Minutes of April 11, 2006 business meeting
of the C-7A Caribou Association:
Chris Nevins announced at 8:15 AM that with approximately 125 members in
attendance that a quorum was obtained.
The meeting was called to order at 8:16AM by Chris Nevins.
The pledge of allegiance was followed by an invocation by Bob Davis.
A motion to adopt the agenda as published was unanimously approved.
Officer Reports:
- Secretary’s Report – Wayne DeLawter stated that the secretary’s
report had been provided via email prior to the reunion and hard copy at
the reunion which detailed the proceedings of the board. He stated that
since it had been provided, he wouldn’t go into detail, but that he
would answer any questions about it. Bob Dugan asked a question related
to the secretive nature of the board. Chris answered that the actions
are not secretive as they are open to the seven member board. Chris
asked that Bob hold this type of question to the informal discussion by
the members, therefore this was tabled until that part of the meeting.
Earl Reynolds asked for clarification of the endorsed slate of
candidates. Chris explained that it was approved by the board that an
endorsed slate of officers and board members would be presented to the
membership at the reunion’s business meeting. He further stated that
this will not preclude any floor nominations at this meeting. With no
further questions the attending members approved the secretary’s report.
- Treasurer’s Report – Jim Collier stated that everyone had received a
copy of this report and he would answer any questions about it. Earl
Reynolds asked if there had been an audit of the treasury. Jim stated
that their hadn’t been and stated that past audits had never been done
by members, but by spouses who, while they stated that everything had
been in order, they had informally agreed that the information provided
was of the nature that an understanding of it was not possible. Jim
further explained how the treasurer’s accounting of the main areas of
the association had been separated and recorded to allow for accounting
so that it could be understood by anyone including an audit team. Randy
Smith asked that there be a cap on the amount of merchandise inventory.
It was stated, in response to this question, that all merchandise orders
are reviewed and approved by the board prior to ordering.
Committee Reports:
- Nominating – Chris explained the nominating committee’s difficulties
in finding candidates who were willing and had the equipment to act in
the various board positions. He further explained that the board
determined that it was prudent to bring to the reunion a slate of board
endorsed candidates who had demonstrated or explained their willingness
and qualification to assume the responsibilities of the positions. The
final slate of candidates is printed on the election ballot, but he
reiterated that write-ins are welcome.
- Bereavement Report – Wayne explained that Bob Markham sends sympathy
cards on behalf of the Association to the surviving spouse or closest
family member. He relies on notification from other members, so it is
important to communicate any deaths to Bob or any board member so he can
respond in a timely manner.
- Reunion Report – Wayne stated that the reunion report was sent a
week ago to all attendees and he wouldn’t go into the details of it
unless there were questions. He stated that we attempt to provide a
venue that had something of interest for everyone. Only laudatory
remarks were made by members.
Unfinished Business:
- There was no unfinished business from the last meeting.
New Business:
Board Motion:
- Replacement of Memorial Plaques
- The board moved that due to an unintentional omission on the part of
those members who diligently worked on preparing and presenting to the
association a complete and accurate list of names of comrades who fell
in the line of duty while serving on the C-7A Caribou aircraft during
the Vietnam conflict, a name of one of our fellow comrades was
none-the-less omitted from the memorial plaques at both Dyess AFB, TX
and Hill AFB, UT.
- Due to this omission, the board seeks the approval of the
Association to add the missing name of our fallen comrade to two new
plaques which would replace the current memorial plaques at both Dyess
AFB and Hill AFB which currently hold 38 names to corrected plaques
which will hold a more accurate 39 names.
- The board seeks the authority from the Association to fund the
replacement plaques with funds not to exceed $4,500. Should the expense
for the replacement plaques exceed $5,000 the board will seek approval
from the Association with another motion to include a full explanation
of why additional funds for this project are being sought. After
discussion about the specifics of how each plaque is mounted and the
vendors and after Bob Dugan agreed to coordinate the request for
proposals, the motion carried unanimously.
- Plaques acknowledging those associated with the Caribou in combat
Earl Reynolds proposed a motion that was seconded by Ralph Erchinger as
follows:
In keeping with the purpose of the Association to “maintain interest in
the C-7A/B Caribou and its mission”, I move that the Association
determine where the C-7A/B Caribous are being displayed for public,
non-commercial display and place at each location an appropriate plaque
acknowledging those “who flew, maintained, or supported the C-7A/B
Caribou” and “those who died in combat during the C-7A operations.”
After discussion, Pat Hanavan made a motion to amend this motion that
was seconded by Jim Collier as follows:
“In keeping with the purpose of the Association to ‘maintain interest in
the C-7A/B Caribou and its mission’, I move that the Association develop
a plan for installing an appropriate plaque acknowledging those ‘who
flew, maintained, or supported the C-7A/B Caribou’ and ‘those who died
in combat during the C-7A operations’ at various public, non-commercial
displays of C-7A/B aircraft and present the plan to the membership at
next year’s reunion.”
This amended motion was unanimously approved.
- Clarify Management of the Association Newsletter
Bob Dugan proposed a motion that was seconded by Roger Woodbury as
follows:
“The board is hereby directed by the membership to appoint a Newsletter
Editor-In-Chief and delegate to him the sole responsibility for the
content of the newsletter. The Editor of the newsletter shall report
only to the Editor-In-Chief, as it is not possible to serve two masters.
Under no circumstances shall the Board attempt to directly interfere
with the publication of a newsletter; that is, there shall be no prior
restraint on the part of the Board. Any direction the Board has for the
content of the newsletter shall be communicated to and coordinated with
the Editor-In-Chief, who, in turn, shall manage all aspects of
newsletter production and publication. Further, the Standard Operating
Procedure adopted by the Board in its most recent session is hereby
nullified and shall be stricken. If adopted by affirmative vote of the
Committee of the Whole, this procedure shall become part of the written
and codified procedures of the C-7A Caribou Association.” (end of
motion)
After several members, all of which were non-board members, spoke
against this motion Pat Hanavan, the newly appointed newsletter editor
was asked his opinion. He spoke in support of the Standard Operating
Procedure (SOP) adopted by the Board in its most recent session and he
stated he believes it is fair and workable. The current newsletter SOP
states that while the editor has full editorial control, he will submit
to the Board NLT 21 days before publication an electronic copy of the
newsletter to allow the Board to make last minute changes which normally
will be limited to correction of errors and omissions. Ralph Erchinger
called the question to end discussion since there was no one speaking in
support of the motion.
The motion was unanimously defeated.
- Board Communication Policy
Bob Dugan proposed a motion that was seconded by Randy Smith as follows:
“The Board is hereby directed by the membership to keep the webmaster
and the newsletter Editor-In-Chief informed of ALL Board proceedings, be
they by word of mouth, telephone, email, or any other communications
mode. The proceedings of the Board should be in the public domain of the
members who elected them and the two communications links to the
membership are the web site and the newsletter. It is neither
appropriate nor necessary for the C-7A Caribou Association Board to
conduct secret proceedings hidden from the membership, or from all board
members. If adopted by affirmative vote of the Committee of the Whole,
this procedure shall become part of the written and codified procedures
of the C-7A Caribou Association.” (end of motion)
Chris Nevins stated that all actions are open, not in secret, and are
primarily done by email addressed to Board members. As with other
Associations there is no requirement to report verbatim Board
discussions, only the results of those discussions which the Board does
through the Secretary’s report. Wayne DeLawter stated that the
background for this occurred as a result of discussions brought to the
Board by non-board members unrelated to their area of responsibility and
others who had no association responsibility like being a committee
person. This caused an additional and unnecessary workload to an already
overburdened Board. Wayne stated that it is difficult enough to
coordinate issues among the seven members on the Board without direct
interference from members outside the Board. The offenders were advised
to keep their comments related to their areas of responsibilities so
that the Board could function reasonably.
Without any members speaking in favor of the motion, a vote was taken
and the motion was unanimously defeated.
- Selecting Candidates For Elected Office
Bob Dugan proposed the following, which was seconded by Kelly Grissom:
“The Board is hereby directed by the membership to create a well-defined
procedure for selecting candidates for office. This procedure shall be
made public to all members so that all may participate equally in
seeking office. There shall be no overly restrictive conditions placed
on candidacy for office; the prime requisite shall be willingness to
fulfill the published duties of the office and willingness to work for
the betterment of the Association. To avoid conflict of interest, there
should be a formally appointed Nominating Committee, none of whose
members are then current members of the sitting Board. The
recommendations of the Nominating Committee shall determine the slate of
candidates and the Board shall not have the authority to alter the slate
presented by the Nominating Committee.”
If adopted by affirmative vote of the Committee of the Whole, this
procedure shall become part of the written and codified procedures of
the C-7A Caribou Association.
Earl Reynolds moved that this motion be amended as follows:
“Move that the Board develop an amendment to the By-Laws to be submitted
for vote of the active membership that establishes the nominating and
elective process for the board members of the association, including a
nominating committee of three non-board active members of the
association who shall report such nomination to the reunion association
at the reunion association business meeting.” Huey Frye seconded this
motion to amend. This amended motion was passed with a vote of 103 for
and 22 against. Jim Collier asked that after the board develops the
amendment to the By-Laws that the issue be tabled until the next
reunion’s business meeting whereupon its disposition will be determined
by the attending members. This was approved.
- Audit Committee
Earl Reynolds proposed the following:
“I move that an Audit Committee comprised of four non-Board members be
developed to audit the financial records at the end of each fiscal
period. Bob Dugan seconded this motion. Earl Reynolds volunteered to
chair this audit committee and solicited three volunteers for this
committee. Pat Brooks, Randy Smith and George Moore volunteered for this
committee. This motion was unanimously approved.
Presentation of Board Nominees
Chris presented the slate of nominees as printed on the ballot. He
explained that all nominees had acknowledged their willingness and
qualifications to serve as officers/board members. The nominees are as
follows: Chris Nevins, president; Bill Buesking, vice-president; Wayne
DeLawter, secretary; Jim Collier, treasurer; Rene Canuel, Hallis
Cunliffe, and Marty Hillman at-large Board members.
Floor Nominations for Board Nominees
Chris asked for nominations from the floor for any officer/board
positions. No floor nominations were made.
Election of Board Members
After Chris asked the attending members to mark their ballots it was
proposed that with a single slate of nominees that they be elected by
proclamation. The membership unanimously concurred and without negative
votes, the slate was elected.
The floor opened for informal discussion by members:
Bill Buesking spoke about the next reunion planned at San Antonio for
September 2007.
Bill Buesking spoke about the membership searching committee that he
was forming.
Huey Frye inquired about whether there is any interest in having a
future reunion on a cruise ship for which he would act as planner.
Pat Hanavan spoke about restoration of C-7A 62-4193 underway at the
National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB,
Ohio. Pat has contact with the historian and the restoration team
working on the project and we should provide assistance with any
information they may need about the aircraft.
With no further business, at 10:18 AM a motion was accepted to adjourn
the meeting. It passed unanimously. |
