Hi,

I was elected president of our club earlier this year. The club members decided it was time for a change. The Departing board members would not host fun-fly's nor had any interest in bettering the club. Our club By-laws state that the club bank account have at least 2 names on it. the Treasurer and the President. Well the problem is more than 6 months have passed and the treasurer will not remove the old prez (who left the club with a few choice words) and have me (the new prez) added to the account. So in effect we have no control over the account the ex- prez and the treasurer do (who are good friends) and we are growing more and more weary of the trust we have placed in our treasurer..... any recomendations.

If it is clearly spelt out in the Club by-laws that the President and the Treasurer are the main signatories, You should be able to take that document to the bank as well as proof of you being the New President (maybe a certificate from the AMA) the bank may be willing to make the changes for you.

Same applies if the Treasurers position changed.

Alternatively, Open a new account for the club and get the old signatories to sign a transfer of the money from the old to the new account. I would think that if this was done as a result of a minuted club meeting and was the wish of the club, then the old signatories could not legally refuse to do so.

Just a thought?

1) Instruct the treasurer in writting to change the signatories on the account. (include time frame)


If time frame is not met and a proper accounting of funds are not provided.

2) Get a lawyer and have him places leins on as much of the personal property of the past president
and treasurer as he can (lawyers are good at that because they see it as a pay cheque) and then sue
for all the money the club is owed and all expences incurred to get it back.(including your lawyers fees and court costs etc)

Chances are they will cave first, but if your lawyer has leined their property expect them to pay even more .


Damn , I hate *****holes.

Hey Killer: You forgot to mention breaking their legs and other body parts.

Rich S.

Well I was reading over Robert's Rules and it stated I should be calm cool and not get excited and breaking S*&t is pretty exciting

Is your club incorporated?

Boy, does this sound familiar. It took us over three months (not as bad as your situation, but equally frustrating) to get the checking account turned over from the old treasurer to the new one. Problem was, the person that had the treasury was the President two years prior and defaulted to the treasury because of problems that developed.

When I took over as President, I was President in title only because the old one just would not turn over the gavel. Finally, I got a tad agressive over that and we got it done. Meanwhile, we only had one signatory to the checking account, and that was the treasurer. We did not know what was going on with the money because that person was the only signing checks. We changed the rules. No checks can be written without prior approval by members at our monthly meetings. Nothing gets paid until we all know what is being paid. The exception to that rule are the basic necessities (Porta Potty, lawn maintenance, and emergency expenditures). These items can be paid by a phone call by the treasurer to the President who will authorize payment. Any item over $250.00 requires two signatures.

Shortly after I was elected, the treasurer got very upset. He did not want me in. I also write the club newsletter. So, I incur expenses for printing and postage. I had a accumulated postage and printing bills for over 6 months because he did not want send the check to me in the mail. He did not want to spend the postage.. We had some heated discussions about that over the phone. He wanted me to come to his house and pick up the check. I wanted him to just mail it to me... he was never home because I went there several times to collect the money and his wife said he was not home.

My big concern was that we had a good deal of money in the bank, in a CD, and he had control. It was set up that way when he was President then President/Treasurer. I wanted to make sure we still had the money. In the end, we did, but he decided to leave the club because, in his words, he could no longer support such an opressive group of leaders. So be it. We're far better off now. For the first time, we have money in the checking account and in the CD, and will add to the CD with our first surplus in about 5 years.

Keep up the pressure, and do as someone suggested. Get together with the officers and decide where to proceed next. If it involves legal pressure, you have every right to pursue that in the name of the club. Remember that this is not their money, the money belongs to the members of the club and they have no right to hold it back from "you" as the new President and other officers.

yes it is incorporated

See your state corporate code....

Contact the local DA, they will investigate "white collar crime"....

These people are obviously not operating in the best interest of "the organization."

Do not try to be 'the nice guy"........ It does not work....they already have thier own agenda.

Go straight to the Local District Attorney ..... NOW!!!!

Do not waste your time TRYING TO "bargain".

Then if the board adpoted the bylaws into the corporation, then there is nothing to discuss. Not only are they acting unethically, they are also breaking the law.

Are you bylaws online or for public view?

When we changed ours the past signers were not present.
We took in the minutes of the meedings where the new officers were elected/appointed and that was all that was required.
We are in Calif so your laws may be different.
Talk to the bank and see what is required.
If there is a problem at least get the funds frozen until everything can be resolved.
Good Luck,
KW_Counter

Well I contacted the bank and they now say I dont have to get the treasurer into the bank just the minutes I think I can get the minutes today and go in ...not sure though. If he does not give them to me, I will try thethreat of placing liens on his crap! That should get him going well enough to hand it over or even resign

[:-]Gee WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE GROUP OF FLIERS AND MODELERS SHARING THEIR LOVE OF THE HOBBY AND ENJOYING EACH OTHER'S COMPANY? IF THIS IS WHAT THINGS DETERIORATE TO, COUNT ME OUT I'LL GO BACK TO GOLF!!!





NEVER GIVE UP WHEN FLYING INVERTED, FLY NAVY

Amen

You can't really do anything yourself. Contact the local District/State Attorney and let the local laws work for you. The fact that the club is Incorporated gives it protection from this type of crime. Filing a false lien is a punishable crime, so don't make the situation worse. My guess is a call or letter from local authorities will do the trick. You might get the bank to freeze the account pending resolution.

Good Bye!

Hate to say this however you are living in historical times. Those times went away when we had to start locking the doors of the house and car and never leave the keys in the car.
Clubs are far more sophisticated now. Many own their property. Big money is at stake.
My first experience of such was in 1972 when still a member of a CL club. Club only maintained a few hundred $$ in the treasury. Treasurer spent money on a personal house project and acted as it was our fault when we needed money for contest prizes. He left the club and the money was gone forever. Club folded shortly thereafter.

Now there can be real business problems when the money is left to one individual, especially where Club assets may be in the six figures.

I have a family member that is President of the Golf Club Association of a small town (not in TX) which operates out of a city-owned golf course. Believe you me that Golf definitely has its member -- money problems also.

Wear some good track shoes as you run between this and that hunting a place where people on this mortal earth, will not try to use that which is definitely not theirs to use. [sm=48_48.gif]

" Gee WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE GROUP OF FLIERS AND MODELERS SHARING THEIR LOVE OF THE HOBBY AND ENJOYING EACH OTHER'S COMPANY? IF THIS IS WHAT THINGS DETERIORATE TO, COUNT ME OUT I'LL GO BACK TO GOLF!!! "

The problem being discussed here is pretty rare. Most of us just go out fly and get along just fine. Please do not use this forum to judge the rest of us it never portrays (most of the time) the positive aspects of the majority or clubs in general.

Pretty rare is an understatement. In my 60 years of modeling and belonging to several clubs around the country where I have lived I have not run into such a situation nor heard of one from neighboring clubs (over 3 dozen in this part of Florida).

The problem here is not only "not rare"...BUT ITS SPREADING.

The attitude thats its our way or the highway
regardless of what the members vote for or against is getting worse..
I'm seeing more of it discussed here on RCU.

"I'm seeing more of it discussed here on RCU." Me too but its from the same old crowd.

superman65355,

Your’s is not a position of envy. My advice would be to stay clam and reasonable with regards to the situation, patience and prudence are a priority

I would first find out what documentation the bank needs and determine what it will take to get it for them. Second you will probably need to deal with the treasurer because if he is not willing to work with the board in regards to club business then you only have problems ahead of you. My club experienced similar problems with a few of its members and it eventually became so destructive that the members had to be terminated. It wasn’t a pleasant, but it was necessary. In the end no one wins when there is a disagreement of this type. Minimize the risk exposure and hard feelings by acting with patience and by carefully thinking out your actions.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

Jimmy Skids

yea right....