|
MEMBERSHIP
Sierra Services for the Blind is
unique in that it is ultimately controlled by the membership, rather than the
Board of Directors. Made up mostly of
clients, this membership is structured similar to stockholders.
The by-laws require the Board to have
an Annual Meeting of the Membership on the first Wednesday in May. The Board of Directors must subject any
changes they desire to the by-laws to a vote of the Membership. The Membership in turn can make changes it
desires. As an example, an individual
membership must be in place 30 days before the May meeting. A member rose in a year that the meeting was
held on Wednesday, May 1st. Since most
clients are elderly, and their pensions arrive on the 3rd of each month, this
meant they had to pay more than 30 days in advance. It was moved and seconded that the formal
date be April 5th of each year that a Membership must be active for the
member to vote at the Annual Meeting of the Membership.
This example shows how closely the
membership, especially the clients who are members, look at the agency, and
the care they show toward management.
Another aspect is the Memberships
ability to control the makeup of the Board of Directors. At the Annual Meeting members can vote out
members of the Board they feel are not acting in the best interest of the
agency. Several years ago several
board members felt they should close the agency. Client members of the board were able to
convince them that the votes were available to have them removed from the
board at the Annual Meeting. Finding
the case to be true, they resigned before the meeting. The members also have the ability to vote
individuals to the Board of Directors.
Voting Memberships are in two basic
categories. Annual Memberships are set in the by-laws at $10 per year. The
low cost is specifically designed to allow any of our fixed or low-income
clients be become members. A Life
Membership is available at $100.
The purpose of the Memberships is to
allow the community, and specifically the clients to maintain control of the
agency. In this manner they are
assured the agency will continue to meet the needs of the client, and retain
their stated purpose to provide the education and training, counseling and
transportation necessary to retain the independence of the blind and visually
impaired of our community.
|
