Update on the Revolution at the Olympia Film Society

author : Adam Broomfield topic : Olympia Film Society

by Adam Broomfield for a collective of concerned OFS members

Where do we stand?

The Olympia Film Society (OFS) board of directors has acted improperly in firing Technical Director Jeffrey Bartone. The flawed procedure for this vote has not been supported or reasonably justified. We are faced with a board that has acted contrary to the bylaws of OFS, yet maintains a lack of concern amid the outcry of its membership. In firing the Technical Director with no plan for his replacement, they have left the Capitol Theater without an overseer of maintenance and vulnerable to equipment failure. Two of our number are licensed electrical contractors who fear for the safety of our 80-year-old electrical system, currently deprived of any monitoring. In the interest of preserving our organization, it has clearly become time for change at OFS.

This incident has served to highlight a chronic problem within OFS’s present structure. Our board of directors, in accordance with present bylaws, is responsible for self-appointing new members. This system was adopted when the organization was young, with only around fifty members. The Board was then made up of working members, people who were involved in daily operations of the theater. The organization has grown to over 2000 people over the past two decades. Now, board members are often involved only in management. We feel that this detachment, in part, led to recent events.

What’s the next step?

In the interest of avoiding problems in the future, we have proposed a set of changes to the bylaws. Foremost, we feel that OFS’s membership has grown large enough to necessitate a member-elected board of directors. It is time that the board serves at the will of the membership, ensuring accountability and faithfulness to the spirit of the organization.

A petition, signed by over 200 concerned OFS members was presented to the Board requiring a Special Membership Meeting to be held on October 13th at 12:00PM. At the meeting, a vote will be taken on whether to ratify the proposed changes to the OFS bylaws. If these changes gain approval, a second vote will be held to make them effective immediately. This will allow an election to be held at the same meeting in which a new representative Board will be assembled. As the present Board has been unresponsive amid uproar over their actions, we feel that suitable recourse is to allow OFS members to decide who will hold Board positions at OFS.

For more information on this issue, go to: www.ofsvolunteers.com