Extraordinary General Assembly: Results and Review
Extraordinary General Assembly Final Results
The proposal to change the governance of Skål International has been put on a mandate with two Committees established in January 2022: the Governance Committee and the Statues Bylaws Committee.
These committees had 40 members representing all areas of Skål International who have been serving in the organization currently or in the past as International Presidents, Area Committee and/or National Committee Presidents, International Council President, and International Councilors. These committees were not exclusive; an open call was made to all to join and given the opportunity to be a part of the plan for the future of our beloved organization.
On July 09, 2022 Skål International conducted the EOGA to discuss this proposal. Prior to the EOGA all Area Committees, National Committees and IPP’s have been called/ invited on Zoom calls to review the plan, discuss the details.
Skål International General Secretariat sent out the ballots after the closing of the EOGA on July 9h, 2022 at 20.00 Madrid time.
The voting was allowed for 36 hours. The results were opened on July 11th at 8.00am Madrid time on a recorded session in presence of the two scrutineers former Presidents Bill Rheaume, Lavonne Wittmann, Matanyah Hecht and Auditors Rafael Millan and Carlos Banks and the President Burcin Turkkan.
According to the Election Buddy results:
338 voting delegates were registered.
314 voting delegates casted their votes with 4 abstentions.
188 Delegates representing 61% voted YES for acceptance. of the Statues Amendments.
122 Delegates representing 39% voted NO for acceptance. of the Statues Amendments.
Although 61% of the delegates voted for the acceptance of the change in governance as proposed, due to the current statues requiring that 2/3 of the voting delegates voted to approve, the proposed changes to the Statues have NOT passed as it required 66%.
I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank the members of the Governance and Statues/Bylaws Committee as well as the Executive Board members who were their liaisons, who worked over 100 hours to put forward a solution to current Skål International’s governance structure with the great intention of adapting the organization to the current changing trajectory of the industry globally and expectations of the future generations.
Extraordinary General Assembly Review
The EOGA is over and the results were publicly shared last Monday, July 11.
Since then, we have received many emails from Skål International leaders, National Presidents, clubs Presidents, and former International Presidents regarding the results of the EOGA voting.
These include emails of those who have challenged the plan or announced that they would not be supporting the plan as is. While the majority is disappointed to see that although 61% of the membership has voted pro changes the change did not pass as our Statutes require 2/3 of the votes. All parties are asking for the proposed governance plan, with its Statutes and Bylaws amendments, to be re-discussed and revoted, with a refined content, at the AGA in Croatia that will take place on October 15, 2022.
As I stated to many in my replies, while it is sad to see the proposed changes did not pass, I still see it as a huge step towards the change moving forward. As expressed by many of the Committee members who worked on the plan and by myself during the EOGA and zoom meetings conducted before the EOGA, the plan is not perfect but a solid step for the change.
It is encouraging and exciting to see that in such a brief time, the call for change has been embraced by 61% of our members in an organization like ours that has existed for 88 years. In democracies, we all know that sixty-one percent is considered a serious majority. This is only a beginning, and this minor setback will give the Committees and us as Executive Board the chance to perfect the change plan for the better.
With this words, I would like to officially make a call and invite the Governance Committee and the Statues Committee to get back to work and accept the mandate we have now from membership officially based on the voting results and follow-up emails.
I am also calling those who stated their opposition and asked for additional time to fine-tune the plan and bring it for membership discussion and vote at the AGA 2022 in Croatia to join these Committees.
According to the communications sent out before EOGA, questions submitted during the Zoom calls, social media platforms, and during the EOGA, there are just few topics that need to be adjusted.
Based on the Skål International Statutes, any amendment to both, the Statutes and Bylaws, requires to be presented to the Secretariat General 60 days in advance of the AGA. Based on this, the deadline to announce the proposed Statutes is August 15, 2022. The Executive Board will need time to review, approve, and present the proposal. Therefore, the two committees must submit their final work/proposal and modified Statutes and Bylaw items by August 8, 2022.
The Committees will be headed by the Executive Board liaisons for these Committees as assigned earlier:
Senior Vice President Juan Steta: Statues & Bylaws Committee.
Interim Vice President Hulya Aslantas: Governance Committee.
Skålleagues, let us finish the work that our fellow Skålleagues have started. This is a work that is embraced by 61% of our members who are willing to see Skål International move forward with an updated, organizational structure, and a modern governance model that will bring fair representation at the top of the organization with diversity & inclusion in mind, that will encourage membership growth, emerge new leaders, support succession plans while attracting new generations.
Let us keep working together to become stronger and lead the way for Skål International to survive for many more decades!
