5th AC General Meeting: All highlights and resolutions

The 5th general meeting of the Alumni Club FH Upper Austria was not the best attended, but it was nevertheless trend-setting. The members present unanimously voted for new statutes, a new rhythm and new creative forces.

Track record: 10 years Alumni Club FH Upper Austria
 

It was 18:02, when our acting chairman general Dominik Klampferer as chairman opened the general meeting. Since at this time the quorum was not yet present - and some of the registered participants* were still trying to perform surgical procedures on the premises of the Research Group Surgical Simulators Linz, the obligatory report of the board was postponed by half an hour.

When the rows had closed after the waiting period, Dominik gave the attending alumni an insight into Member structure and -entwicklung of the association since its foundation. Also the offer of events, an overview of previous Sponsoring activities and an exemplary list of benefits were part of the detailed review. Also discussed were planned services and improvements in the digital area as well as the introduction of new advertising media.

Adjustment of the association year and membership fee
 

However, Dominik also referred to major changes that had been made in advance by the Executive Board and will take effect from 2020. For example, he announced that our club year, which previously ran from the beginning of July to the end of June, will be changed. In the future, this will correspond to the calendar year, i.e. it will run from January to December. The membership fee will also be raised to 30 euros. This step was justified by the fact that larger investments in the expansion of the digital offer are pending and annual adjustments should be avoided.

Afterwards, the annual financial statement, the financial management report and the audit report for the past year were presented. These reports clearly showed that the Alumni Club FH Oberösterreich used the membership fees it collected in the last term of office responsibly and appropriately and was able to prove this in accordance with the regulations. Not surprisingly, the first motions which were put to the vote - i.e. the acceptance of the audit and management report as well as the discharge of the board - were unanimously accepted.

Optimised statutes and new rhythm
 

But it was only really exciting after the coffee break. The second part of the general meeting was all about change - both in terms of organisation and personnel. First of all, the members were asked to approve the previously announced new version of the association's statutes, which will replace the previous version from the founding year 2009.

This not only includes the concretization of terms and formulations, but also takes into account the changed requirements (especially in the area of digitization and administration) that have arisen in recent years. In addition, the statutes now reflect the fact that the four sections of the association have grown closer together in recent years. Moreover, they ensure the greatest possible capacity to act and flexibility of all the Association's organs while adhering to the Association's principles that have been valid up to now. Last but not least, the role of alumni, who support the association financially, has been significantly enhanced. The application was unanimously accepted and forwarded to the association's authorities, where it is now being examined. The changes will take effect at the time when we receive the positive decision on the legality of the changes.

A further change to the statutes, which was submitted as a supplementary motion, was the extension of the term of office between two ordinary general meetings. The rather low turnout at this year's meeting suggested that this rather rigid format of co-determination was losing popularity. The submitted proposal to increase the interval from two to four years was unanimously accepted - also because of the possibility to call an extraordinary general meeting at any time if necessary.

Management and control: experienced and fresh forces
 

It was also pleasing that five club members declared their interest in becoming members of the board of directors and helping to shape the fate of the club in the future. Since the number of applications was greater than the number of available places, the board decided at short notice to establish an advisory board. In the future, this advisory board will meet regularly and offer a platform to members who would like to contribute to the content of the association. Victoria Rammer was elected chairperson of the new advisory board, who will take over the establishment and management of the advisory board in this function.

The result was equally clear in the re-election of the six acting members of the Board of Directors: In a block vote, which was requested by one of the club members present, they were unanimously given the vote of confidence. However, all four candidates, who applied for the first time as deputy section chairmen, were also elected to the board without a single dissenting vote. Clearly confirmed in office or elected for the first time were the two auditors* who will keep an eye on the finances of the association for the next four years.

What will happen in 2020?

The last official item on the agenda was a short outlook into the future. In the course of this, the members present were presented which projects are currently being planned or already in progress. The general meeting was concluded with a festive buffet, where the diligent participants could strengthen themselves after their work was done.