Author: Don Ferguson (Ferg620)
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 8:02 pm
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Denton asked: .....what institute did you receive your law degree from. My answer: University of Wisconsin. I was not a lawyer, I was a legal researcher specializing in liability control systems. Thanks for asking. Don Ferguson
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Author: Denton (Denton)
Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 7:45 am
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So I guess that makes you the expert in the laws that govern the many types of non-profit associations.
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Author: Jim Cranmer (Doeboy)
Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 3:25 pm
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I was present at the lawyer's office when we first started this. There was/is a new law? that allowed us to do the non-profit status. If I remember correctly the LAWYER told us that we could be called non-profit as long as the money we make goes out again with little left for operating expenses. As a matter of fact the lawyer didn't want to be paid but Roy insisted to pay him for his time. That was around the same time that you resigned your membership from the club because you said we were not legal. So we went to the lawyer and he looked over our bylaws, our insurance and other paperwork and said everytrhing was in order. The only sugestion he had was the signing of the release of responsiblity. But he said it doesn't matter if someone wants to sue they can but at least we have something to show the judge. Depending on the judge, we could still lose.
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Author: Don Ferguson (Ferg620)
Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 7:48 pm
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Hi Jim, Always good to hear from you. I will be happy to answer your post. It does involve law so it will be quite detailed and long, I will use a separate post. I will make a summary statement: What you remember is probably correct, I was not present. The statements made by the lawyer were accurate at the time. However, the law is constantly changing, required procedures are constantly changing. For example: You mention the release form. At the time it was not a legal requirement, but it was a good idea. Since then the insurance company has made it a requirement. We must use the insurance companies release form or our liability insurance is voided. Using the release form is still not a legal requirement, but it is required by the insurance company - end result is the same. Point is that the law changes, procedures change. The club can hire a full time attorney on staff, consult an attorney every time a question comes up, or we can setup club administrative procedures to control negligence risks. Thats what I am trying to do now, make sure that all procedures satisfy the law and our bylaws, and so they will be easy for future officers to use. It will take me a few days to get the posting for you. Don
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Author: Denton (Denton)
Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 9:32 pm
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Many THANKS Jim for remembering and posting! Unfortunately after setting up the appointment with the lawyer I was unable to attend the meetings due to work conflicts, but I knew we were legal starting in 2003 not starting in 2007 because of the membership meetings that we had concerning this. I understand keeping up with the current laws and making amendments, but all I was trying to do was get the point across that we have been a legal non-profit association for several years and this was not something that was new for 2007. Again, thank you for remembering the details.
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