N. Fork has plenty of business at hand

North Fork Views

By Larry Wilson

As usual, July is a fun-filled blur of activity on the North Fork. Float trips, pizza at the Northern Lights, ribs at Home Ranch Bottoms, GATR parties (gather at the river), dinners and picnics and the list goes on and on. I even attended three North Fork weddings this month.

August will be more of the same with the annual meetings of the Preservation Association, Landowners’ Association and the Compact added to the calendar as each group elects officers for the next year.

Actually, the Preservation Association meeting will be over by the time this column is printed and will be held on July 30th.

The Landowners will meet on Aug. 6 at 8 p.m. and will elect a president, vice president, one north director and one south director. Members will also vote on a by-laws amendment which would create an elected secretary and an elected treasurer. Currently, a member of the Board takes minutes and the treasurer is appointed by the president.

The Compact will meet at Sondreson Hall (as do both the Preservation Association and Landowners) on Aug. 8.

Both the Compact and the Preservation Association tend to re-elect the currently serving officers while the Landowners tend to have at least one or two new members every year. The Landowners President is term limited to two consecutive years and it is common practice to re-elect him or her for the full two years. NFLA President Randy Kenyon is just finishing his first year and is expected to be re-elected.

Allen Chrisman, current NFLA vice-president, has announced he will not stand for re-election due to other commitments so someone new will be in that position next year.

Directors Allen McNeil and Irv Heitz’s terms expire and they could be re-elected or replaced.

There may or may not be an election for secretary and treasurer depending on the by-laws vote.

If it passes, someone new would be elected secretary and treasurer Heather Sullivan would be eligible for election along with anyone else nominated.

In the recent past, NFLA elections have not really been contested. The problem has been getting anyone to agree to serve.

That has been particularly true of the treasurer’s job. The current Board of Directors and especially treasurer Heather Sullivan have been working to simplify that position to encourage more participation.

My personal belief is that all factions of the community should be represented on the Board of Directors and they should then put aside their personal agendas and work for the good of the community to provide balanced information to government agencies and a balanced social schedule that appeals to the entire community.

What do you think?