In a message dated 1/15/99 3:19:43 PM Central Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:
<< Nothing final can or will happen without the vote of the membership. >>
Charlie thank you for helping us to understand the consolidation process. I do
not envy the committee on working out the details as to how it is going to be
decided. The voting process alone is going to be a nightmare.
Will it be a written ballot to all members like the Academy election or a vote
by the majority of members at one of the meetings and then which meeting.
Will I have three votes if I am ABC certified, own my own business (AOPA), and
am a member of the academy (AAOP)?
If I am an employee will I have only two votes as ABC certified and an academy
member(AAOP). As an employee I cannot join AOPA for that third vote.
John Foster is the head of Novacare with hundreds of offices, but he is not
certified nor can he be a member of the Academy does he only have only one
vote? Or can each Novacare office become a member of AOPA giving him, as the
head of the organization, hundreds of votes? I believe there has been some
changes in the bylaws of AOPA to address this issue, but I am not sure of the
details.
Or will it be a vote to dissolve each organization first. AOPA and AAOP are
membership organizations ABC is not.
To accept the assets of AAOP, AOPA and ABC the new organization must file with
the IRS as a 501c3 nonprofit into which the other organizations are absorbed
and how this new organization will be identified with the IRS will be
interesting.
I do not have answers, but I believe it is going to be a monumental task just
to work out the details for a membership (approvall) vote and the bylaws. I do
not envy the task ahead of you.
Thanks for taking the time to educate us on this so that we can make an
informed discussion about our future. Many of us may not be able to attend the
AAOP or AOPA meetings to ask our questions first hand.
I have not made up my mind and will support an organization that is open and
places the control of the industry into the hands of the O&P (practitioner)
professional. I believe this is in the best interest of our clients….”take
care of your customers and they will take care of you”… Some people will ask
who the customer is.
Al Pike, CP
