Spartan Housing Cooperative Pine Press, 27 August 2021 Elections I think I can safely say that the busiest time of any Corporate Secretary’s term is when the SHC Executive Officer elections roll around. This year my first step in the facilitation of these elections was to establish a timeline for the election cycle. I based this timeline on the ones for previous years and the requirement that the polls are open for at least two weeks for each election. Other steps included verifying the list of eligible voters in the election. One of the big questions that arose during my term was due to the wording of our bylaws which allowed for members with a future contract with the SHC and have paid their dues to be eligible to vote in SHC elections even if they are not currently living here. I also facilitated a town hall Q&A with the sole candidate for the SHC President Election which I believe was a success. In addition, surveys were sent to candidates for Vice President of Education and Vice President of Membership so members could have more information about them before making their votes.
Looking Forward To share some ideas for whoever is the next Corporate Secretary, I would encourage exploring the possibility of having the Corporate Secretary serve as a member or work more closely with the Board’s Governance Revision Committee as a lot of their descriptive areas of responsibilities overlap. In terms of elections, I advise in situations where only one candidate is running for President to have that election combined with the elections for VPE and VPM to save time and the number of emails that are sent out to members. I hope that the operations report is continuously improved and that the practice of including minutes from meetings of the SHC is continued.
Final Thoughts I will end by saying that it was an honor to serve as Corporate Secretary this past year and I am excited to see how the SHC and the cooperative movement continues to grow from here. In cooperation, Dale Kruithoff
MDOT Toll Roads Study By Alayna Offredi of Howland In 2019, State Senator John Bizon makes the case to install toll roads in Michigan, hoping to aid the highway construction costs. The roads in michigan have the worst reputation in the entire country. You know this to be true. The
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