Judy Morton, our newest MH/OSTA board member and computer whiz, stepped in at the last minute to do the layout of the Winter, 2013, OSTA REVIEW, arriving in your mailboxes about December 5. When the edition was ready to send to the graphic arts department at the press, the editor was informed there was no longer a graphic arts department! That when a plea went out to Judy, who dropped everything and educated herself on the intricacies of laying out our 16-page newsletter.
Readers will be able to access the new edition, along with previous issues, through the listing on the left of this blog site, and see what a great job Judy did. I really, really appreciate her work, and I hope some of you readers could let her know she did good. --Jane Capron, editor
2013 MH/OSTA Board Officers Elected to Serve You
On November 28, 2012, the board elected Gary Walters to the position of MH/OSTA president to serve during the 2012-2013 year. Gary had been the vice-president and will continue as Southern Oregon district director.
Rita Loberger was elected vice-president for the ensuing year. She will continue as district director for Northern Oregon. Jane Capron, secretary, and John Van Landingham, treasurer, were re-elected to their positions.
The entire MH/OSTA board is dedicated to helping all Oregonians who own their homes and rent the land under them. Our success depends on the support we get from you. Your support is what keeps our organization strong. Remember that any donations you send before January 1 are tax-deductible for 2012.
--Jane
Rita Loberger was elected vice-president for the ensuing year. She will continue as district director for Northern Oregon. Jane Capron, secretary, and John Van Landingham, treasurer, were re-elected to their positions.
The entire MH/OSTA board is dedicated to helping all Oregonians who own their homes and rent the land under them. Our success depends on the support we get from you. Your support is what keeps our organization strong. Remember that any donations you send before January 1 are tax-deductible for 2012.
--Jane
REMINDER
If
you’re planning on attending the annual meeting on October 20 and haven’t yet sent in your registration, email or call
Jane to let her know, and do it right now! Her contact information is on page 2
of The OSTA Review.
After
October 10 the registration goes up to $25. We
need to make lunch reservations and don’t want anyone having to bring a sack
lunch!
We’ve
got an exciting day featuring a great program, your auction items, and
excellent food.
By-Laws
Keep Meetings Running Smoothly
from
Terry Smith
Even though it is not mandatory, I strongly believe
in each mobile/manufactured home community chapter having a set of bylaws, and
each board member having a copy of the bylaws. By having the chapter bylaws in
writing, it will help prevent confusion within the chapter and in the community
as to the chapter’s operation in the community.
The chapter bylaws example that follows is easy to
tailor to your chapter’s needs. It is
very important to set times and dates for your board meetings and for your
membership meetings (Article 111 meetings). It is very important to have a
method of amending bylaws (Article 1V amendment to bylaws). It is very
important to have board officers’ and board members’ duties and terms of office
in writing (Article V duties of officers).A chapter needs a plan of operating (bylaws) to become successful and to remain successful and all members need to follow that plan of operation.
MANUFACTURED
HOUSING/OREGON STATE TENANTS ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE 1---ORGANIZATION
Sec. 1 The name of this organization will
be:_________________________
(name of park and assigned chapter number)
Of the Manufactured
Housing/Oregon State Tenants Association (MH/OSTA)
ARTICLE 11---PURPOSE
Sec. 1 The
purpose of this chapter of MH/OSTA is to advance the interests and protect the
investments of the residents of this community, to engage in any activity the
membership of this chapter deems necessary under the guidelines set forth by
the state organization, and to represent the members of this chapter at State
and District meetings.
ARTICLE 111---MEETINGS
Sec. 1 Regular meetings of the Board of Directors
shall be held at times announced by the board at a location accessible to all
Directors
General membership
meetings shall be at times announced by the board and at a location accessible
to all members. This shall be a business meeting for all members in good
standing. Non members may be invited if desired.
Sec. 2 All members must be notified of meetings and
those members attending shall constitute a quorum. At least two members of the
executive board must be present to carry out business of the chapter.
Sec. 3 Special meetings may be called by any
executive officer or by one third of the members if there is business that
cannot wait until the next business meeting. Written notice must be posted at
least two days in advance and there must be two officers present.
ARTICLE 1V---AMENDMENT TO BY-LAWS
By-Laws may be amended,
modified or replaced by a majority vote of the membership. Proposed amendments
shall be announced at the meeting prior to the vote to allow the membership to
become familiar with them.
Newly formed MH/OSTA Chapters are encouraged to develop their by-laws within a 6 month period.
ARTICLE V---DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Sec.1 The
executive committee shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary
and Treasurer (Secretary / Treasurer may be combined into a single office if so
determined). Term of office for officers shall be for one or two years, to be decided
by the majority vote of the membership. Officers may, by nomination and
majority vote of the membership, serve consecutive terms.
Term of office for a Board
Member shall be for one or two years decided by the majority vote of the
membership. Board members may, by nomination and majority vote of the
membership serve consecutive terms.
If for any cause, an
officer or board member should be asked to resign, he/she shall be allowed a
hearing before the Board of Directors (Executive Committee if there is no Board
of Directors) and dismissal or removal upon recommendations of the Executive
Committee shall be by a two-thirds vote of the board of directors at the next
regular board meeting. Removal of an officer or board member shall be for the
remaining time left in their term.
Duties of the President:
Arrange meetings of the chapter and conduct business according to the
requirements of the state and chapter by-laws. Appoint committees as needed.
Duties of the
Vice-President: Assist the president and conduct meetings in the absence of the
president. Chair the nominating committee and membership committees.
Duties of the
Secretary/Treasurer: Record the minutes of each meeting and preserve minutes and
correspondence. Collect, bank and dispense chapter monies. Keep accurate
reports of the business of the chapter.
[Note: These by-laws are a
sample only.]
BOARD OF DIRECTOR APPLICATIONS
OSTA members who would like to be considered for
a position as a director on the state board need to fill out an application and
be interviewed at a monthly board meeting. The membership will be
voting on directors at the state meeting on October 20. For an applicant to be
considered for election this year, the application must be submitted as
soon as possible and the interview conducted at the board meeting on
September 12. Contact Jane Capron for an application.
MH/OSTA just received the following letter (greeting and name of park deleted) from members in a Salem-area Park. We want to share it so everyone will know that our District Directors do whatever they can to help people who own their homes but rent the land under them. We hope all you Polk and Marion County members will support Marilyn, your director, by encouraging your neighbors to join OSTA. We help OSTA as we help ourselves, and your directors are part of your team.
Dear _____,
Several months ago we contacted OSTA for some help with our park and were contacted by the current District Director, Marilyn Davis. We met with Marilyn and Susan DeLateur early this year. They gave generously of their time looking through our rental agreements, rules, and documentation of events here in the park and gave us guidelines to begin to work our way through the issues. To be honest, we were all very angry, and our original intent in wanting OSTA in our park was in hopes of putting an end to what seemed to us to be a bit of bullying, retaliation actions, threats, being lied about, and so on. Our attitude was ‘let’s get them’, believing somehow we could be vindicated and life here in the park would return to normalcy. Life here in the park hasn’t returned to normalcy, but changes have happened. They’ve happened in us. Through the gentle, positive, upbeat way Marilyn has, we have been able to view the situation in a new way. She has turned our ‘intent’ to one of bringing healing to our park by doing positive, good things. The stress we seemed to carry everyday has been turned to excitement. We are looking forward to offering some fun, uplifting events to the park that will lift the spirits of all, with great anticipation. Who woulda thought!
Your decision to choose Marilyn Davis as your new District Director was a wise one. It’s hard to find words to express our gratitude for her patience as we worked through our anger, discouragement and, at times, through our tears. She waited for us, encouraging us, empathizing and accepting, working always to change our perspective, until she brought us to a place where we could see light. The circumstances in the park haven’t changed, but we are no longer ‘under the circumstances’. We have risen above them! We have been empowered! We are amazed! You can’t purchase this with money. You just need someone like Marilyn. You should be proud to know she is out in communities representing OSTA in such a professional, helpful, life-changing manner.
Sincerely,
Jan Hurst
Becky Strom
Donna Barley
Lori Dollarhide
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