Report by Frank Jamison from the Special TTA Board Meeting June 28, 2014 The Directors of the Tennessee Trails Association (TTA) in special meeting on June 28, 2014 voted overwhelmingly to reverse and nullify the previous action to dissolve the CTC Associate Organization status with TTA. There were two dissenters, but their opposition was based on technical grounds, not a spirit of opposition to CTC. I will give you the highlights, tone and flavor of the meeting rather than a detailed “who said what” set of minutes. You can see those in the TTA records. The meeting was held in the Scarritt Bennett Center on the Vanderbilt University Campus in Nashville. There were 15 TTA Directors present and about that many guests all of whom were TTA members. Ray Garrett and Frank Jamison were there as both TTA members and former CTC volunteers. Carolyn Miller called the meeting to order a little after 10:00 a. m. Central time and stated that the purpose of the meeting was to consider a motion to reverse and nullify the previous action to dissolve the CTC Associate Organization status. Levonn Hubbard formally made the motion which had been emailed to all members earlier. The motion was seconded and immediately an Objection to the motion was raised. This is in itself a motion that doesnt require a second, but is debatable. The objection was raised on the grounds that Levonns motion was out of order since it was a reversal of previous action and such action isnt allowed if the action is irreversible. A pleasant and extended debate ensued as to whether the previous action was reversible or not. I mention this little parliamentary maneuvering because it turned out to be extremely helpful to everyone in the long run by allowing a deeper debate on the consequences of the previous action to dissolve CTC. I want to emphasize how constructive was the entire debate. Almost every TTA Director spoke or asked questions multiple times. Mostly, they arrived at answers between themselves without input from Jamison or Garrett. The two of us spoke only by way of clarifying details. Neither of us took positions in the debate. The Chairwoman recognized each of us more than once so that we could enter our clarifications. The conclusion of the debate on the Objection was an almost unanimous vote against the Objection and cleared the way for debate on Levonns motion. This second debate was extensive, lasting over an hour and was constructive throughout. At no time was there any acrimony expressed. There is great concern that volunteers to the Cumberland Trail project may be lost to other volunteer activities if we are unable to reorganize quickly. Other than the original parliamentary objection, no objections to reconstituting the CTC were expressed. Instead, the debate focused on the practical purposes of the CTC, the utility of having an organization like CTC, concerns over how working arrangements with the various State of Tennessee agencies will be crafted, and some discussion of the history of TTA and CTC. More than one Director expressed the opinion that a volunteer organization such as CTC is essential to the project. At the end, the Chairwoman asked the guests if they had comments. There were some general observations made and then there was the call for the vote. The final vote was in favor and thus restored the CTC as an Associate Organization of TTA. Respectfully, Frank Jamison
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 12:18:04 +0000
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