Charter Notice

Update on the Photography Club’s Charter

By VAC/PC Transition Committee Members

Jim Bilbro, Marlene Sloan, Wes Odell

This will bring you as up-to-date as we can on the status of our activities leading to become a Sun City-recognized Chartered Club, and briefly describe what will happen next.

In order to become a Chartered Club, the Community Association (CA) needs to receive:

An Application with the names of four interim officers: a President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary
A list of at least fifty (50) people who desire to become Chartered Club members
A proposed Bylaws document

This paperwork is ready to submit. We have at last count 55 names on the list, and have named current Photography SIG officers Mark Holly, Larry Mart, Charles Byers and Buddy Lerch to the four “interim” positions. The Bylaws have been written and reviewed by the current Board of Directors and are available for any member to review by sending a request to Wes Odell at ODELL111@verizon.net. We will probably submit a Charter Application package to the Chartered Clubs Committee for consideration at their August or July meeting.

Since the above are the CA’s requirements, there is no requirement per se for the members of the Photography SIG of the VAC to hold a vote. What happens to the SIG at the end of 2008 is up to the VAC to determine. In effect, those wishing to form a Chartered Club just follow the CA's requirements and do so.

Those who have not put their name on “the List” may do so by contacting Buddy Lerch at archgrafix@gmail.com / phone 868-6820 prior to the submission date. There will be no dues to join the Chartered Club in 2008, nor a cost or fee to put your name on “the List.”

A four-person committee of two Photography SIG persons and two VAC persons, none of whom is on a Board, has been meeting to define the sharing of equipment and space once the New Amenities have been completed. These discussions have been very cordial and no one expects any problems.

We who are in the VAC’s Photography SIG will continue to be members and the SIG will continue to function to the end of 2008 as a VAC subset, as planned at the beginning of the year: same programs, same subject of the month, same officers, same everything, as shown on the website. SIG members can continue to display their work through the end of the year as has been done, and can participate in the 3^rd Annual Competition and Exhibition, a VAC and Photography SIG joint effort.

That’s how things stand at the end of March.

Questions about all this can be sent to Mark Holly hollyms@gvtc.com and they will be answered in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the website. There will be a second meeting where SIG members can ask questions and put their names on “the List.” It will be at 2 pm April 10 in Activities Center Room 3.

Questions & Answers

Why should we become a Chartered Club?

With the new space arrangements, it is important that the Chartered Club be an equal partner with the VAC in decisions concerning the new Photography Studio.
A group the size of the current SIG organization should have complete control of its destiny under the CA umbrella.
The interests of the Photographers are significantly different from those of the painters, particularly in the area of our equipment and facilities, and education and programs, and hence our monies will be more effectively directed as a Charter Club.
There is a sense among the members that the club is on the move to a new level of activity and becoming a Charter Club is a natural evolution. One might compare it as moving from an apartment to one’s own home.
A Charter Club has direct access to the CA. This is seldom necessary, but when needed, it is vitally important.

What’s next?

Without putting too tight a time line on it, and leaving room for changes of plans to be made along the way, and changes by the new (2009) officers, here’s what the future looks like at this time.

After the Charter Application is submitted and approved, we will have nominations and elections for the first set of officers for the new Club. Their terms of office will commence January 1, 2009, but their election in 2008 will give them ample opportunity to plan for 2009. Tyler Crowder has been appointed by the current board to be the Chair of the Nominations Committee. You can contact him to let him know where you would like to serve, given your interests, skills and experience: tylerctx@suddenlink.net. Right now, elections are planned for September.

A Member Profile will be distributed to all who sign “the List” as well as to all new members. Please consider how you might be able to help your new club and let us know your interests, talents and ideas in the Member Profile. We'll need your skills and energy, along with your enthusiasm to make our new independent club flourish and be fun.

In the new scheme of things, officers will have two-year terms, but the terms will overlap with half of the positions coming up for election each year. Two years will give them a better planning horizon. We have re-defined the jobs so that they are much smaller. Thus, although they will serve twice as long, it is anticipated their jobs will be half as involved. This is an attempt to reduce the end of year/first of year scramble we’ve had, create a better environment for planning activities, make the jobs more enjoyable, and reduce or eliminate the incidence of “burnout.” Having more people involved this way will increase the percentage of club members who are really involved in the work from today’s 4% to about 15% - 20%. Our current organization was defined four years ago when we had 20 members, and is badly in need of a major revision.

New Chartered Club Commencement

The new officers will commence Chartered Club operations on January 1, 2009. We don’t yet know exactly when we will move into the new Studio, but we will continue to have our meetings in either Rooms 3&4 as now or the Atrium, and our major workshops and education will be there, just as they are now. The Studio will be utilized for small meetings, discussion groups, SIGs and photographic activities. There will be a sharing arrangement of the Studio with the VAC.

After we move into the new Studio, we will share that hanging space with the VAC and the VAC will share its Studio’s hanging space with us. We’re still working out details for the Atrium’s hallways. We will continue to have the display window in the Ballroom, the Oaks, and a display window in the Studio.

There will be an opportunity to set up tabletop photo activities, portrait work, and other photographic endeavors as the members’ needs develop. The Studio will be kept as a “clean room”…no chemicals, no chemical paints, no powders.

We think we’ve covered the bases, but if you still have questions, send them in to Mark and we’ll answer them on the website FAQ page. And, think about where you will fit into the exciting scheme of things, given your talents, interests and experience.