This year’s Annual Meeting is scheduled for September 7, and it’s returning to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame Speed Dome.
As most of you are probably aware, since the start of COVID, we had been taking a different approach to our Annual Meetings. In-person, large gatherings were viewed as opportunities for the potentially deadly virus to spread, so we moved to a hybrid setup where we made it possible for members to attend virtually as well as in person.
Once the threat of COVID had passed, we continued the hybrid meetings, but we knew something was missing. The hybrid format worked well from a logistical standpoint, but we felt as though we’d lost that in-person contact with you, our members that we had grown to love.
So, this year we are welcoming back our old venue and our “family gathering” Annual Meeting—albeit with a few changes.
Most notable of the changes for this year at least is that we will be serving breakfast. Since our meeting takes place in the morning, we thought it more appropriate to serve you something you’re more accustomed to eating at that time of the day.
Another notable change is unfortunately no rides or inflatables for children. We apologize for this, but so many years having passed since the last time we held an in-person meeting. We have an almost entirely new crew of employees to put it on, and we just didn’t have the capability to get them up to speed for this meeting.
We will, however, be playing bingo! We will have some really good prizes for our bingo winners, and we will be doing prize drawings between the rounds of bingo. The bingo and all prize drawings will be only for members of the Cooperative.
This year, we also are starting to bring our Bylaws into modern times. This first round of changes being proposed are primarily to Articles III & IV, but there are accompanying changes to several other Articles to ensure no conflicts or confusion will occur.
As it has been in the past several years, your Annual Meeting notice and Annual Report is being mailed to you separately from this magazine. You should receive your notice about the third week of August.
A copy of the proposed Bylaws changes is being included in that notice. Some are just minor corrections for grammar and word choice. Others are more in-depth. All the changes are intended to more clearly define how business is to be conducted at meetings, how the Cooperative is to be governed, and how your Board of Trustees can be more accountable to you, our members, as well as themselves, as a board.
We ask that you closely review these proposed changes, and when you come to your Annual Meeting, come prepared to vote on them. Since we are conducting a vote, you will need to bring with you a state-issued photo ID and any other documentation you would normally need to bring for an election. This includes any possible letters of authorization if you are intending to vote on behalf of a church, volunteer fire department, or business. Please refer to your Annual Meeting notice for more information about this.
We are looking forward to seeing you in person again at this year’s Annual Meeting. We promise you will not be disappointed. This year’s grand prize is a 5-day, 4-night trip for 2 to your choice of a couple of possible destinations.