MDTU September Meeting

MDTU's September chapter meeting will serve as our annual business meeting, including brief reports and the election of board members and officers, as described in the agenda below.

The majority of the meeting will feature our guest speaker Joe Bruce. Joe has fly fished and tied flies for more than 50 years. He brings this experience to Joe Bruce Custom Flies, where he offers expertly crafted flies and leaders for salt and fresh water fly fishing enthusiasts.

The topic of Joe's presentation will be "Fishing Diversity & Techniques For Fishing The Delmarva Region." Among other points, Joe will cover fishing for exotic species such as the Snakehead, Pike, and Pickerel. Joe will show a power point presentation and answer your questions. Don't miss this informative talk; register at link below, and invite a friend or two.

Joe was originally scheduled to deliver this talk at our February 2015 meeting, but a snowstorm intervened.

Free and open to the public. Hope to see you there: Wednesday, September 16, 7:30-9:00 p.m. at the Towson Presbyterian Church 400 W Chesapeake Ave, Towson, MD 21204

Bylaws of MDTU require the Board to hold an annual business meeting open to all members. The agenda for the Annual Business meeting is:

•             Annual Reports by the President and Treasurer

•             Elections of New Executive and Board Members

•             Adoption of the FY2015-2016 Budget

•             Adoption of By-Law Changes

•             New Business from the Floor

•            

Amendments must be approved by the General Membership at the Annual Business Meeting. Bylaws require at least 30 members be present and voting. Please make a special effort to attend so the required number of members will be in attendance

Slate of officers

Bylaws establish that all executive officers are elected for 1-year terms and may serve 3 consecutive terms. Board Members are elected for 3-year terms with no term limits. The Board is currently composed of 5 executive members and 9 board members. Remaining board members were elected in 2014 or 2013 and are not up for re-election. Tingey and Nabors were brought on mid-year and require affirmation.

The Slate for those to be elected in 2015 is:

Norma  Haynes President            New

Brian      Bernstein            V.P. Resources  Re-elected

Don        Haynes V.P. Administration         Re-elected

Jay          Boynton               Treasurer            Re-elected

Brenda Foster   Secretary             New

Tom       Gamper               Board    Re-elected

Adam    Nabors Board    New

Jim         Tingey   Board    New

The following Board Members continue their ongoing terms and do not need to be elected again this year:

Sean      Beattie Board: Communications

Greg      Davis     Board: City Catch & Fund Raising

Benson Legg       Board: Meetings Coordinator

Louise   Peltier   Board: Women's Initiative

Scott      Scarfone              Board: Conservation Committee

Norma Haynes received unanimous support from the Board. She has served on the Board for 5 years and as Membership Chair for two years. She also Chairs the Mid-Atlantic Council Women's Initiative Committee. Brenda Foster served as President of MDTU and has held the Past-President position for the last 3 years. Brenda brings considerable expertise and knowledge to the board.

Proposed changes to bylaws to increase number of non-officer members

As Maryland Trout Unlimited has become more active and taken on additional tasks, we feel it necessary to increase the size of the board in order to better recruit volunteers to take the lead on critical tasks. Accordingly the current board adopted the proposed amendment to the bylaws.

Bylaws currently read:

Article IV. Board of Directors

Section 2. The Board of Directors shall consist of nine (9) non-officer members, and five (5) officer members pursuant to Article V, section 1. Each non-officer Director shall serve a three¬ year term, with non-officer Directors' terms staggered to provide for continuity. The immediate past President shall be an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors for the term of his or her successor. All Directors shall be current members of Trout Unlimited.

Amended version will read:

Section 2. The Board of Directors shall consist of no fewer than nine (9) and no more than fifteen (15) non-officer members, and five (5) officer members pursuant to Article V, section 1. Each non-officer Director shall serve a three¬ year term, with non-officer Directors' terms staggered to provide for continuity. The immediate past President shall be an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors for the term of his or her successor. All Directors shall be current members of Trout Unlimited.