The People’s Right to a Healthy Environment bill has stalled in the Oregon Senate
Despite significant public support, Senate Joint Resolution 28-1 remains in the Senate Rules Committee. Without a committee vote soon, this important environmental legislation may not advance. Your action now can make a difference.
This resolution (SJR 28-1) proposes adding a new section to Oregon’s Constitution that would:
Establish a fundamental right to a clean, safe, and healthy environment for all people, including future generations.
Require the state to protect this right fairly for everyone, with special priority given to children and future generations.
Allow any person to take legal action when this right is threatened, without having to try other remedies first. If they win their case, they can recover their legal costs.
Recognize environmental protection (clean water, clean air, healthy ecosystems, and climate stability) as top priorities for the state.
Add to existing environmental protections rather than replacing them.
If passed by the legislature, this amendment would be placed on the ballot for Oregon voters to approve or reject in the next general election.
Two phone calls can help:
Call Senator Kayse Jama (Rules Committee Chair): 503-986-1724 Tell Senator Jama you support moving SJR 28-1 out of committee.
Call Senate President Rob Wagner: 503-986-1600 Request that Senator Wagner bring SJR 28-1 to the Senate floor after committee approval.
Key points to mention:
Referring this measure to voters has no fiscal impact
This constitutional amendment will save Oregon time and money long-term
SJR 28-1 provides legal protection against special interest challenges
The amendment enables state authority to hold polluters accountable
Adventurous Young Mazamas snowshoeing near Mt. Hood, 2024
by Jacob Lippincott, Adventurous Young Mazamas
Oregon is typically not a state for fair weather hikers. In the summer expect to contend with heat, long dry spells, and skies filled with wild-fire smoke. In the winter, you’ll find cold temperatures, copious amounts of rain at lower elevations or many feet of snow at higher elevations. When the few nice weeks of fall give way to winter, people who want to continue enjoying one of our local trails often turn to snowshoes.
It is thought that snowshoes were first used around 4000 BC in Central Asia. People in snowy environments used them not for recreation at first, but for travelling and hunting. Snowshoes at this time did not look much like the ones we see today but were made from teardrop shaped planks of wood with a binding to attach to the foot. It wasn’t until they were brought to North America, by people crossing over the Bering Sea Land Bridge that they started to take on a more recognizable form.
The Indigenous peoples of the Huron and Cree tribes are credited with modernizing snowshoes, replacing planks with webbing and a frame around the outside. As they were used more extensively, their form changed to meet the demands of conditions specific to that region. For example, snowshoes found in Alaska tended to be longer and skinnier, more suited for long trips in open country with deep snow. In contrast, the “bear paw” snowshoe, oval in shape with no tail, was great for navigating through dense woods and hilly areas. Today’s snowshoes resemble these older versions in shape and serve similar function, but are made with newer materials like aluminum and plastic, allowing them to be lighter and more durable.
For winter travel on trails and snowy plains, it is hard to beat snowshoes for their effectiveness and ease of use. While they may not provide the downhill speed of touring skis or the efficiency of cross-country skis, they require less training and less financial investment. If you can hike, you can snowshoe. That being said you will find that snowshoeing through deep snow is tiring, and usually slower than hiking.
Often, you find fewer people braving the elements so snowshoeing, even on a trail that is popular in the summer, can feel like you are deep in the backcountry. Just remember that snowshoeing or other forms of winter recreation come with their own set of challenges. Navigation can be harder, as even familiar trails can look vastly different under a few feet of snow and storms easily remove evidence of yesterday’s bootpack. Be prepared for cold temperatures in the morning and potential warming throughout the day, dress in layers. Finally, the sun goes down early in winter, start early and be back before dark. Now is not the season to stay overnight in the woods.
I often say that I don’t like to snowshoe, that I would rather ski if I am spending time outside this time of year. But, writing this has made me reconsider that position. Yes, snowshoeing is often more tiring and slower than hiking and I want to get to the summit or back to the car to get warm. But when I remember to stop and marvel at the forest around me and soak in the quiet splendor, I am once again reminded how lucky I am to live in the Pacific Northwest. The dark green stands of evergreens, when covered with snow, are what comes to my mind when I think about the mountains here and trails become more beautiful during the winter. Moving through the woods in the cold, with tepid winter sun filtering through the trees and heavy snow-laden boughs gently swaying in the wind above provide for a wonderful, unique experience. Winter also provides a stillness to the outdoors that can be hard to find today. Honestly, I think about how lucky I am to live here almost every time I am outside in Oregon but it hits differently this time of year. And when on one of these magical winter hikes, thanks to snowshoes, I didn’t posthole every ten feet for the last five miles.
If you would like to join the Mazamas for a snowshoe, keep an eye on the calendar this winter season. The Adventurous Young Mazamas is hosting our Winter Weekend the weekend of February 14–16. There will be snowshoeing events for everyone regardless of age or experience level, join us!
Lily grew up in Northeast Portland and enjoyed cross country skiing and playing sports as a kid. In her adult life, she has continued to engage in those activities as much as possible by coaching girls lacrosse.
She completed our Basic Climbing Education Program last year and has summited Mount Hood, Unicorn Peak and South Sister. She assisted with a BCEP team in 2023, intends to assist again in 2024 and also is serving on the BCEP committee, which is gearing up for its info night on Jan. 11.
Name: Lily Cox-Skall
Pronouns: she/ her
Year Joined Mazamas: 2022
Present-day outdoor activities: Mountaineering, backpacking, hiking, running, cross country skiing
What’s your earliest outdoor memory? Going cross country skiing with my parents as a kid – I used to hate it! Lol
How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with theorganization? A few of my friends had taken BCEP and posted about it on social media, prompting my interest!
As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offerthem? Partaking in outdoor skill training can give you so much more confidence in the outdoors. Before I took BCEP, I felt like I had to rely on others to be knowledgeable about navigating outdoor scenarios. Since learning technical skills, I feel comfortable organizing and leading day trips and backpacking trips that I may not have in the past, and it’s given me the opportunity to get more of my friends and family outdoors with me!
What activities/situations/people most inspire you? Since joining the Mazamas and BCEP in particular, I have been so fortunate to meet so many amazing and inspiring people. In particular, one of my BCEP team leads, Ann Marie, inspired me so much throughout the course and beyond. On top of a million other commitments, Ann Marie volunteers to help students learn new outdoor skills, and she is so patient that it made it a lot easier to get through the intimidation of doing new and scary things. When it comes to badass mountaineering women who inspire me, I definitely hold her on the top of my list :).
What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow andwhy? I recently finished the book Bravey by Alexi Pappas! It is a really inspiring memoir that inspires me when it comes to setting goals and accomplishing them.
What’s on your adventure bucket list? I want to go climb the Acatenango volcano in Guatemala!
A native South Carolinian, Duncan lived in Maryland, Virginia and Rhode Island before moving to Oregon. His face is a familiar one at the Mazamas, and we’re fortunate that he is a devoted instructor. He’s a professor at Linfield College and volunteers much of his time teaching and overseeing first aid courses for the Mazamas. He also leads Basic Climbing Education Program teams, leads and assists on many climbs throughout the season and steps in as needed for other programs, like Families Mountaineering 101.
Name: Duncan Hart
Pronouns: he/him
Year Joined Mazamas: 2009
Present-day outdoor activities: Alpine climbing, camping, cycling, gardening, hiking, kayaking, and sandbox play
What’s your earliest outdoor memory?: Riding on the handlebars of my brother’s bike before age 3 and yes, we did not wear helmets back in the day.
How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? My manager would drag himself into Monday morning meetings with a big smile where he would spend a few minutes sharing Mazamas weekend adventures stories. At the time, doing the kinds of activities that Mazamas do seemed unimaginable to me. One day he asked where I wanted to be in life, and my response was that I wanted to be in a pair of snowshoes on Mt Hood. The response was priceless, “Well that sounds kind of risky. You really should have some BCEP training before going into the mountains.”
As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Be responsible not only for yourself but for others. Thirty years ago, we moved to the Pacific Northwest for the natural beauty and outdoor access. Today, we might be loving our mountains and outdoors a little too much. The inner drive to get that next great selfie is taking some people beyond their physical limits and into risky situations. The policy response is to place access restrictions on public lands. I feel that more people should be educated on the 10 essentials and that a smartphone is never an adequate substitute for planning and preparation. Having more people in the outdoors with Wilderness First Aid skills would also be a very good thing.
What activities/situations/people most inspire you? Acts of human kindness. Each of us does simple things every day that can make life better for others. Sometimes it is reaching out to a teammate who was involved in a challenging situation with you. “Hey, how are you doing?” A casual check-in like this can make a big difference in the first 10 minutes, later in the day, or even the next day after a tragedy or a near miss. Traumatic events affect each of us differently. Pay attention to the subtle details and listen. When we come together as Mazamas for an outdoor or educational experience, we often become a close-knit team. What we do as Mazamas is a dangerous sport, and bad things can and do happen. It is those formal and informal leaders within the teams who have the right sense of timing of when and how to do a check-in that inspire me.
What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? The Society for Science & the Public is a nonprofit that publishes a monthly Science News magazine that seeks to promote the understanding and appreciation for science and the vital role it plays on people and the planet. The articles are synopses of peer-reviewed white papers published in the last two months. I am interested in following the environmental issues and where this scientific community is focusing. Everyone can make individual choices both big and small that can result in a positive impact on the environment.
What’s on your adventure bucket list? My wish is to take all of my grandchildren up a glaciated peak. I pick up summit rocks as gifts and tell them that someday they will need to take them back (hopefully with me). Climate change is a reality. If we inspire our youth, someday they will tell their grandchildren stories of the time when there were glaciers on the mountains.Maybe one of those children will grow up with the answers on how to save our planet.
Lisa has been climbing mountains since she was little kid. She has served our organization in many capacities, volunteer climb leader, BCEP leader, canyoneering leader/instructor, teaching: ICS, AR, MFA, Crevasse Rescue, Rock Rescue, Skill Builders, FM101, CPR & First Aid and an organizer for our Used Gear Sale.
What’s your earliest outdoor memory: Catching frogs while camping with my family
How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? Mazamas had a reputation in Portland as the best of the best. Very safety conscious, and a group that was serious about mountain climbing. I had already climbed a number of mountains including Mt Hood years before I joined Mazamas, then I decided I should take BCEP to learn more and to meet more climbers.
As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Get some good training so you can enjoy the outdoors safely and more confidently.
What activities/situations/people most inspire you? Pick one. The BCEP students who are non-traditional. Who have not grown up hiking and spending time outdoors, and who might start out less physically fit.
What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? Deep Survival (Laurence Gonzales) – Led me to consider why we do what we do, and how each of us deals with challenges when they occur.
What’s on your adventure bucket list? Kilimanjaro, Borneo, Antarctica, more Pacific NW climbing
The Mazamas fully embrace the opportunity to publicly support the Bureau of Land Management’s historic effort to address our intensifying climate crisis by improving biodiversity and ecosystem resilience on our public lands. Our current predicament unquestionably demands aggressive action and rethinking fundamental priorities.
We agree wholeheartedly that preserving mature, old-growth forests is essential to any new plan. Not only do these forests store vast quantities of carbon from our atmosphere, but logging activity in these forests instead releases vast, harmful quantities of carbon – and needs to stop now.
These mature forests have shown they are more resilient to drought, insects, and fire, rendering them more valuable than ever. They support countless wildlife and plant species, enhance our threatened water supplies, and help combat flooding and erosion. Saving them from destruction must be a keystone of any forward-thinking and, yes, planet-saving, standards.
We believe much more can, and should, be done to mitigate and even reverse ongoing damage to our public lands. The BLM must continue to decommission unneeded roads. It should greatly limit free-range grazing and transition to rotational grazing wherever possible. The Bureau must work to restore and protect critical wetlands; and focus on biodiversity (rather than monoculture) when replanting/reseeding in deforested or otherwise-damaged areas. While the BLM and other public land managers have long juggled competing priorities of economic, recreational, and ecological interests, at this point there is only one path forward, lest these publicly owned treasures simply cease to exist: Restoration and preservation of environmental health and biodiversity must lie foremost in all planning.
(This was submitted to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning on behalf of the Mazamas)
Meet the Schwabs: They’re a blended family— each with varying degrees of “from-here.” While Meg moved to Oregon from the Midwest as an adult, Michael’s family basically got here with the Pioneers. Tegan and Isaac actually have the deepest roots to the Pacific Northwest though, because they’re members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde through their mom’s side of the family.
Thankfully, they all love being outside equally, and enjoy spending lots of family time exploring the outdoors. They were grateful to discover the Mazamas during COVID, and decided to take the Families Mountaineering 101 class together last year.
Name: Michael (dad), Meg (stepmom), Tegan, 12, and Isaac, 9
Pronouns: He, she, she, he
Year Joined Mazamas: 2022
Present-day outdoor activities: Hiking, camping, backpacking, climbing, and snowshoeing
What’s your earliest outdoor memory? As a fam: the kids have been camping since they were babies, and we’ve been taking them on hikes since before they even liked it.
How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? Since COVID, we were always on the lookout for activities to do outside, because it really seemed to help the kids get through being stuck with online learning and not being able to see their friends as often. We found Family 101 in 2021 (through a google search, I think?), but the planned dates that season didn’t fit with the 50/50 parenting-time schedule we have. For 2022, the calendar was almost exactly [magically] aligned, so we applied!
As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? For families specifically: get started as early as you can! Even when you think it’ll be hard at first (FYI: you are correct), you’ll all get the hang of it eventually. Nothing has brought our family unit closer than the times we’ve been hanging out together outside. Also, if you have the opportunity to go with other families with kids (ex. FM101!): jump on it.
What activities/situations/people most inspire you? Every time we’ve been at the summit of a crazy-difficult hike and seen a parent walk by with their baby in one of those backpack-carrier things. So metal.
What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? Primitive Technology by John Plant.
What’s on your adventure bucket list? Re-doing our favorite trips we did when the kids were too little to take them with us. Banff National Park, Zion, and the Inca Trail stick out as the main ones.
Ali Marie & Susan Koch on Dog Mountain. Photo supplied by Ali Marie Koch
In her 20s, Ali Marie Koch struggled with anxiety, an eating disorder, depression and panic attacks.
“I tried a lot of different things to make myself feel better,” Ali recalls. But nothing helped. She even succumbed to her suicidal thoughts with a failed attempt. “When I found myself in a place of hopelessness, I knew I had to create a path back to wellness.”
That path led her to the Mazamas. Well, actually her mother, Susan Koch, a 2008 Basic Climbing Education Program (BCEP) graduate, hike leader and Guardian Peaks award recipient, shepherded her to the organization.
“I didn’t think there were other people like me who were happy on a hiking trail and not walking at the mall,” Susan says. “But I just fell in love with climbing and hiking, and the Mazamas were so kind and made me feel so welcome.”
Susan, a physician with Kaiser, wanted to at least try and expose Ali to the outdoor experiences that positively transformed her life decades before. They began hiking together. Susan waited until Ali’s strength and endurance increased and the wildflowers were peaking. Then she brought Ali up Old Snowy.
“When I stood on top of that mountain, I felt a sense of strength and inner peace I’ve never felt before,” Ali says. “I was connected to something bigger than myself…I thought there was a secret sauce here, which can lead to mental and physical wellness.”
Now 11 years into her recovery, Ali is an active Mazama who enjoys snowboarding, climbing and split boarding. She also aims to offer up some of that “secret sauce” to next year’s BCEP students via the Alano Club of Portland, the largest and oldest recovery center in the United States. Peak Recovery, a project of Alano, supports people in mental health and substance use recovery with free outdoor movement-based programming rooted in a true love of nature.
With Ali as program manager, Peak Recovery is excited to partner with the Mazamas and fund nine BCEP students in 2023 who identify as being in mental health and/or substance use recovery. Peak Recovery will cover the cost of the class and provide transportation in a 9-passenger Sprinter van. After the class, participants in the Peak Recovery cohort will be gifted a membership to the Mazamas to continue on their mountaineering journey.
“The ethos of Alano and Peak Recovery is in line with the Mazamas,” says Joe Preston, BCEP committee chair. “It’s the kind of partnership that will help us be more inclusive and welcoming, and we all want to see efforts like this expand every year.”
In 2022, BCEP put together several affinity teams, including an all-Latino team, an LGBTQ team and a sober team. The Peak Recovery partnership is an 18-month pilot program that Ali and Brent Canode, co-founder and Alano’s executive director, hope will become an ongoing partnership with the Mazamas.
“There’s a popular saying, and one of my favorite truisms in the behavioral health field, which goes like this: ‘The opposite of addiction is connection.’ At Alano Club of Portland we’ve taken that idea a bit further, recognizing that the point of connection must be meaningful and authentic for true community to grow and flourish,” Canode says. “Like most things in life, recovery is not a
One-size fits all journey, and those points of connection must speak in a way that compels a person to reach out and then remain on that path. That’s why we are thrilled to bring Peak Recovery to our community in partnership with the Mazamas, another legacy non-profit with a deep history of service and impact in Oregon.”
Susan and Ali credit the Mazamas in part for the happy, healthy lives they lead today, exposing them to a community of people passionate about movement and time in nature, tightening their family bond with trips that included the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro and highlighting how resilient they are as women in the healthcare field.
“It’s been such a privilege to spend time in nature with other Mazamas, some of whom we now feel are like family,” Ali says. “It’s now a privilege to light this fire, to share the transformative, healing powers of mountains with others.”
Learn more and register for the course at Peak Recovery under the Mountaineering section for the “Mazama + Peak Recovery” BCEP team.
Applications will go live January 18th, and applications close February 9th
Anyone applying for these 9 spots on the “Mazama + Peak Recovery” BCEP team will all be in the same cohort (which will be led by James Jula from the Mazamas BCEP leader team)
Being and feeling safe is a right for all people. This is not true for many within our community.
Today, we are reaffirming that statement and voicing our support for our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community members. The murderous rampage on March 17 in Atlanta by a racially-motivated gunman, led to the deaths of eight individuals, six of whom were Asian women. This alone is a horrific and tragic event. But it is not an isolated incident. The United States has a long history of anti-Asian violence and hate which has only intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are dedicated to actively listening to the Asian members of our community, to receiving feedback, and implementing change. We want you to know that we see you, we hear you, and we are working to become an organization where you feel fully supported and welcome.
Today, we are calling upon our Mazama community to show their support for our AAPI members and to aid in disrupting the cycle of violence and hate. We ask you to act to prevent gender-motivated harassment and violence in our communities, and to learn about the history of racism and violence against Asians in this country. And we ask you to question your everyday interpretations, judgements, and actions as you review the list of resources below.
A few action steps the Mazamas have taken in the last year to address the culture of systemic racism and gender-based violence within our community:
Launched an online Preventing Sexual Harassment & Sexual Assault training.
Published an Equity Statement that was crafted by our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team.
Supported a Mazama board member and committee member’s enrollment in the Intertwine Alliance Equity & Inclusion Cohort.
Supported two staff members attending The Outdoor CEO Diversity Pledge Fundamentals Training.
Implemented learnings from that training including updating language in our job postings and accessibility language on our website.
Worked with our partner outdoor organizations to schedule a Systemic and Structural Racism 2-day intensive training for our Executive Director and a board member. The learnings from this training will be shared with our membership. (scheduled for October 2021)
The Mazama Board voted to sign on to the Outdoor CEO Diversity Pledge.
Several other initiatives, including proposed amendments to our organization’s bylaws, are in progress. This is just the beginning of our work to make the Mazamas a truly welcoming and inclusive place.
What can you do to learn more and provide support to our AAPI community?
Distract: Find a way to pull attention away from the situation, or the person being attacked.
Delegate: Evaluate the situation and organize others to respond.
Document: Record the incident. Keep a safe distance when recording, and always ask the person targeted what they want you to do with the footage. Do not further victimize an individual by posting a video/audio without their knowledge.
Delay: After the incident, check in with anyone who was affected to show them that their experience and well-being matters, and that you see and value them.
Direct: Step forward in a situation directly and intervene, either physically or verbally.
The Mazamas does not tolerate violence or racism in our community. If you have witnessed or been subject to harassment while participating in our courses, activities, or events, we implore you to file an incident report. To the extent possible, confidentiality will be maintained except as necessary to conduct the investigation and take appropriate remedial action.
LEARN Most of us have a lot to learn when it comes to racism, anti-racism, and allyship in the United States, particularly as it relates to the history and prevalence of anti-Asian rhetoric. There are hundreds of important resources available online, in the library, and through your headphones. Here are a few places and statements to get us started:
We also encourage you to learn more about Oregon State Bill 289, which would increase penalties for bias crimes perpetrated on Oregon public lands and provide means for restorative justice. Email your state senator to share your support and encourage them to vote for this bill.
The Mazama staff would like to thank the members of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team who continue to hold us accountable and encourage us to use our platform to denounce hate. Their time, efforts, and support are critical to the Mazamas becoming a more inclusive and just organization.
Written by Aimee Filimoehala, Mazama Vice President Printed in the January/February 2021 Mazama Bulletin
The Mazama Executive Council endorses the following proposed amendments to the bylaws. Updating and modernizing the bylaws will allow the organization to attract many new like-minded members, to improve operational efficiency, and to take a definitive step toward increasing diversity and inclusivity in the Executive Council, which is critical for a modern council’s decision-making ability. Understanding the reasoning for these bylaw changes will be facilitated by a town hall meeting in early spring. A special election to vote on the bylaw changes will be held in early May 2021. We continue to look to our past for a foundation, while also reaching to the future as we aspire to challenge ourselves to be better.
Glaciated Peak
According to our current bylaws, an individual must summit a glaciated peak to qualify for Mazama membership. The original intent of this requirement served to foster a sense of community and ensured that all Mazamas shared a love for the mountains. There has been an ongoing and genuine interest from nonmembers to become part of our member community while enjoying outdoor activities being offered through the Mazamas, including:
Hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing, and rambling
Rock climbing
Skiing (Nordic and Backcountry)
Canyoneering
Outings
Removing the requirement of summiting a glaciated peak allows us to:
Remove a barrier to becoming a Mazama, which is in line with the council’s goal to make it easier for participants that share the values of the organization to actively participate in and contribute to the Mazama experience.
Directly support our mission of inspiring everyone to love and protect the mountains.
Advance efforts of inclusiveness and diversity in our organization regardless of socioeconomic status, physical abilities, age, and outdoor interests.
Increase membership while improving both political presence and financial stability.
Our identity is preserved through our behavior and established culture. Other well-established mountaineering organizations such as the American Alpine Club and The Mountaineers have no such requirement and are still considered climbing organizations by their members and the larger community. The Mazamas will continue to recognize climbing achievements through badges and awards, including:
Completing the Basic Education Climbing Program,
Completing the Intermediate Climbing School,
Completing Advanced Rock
Summiting a Glaciated Peak,
Summiting the Guardian Peaks
Summiting the Seven Oregon Peaks
Summiting the 16 Northwest Peaks
Operations
Recent unpredictable and unavoidable events have highlighted limitations in conducting day-to-day business given our existing bylaws. In order to improve our ability to comply with bylaws while operating effectively, the Executive Council is recommending we separate some of the day to day operational structure currently dictated in the bylaws into a separate operations document. Recommended changes to the bylaws will:
Change the name of the Executive Council to the Board of Directors (Board), and its members will be board members or directors;
Allow board communication by electronic means according to Oregon law as needed;
Remove the requirement for two authorized signers for all financial transactions and allow the Executive Director or an authorized officer to sign for expenses up to $1,000;
Move the creation and management of committees to conduct essential work to an operations document.
Board Makeup
The existing Mazama Bylaws require board members to be a Mazama member in good standing for at least three years. A recommendation to emphasize skillset, applicable experiences, and diverse backgrounds vs. length of time within the organization is being made. The practical needs of our organization require knowledge and proficiency in specialized areas such as fundraising, accounting, and law, to name a few. With the current requirements, we have severely limited our ability to find and recruit the talent that is needed for our board. If we remove these requirements and instead place value on experience vs. length of time with the Mazamas, we will be able to recruit highly skilled board candidates and improve confidence in our members that we are operating in their and the community’s best interests.
Recommended changes to the board makeup include:
Removal of the requirement for three years of continuous Mazama membership to run for the board. These nine board members will still need to be voted in by the membership.
Three additional board members, who need not be Mazama members, will be appointed by the nine board members for their special skills or experiences, including their connections in the broader non-Mazama community, and they will share the same voting rights and responsibilities. Appointments will be made for three-year terms with the exception of the initial appointments. To stagger vacancies and to provide continuity, the initial appointments will be: first appointee for 1 year; second appointee for 2 years; and third appointee for three years.
Keep an eye out for the official voter guide in the March/April Bulletin. We will be holding a virtual town hall meeting on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, to discuss the proposed bylaw amendments.
If you have questions or comments about the bylaws, please email bylaws@mazamas.org.
