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finally arrived when the members of the newly formed Incorporated Board met virtually on January 7th to discuss and pass the resolutions to officially launch the District as an incorporated organization in New York State and Ontario. The official incorporation date of July 1, 2021 matches the Rotary year, and as such, requires only one audit of the District finances. Members of the new Incorporated Board are Anne Bermingham, Governor, Lisa Bishop, Governor Elect, Scott Marcin, Governor Nominee, Frank Adamson, Immediate Past Governor, Wally Ochterski, Past Governor and two voting Council members, Rino Bidenti and Pene Hutton. Vice Governor Reg Madison is an ex-officio member.
Under the direction o
f the late Past Governor Karen Oakes, the long journey to incorporate began in March of 2019, when District clubs voted in favor of incorporation. The major reason for incorporation was to remove the risk of potential liability of the District’s operating personnel and the risk of being sued in the event of an unfortunate accident/issue happening at the club level. Incorporation also offers faster decision-making since the board can be assembled quickly to address issues rather than waiting two months for a council meeting. The incorporated governance structure is simpler, eliminates silos and provides more integration within all levels of the District.
f the late Past Governor Karen Oakes, the long journey to incorporate began in March of 2019, when District clubs voted in favor of incorporation. The major reason for incorporation was to remove the risk of potential liability of the District’s operating personnel and the risk of being sued in the event of an unfortunate accident/issue happening at the club level. Incorporation also offers faster decision-making since the board can be assembled quickly to address issues rather than waiting two months for a council meeting. The incorporated governance structure is simpler, eliminates silos and provides more integration within all levels of the District.The committee working on the incorporation project included Chair Karen Oakes, Bob Artis, Rino Bidenti, Pene Hutton, Reg Madison and Melisa Schrock. Some of the major tasks included reorganizing the many district committees, District Council membership, and the rewrite of the Manual of Policies from 80 pages to a much more manageable 40.
The committee wishes to recognize the immense amount of time and effort expended by Karen Oakes that enabled this day to finally occur.