| "If something is going to affect your life, it's best to know as much as you can about it." - Donald Trump |
Bylaws: What they mean-Who should see them.
1/14/08 By Kenneth W. Terpenning for KyHarnessRacing.com
1/14/08 By Kenneth W. Terpenning for KyHarnessRacing.com
- By definition, bylaws are legal documents outlining
the self-imposed rules that will regulate an
organization's own actions. Bylaws are a form of
agreement or contract between the organization and
its members to conduct itself in a certain way.
The Kentucky Harness Horsemen’s Association has
its own set of bylaws to “regulate its actions” and
“conduct itself in a certain way”.
Here is the problem…who has seen these bylaws? I,
for one, a member of the KHHA since April, 2006
have not seen them. In fact, when asked of several
longstanding members, not one has seen them.
So the question begging to be asked and answered
is, “How can we, as members, “regulate our actions”
or “conduct ourselves in a certain way” if we do not
know how that way is supposed to be?” That is like
telling your trotter to pace without showing him how
it is to be done! Every member of the KHHA deserves
the chance to see these bylaws firsthand so we all
may hold the association and ourselves accountable.
In addition, the director’s board members are direct
representatives of the association. Therefore, the
actions of those on the board are the actions of the
association.
Recently, questions have arisen regarding the
upcoming election for the director’s board and
whether Mr. Cullipher’s (Terry) and Mr. Goble’s (Jim)
nominations are acceptable via email instead of the
required registered mail. What do the bylaws say?
Since we have not seen them, we cannot interpret
them. In all sincerity, what does it matter how the
nominations are received?
If the nominations are received by those in charge of
reviewing them by the date and time deadline, then it
really does not make any difference.
In fact, email has become the easiest and most
accurate way to track a message and when it was
received to the very second. To challenge the
nominations sends a message to all members that
they do not have a say in whether or not these
gentlemen should represent each of us. The
nominations should be accepted with open arms.
What does the association have to gain by paying
attorneys to look into the nomination process? It
does not make much sense.
I discovered the deadline for the nominations on
December 31, 2007 on KyHarnessRacing.com.
Luckily, I was able to send my nomination in via the U.
S. Postal Service. A problem arose when I got to the
Post Office that evening (a holiday eve where every
business closes earlier than they normally do) and
the lobby was closed. Thankfully a dedicated postal
worker saw my frustration and opened the door to
allow me to have my envelope postmarked for the
required date (12/31/07). The reason I had not
submitted my nomination earlier was due to the fact
that I never received my KHHA newsletter with the
pertinent information. Also, to reiterate a point I
made earlier, I was never given a copy of the bylaws,
leaving a void in my knowledge of how the
association operates that we each pay $25 dollars
per year to maintain membership.
The bottom line, with regard to the Kentucky
Harness Horsemen’s Association, is a revamping of
the day to day operations of the association is sorely
required. A copy of the bylaws should be sent out to
each member immediately for their review.
Newsletters need to be sent out in a timely manner,
to assure each member the luxury of being up to
date and informed well enough in advance to be able
to take action for change or whatever else is on their
agenda. Lastly, the association’s website should be
updated more regularly with an increase in
information available on the website about the
association’s activities.
Let’s call for change in the operation of the KHHA to
bring it out of the Stone Age and into the 21st
Century. Let’s also call for more knowledge of what
our association does and how it represents us.
Let the nominations submitted by email stand to
insure everyone wanting to run for the board is
afforded a fair chance while giving the association’s
members a wider range of nominees to choose from.
Remember, if we do not show a united front amongst
ourselves then how can we expect anyone to take us
seriously?
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