SouthernKettles.Org

Hey everyone!  We made it, it’s now time to get ready to cast your vote on who you’d like to see on the Chapter’s board.  The action committee has decided to forgo the absentee voting this time and make two dates available for you to vote in-person.

Day 1: Tuesday, January 31st from 6PM to 8PM at the nordic shelter, across the street from Muir’s parking lot.

Day 2: Saturday, February 4th from 10AM to Noon at the DNR facility.  Here’s a Google map showing you where the facility is http://g.co/maps/4jw69 .

We will have ballots available for this, where you can mark up to seven (7) people you’d like to vote for.  Marking more than seven will disqualify your votes.

At the end of elections on Saturday, February 4th we will tally the votes and let everyone know the results here.

If mother nature graces us with extreme weather during either of these two days, check the site for any updates, as we might have to reschedule.

Nominations are now closed.

The Google doc contains input from the nominees who have chosen to add their thoughts.

• Richard Palmer
• Jim Wiser
• Mike Bettinger
• Ryan Nanney
• TrailBlazer Dave
• Marty Tank
• Jamison Stachel

• Ernie Huerta
• Amy Andrews Payleitner
• Lyle Distel
• Mike Ellis
• Mike Seiler
• Dale Carson
• Gary Anoszko

UPDATE: In order to nominate someone, we ask that you get their permission first.  The committee has received concern from individuals about their name being added, thanks!

If you would like to accept the nomination, please head over to the The Google Doc and use it to post whatever you’d like to say to the voters, it’s a campaign tool of sorts.  If you choose to decline, you may also write that in The Google Doc and your name will be removed from the nomination list and doc.  If you would rather email me with your verbiage or to decline a nomination please feel free to do that.  Again, my email is ryan.nanney@gmail.com

Final Action Committee Update

Synopsis

• The upcoming January 12^th meeting has been canceled.   We are going to do the nomination process online only.
• How can I nominate people?
• What do I do if I get nominated?
• How will elections be handled?
  • In-person
  • Absentee
• Minor revisions to the bylaws

The Details

Meeting Cancellation:

We decided it would be easier for everyone if the nomination process was dealt with online.  The nomination process will be handled on this website, on the post following this one.

How can I nominate people:

We will be watching the comments on made on the following post and updating the list that shows up, daily.  If you would like to privately nominate someone, feel free to send an email to me ryan.nanney@gmail.com and I’ll see that your nomination(s) are taken care of.  Remember that these nominations are for our initial SEVEN board positions.  Edit: You can no longer do private nominations.

What do I do if I get nominated:

If you would like to accept the nomination, please head over to the The Google Doc and use it to post whatever you’d like to say to the voters, it’s a campaign tool of sorts.  If you choose to decline, you may also write that in The Google Doc and your name will be removed from the nomination list and doc.  If you would rather email me with your verbiage or to decline a nomination please feel free to do that.  Again, my email is ryan.nanney@gmail.com

How will elections be handled:

Our next meeting date will be late January or early February, but is not yet know.  Whatever the date, you will get to choose between two ways to vote.

In-person:  At the next meeting there will be at least two laptops available for you to use during the voting process.  We will take turns using the machines to cast our votes electronically.  Each voting person will have up to seven votes to use as they wish in choosing their desired board members from the nomination list.  You will also be asked to identify yourself with a name, email and maybe address for record keeping’s sake.

Absentee:  We want to be sure that everyone gets their chance to vote.  If you are not able to attend (please make every effort to) you will be able to vote online.  To gain access to this online voting system the following criteria needs to be met:

1. Validate an email account by supplying an address and subsequently clicking an email that is sent to you shortly afterwards.
2. Once your email is validated you will be asked to either scan or photograph a picture of your drivers license and send it in to the online voting system.  Please know that your information is going straight to me (Ryan Nanney) and I will see that your information is destroyed after the elections are completed and treated with security in mind for the duration.
3. Once your email and identity has been proven valid you will be able to vote on the same system we will use in-person, but from the comfort of your own home, tablet, cell phone, what have you.

Updates to the by-laws:

Some minor modifications have been made to the by-laws which you can view and comment on here.

The Bylaws have been reviewed by your Action Committee and are now available for open discussion. Remember, that these Bylaws can be modified in the future, after our initial board is elected. They are hosed on Google docs, feel free to post your comments up!

Cheers!

Vote on which you like best. Voting closes next Friday the 9th at 10PM CST!

 Loading ...

All,

We need to name the new chapter for the Southern Kettles. Please feel free to share your suggested name(s) to this post and we will setup a poll for the community to decide/vote on.

Cheers!

This past Tuesday 11/22/2011, the five people on the action committee met to begin planning and discussing the next steps for us to become a chapter of IMBA. Meeting minutes follow:

• Personal introductions from the five of us.
• Fall Color Festival: future distributions of funds raised.
• Find out of we can use IMBA to help with grant writing.
• Usage of this domain(southernkettles.org) for the chapter, can we transfer it to the chapter?
• Create a public forum for discussion on the legal name of the chapter.
• Do we want to include Lapham Peak in the chapters territory (seems yes at this point).
• Work on compiling a single email list of people who want to be involved the chapters, both members and leadership.
• Create a committee email address (running off southernkettles.org)
• Find out if we need to procure insurance for workdays, seek information from DNR and/or WORBA.
• Funding the $500.00 fee from IMBA, to become a chapter. The Fall Color Festival board will vote on if they will help with that, otherwise we move to fundraising ideas.
• Next meeting is set for December 1st, 2011.

There is currently one more action committee meeting scheduled to review the IMBA bylaws and get them posted on here, for public review/discussion. After such, proposal of changes to the bylaws should be given on this website. We will then vote on any modifications to the bylaws, as a community, at the January meeting. Also, we are thinking that those who intend on going for leadership positions (which will be stated in the bylaws) should give notice at the January meeting and we will plan to hold elections at the following meeting, likely in February or March.

Note: bylaws can be modified in the future, we suggest focusing on the big things and we’ll iron-out any smaller things throughout the year.

Happy Holidays all,
The Action Committee

We had a great turnout last night, shown above is about 2/3 the crowd which attended. It was nearly a unanimous decision to begin work towards becoming an IMBA chapter. An action committee is going to be meeting Tuesday 11/22/2011, to begin working on the initial steps necessary to become a chapter. The tentative date for the next meeting is not yet set, but the consensus is mid-January.

It’s been a long road to get to this point and indeed a lot more needs to be accomplished, stay tuned for more details!

Summer has started to dig in.  The plant growth has taken off, so watch out for those ‘Face Slappers’ out on the Trails.  We are trimming them as quick as possible, BUT, understand that at this time of year the ‘growth’ is often faster than we can keep up.  We trim an area, and two days later, the ‘growth’ is back.  WE can use help though!  While Riding, if you come across those ‘Slappers’, remove them!  It Helps ALL!  The mowing of the Trail side ‘Grabbers’ is almost complete too.  Again, understand we have over Fifty Miles of Trail to trim, so Help if you can!  EVERYONE will Appreciate that!

The Volunteer TrailCrew has reduced its WorkDays, but does still get out about every three weeks to do some TrailWork.  Last Saturday the Crew was back at the Emma Carlin doing some ‘Finish’ work on the New ’StoneHenge’ DownHill.  A berm was built just before ‘The Rock’ and two Drops were put in just after, along with some Trail adjustment past that.  It will make that Section of Trail More Fun, and safer!  Two more berms will be built on ‘The’ DownHill before this Section, making the hill a LOT more interesting!

Remember: When you see those ORANGE TrailCrew T-shirts, say “Thank You” to those Crew members.  They’ve EARNED your Appreciation and Praise!!

Want to Help Build Trail by joining the TrailCrew?  E-mail TrailBlazer Dave at davem@worba.org and say:  “I’d like to Help when I can.  Please put me on the Volunteer E-mail List to be notified when TrailWorkDays are planned.”  Then, just come when you can!

National Trails Day was a Success at the John Muir Trails!  To honor the tradition of the day, Thirty-Five eSpeCially CrAzy IrRegular TrailBuildin Crew and other Volunteers worked together with the WDNR to put a new face on the entrance area of the John Muir Trails.  Along with a new Archway, the entrance area was given new gravel, new grassy areas, an updated Bike Rinse area, and the two-way entrance was divided into two one-way trails to avoid the occasional head-ons.

Also, along with the improvements to the entrance area, a smaller crew was dispatched to repair a large trail area that needed some ‘adjustments’ to bring it back up to good Rideable standards -  Mission Accomplished!

After the WorkDay, the Volunteers were treated to Free burgers and beverages at the Muir Shelter, provided by The General Store of LaGrange, and cooked by its owner Mike Bettinger.  He too, Appreciates ALL the work done by the Crew!

After all of that, many took advantage of the beautiful day to actually Ride the Trails, making it a Perfect Day!