NBRC HALL OF FAME VOTING PROCEDURAL CHANGE
NBRC ITEM 2021-001
The NBRC Hall of Fame election process ran into a snag whereas no one
garnered enough votes for admission due to a larger than normal number of
nominees. Annual nominations have traditionally been low in number, but during
the open nomination period last year a dozen individual names were submitted
for consideration. While not necessity or a requirement that someone be inducted
each and every year, a repeat number of nominations would result in an identical
stalemate. Simply put, a large number of candidates resulted in a widespread
distribution of votes rendering it difficult for any single individual to gain over
66% of the votes for acceptance.
President Kelly addressed the committee by submitting the following: “Let me
say from the outset this is not an attempt to water down the election process. No
one is more supportive of the honor that the Hall of Fame election bestows on our
members and to the previous people that have been selected to this special
group. However, we have run into something that represents the HOF being a
victim of the success of our membership, as a whole, wanting to honor very
deserving people. This past election process resulted in 12 people being
nominated for the HOF. We currently have 21 voting members in the HOF and they
can use 3 votes each as they select who they think deserve to be voted into the
HOF. In order to be elected, a nominee has to be named on 66% of the returned
ballots. If no one receives the required 66%, then a second ballot is prepared with
names of the nominees that were named on at least 50% of the returned ballots.
66% is still required on the second ballot in order to be elected to the HOF.
Now for the issue that needs to be addressed. Of the 12 nominees that were on
the first ballot this past year, none received the required 66% to gain the HOF. Not
only that, no one received the 50% needed to be placed on a second ballot. The
reason behind this is not because no one nominated was deserving. Quite the
contrary, there were so many deserving names that the votes were spread too
thin. The proposal that is being presented hopes to solve this issue.”
The existing policy mandated: 004.05 The election process will be conducted as
follows: Each living member of the HOF will be allowed to vote for (3) three
nominees they deem worthy of the HOF. Should a member of the HOF find
fewer than (3) worthy nominees, they may choose to cast less than (3) three votes
or abstain altogether from the voting process. To be elected to the HOF, a
nominee must receive votes in favor of election from at least 66% of those living
HOF members returning ballots. Any member of the HOF abstaining from the
process for any reason will not be figured into the equation. In other words, if
there are 17 living members and only 15 return ballots then 15 is the working
number. In the event that no nominee is elected to the HOF on the first ballot, a
second ballot shall be prepared with the names of the nominees getting votes
from at least 50% of the voting HOF members. Should a second ballot be
necessary each living member may cast (1) vote for a worthy nominee or abstain
from voting.
The proposed revision which is thought to remedy the shortcoming and allow the
process work for years such as the previous one where a large number of
nominees are on the ballot states:
- Round one of the HOF voting will allow the voting members to cast votes for up
to 3 listed nominees. - A nominee needs to be named on at least 66% of the returned ballots in order
to be elected to the HOF. - If no nominee receives the required number of votes in the first round, a
second round of ballots will be prepared. - The second round of ballots will consist of the top 50% of the names from the
first round or the top 3
names from the first ballot, whichever is smaller. - The voting members for the second round will be allowed to select up to 2
names on their ballot. - Each nominee that receives at least 66% of the votes on the 2nd ballot will gain
entry to the HOF. - If no nominee receives the required number of votes in the second round, then
subsequent rounds will be held
using the same method starting at step #4 above.
The proposal passed the committee by approval vote of 14-5
NBRC COLLABORATION WITH JERRY CHACON TO PRODUCE VIDEOS NBRC
ITEM 2021–002
NBRC Member Jerry Chacon submitted a proposal to start an NBRC YouTube
channel containing documentaries that he has produced. The following
submission outlines the way he envisions this program working. He requests that
any revenue that is generated would be earmarked to pay the cost of future
projects that he would be putting together for this YouTube channel. Jerry
submitted:
“I am emailing a proposal on putting together Documentaries and Interviews
related to the Roller Pigeon hobby. I would like to put together an NBRC YouTube
channel and make trailers of these documentaries, then set up a Patreon so we
could have people purchase the Documentary for viewing and make revenue to
help with the cost to make these documentary films. I believe this is the next step
to elevate the hobby and spread the word for newcomers. I would like to use the
revenue to help me with traveling expenses. With the NBRC YouTube channel, we
can link the official NBRC website and Facebook page on the YouTube Channel
banner, video descriptions, and discussion / comment sections. We can also film
events such as conventions and National Flys and upload advertisements for
these events to attract more people. I am also open to work with the
Administration’s ideas that will suit this project. Please look into this proposal
and contact me with your thoughts about this. Jerry Chacon
To begin the discussion period, Tou Yang wrote: “For those not familiar with what
“Patreon” is… Patreon was created by a musician in California as an avenue to
make money and get donations from fans of their music instead of just
monetizing their work through YouTube ads alone. Users, or patrons, join Patreon
and pay a fee set by the content creator to view the work. So, in this case, the
NBRC and/or Jerry, would set the price either monthly or per video and people
who want to watch it will be charged accordingly. Of course, Patreon takes a
portion of the revenue ranging from 5-12%.”
A healthy debate covered different scenarios that might surface from the club’s
involvement, particularly monetary issues. Conversations with Jerry indicated
that all profits would go to the NBRC, but in return, the NBRC would use some of
the money to fund his trips. He’s thinking between $300-$500 per documentary if
the project is a popular and successful venture. Committee Members expressed
having no problem providing Jerry with funds that are generated by the profits of
the YouTube channel, but stand opposed to providing funds in the anticipation
that the videos will generate income.
Further discussion and inquiry with Jerry revealed that he is not seeking any
money from the NBRC, just the endorsement. The group’s general consensus is
that there’s no downside financially to be seen. Jerry’s enthusiasm is something
we should allow to blossom to encourage more participation in our hobby. Those
viewing his work to date agreed that his work is absolutely professional and a
step above everything else on YouTube. While the idea of filming convention
and/or fly competition were considered as great ideas, members stressed that no
actual judging or commentary surrounding the judging of birds shown be filmed.
The videotaping of a kit in competition would potentially create confusion,
controversy, and debate on a judge and his particular style, harming the chances
of attracting that judge for a future event. People will naturally start second
guessing the judge which would be unfair action.
On July 7, President and Moderator John Kelly called for the commencement of
voting. He submitted the following:
● There will be a 3-day voting period for the NBRC sponsored YouTube
channel.
● These are the two options that I am presenting for a vote, please select
either A or B.
● A.The NBRC will sponsor a YouTube channel set up by Jerry Chacon with
video content for the purpose of promoting the hobby. Criteria for this
channel are as follows:
1.All videos that are to be uploaded onto the NBRC YouTube channel must
receive prior approval by an oversight committee of three members of the
Executive Council. This council shall consist of the current NBRC
president and two other members appointed by the president.
2.The NBRC YouTube channel will list the current president,
secretary/treasurer, and Jerry Chacon as owners.
3.A method of receiving payment for downloading any videos from the
website will be routed through an online payment process (Patreon for
example) to the NBRC treasury. Any profits that result from subscribers of
the NBRC YouTube channel downloading video content can be used to
finance additional videos that can uploaded to the channel. The content
and subject of future videos that are considered for use on the NBRC
YouTube channel will have to be approved by the above-mentioned
committee. Content that shall not be approved, but not limited to, are as
follows:
- Any NBRC competition when a kit is being judged.
- Videos that contain profanity, discussion of harming birds of prey,
political in any nature, lewdness, and any other content that is
deemed inappropriate by the committee. - Any DVDs that are made from the videos will made available for sale
on the NBRC store. - There shall be no expense incurred by the NBRC that exceeds the
income received through the downloading of videos from the
YouTube channel. - Any changes or additions to the NBRC YouTube channel that are
required in the future will be subject to approval by the
three-member oversight committee.
Acceptance: 7/11/2021
ELECTRONIC ONLINE VOTING NBRC ELECTIONS NBRC ITEM 2021-003
President John Kelly addressed the EC with a proposal to add an electronic vote
option that could be used in the 2021 Election and beyond. Kelly wrote: “We are
in an election year for the NBRC with the standard paper ballots posted in the
July-August bulletin. Historically, the number of votes cast in past elections has
been dismal. Last year I approached our webmaster, Mark Fields, about the
possibility of setting up an online voting procedure through the NBRC website.
Mark, as he always did, came through with a process that allowed votes to be
cast on any topic by any paid member of the NBRC. This has remained virtually
unused until a couple of weeks ago when Danny Sturgeon created the question
using this online feature asking about the interest in the YouTube channel by the
general membership. This generated more votes than any of the recent elections
the NBRC held, with somewhere over 60 votes cast on the topic. I want to allow
this process to be used for the upcoming election. Our bylaws as currently
written don’t allow for this. The EC has the authority to amend the bylaws to allow
this to happen and any changes to the bylaws began on the date that the vote is
taken by the EC. Electronic voting will be an option and will not eliminate the
current voting process, which requires the ballot that is printed in the bulletin to
be torn out and mailed to the chairman of the vote tabulation committee. This
proposal would be a second method of gathering votes. One of the safeguards
against people voting more than once would be to compare the mail in ballots
with the online voting list and eliminate any duplicates. After the discussion
period the final proposal will be written which would incorporate any other
measures we as a group would want included. Of course, the option to stay with
how the voting is currently done will be a choice as well.”
The proposed option met a favorable response simply because very few
members returned a paper ballot in this new “electronic age” that has led to
decreased participation. With a significant decrease in the number of candidates,
fewer members bother to remove and return the “outdated” paper ballot.
Executive Committee members believed that an electronic voting option would
stimulate people to vote, and expressed faith in its integrity as long as it is
proven to be a fool-proof system that would prevent fraud. Members were
assured that the Voting Committee would have the necessary tools for an
effective “check and balance” system that ensured validity. The paper ballot
process would not change due to several members not using or having internet
access and/or an email address.
Allowing electronic voting would require more work for the Committee
Chairperson and Secretary-Treasurer to verify the votes, i.e. to make sure mailed
ballots aren’t duplicates to emailed ones, etc. But if we get better participation
hopefully that leads to better representation and better club overall.
The downside of voting electronically is the loss of vote privacy. So everyone is
aware, the electronic voting with our website will allow the person in charge of
the website to have a report of how each voted, recording the email they used.
The report can then be sent to the committee. It was stressed that everyone
understands that it will not be a secret ballot to the one having the report made
and the committee. There is no way for anyone to change or alter the votes. Each
ballot would record the voters’ email addresses which the committee can use if
there is a question. I would suggest that if the report does not record the email
address that the ballot does not count to eliminate hacking attempts. With the
email address recorded for the ballots, it allows a way to check that they are a
legit ballot if the ballots are ever in question.
Following the discussion period, President Kelly put the proposal up for vote:
The proposal to add online voting through the NBRC website would require an
overhaul of Article VI of the NBRC Constitution and Bylaws, thus the entire
section from the NBRC Bylaws was posted to offer a clearer view of the proposed
voting procedures. The sections that the proposal would eliminate are inBoldand
the parts that are to be added are inItalics. Please vote “YES” for all of the
changes to be applied to the Bylaws or “NO” to leave the Bylaws as they are
currently written.
Article VI Biennial Election
Section 1. General
- Biennial Elections. Club elections are held in odd-numbered years. The
President, Vice-President, National Fly Director, and Regional Directors are
each elected for a term of two years, commencing at 12:00 midnight in the
morning of January 1 of each even-numbered year, and ending two years
later, at 12:00 midnight in the evening of December 31 of each
odd-numbered year. The outgoing president automatically assumes the
office of Director-at-Large for the same period. The Secretary-Treasurer,
Publishing Editor, and Public Relations Director are each elected for a term
of four years, commencing at 12:00 midnight in the morning of January 1
after the election and ending four years later, at 12:00 midnight in the
evening of December 31. - Email or other Voting Procedures.The voting procedures set out in this
Article VI shall be employed for voting by Club-provided paper ballots. At
the time this Bylaw Article is approved, the Club has not yet provided for
emailing of ballots or for online voting.
The change will be as follows:
In addition to mailed in paper ballots, online voting will be allowed through the
NBRC website. Only currently paid members will be allowed to vote online by
logging in through the member’s only feature and selecting the appropriate
Election Voting button. All online votes cast will be compared to any mail in
ballots to ensure not duplicate votes are cast.
Section 2. Election Timeline
The timeline for conducting the biennial election shall proceed as follows (all
dates are for the odd-numbered year during which the election is conducted): - Not later than April 20 of the election year, the President shall appoint an
Election Chairman (in this Article, the “Chairman”) and shall advise the
membership of the appointment through the Executive Committee and the
NBRC Membership Forum. - Not later than May 20, the Chairman shall appoint the Nominating
Committee consisting of the Chairman and four Club members (preferably,
each residing in different time zones), to secure candidates for each
elected office. - At least two candidates for each national elected office shall be secured.
Where two candidates cannot be secured for any regional director office,
one candidate may suffice, as determined by the Nominating Committee. - By written letter or email to the Chairman, members in good standing may
nominate potential candidates for consideration. The Nominating
Committee may also canvass the Executive Committee for nominations. - Before approving any nominee, the Nominating Committee shall contact
the nominee to obtain consent to enter the nominee’s name on the ballot
for the office in question and to verify the nominee’s willingness to serve in
the office if elected. - Not later than June 20, the Chairman shall deliver the Nominating
Committee’s list of approved nominees to the Club Secretary-Treasurer and
to the Publishing Editor. - Not later than July 1, the Secretary-Treasurer shall verify that each nominee
is dues-current (thereby being eligible for election), and shall notify the
Publishing Editor of his findings. Between July 1 and July 10, the
Publishing Editor shall prepare the election ballot and related voting
information for inclusion in the July-August issue of the NBRC Bulletin, to
be received by the membership at the end of August. - Secret Balloting. Ballots shall be cast in secret using club-printed ballot
forms and mailed by the U.S. Postal Service to a designated address
determined by the Chairman. The address shall be in the following form:
“NBRC Ballot, c/o (name), address)”. Minor errors in envelope addressing
shall not invalidate ballots.Additionally, online votes cast through the
procedure described in Article VI-Biennial Election, Section 1. General, 2,
will also be counted as valid ballots. - Ballot Content. In addition to the list of candidates for office and the
designated mailing address, the ballots shall advise members:
10.Of the postmark cut-off date of October 1 for mail in ballot eligibility and
October 1 midnight CST for online ballots; - That only ballots from the NBRC Bulletin and online votes through the
NBRC website are valid (photocopied ballots are not valid); and
12.That eligibility to vote for any Regional Director is limited to members
residing within that region.
15.Not later than September 1, the Chairman shall appoint a Vote
Counting Committee consisting of the Chairman and at least two
Club members residing in proximity to the Election Chairman.
Election candidates are not eligible to serve on the Vote Counting
Committee.
16.As of October 10, all ballots,both mail in and online votes, must be
returned and in the possession of the Chairman.The list of online
votes will be sent to the Chairman by the NBRC webmaster.
17.Between October 10 and October 20, the Vote Counting Committee
shall assemble to open the balloting envelopes and online voting list,
to count the ballots received, and to verify the accuracy and integrity
of the count,including but not limited to comparing the online votes
to mail in votes in order to eliminate any duplicates.The vote
counting shall proceed as follows:
18.Ballots are not to be Opened Early. Envelopes containing ballots
shall remain unopened until the vote counting meeting. Accidental,
early opening of envelopes shall not invalidate those ballots. All
ballots received by October 10 shall be counted, regardless of
envelope postmark date. Any ballots received after October 10 shall
be ineligible but shall be retained as “voting paperwork” to be
forwarded to the Secretary-Treasurer as provided below.
19.Vote Counting. All envelopes shall be opened by the Chairman in the
presence of the full Committee. The Chairman, and only the
Chairman, shall examine the envelope postmark and staple the
envelope to the back of the ballot to prevent the front of the envelope
from being examined by other Committee members, to enhance
voting secrecy. Each ballot shall be passed individually from one
member to the next, with all Committee members agreeing to the
eligibility of each ballot, each vote, and the tabulation of votes.
20.Although the Chairman may have observed envelope return
addresses, he shall maintain secrecy with respect to how any
member may have voted, and shall not at any time disclose to any
other individuals, including the members of the Vote Counting
Committee, how any member may have voted.
21.Vote Invalidation. Only original ballots removed from the NBRC
Bulletin and online votes through the NBRC website shall be valid.
Photocopied ballots shall be invalid. Ballots shall not be invalidated
merely because a member’s name or signature has been entered on
the ballot at time of voting. A single omitted or erroneous vote need
not necessarily invalidate other votes appearing on a ballot. In his
sole discretion, the Chairman may re-examine the postmarked
envelope to verify the region from which the ballot was mailed. In the
event of errors or ambiguities on any ballot, the Vote Counting
Committee shall determine the outcome of any such ballot by
majority vote.
22.Vote Tie-Breaking. In the event of a tie vote result for any Regional
Director office, the Chairman shall notify the Club President of the tie
result and the President shall make the final decision after
considering the nominees and interviewing them if necessary. In the
event of a tie vote result for any national, non-regional office, the
Chairman shall notify the President of the tie result and the President
shall present the matter for discussion and vote of the Executive
Committee to break the tie. In the event that the Executive Committee
vote does not break the tie, the individual office shall be subject to a
new vote of the membership, presented in the next available Club
bulletin.
23.Election by Plurality. Receiving a plurality of votes cast shall
constitute election of a candidate.
24.One Member, One Vote. In the election of Club officers or for other
matters brought before the Club membership for voting, each Club
member shall be eligible to return one ballot; family memberships
are eligible to return one ballot.
25.Other Witnesses. Any NBRC member in good standing has the right
to be present at the counting of the ballots by the Vote Counting
Committee.
26.Within 24 hours of the meeting of the Vote Counting Committee, the
Election Chairman shall email the election results to the Club
President, the Secretary-Treasurer, and the Publishing Editor.
27.Within seven days of the meeting of the Vote Counting Committee,
the Election Chairman shall prepare and email a Voting Summary to
the Club President, the Secretary-Treasurer, and the Publishing
Editor. The Voting Summary shall include the names of all persons
present during the vote counting and shall list the number of votes
each candidate received. The Election Chairman shall sign and date
the Voting Summary, attesting that the voting process was
administered fairly and free from fraud or wrongful intent. The Voting
Summary shall record and account for all votes, including votes for
unopposed candidates who automatically win the seat. The Voting
Summary and election results shall be published in the next NBRC
Bulletin.
28.Within seven days of the meeting of the Vote Counting Committee,
the Election Chairman shall mail in a large sealed envelope all voting
paperwork (ballots stapled to envelopes, count sheets, and any other
paperwork) to the Secretary-Treasurer for record-keeping purposes.
29.On or before November 10, the Publishing Editor and the
Secretary-Treasurer shall ensure that the November-December NBRC
Bulletin containing the election results and Voting Summary is
delivered to the printers for mailing so as to reach members by the
end of December.
The proposal passed the committee by approval vote of 19-0.
The NBRC Constitution and Bylaws were revised accordingly.
13.Acceptance 7/20/2021
NBRC ITEM 2021-003
1. Fly the 11 bird in the Spring and 20 in the Fall. #2. Fly the 20 in the Spring and
11 in the Fall.
A series of discussions presented to the EC regarding the National Fly resulted in
the majority choosing to
split the NBRC Fly into 2 flys starting this year- one format in the Spring and one
format in the Fall. The next step was to vote on which format would be flown
when. The end result is the 11 Bird being flown in the Spring won out in a fairly
close vote 14-10 (voting details below). Please see John Kelly’s Fly Director
memo in this issue for further details on how this proposal evolved to this vote.
Result: 11 bird fly in the spring and 20 in the fall: 14-10 for with 9 members not
voting.
Acceptance : 01-02-2022