Here we are at the start of another new year – 2025. Remember where we were 25 years ago, as we stood at the doorstep of the new millennium? The threat of Y2K was looming over the entire world as we worried about massive technology failures – all because we never bothered to allow space for four digits, rather than two in our algorithms. Our computers would not be able to read the year 2000 – and would only recognize /00 instead. Well, we got through that one – and have encountered and survived many other BIG ISSUES since then. So, what lies ahead for our own Probus Club in 2025?
There are three big issues on this year’s agenda:
- We need to focus on growing our membership base, by attracting new members.
- We need to prepare and submit a full slate of officers for our Management Committee, for election at our AGM in February, to keep our club vibrant and active.
- We must complete the adoption of our revised Constitution and Bylaws at our AGM.
For many, the AGM is one of those “technical, legal events” that have to be held in order to maintain organizational integrity. But it is much more than that. The AGM is an event where members exercise their responsibility to select their leadership team and to set the direction for the future success of our club.
For this year’s AGM, one of the key tasks is to approve an updated Constitution and Bylaws. While this is never one of the more exciting agenda items to consider, it is, nevertheless, a very important one. Our documents were significantly out-of-date and needed a fresh look. A small, dedicated team slogged through all of our old documents and provided a set of new, up-to-date ones for consideration. To avoid the risk of letting some of these items become more than 20 years old, as ours were, we commit to review and update them every three years.
We must present any changes to these documents at the General Meeting preceding the AGM, so that members can vote on any proposed changes at the AGM. So, included in this month’s Newsletter are links to our revised Probus Club Constitution and Bylaws. Please print a copy for yourself and bring it to the AGM in February. At the AGM, we will provide a summary of the changes being proposed, along with the rationale for the changes. Hopefully, this can be done through a streamlined yet transparent process – and not take several hours to complete … please!! Remember we do have one of our club members delivering the Speaker’s Presentation for the February meeting and we do not want to infringe on our speaker’s time slot.
It is also important to note that our Bylaws require that 25% of our membership is needed for a quorum at the AGM. That is a minimum of thirty members present at the AGM. Please plan to attend the AGM and fulfill your voting role in guiding the future of our club.
“Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country, and this world.”
Sharon Salzberg
Jim McKinlay,
President