UPDATE: This Bylaws change was approved at a vote at the May 14, 2022 General Meeting of the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association. The updated Bylaws are now posted on our website here: SSSNA Bylaws
The Board of the South Slide Slopes Neighborhood Association is proposing a change to the bylaws of the association. This change to the bylaws regards the eligibility to be considered for board membership. It would more accurately reflect how we engage with our community and broaden the pool of potential board members.
Here is how Article IV: Members, Section 1. b. currently reads:
“Voting Members: those members eighteen (18) years or older who attended at least two public meetings in the past year.”
We propose that this sentence of the bylaw be revised to read:
“Voting members: those members eighteen (18) years or older who attended at least two public meetings, events, or activities convened by the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association in the past year.”
The entire current bylaws are available here: http://www.southsideslopes.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SSSNA-Bylaws-UpdatedMarch2020.pdf
We, like many other for- and not-for-profit organizations, have experienced a shift in the way that we interact with our members – and the way that they interact with us. It’s clear that the pandemic has fundamentally changed how people are choosing to spend their time outside of family, work, and other obligations.
It’s important for us to understand and respond to these shifts. Expanding the pool of potential Board Members to more accurately reflect how the organization engages with the community – now, and going forward – will put us in a better position to achieve our goals. We see the challenge of attracting and retaining board members as a long term one – and this is the appropriate opportunity to make this small, but impactful change.
This proposed change will be published in the South Pittsburgh Reporter and on our website. The change was introduced to the membership at the March Annual meeting. We will have a discussion before a formal vote at our May 10th general meeting. This vote will be open to all board members and general members in good standing. If you have any thoughts on the topic in the meantime, please reach out to any of our Board Members in the meantime and let’s chat!
Thank you,
Blake M. McLaren
President of the Board – SSSNA
