The Steering Committee feels that changes to the FIRST Operational Framework that will allow for the assessment and collection of some sort of membership fees are essential if the organization is to remain viable beyond the next fiscal year. Projections of expected income and expenses for the organization paint a rather grim picture as we approach the year 2000. Given the lead times involved in implementing any significant changes to the FIRST organizational structure, the Steering Committee feels strongly that these changes must be addressed at the Monterrey Annual General Meeting (AGM).
It is expected that sometime prior to the upcoming FIRST Conference and AGM that the 2nd Task Force on the Future of FIRST will release its report. While the report will contain a number of recommendations, it is unlikely that the report will contain specific recommendations suitable as motions that can be debated and voted upon by the membership at the AGM.
These issues were discussed in detail at the Steering Committee meeting on April 14 and 15. It was suggested that a meeting should be scheduled prior to the Monterrey conference at which interested members could review the Task Force's report and develop and refine a set of motions for the AGM. These motions could then be reviewed and discussed by the entire membership prior to and during the meeting.
The Steering Committee has made arrangements for a meeting room to be made available for this purpose at the Monterrey conference hotel just prior to the conference on Saturday, June 20. It is hoped that a number of FIRST Team members will be able to arrange their travel schedules to attend this very important meeting. If you are interested and able to attend this meeting, please send an e-mail message to first-sec@first.org so that we can get an approximate head count to ensure suitable facilities.
The meeting will take place on Saturday, June 20th 13:00-18:00 in the Guerrero room at the conference hotel, with the option to continue the meeting on Sunday, June 21st 09:00-12:00 if necessary.
Information regarding the Task Force Documents can be found on the Task Force Page.