District 5810 Rotarians and Rotaractors,
This special Governor’s letter is made pursuant to section 10.2 of the MOP, which governs the process for amending our MOP. Our Resolutions Committee has unanimously recommended that we amend the MOP. The draft amendment accompanies this letter, and the key changes are summarized below. I encourage all of you to review the current MOP and the suggested changes, and if possible, attend the November 12 roundtable to discuss and vote on the amendments. The November 12 roundtable has been designated by me as a District Business Meeting for this purpose.
Our Manual of Procedures (MOP) was last amended in June 2020. In the last several months, a team composed of PDG Duplant, DG Templin, DGE Curtis, DGN Edwards, the District Secretary Schieferstein and District Parliamentarian Tarpley, sitting as the Resolutions Committee, has made a comprehensive review of the MOP and has resolved that we amend the MOP along the following lines. The review involved multiple drafts and discussions and was very broad based, beginning over a year ago. Because the existing document had been amended in parts over the years, our group determined that a broad re-write of the MOP was more appropriate than a continued piecemeal approach. Additionally, RI requires that District governing documents be updated to be consistent with the current RI governing documents after Council of Legislation changes. This approach allowed us to: make the document clearer, more workable, and more internally consistent, and to use the same terms, fill in gaps in multiple areas, resolve ambiguities, put certain provisions where they logically belong, and also update a host of sections to reflect how the district actually works. Thus, this proposed amendment generally affects all sections of the MOP. A summary of the key changes is below, but reference is made to the proposed amended MOP as a whole for details.
We will vote on the proposed amendments at the Saturday, November 12, 2022 district Roundtable, which is now noticed as a Special District Business Meeting that will start at 9:30 at Christ United Methodist Church, 3101 Coit Road, Plano, Texas 75075. In the event they are needed, please have your club designate Electors prior to the meeting, and bring the confirmation from the club of the selection of the Electors. See existing MOP Article 5 for details. Electors may not be necessary, but we want to be prepared. All club presidents are encouraged to attend to discuss and vote on the amendments, and all district Rotarians are invited as well to discuss and vote on the amendments as provided in our existing MOP. The key proposed amendments are summarized below:
- To conform definitions and abbreviations throughout the document, particularly when referring to the district officers, and generally to provide more complete guidance as to how certain functions and positions/committees are intended to operate. We also updated the list of appointed committees to conform to existing needs. See generally Article 1 “District Organization.”
- To modify the membership of the nominating committee to better reflect future leadership input as well as prior and existing leadership input, to focus more on members with significant club leadership experience as past presidents, and to make the quorum and voting requirements more rational. See generally Article 2 “Nominating Committee” and Article 3 “Election of DGND.”
- The current membership is the last three district governors, the current district governor, a representative of the Assistant governors, a representative of the remaining members of the district leadership team and one representative from each of the large, medium and small clubs. A total of nine members. All nine members must be present at the nominating committee meeting, and all nine members must vote unanimously for the DGND.
- The proposed membership is the immediate past District Governor, the current District Governor, the District Governor Elect, a director of the Assistant Governors, 3 current assistant governors (one each from the large, medium and small clubs), and 3 club current or past presidents, one each from the large, medium, and small clubs. A total of ten members. A quorum is 8 of the 10 members, and 7 votes are required to select the DGND.
- When voting by Electors is necessary (see generally Article 5 “Voting”), we simplified the process of selecting Electors by providing that the club president is presumptively an Elector unless the club determines otherwise.
- The district finance committee is expanded to seven members to add breadth to the committee by adding club representatives from the large, medium and small clubs, and also adding the immediate PDG. See 1.5.3 and generally Article 6 “District Finances.”
- To provide for club dues at half the annual rate, payable early the next calendar year, for members elected in the first six months of the Rotary fiscal year (i.e. July through December), effective for this Rotary year. See 6.4.3.
- To recognize Rotaract clubs consistent with RI guidance and set Rotaractor District dues at $15 per member per year per member. See 6.4.1.
- To update the process and timetable of reporting on district finances, and to provide more guidance on uses of the Reserve Account. (see generally Article 6 “District Finances”)
- To make more specific the roles of the district secretary, treasurer, and parliamentarian to resolve ambiguities in the current MOP. See generally Article 1.
- To resolve ambiguities in the timing of presenting matters to a District Business Meeting, including amendments to the MOP. See generally Article 10.
I look forward to seeing you at Roundtable to consider these amendments and, as we do at all roundtables, to discuss the many projects we undertake as a District and learn new things. I am very proud of what we do as Rotarians/Rotaractors and encourage all of you to continue to make your Clubs and our District vibrant, impactful….and fun!
“Imagine Rotary! Dream Big & Take Action!” RI President Jennifer Jones
2022-23 5810 District Governor
1-214-668-0669