We got the new mail-in ballot rules a few days before the executive meeting. I could see positive changes were made. I wondered how effective I would have been as an overseer had I not had my previous experience drafting TDG constitutions.

The current constitution put all the election rules for neighborhood representatives into Section 5. The committee decided to simplify this section. Then it put the rules for the mail-in ballots into Appendix A and the rules for the in-person ballots in Appendix B. Orville and his committee thought that if small changes were to be made later, it would be easier to make those changes in Section 5, Appendix A, or Appendix B.

Here is the committee's work:

Section 5: Electoral Rules

1. The executive committee shall schedule an annual general meeting in the month of April. The main purpose of this meeting is to elect the neighborhood representatives.
   
   
2. The executive committee shall send a formal notice of this meeting to all members at least seven days in advance of this meeting.
   
   
3. This notice shall be sent by US Post to all members and by email to all members on this TDG's email list.
   
   
4. The US Post notice shall include provision for a mail-in ballot as per Appendix A.
   
   
5. Members can choose between 1) sending the mail-in ballot as per Appendix A or 2) attending the annual general meeting to cast an in-person vote as per Appendix B.

Appendix A: Mail-in Ballot

1. Included with the notice of the annual general meeting shall be the following items:
   
   
   1. A ballot with the name of the member's electoral neighborhood on it. The ballot must include a short explanation, written by the current chair or chair's designee, of the importance of voting for good character and capacity for governance. The rest of the ballot shall have sufficient space to write in the one name of the voter's choice.
      
      
   2. An envelope to place this ballot. This envelope shall be marked with the name of the electoral neighborhood. No other markings shall be allowed.
      
      
   3. A bigger envelope that has the TDG's mailing address and the return address of the voter.
      
      
   4. Instructions for the voter to write in the name of his/ her preference on the ballot, place the ballot in the smaller envelope, then place the smaller envelope into the bigger envelope.
      
      
2. Voter will provide the postage.
   
   
3. Voter will not have access to the membership list for his/her neighborhood.
   
   
4. When the mail-in ballot is received by the Riverbend TDG, the bigger envelope shall remain unopened until the annual general meeting.
   
   
5. Voter can retrieve his/her mail-in ballot just prior to the vote of the annual general meeting and receive an in-person ballot.

Appendix B: In-person Voting

1. When a member attends the annual general meeting, he/she shall be directed to the teller(s) handling that neighborhood. The teller shall check if the person had sent a mail-in ballot.
   
   
   1. If not, the teller will issue an in-person ballot.
      
      
   2. If so, the member can leave his/her mail-in ballot to stand as his/her vote. This member will not be issued an in-person ballot.
      
      
   3. If the member requests an in-person ballot, the teller shall remove the member's mail-in ballot from the collection of mail-in ballots destined for the ballot box. This mail-in ballot shall not be counted in the vote tally. The member shall be given an in-person ballot.
      
      
2. For in-person voters, the teller shall provide a list of members in that neighborhood for that member to inspect.
   
   
3. The chair or chair's designee shall declare the official start of the annual general meeting. At that time, tellers can open the envelopes containing mail-in ballots and put those ballots into the ballot box. Proper accounting of ballots is required.
   
   
4. The chair or the chair's designee shall give a short speech about voting for good character and capacity for governance.
   
   
5. The members shall write in the name of their preference on the ballot. Only one name is allowed.
   
   
6. After sufficient time, the chair or chair's designee shall claim the end of voting. The tellers shall count the ballots.
   
   
7. Ballots with more than one name shall be deemed as spoiled. Ballots with a name outside the designated neighborhood shall be deemed as spoiled. Ballots where the name cannot be discerned by the tellers shall be deemed as spoiled.
   
   
8. The tellers shall report the winner to the chair or chair's designee, who will announce the results later in the meeting. 
   
   
9. If there is a tie vote in a neighborhood, a second round of voting shall be conducted with the members of that neighborhood still in attendance at the meeting. Only the names of those who tied shall be considered.
   
   
10. If there is still a tie vote, the chair or chair's designee shall flip a coin.

I really liked the work of this committee.

They even fixed a small problem the executive committee didn't ask them to fix. When we saw their suggestion, we all agreed to it. That problem was the handling of the 'good character and capacity' speech prior to the voting when we had multiple locations for our AGMs. The first time, we actually had Holger delivering this speech over a cell phone. That didn't work too well. Then we then set up a Skype meeting with laptops in each of the locations. That was better, but it was still clumsy and too much technical preparation. So, we have been holding the AGM in one central location. But then voter turnout was lower. By using 'chair's designee,' we can go back to multiple locations.

Making this speech (and now appointing the designees) is about the only unilateral action the chair of our TDG has. Everything else requires consensus.

The executive committee approved all these amendments to our constitution. We set a date for the amendment meeting.

Pamela put her committee to work. They put together a package with the notice and amendment. They sent out an email notice to the membership. They also rented the activity center in the Hillcrest Baptist Church for the meeting. The church had a big basement that could hold 120 people.

Ed's committee printed the package and sent it by US Post to the membership.

And we set up our traditional public meeting right after the amendment meeting. We had a US Post Drop in nearby neighborhoods and ran a couple of ads in the Riverbend Times.



Pete's finance committee also had something to report.

Pete summarized: 'There is a second-floor office space of about 400 square feet for $360 a month, just outside of downtown. Add in electricity and telecommunications for another $300.'

Mustafa asked, 'Is it furnished?'

Pete said, 'No, it is bare. But the walls and carpet look nice. To furnish it with second-hand office equipment, we might end up spending another $2000.'

Orville asked, 'Did you look at other places?'

'Three of us visited two or three places each. This was the most suitable in our opinion. But if we want more exposure or easy access, ground floor locations are around $1000 a month.'

I asked, 'Should we take it now?'

Pete said, 'Places like this come and go all the time. We could wait until we are ready to make that decision.'

We decided to wait.

The game was about a four-hour drive from Riverbend. We left at noon on Saturday. The guys sat in the front. Francy and I sat in the back. We had periods of good conversation—and also some quiet moments.

There was no question on anyone's minds that sex was going to be a big part of this weekend. But we never discussed who was going to be with whom. As the four of us carried our luggage to our two hotel rooms, somehow a decision was made without anyone saying anything. Francy went in with her former lover. I went with the other fellow. When the two of us closed our door, we undressed and had sex.

An hour later, the four of us were in a fancy restaurant, dressed in our nightclub attire. After supper we went to a casino. The two men showed us around the blackjack, craps, and roulette tables. They left us with a bunch of chips and went off to play some poker. They told us poker was too complicated for first time gamblers.

I kind of liked the roulette table and got my little buzz with each win. One of the other players was a man about 45 years old. He started getting friendly, then a little more friendly. I thought it was safe to play him on. So I pretended I could be available. When my consort came back, he made it clear that I belonged to him. The older fellow backed off.

I think the four of us dropped $1000 that night. I'm glad it wasn't my money. But it was fun.

We left the casino around midnight. Another round of sex.