DAWSON CREEK, B.C. – Two extraordinary resolutions and an election battle for president led the British Columbia Women’s Institute into a controversial convention.
Outgoing president Estelle Lefurgy invited comment the first morning on the change made at the last convention three years ago when the BCWI decided the president-elect would not automatically succeed to the position of president.
This year, president-elect Alice Johnson and vice-president Muriel Washington both ran for the top office. But the first issue to resolve was whether a vote should be held. At the microphones one woman, who said it was her first time at a WI provincial convention, garnered applause when she said the membership should not have a rift and should allow an election.
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Others disagreed and urged the constitutional situation be cleared up and applied after the convention, thus supporting Johnson’s bid for president. A later motion urged that very thing but in a close call was defeated 45 to 41.
In making her nomination speech, Johnson was brief, saying she would like to “maintain an organization that has so much to offer and still does.” Washington urged the BCWI to limit its focus so members don’t get overburdened, and called for better communication between the board and the grassroots. “It is the little things that cause differences. In the big things we are united,” said Washington.
Before the election, the necessary two-thirds approval was gained to carry a motion to delete the term president-elect from the BCWI constitution and replace it with the term first vice-president and rename the vice-president position as second vice-president.
In the voting by 102 official delegates, Washington was the winner.
In an interview after the convention she was reluctant to comment on the situation other than to note all provincial board members and directors must now be elected by ballot to their position. She said the theme of her 1996-1999 term will be Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, as the Canadian WI celebrates its centennial next year.
No fee increase
In another difficult motion, the BCWI voted against any membership fee increase. The board wanted to raise the annual amount from $15 to $25 but even an amendment to raise it to $20 failed to get the necessary two-thirds approval.
Washington said with the defeat of this motion it is unlikely the board will seek a dues increase before the 1999 convention. Instead it will seek funds elsewhere, perhaps through grants. It may also cut expenses, possibly trimming the number of issues of the newsletter received by each of the 1,800 members.
In other projects through her term, Washington said the BCWI will do public awareness work with the Farm and Ranch Safety and Health Association, sponsor 4-H with its T-shirt fund-raising project, print and distribute a cookbook and use the Sallis legacy for crafts and centennial projects.
