BRIARCRIER
October 18, Friday Noon meeting at The Briar's Restaurant, 512 N. State Road, of the Briarcliff Manor Rotary Club.
TODAY IN HISTORY
1845: The U.S. Naval Academy was established at Annapolis, Maryland.
MEETING LEADER: Ms. Anne Cargill
PLEDGE: Anne Cargill PATRIOTIC SONG: Sy Yuter PRAYER: Bishop John Herzog
HAPPY THOUGHTS: Zen, we are happy that Shelley Lotter joined us; Shelley, happy to be here and thinks that Rotary is a great club; Eric, has volunteered to be next president; Sy, has found the missing Charter; Anne, our club needs to be invigorated; Dr. Bob Maher, agrees with Anne.
GUESTS: Dr. Fauzia Deeba from Pennsylvania and prospective members James Pfeifer and Parmela Guerrerio (via Bishop John).
ROTARIANS PRESENT AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: 21 Rotarians present. Scott Lanoff to be new secretary. Elinor, will provide club with rebuilt Charter (its glass and back were missing).
SPEAKER AND TOPIC: There was no speaker since luncheon session was devoted to electing Eric Lebenson as president-elect and issues concerning composition of Briarcliff Manor Rotary Foundation.
The members voted at the general meeting on Oct. 18 to elect Eric Lebenson as president-elect and for the five trustees of the Briarcliff Manor Rotary Foundation Inc. to be Paul Rosen, Ernie Pacchiana, Mark Seiden, Ken Shimazu and Bishop John Herzog.
Sy notes: There are current by-laws of the Foundation Inc. (dated May 10, 2013) which gives the Foundation Inc. sole power to determine how any charitable money is spent. But the current Foundation Inc. by-laws allow the amendment of such by-laws by a majority (of the five). So the current members of the Foundation Inc. can amend the Foundation Inc. by-laws to provide that only charitable money approved by the Briarcliff Manor Club Board can be spent, either by the Club or also the Foundation Inc. Also, there seems to be a consensus that the Club should be incorporated and 501(c)(3) status should be sought only by the Club. In which event there would be no need for any Foundation Inc. But the Club will consider whether or not there should be a Foundation Inc. and, if so, its powers. This is especially relevant to any future fund raising with the Walter Law statue; that is, whether the Club or the Foundation Inc. will try to raise the money for the statue (over 30 thousand dollars). In either case we will need 501(c)(3) tax deductibility to a Walter Law Statue donee.
Sy also notes: The by-laws updating committee comprises Sy, Paul, Scott, Kris and Eric. All now have a copy of our Club's current by-laws bearing the inscription "Adopted, December 11, 1981." These need to be updated to reflect our current practices. Note that we can only update by amendment of these by-laws. Article XIV Amendments states: "No amendment or addition to these by laws can be made which is not in harmony with the club constitution and with the constitution and by-laws of Rotary International." Our committee will determine what "harmony" means. Our by-laws, according to Charter Member Paul Rosen, were twice amended, one is an amendment to the dues article with the addition of a section that current dues are set by the current board and the second an amendment that all past presidents have the right to talk at board meetings but no right to vote. Neither of these two amendments needs to be updated. Our Charter (which gives us the right to use the term "Rotary") says that our club accepts the constitution and by-laws of Rotary International. The constitution and by-laws of Rotary International as well as our club's constitution (the standard club constitution) are available on the web. I await proposed updates to our by-laws from the members of our updating committee.
Next Meeting: This Friday October 25 at the Maya Riviera Restaurant at 518 N. State Road. Speaker, Jim Coleman on How the County Can Help Business.
Elinor Yuter, Reporter
Rachel Leihbacher, Expediter
