AlfaSeeYas and FMCA. Four new members joined, and more are expected by mail.
