As Simple As That!

To clarify and answer some questions asked about the “by-laws” I originally proposed, allow me to share more of mine and other's opinions about it.

First, we don’t really need all batch members to be present for us to form a more structured organization for our batch, (which I am really after for), as part of the “by-laws”. For now, we only need a couple of bodies to fill in the Coordinator and Treasurer positions. Note that I did not propose the positions of President, Vice-President etc. because those require a more formal election process. We can just delegate someone to those not-so-formal postions or better yet, one can volunteer.

Coordinators become our sole source for clarifications on any information about our organization. Somebody we all can turn to lead in the discussion, gather all the inputs, and disseminate them so we can all be in the same page before agreeing on any decision. Treasurers handle the financial operation, manage, document and prepare reports for the group.

In other words, though having an election is an ideal way to do it, we don’t really need to hold one for now to satisfy our needs for a more well-organized operation. What is important is that we have those positions filled for us to move forward and operate more efficiently.

Second, nothing against the SDA General Alumni Association but I prefer small manageable group like ours. I think we can accomplish more without having to worry about what other batches are doing. If we cannot rally and convince all belong to Batch 78 that we can be one cohesive unit, we have no business getting involve in the SDA General Alumni Association.

Equally important, we all know without a consistent financial commitment from capable members, we will not be able to sustain our needs to support whatever programs we decide to undertake. I do recognize the fact however, that not all batch members are capable or even willing to participate in making that financial commitment. I took into consideration that we all have our own personal financial needs, ...na yun lang ang kayang ibigay, ...or talagang walang maibibigay, ...or perhaps talaga lang wala sa dugo ang magbigay. It is under those conditions I based the proposed annual membership fee of Php50 for local members and $50 for those members abroad, hoping this to be a more affordable and manageable fixed mandatory annual membership contribution, for all those capable.

To put it more bluntly, we cannot and should not operate under the assumption that someone will give financial support when we need it. It is important that we have annual cash projection before making a commitment to any program at all.

At this point I can only suggest to all those capable members to, if possible, fulfill your annual membership obligation, or make a pledge for whatever amount you can afford to contribute. That way we will have a better understanding of our resources and cash flow.

The “by-laws” is meant for all that I outlined above. It is just a simple written rule of conduct for our group that we should all follow if we really want to succeed and become a truly committed group and individual. It’s the group more formalized guiding principles of operation.

In summary, without Coordinators, Treasurers, and more importantly, fixed member contributions, pledges and commitment, our group will not reach its potential or worst, will not last. The ones who are now committed will soon begin to lose faith and interest, grow tired, and eventually disappear.

As simple as that!