Amending the Bylaws
Below you will find an opportunity to share a statement about the proposed bylaw amendment, as well as full details about the proposal.
Front Runners New York is proud to be at the forefront of inclusion for LGBTQ+ running and multisport. Over the last few months, the Board has solicited feedback from the membership regarding the structure of the FRNY Board of Directors as set out in our by-laws.
The current by-laws, which dictate a Men’s Vice President and Women’s Vice President, continue to reinforce a binary gender structure that is exclusionary to members of the FRNY community, and leaves part of our community behind without codified representation on the governing Board.
In response to member feedback, the Board proposes to amend the by-laws, pursuant to the processes laid out in Article XXI of the by-laws. A summary of the proposed amendment is as follows:
Consolidate the existing VP roles into one position, the “Vice President”, who will serve in the event of incapacity of the President;
Expand the Director at Large position, with the three DAL’s to be named Women’s Director at Large, Trans & Non-Binary Director at Large, and Director at Large;
Codify specifically in the by-laws that these two named Directors at Large are to act as good-faith representatives of our Women and Trans & Non-Binary members, respectively.
Clarify language referring to the process of electing the Director at Large positions to be elected as three distinct positions.
Update five instances of pronoun usage within the bylaws to reflect the addition of they/them pronouns.
After hearing dynamic feedback from many FRNY members, the Board believes this amendment will serve to move FRNY to a more inclusive Board representation. The Board acknowledges that many identities exist within the named Director at Large categories, and this named structure is not meant to exclude one specific identity in favor of another.
The Board encourages all members to take part to have their voices heard.
The open comment period is now closed for feedback regarding the proposed bylaws change. Feedback from the online comment forum below can be viewed here.
The Board would like to transparently share steps that will lead up to the vote to amend the by-laws.
Tuesday, April 11th: By-law amendment submitted to membership. Governance committee will have the opportunity to review concurrently and provide the Board any final legal feedback.
Monday, April 17th: An online comment forum will open and will remain open until May 15th.
Monday, April 24th at 7PM: Virtual Town Hall where the Board will make a detailed presentation regarding this proposed change to our bylaws and members will have an opportunity to ask questions and make statements. The minutes are linked here.
Saturday, April 29th at 12PM: Town Hall at Rutgers Church where the Board will make a detailed presentation regarding this proposed change to our bylaws and members will have an opportunity to ask questions and make statements. The minutes are linked here.
Tuesday, May 16th: The online comment forum will close and final feedback received from the online comment forum will be published (the publishing will recur in subsequent weeks totaling 4 weeks). Voting will open.
Saturday, June 10th: Q2 General Membership Meeting (12PM) will take place at Rutgers Church where in-person voting will take place. When the in-person voting concludes, online voting will close and the votes will be tabulated; the results will be announced.
Pursuant to FRNY Bylaws Article XX.B, only Members in good standing prior to March 1, 2023 will be eligible to vote. Pursuant to FRNY Bylaws Article XX.C, this measure must receive ⅔ of the vote in order to pass and formally amend the Bylaws.
In the past few months, the Board engaged in the following process to solicit member feedback to inform our proposal:
In August 2022, members of the previous Board began discussion about the by-laws and heard feedback from a number of members.
The Board announced in the March 2nd Gram that our Q1 Member Meeting would be an opportunity to hear feedback from the club. In this announcement The Board noted, “As part of the agenda we will discuss the evolution of our club’s bylaws to support broader gender inclusivity”. This recurred in the following week’s Gram.
The Q1 Member Meeting on March 11th featured feedback, verbal and written, from a diverse group of our members. The minutes to this meeting can be found here.
In the March 16th Gram, the opening “Message From the President” detailed the discussion, including a link to the minutes, and additionally solicited feedback to be sent directly to the Board. The Board opened an anonymous channel where members could send their direct feedback to be anonymously shared with the Board; one member availed themselves of this channel.
On Saturday, April 8, there was a Women’s Forum after the Fun Run. Based on feedback received during the Forum, individual conversations with Women’s Team members, and personal perspective, the Women’s Committee Chair shared with the board an informed recommendation which can be found here. The Trans & Non-Binary Committee also met on April 8 for their regularly scheduled meeting and as part of that meeting created a proposal which can be found here.
On April 10th, the Board of Directors met in a closed session to discuss the proposals and voted unanimously to put forward the ultimate amendment proposal. The minutes of this meeting are part of the April Board of Directors meeting, linked here.
Please see this table which enumerates the proposed changes, as well as a link to a red-lined copy of the FRNY bylaws depicting the proposed changes.
The Board would like to thank all of the members who have stepped forward with thoughtful feedback and suggestions; your perspectives are vital and have informed this proposal, which the Board believes is the most equitable solution to ensure diverse representation amongst our membership for the foreseeable future.
In addition to the aforementioned channels of communication you may also reach us directly at board@frny.org or via our various email addresses as detailed below.
Yours in service,
The Board of Directors
Kristopher Imperati, President
Zoe Tippl, Women’s Vice President
J.T. Ramseur, Men’s Vice President
Timothy Thompson, Secretary
Craig Nelson, Treasurer
Jackie Ramirez, Director at Large
J Solle, Director at Large