Special Message June 4, 2010

Special Message from the President
June 4, 2010

Dear Members,
 
Once again the time is near for The Ninety-Nines, Inc. to hold the corporation’s Annual Meeting, this year in Kona, Hawaii.
 
I would like to reiterate some of what I wrote to members nearly a year ago about the important duties related to being a delegate to this meeting, a deliberative assembly. As each chapter selects its delegates, members should remember that the delegates not only represent their chapter, they also, by their votes, determine the future course of the organization. Accordingly, it is very important for each member to have a voice in the organization. This is accomplished by instructing their chapter delegates to vote in the best interests of the organization after obtaining information at the meeting and hearing the debate prior to votes being taken.
 
It has come to my attention that a small group of members is trying to control the outcome of the decisions to be made through a campaign to collect delegate slips from chapters that will not have anyone attending the Annual Meeting. If a chapter decides to send their delegate slips to the member so designated by this small group, that chapter essentially has lost its voice. Chapter members will likely lose their input into the decision-making process because they will not know who is voting on their behalf. (A delegate can hold up to 10 proxy votes from other Chapters.) If the member collecting the slips from chapters choosing to send them to her does not send the slips to an attendee, the chapter will also then lose its voice at the meeting. Either way, this is counterproductive to conducting the business of the Corporation in an efficient and democratic manner. Chapters should choose those members they want to represent them and instruct them in accordance with Robert’s Rules.
 
Finally, I will close as I did last year by saying “I sincerely request that all chapters release their delegate(s) to use her own judgment in determining what is in the best interests of the organization after listening to the additional information supplied in the Communications Session and on the floor of the Annual Business Meeting.”
 
Susan Larson, President
The Ninety-Nines, Inc.
president@ninety-nines.org