HBC Membership Votes to Drop Boat Ownership Requirement
by John Spoeri

In a historic vote on June 26, 1999, the members of Heritage Boat Club
amended the club's constitution to no longer require boat ownership as a
condition of "regular" membership. The club had been discussing this issue
for several years running, even modifying the constitution several times in
trying to define a "heritage" boat. The catalyst for change came when Pete
Mathews wrote an article in 1998 in the Heritage Hailer pointing out the
folly of excluding boaters who supported the club, but did not own a wooden
boat or other "heritage" watercraft. A lively discussion of the issue of
dropping boat ownership occurred at the annual meeting in November of 1998,
and the consensus was that its time had come. A special meeting was called
to vote on that issue and other modification to the constitution, and the
changes were voted on and adopted by the membership at the June 26, 1999
special meeting.

In addition to removing the boat ownership requirement for membership, the
membership categories were modified somewhat. The categories of "supporting
member" and "crew member" were replaced with one designation of "associate
member," intended for those who don't care about voting privileges. A
summary of all of the changes voted on is available for review below.

A special thanks goes out to Ellen Fiedler and Pete Mathews of the
Constitution and By- Laws Committee for their tireless efforts to review the
old language of the Constitution and to draft the present revisions that
resulted in these historic changes to the Club's charter.

SUMMARY OF CHANGES TO THE HBC CONSTITUTION:

1. Removal of any boat-ownership requirement for membership, wooden boat or otherwise.  (Revisions simply say "Any dues paying individual who upholds the OBJECT AND PURPOSE of the Club and supports its mission.)

2. Revise the "OBJECT AND PURPOSE" to read:

The  objectives and purpose of Heritage Boat Club shall be the research, restoration, preservation and continued use of vessels constructed of wood, regardless of age, and/or representative of traditional design, to educate the public as to their aesthetic and intrinsic value, to promote and foster an awareness of our maritime heritage, arrange and conduct suitable activities ashore and afloat, promote racing of classic boats, and encourage the affiliation of boaters interested in wooden boats and/or vessels of traditional design.

3. Replace both the categories of "supporting member"  and "crew member" with one designation:  "associate member", intended for people who don't care about voting privileges (or for those members who want to acknowledge the help they get from crew or others.......or to provide some insights into what the Club is about as a first step for people who might be interested in joining).

4. Add the possibility of a 2/3 call of the Board of Directors to convene a Board meeting.

5. Eliminate the possibility of combining the positions of Secretary and Treasurer.  Due to the number and type of activities that the Club currently engages in, there are too many responsibilities associated with each of  these positions for any one individual to be able to do both, let alone do them well.  Furthermore, removing the possibility of combining Secretary & Treasurer maintains stability in the number of positions on the Board and assures that Board positions will be filled by the maximum number of individuals, thereby increasing potential involvement.

6. Elimination of the word "Executive" from the Rear Commodore position title (since the Club no longer has Rear Commodores for the various harbors).

7. Eliminate designating the time period that the immediate past Commodore serves on the Board.

8. Various editorial improvements, including minor corrections for consistency.