November 21, 2019

Rubicon Trail Foundation Board Seat Elections December 11th

At our December 11^th  meeting, the Rubicon Trail Foundation will hold elections. There will be a two board seats available; Lori Warden recently resigned her seat. I would like to thank Lori for her years of service and dedication, we will miss her but look forward to her continued support and volunteerism. We also have 1 additional seat that has been open.

 

If you would like to step up and run for a board seat, you should know that there is an expectation of involvement that has a fairly high standard based on what has been accomplished by our board to date!  Our meetings are once a month in the Placerville area. We have created a committee structure to get work done and each committee is run by at least two directors. That means you can get help from outside the Board!

 

There is also a fiduciary (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fiduciary) responsibility to the public for funds managed by the foundation.  Below, is the section of our bylaws that discusses Directors. Also, below there are some generally accepted guidelines for basic responsibilities of a non-profit board.

 

Our goal is to have a very diversified cross representation of Rubicon Trail users on the Rubicon Trail Foundation Board. Of course, a love of the Rubicon is a requirement too!

 

Nominations/applications will be open until Monday @ noon December 9^th.

If you are interested, please prepare a short biography and submit it to any Director.

[email protected] or [email protected].

The mission of RTF is: To enhance the future health and use of the Rubicon Trail, while ensuring responsible motorized year round trail access.

From our Bylaws:
SECTION 2. Qualifications
Any person may serve as a Director of this corporation as long as they have a proven interest in the Rubicon Trail and are 18 years of age or older.
Other qualifications for directors of this corporation shall be as follows:
Rubicon Trail motorized users, owning 4-wheel drive vehicles, who participate in regular cleanups and projects affecting the Rubicon Trail, and who are active in working with other Rubicon Trail motorized recreation users. The Board of Directors shall be composed of at least 60% of Trail Users.

 

Thank you for your support,

 

David Thomas

President, Rubicon Trail Foundation

 

 

 

What are the legal responsibilities of nonprofit boards?
Under well-established principles of nonprofit corporation law, a board member must meet certain standards of conduct and attention in carrying out his or her responsibilities to the organization. Several states have statutes adopting some variation of these duties which would be used in court to determine whether a board member acted improperly. These standards are usually described as the duty of care, the duty of loyalty and the duty of obedience.

Duty of Care
The duty of care describes the level of competence that is expected of a board member, and is commonly expressed as the duty of “care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise in a like position and under similar circumstances.” This means that a board member owes the duty to exercise reasonable care when he or she makes a decision as a steward of the organization.

Duty of Loyalty
The duty of loyalty is a standard of faithfulness; a board member must give undivided allegiance when making decisions affecting the organization. This means that a board member can never use information obtained as a member for personal gain, but must act in the best interests of the organization.

Duty of Obedience
The duty of obedience requires board members to be faithful to the organization’s mission. They are not permitted to act in a way that is inconsistent with the central goals of the organization. A basis for this rule lies in the public’s trust that the organization will manage donated funds to fulfill the organization’s mission.

 

What are the basic responsibilities of nonprofit boards?
Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards
1. Determine the organization’s mission and purpose. It is the board’s responsibility to create and review a statement of mission and purpose that articulates the organization’s goals, means, and primary constituents served.
2. Select the chief executive. Boards must reach consensus on the chief executive’s responsibilities and undertake a careful search to find the most qualified individual for the position.
3. Provide proper financial oversight. The board must assist in developing the annual budget and ensuring that proper financial controls are in place.
4. Ensure adequate resources. One of the board’s foremost responsibilities is to provide adequate resources for the organization to fulfill its mission.
5. Ensure legal and ethical integrity and maintain accountability. The board is ultimately responsible for ensuring adherence to legal standards and ethical norms.
6. Ensure effective organizational planning. Boards must actively participate in an overall planning process and assist in implementing and monitoring the plan’s goals.
7. Recruit and orient new board members and assess board performance. All boards have a responsibility to articulate prerequisites for candidates, orient new members, and periodically and comprehensively evaluate its own performance.
8. Enhance the organization’s public standing. The board should clearly articulate the organization’s mission, accomplishments, and goals to the public and garner support from the community.
9. Determine, monitor, and strengthen the organization’s programs and services. The board’s responsibility is to determine which programs are consistent with the organization’s mission and to monitor their effectiveness.
10. Support the chief executive and assess his or her performance. The board should ensure that the chief executive has the moral and professional support he or she needs to further the goals of the organization.

 

 

 

 

 

Office	Member	Since	ofc start	ofc end	seat start	seat end
President	David Thomas	2011	Jan-19	Jan-21	Dec-19	Dec-21
Vice President	Ken Hower	2011	Feb-18	Jan-20	Dec-18	Dec-20
Treasurer	Jonathan Carlos	2016	March-19	Jan-20	Dec-18	Dec-20
Secretary	Chris Cowan	2010	Jan-19	Jan-21	Dec-19	Dec-21
	Mike Gerondakis	2017			Dec-17	Dec-19
	Jeff Blewett	2014			Dec-16	Dec-20
	Dan DeWolf	2008			Dec-17	Dec-19
	Rusty Folena	2004			Dec-17	Dec-19
	Matt Warden	2015			Dec-17	Dec-19
	Laura Blake	2018			Dec-17	Dec-20
	Lori Warden	2014			Dec-17	Dec-19
	Cole Sweatt	2014			Dec-17	Dec-19
	JC Jenkins	2016			Dec-16	Dec-20
	John Arenz	2008			Dec-16	Dec-20
	Open Seat
El Dorado (NV)	Open Seat
Placer (NV)	Open Seat