In May active NWGIS members will be asked to vote on two proposed bylaw changes. Active members are anyone that has paid their annual membership fee or attended the 2020 conference.

We invite you to post questions and concerns to this forum. Bylaw changes require 51% of members vote….we need to hear from you. Your responses will be anonymous. Voting procedures will be sent out to active members next month.

Proposal 1: Discontinue membership renewal as part of attending a fall conference. Membership would become separate expense from the conference fees starting with the fall 2021 conference.

Business Need:

• Renewing membership records based on conference attendance requires manual updating and is subject to errors. Our current membership management software could automate almost all of our membership administration if renewals are managed independent of conference events.
• Not all conference attendees want to become members (i.e. not wanting the extra emails, have no intention of engaging outside the conference, etc.).

Impact to Members:

• Active members will still get a reduced ‘member’ rate on conferences and workshops.
• Membership renewal will be a separate transaction from conference registration.
• Conference registration fees will no longer include the $10 fee for membership renewal.

Proposal 2: Eliminate the student membership registration option and have only one level of membership.

Business Need:

• Having a separate fee for students conflicts with Article III, Section 1. – “The corporation shall have one class of members”
• We do not have a manageable way to validate student status.

Impact to Members:

• The change does not impact the cost of general membership; membership will remain at $10.00 per year.
• Students will still be offered reduced rates for conferences and other events whenever possible.