Membership & By-Law Changes

​Below is a letter from Chamber President Jon Karner from July, 2020. The proposed membership changes required a change to the By-laws.  These changes were voted on and approved at the September regular meeting.

To All:
The membership committee has proposed some changes to the Chamber By-Laws.  In essence, the proposal changes our fiscal year from
Jan.–Dec. to Sept.–Aug. of each year.  This is a result of feedback from some of our members who believe it would be easier to pay membership dues during summer months when local business is better.  To change the membership dues date, the membership committee felt it best to adjust all of the dates to correspond.
 
 Specific changes are.
 
Membership year would run from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31.  (Instead of Jan. 1 to Dec. 31)
Membership dues would be due by Sept. 1st.  (Instead of Jan. 1st)
 
Board Member “terms of office” would start Sept. 1st of a given year.  (Instead of Jan. 1st)
Annual Meeting would be in May to accommodate voting for new officers (Instead of Oct.)
 
Furthermore, at the Chamber meeting on 7/21 when the proposed changes were discussed.  Those present agreed that the change in membership dues would not go into effect until 2021.  This would mean that if you are already a member, you next membership dues would NOT be due until Sept. 1st of 2021.  We felt this is something the Chamber could do to provide some relief to members due to conditions created by COVID-19.
 
I have attached a copy of the proposed changes for your review.  They should also be included in the July meeting minutes.  Per our By-Laws, these changes will be voted on during our next meeting in August.
 
If you have any questions or concerns about these changes, please feel free to contact me by responding to this email or calling at 218-244-0959.
 
Regards,
 
 
Jonathan Karner
President
Remer Area Chamber of Commerce