Updated 22-Aug-2022 = Copyright (c) 2022 Corvairs of New Mexico     

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REORGANIZATION MEETING 

With the four elected officers having resigned as of Friday 16 November 2018,
it is up to the members of the club to decide if the club will continue.

We held a reorganization/discussion meeting on Sunday, November 25. Twenty
members attended. A report will be in the December newsletter, published soon.

FIRST PRIORITY: elect new officers at the regular December 5th meeting, 5:30 PM
at Galles Chevrolet. After that, we can discuss the club's future.

SECOND PRIORITY: We discussed many ideas of how the club should change. These
ideas will be discussed and some will probably be implemented soon.

If you care how the club moves into the future, come to the December meeting at
Galles Chevrolet at 5:30 PM and help elect officers. Then, let those officers
know your ideas. This is our club. All members should contribute ideas.

SUMMARIES OF REPLIES OR COMMENTS

17-Nov - Terry Price
18-Nov - Dave Allin
18-Nov - Jim Pittman
18-Nov - Dave Allin
18-Nov - Tarmo Sutt
18-Nov - Larry Blair
20-Nov - Fred Edeskuty
21-Nov - Ed Halpin
22-Nov - Mark Domzalski
23-Nov - Bob Kitts
25-Nov - Gordon Johnson
26-Nov - Report of Meeting



TERRY PRICE:
	It is my belief that Corvairs of New Mexico can overcome the obstacles
before it and continue on.
	I will be happy to attend a reorganization meeting. I am involved in
church activities which take up a lot of time. Unfortunately, I have a class I
conduct on Wednesday nights which keeps me from attending the Corvair meetings
sometimes but most of the time I do my best to make it to the meetings. I also
have a neighborhood meeting that also meets on Wednesday nights but only 4 times
a year and not always on the first Wednesday of the month.
	I will continue to support the club and step in to help as often as I
can. This truly is a serious commitment on my behalf. I must be very careful to
not make commitments that I cannot keep. It is my hope a meeting time can be
established that will work for many. I had already arranged to be at the next
meeting in October and see no reason why we should not still have the meeting.
Whoever is the next officer in line, or a board member, should be the one to
conduct the meeting.
	As always, I appreciate your efforts in this matter.....
	Thank you,Terry Price



DAVE ALLIN:
	As one of the newest members of the club, I'm not sure how much standing
I have to comment, but I must say that I want the club to continue. To that
end, I am willing to serve in any capacity the members feel I am qualified for.
	Jim's concern about driving at night is an issue for many of us, and it
may be keeping some members from attending our meetings. I suggest we go to
Plan B of our previous discussion on when and where to have the monthly meeting,
and schedule it in the daytime on a weekend, either at a restaurant or at some
other venue that can be arranged. Bob Agnew allows clubs to meet at The Olde
Car Garage (for a nominal fee), and we could check to see if there is a suitable
day/time slot available there. There may be other locations that work as well.
I would be willing to have the meetings at my house, although it might mean
sitting on each other's laps.
	We would definitely need a re-organization meeting, but it would need
maximum participation. Perhaps Jim (or me, or somebody) could send an email out
with three or four options for a re-org meeting time and location, and everyone
could respond saying which ones work for them and which don't. Then we could
tabulate the results and arrange to meet at the time and place that the most
people could attend.
	I hope I'm not being presumptuous with my suggestions, but I really want
the club to succeed, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that
end. I am a retired Army First Sergeant, and I have a lot of skill and
experience in organizing groups of people, so please take advantage of me.



JIM PITTMAN:
	I think the club can continue, but participation has dwindled in recent
years. We should work on the questions,
	* Whether to have a reorganization meeting;
	* Whether to move the meeting time and place into daylight;
	* Whether enough people commit to standing for office;
	* Whether enough people commit to supporting the officers and the club.
If a consensus says we need a separate reorganization meeting, Heula and I can
have it here. Maybe a Sunday afternoon, maybe Nov 25 or Dec 2nd.
	Or we can meet at the regular time and place and elect officers and go
on from there.
	Meantime, we need to reach "enough" members to get a consensus.
Whether to do it by email or by phone calls, that is the question. Meantime,
I'll summarize replies and suggestions on my web page for all to see.



DAVE ALLIN:
	My first question would be, do all the members have email? Do we have
valid phone numbers for those who don't?
	I think we will need a reorganization meeting, but scheduling it is
tough. Of the two times you mentioned, I can't make one of them, due to the
Model Car Club Christmas party.
	Maybe first send out a questionnaire (or call people) with yes/no
answers on whether people want the club to continue, and if so, will they stand
for office, and would they support a change to daylight meetings. If not enough
answer yes to the first two questions, then everything else is moot. If enough
people say yes to all three, then we can send out a questionnaire with times and
locations to choose from. We could then use the first meeting at the new
location, if there is one, to reorganize.
	Personally, I would favor a more streamlined organization, with fewer
officers and a less formal meeting format, but I'm not sure what the
requirements from the state are. I would like to see the meetings more open and
social and less Robert's Rules of Order, and include tech tips and even
demonstrations if possible, to get all the members more personally involved.
From my experience, the only officers really needed are a President,
Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, and Newsletter Editor. Those four can
easily absorb the other functions as needed.



TARMO SUTT:
	Tarmo and Kay think the club should have a re-start opportunity. They
can drive to Albuquerque for an afternoon meeting if one is called.
	A major problem is lack of participation, but we all have many more
demands on our time than in years past. New officers and a rethinking of the
purpose of the club may help participation. CORSA and CNM have always been for
the preservation and enjoyment of Corvairs. That can continue indefinitely.



LARRY BLAIR:
	Agree, driving at night is getting to be a problem for many.
Lack of participation is a problem. We should conduct meetings and come up
with activities that people are interested in.



FRED EDESKUTY:
	... My hope was to get at least a little more active, one of the
reasons I bought my old "turn key" Spyder back.
	... my distance from ABQ preclude evening meetings.



ED HALPIN:
	... [ Ed wrote a long email about problems and possible solutions. We
can discuss at the Sunday meeting. The followings are ideas and comments. ]
	... priority: elect new officers
	... combine secretary and treasurer to one position
	... president picks vice-president
	... work to pick up new members
	... organize activities to attract and keep members
	... become a facebook or email only organization, no dues
	... if the newsletter is a problem, go to quarterly or online-only
	... the Colorado clubs hope we will hold up our Tri-State commitment
	... communication tools: each does its part.
		* web site
		* newsletter
		* emails
		* facebook
		* business cards



MARK DOMZALSKI:
	... [ Mark and Elizabeth are in north Florida in the middle of work to
repair Hurricane Michael damage. Mark will try to email some thoughts. -- Jim ]



BOB KITTS:
	...[ We will be out of town, but are interested in what is going on. ]



GORDON JOHNSON:
	While I probably can't make the meeting this Sunday, I would like see
the Club continue and would like to support it by participating more than I
have in the past. I hope that the Club can make some changes that will enable
more members to participate. I appreciate the problem of driving after dark
and scheduling meetings earlier could avoid this. Perhaps meeting times could
be earlier thru the time of the year of shorter days. Meetings on Saturday
(with breakfast?) or Sunday afternoon might be possibilities.
	I look forward to the discussion and election of new officers at our
December meeting.



REPORT FROM THE NOVEMBER 25th MEETING:

REORGANIZATION MEETING
Heula Pittman

On Sunday, November 25, 2018, twenty CNM'ers gathered in the Pittman home to
discuss ideas and plans for the future of the club. Those attending were: John
Wiker, Jim Pittman, Brenda Stickler, Larry Blair, Steve Gongora, Heula Pittman,
Kay Sutt, LeRoy Rogers, David Allin, David Huntoon, Lube Lubert, Rita Gongora,
Tarmo Sutt, Anthony Berbig, Linda Soukup, Fred Edeskuty, Ray Trujillo, Terry
Price, Vickie Hall and Pat Hall.

Jim called the meeting to order at 3:06 and started by saying that the reason we
are here is that all four elected officers resigned on November 16th. It is now
up to the membership to decide whether the club should continue by electing new
officers and by considering changes to the way the club operates, or be
discontinued. After exchanging emails during the last week with our members, Jim
received back several comments and suggestions. He wanted to read some of these
messages to the group before we began our discussion. Some messages came from
members who were in attendance and some from members who could not attend,
including an email from Ed Halpin, one of our members from the Pikes Peak club
and the Rocky Mountain club in Colorado. Jim then read an email from our former
club secretary, Anne Mae Gold, which stated her personal opinions of current
conditions within the club.

Several points were consistent through the various messages, including:

* Communication: If the club is to grow, we need to communicate better. Several
communication tools are available including email, facebook, telephone and the
club newsletter. Some work for some and some for others. Can we put these to
better use?

* The day of week and time of day our meetings are held. Quite a few of us are
aging and no longer feel safe driving after dark. We feel that this is one of
the problems with low turn out to meetings and events. Others have to work and
it's difficult for some to make it to a weekday evening meeting.

* Our present meeting place, Galles Chevrolet, was discussed. There are pros and
cons on continuing to meet there. We can have the room from 5:30, but must be
out of the building and off the premises by 7:00 PM, which puts a time restraint
on the meeting. The room is small and awkward for us. Depending on the time of
year, we cannot always get out while still in daylight hours.

Some suggestions for meeting places were restaurants. Rita has suggested two
possibilities, Annie's Soup Kitchen at Candelaria & Eubank and another. Both
have "whole back rooms" that would be private for us to use every month. Other
restaurants were named. Ideas should be taken to the December 5th meeting for
discussion. "Old Car Garage" was also discussed as a possible meeting place. The
owner, Bob Agnew, charges a fee and we do not know if he has a time slot during
the day on weekends that would be available.

Linda and her husband, Anthony, recently moved here from Minnesota. They shared
thoughts and ideas from their Minnesota club. Something she did there was to
compile a survey with multiple questions that she mailed to their members. The
idea was to get input on things to do that would interest people and improve
club growth. What are your talents? What would you be willing to do to improve
our club? Why do you not go to meetings? When can you go to meetings? After
discussion of what we would try to learn, Linda agreed to compile such a survey
and mail it to our members. The idea was to put out the word on what each of us
can do and be willing to do to improve our club.

A phone tree was suggested. Linda suggested that a post card could be mailed
soon to pass the word on the importance of the December meeting and to urge
attendance. We have to get a slate of officers elected, we need to start
planning for improvements, we should remind members of the Christmas dinner
(scheduled for Saturday, December 8) as well as donations to The Storehouse.
Terry Price agreed to do this.

Many present stated that they would like to see more tech sessions and TUNAs
included in the calendar. Many join the club expecting to talk cars and learn
about maintenance and modifications to their Corvairs, and often feel neglected
by old-time members. New members are sometimes not made aware of our
Constitution and our web site. This information is in the CARE & FEEDING yellow
booklet given to all new members.

The matter of new officers was addressed. The group agreed that we, as
interested and active members, could nominate candidates for office who could be
considered for election at the December meeting. After discussion the following
members agreed to serve if elected: President - David Allin. Vice President -
Dave Huntoon. Secretaries - Linda Soukup and Kay Sutt. Treasurer - Steve
Gongora. We discussed whether two people could share the office of secretary and
the two ladies agreed to work together in this capacity with the understanding
that if one couldn't be at a meeting the other could take notes. At the December
5th meeting additional nominations from the floor will be accepted and we will
have a full slate of candidates.

We asked "Who are the Board Members?" Presently we have Newsletter editor,
Merchandise, Sunshine, Old Route 66, Car Council Representative and possibly one
or more past Presidents. Are these voting Board members or simply Committee
chairs? Our Constitution says that Board members are to be appointed by the
President and approved by the Board. This is a detail that the new officers will
have to deal with.

We did not discuss changes to the constitution, but as our constitution was
ratified fourteen years ago, it may be appropriate to examine it with an idea of
amendments to bring it up-to-date.

We also did not discuss our club's relationship to CORSA as a chapter. We need
to examine whether we are remaining current with CORSA's requirements. This will
become vital because of CORSA's insurance coverage for upcoming events such as
the 2020 Tri-State. The Colorado clubs have expressed concern that CNM will not
participate in or organize future Tri-State events.

The members present asked Jim Pittman if he would preside over the December 5th
meeting. He agreed, acting as interim president.

The issue of the problem with the T-shirts in the 2017 Tri-State was tabled for
now, leaving the new administration to deal with it.

We adjourned two hours later with lots to think about. We hope that we have
learned from all the thoughtful insights presented, can move ahead and have a
new renewal of CNM, all working together in concert and continue celebrating and
enjoying our little Corvairs for many years to come.




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