“My name is Barbara Gronet and I am against the motion to allow the Board to make By-Law changes.
I have been a member of the APCC since it decided to grow into this magnificent building.
At one time I was active in the APCC, but family & other organizations utilized my talents to a better level.
The Cultural Center was established to uphold and promote the Polish community in the Detroit Metro Area. It was meant to be a “Community” House for those of Polish descent to show, teach and share all that, which makes being Polish, so important to some of us.
Since its inception, the “Center” has gone under numerous changes, and I personally feel they are not for the better. Each time a new administration “takes over”, they tend to go further and further away from the original reason the Center was established. It has turned into a “Food & Sports” Center, not a Cultural Center. That is, unless you think that being Polish is Pierogi, Kielbasa, Steve Gromek, & Mark Fidrych. And when compared to other “Cultural Centers” in the United States, such as the one in Texas, we are close to becoming a laughing stock.
If this vote is ratified, it will set a precedence that will make change easier, but further distance us from what the original officers dreamed of through this organization.
There should be committee of members, with no Executive Board or Board members participating, formed as a “By-Law Change Committee”. They would take ideas & information from the administration, investigates those potential changes both fiduciarily and legally, and then put those changes before the entire membership for a vote. Also, the Center & Society lines are getting more & more blurred, at least for me. We cannot allow an “easy fix” to take us off track of what is truly needed: going back to the original dream of its founders.”
This comment was made from the heart and with experience. It was made to let the current officers know that more interaction with the members is needed to make changes to the By-Laws, the Rules for the Organization. Also, giving more information to the members about what will be discussed, will entice members to come to the meetings.
In answer to the comment above, the board of directors with the support of the members present decided to establish a committee to form a congruous solution to the “bylaw” proposal. This committee will be working to present an agreeable proposal within forty-five days. Hope all the members will attend the next general meeting to vote on it’s acceptance.