Club Name Vote to Be Held at April 4 Meeting

Submitted by Joan Cullen

At the February 7th Club Meeting, the motion to change the Portland Wheelmen Touring Club’s name to the “Portland Bicycling Club” was made by Eric Hendricks and seconded by Chip Kyle.

Members have heard the pros and cons on the subject. There have been discussions at meetings, on rides, and at coffee stops; reviews of the results of Survey Monkey polls; articles in the QR; and, it is at long last time to VOTE! Whether you favor or oppose anew name, it is now up to the membership to weigh in on Thursday, April 4th, and participate in making the decision. Per PWTC’s constitution, members must be physically present; and, in order to pass, the motion must receive a two-thirds majority of the votes cast at the meeting.

To keep things orderly and focused on the matter at hand, there is no scheduled program presentation, the reports from board members and officers will be kept to a minimum, and the only topic on the agenda will be the vote on the motion to change the club’s name. Below is an outline of what to expect on meeting night and proposed mechanics of the process:

• Members must be in attendance to vote. Family members are required to be present if they wish to vote. PWTC’s constitution does not make accommodations for online voting, mail-in ballots, or acceptance of proxies.
• Members are required to have their membership current at the time of the meeting. To check your membership status, log in to PWTC.com to access your account. For additional help, contact the membership secretary, Cindy Bernert-Coppola, at [email protected].
• On meeting night, members are asked to check in at the entry door to receive a pre-printed ballot.
• Only one pre-printed ballot will be allowed per person.
• The ballot box will not be available until after the meeting has been called to order. Members not wishing to stay for the entire meeting can leave after voting has opened.
• For those members wishing to speak to the audience, a signup sheet will be available. Speakers will be allotted two minutes to voice their comments. There will be a maximum of 30 speakers. Time set aside for comments is anticipated to be 60-90 minutes. If time allows, the floor may be opened for additional comments.
• Comments by members can also be posted on the PWTC Group Facebook site.
• The president will make a last-call announcement for ballots to be cast, and voting will be closed.
• A pre-selected team will count the ballots (Corey Eng, Tom Carter, and Marci Ray).
• The president will announce the results before closing the meeting.

No matter the results of the vote, it is the love of bicycling and giving back to the cycling community that brings the membership together and gives the club its heart and soul. Remember, to be eligible to vote your membership must be current; and to cast your ballot, you must be in attendance on April 4th!