2.1 - Member Hardship
This is not a case of true hardship but rather an opportunity to consider a creative solution that may allow us to work within the boundaries of our rules.
Geoffery Perkins, CPBD, has applied for Retired Professional membership.
According to the AIBD bylaws, a member must have held Professional Membership for at least 10 years to qualify for Retired Professional status. However, Geoff has only been a member for five years. Despite this, he has been moderately active, attending events like HPHT and Coffee with Bernie. He is also a frequent contributor to discussions, often providing constructive criticism on my MM videos (when I made them) or my Midweek Meander posts. Geoff has admitted, "I know I only write when I have a complaint," and while his feedback can be challenging, it has undeniably made me a better writer.
At 76 years of age, Geoff discovered AIBD relatively late in life—he joined us at 71. After learning about the certification, he applied on August 29, 2020, was approved on August 31, and passed the exam on September 3. Shortly after, he became a member. Given his age and engagement, I believe Geoff will continue to stay involved with AIBD, but it’s unlikely he will pay Professional Membership dues for another five years to meet the formal requirements for Retired Professional status.
A pragmatic solution is to maintain his active status at a cost he can afford (zero), while considering potential bylaw revisions for similar situations in the future. Though this type of request has not come up during my tenure at AIBD, it’s possible others in similar circumstances have refrained from applying simply because they read the rules and assumed they didn’t qualify.
I do not believe a bylaw amendment is necessary. While the bylaws do not give the board authority to waive the 10-year requirement outright, Article IV, Section 1(A)(1) does allow the board to reduce dues “based upon hardship” under a policy adopted by the board and recorded in the Book of Rules.
In this case, the “hardship” is that Geoff discovered us too late.
This approach honors both the bylaws and Geoff’s contributions to the community.
Here’s how we could proceed:
Geoffery Perkins, CPBD, has applied for Retired Professional membership.
According to the AIBD bylaws, a member must have held Professional Membership for at least 10 years to qualify for Retired Professional status. However, Geoff has only been a member for five years. Despite this, he has been moderately active, attending events like HPHT and Coffee with Bernie. He is also a frequent contributor to discussions, often providing constructive criticism on my MM videos (when I made them) or my Midweek Meander posts. Geoff has admitted, "I know I only write when I have a complaint," and while his feedback can be challenging, it has undeniably made me a better writer.
At 76 years of age, Geoff discovered AIBD relatively late in life—he joined us at 71. After learning about the certification, he applied on August 29, 2020, was approved on August 31, and passed the exam on September 3. Shortly after, he became a member. Given his age and engagement, I believe Geoff will continue to stay involved with AIBD, but it’s unlikely he will pay Professional Membership dues for another five years to meet the formal requirements for Retired Professional status.
A pragmatic solution is to maintain his active status at a cost he can afford (zero), while considering potential bylaw revisions for similar situations in the future. Though this type of request has not come up during my tenure at AIBD, it’s possible others in similar circumstances have refrained from applying simply because they read the rules and assumed they didn’t qualify.
I do not believe a bylaw amendment is necessary. While the bylaws do not give the board authority to waive the 10-year requirement outright, Article IV, Section 1(A)(1) does allow the board to reduce dues “based upon hardship” under a policy adopted by the board and recorded in the Book of Rules.
In this case, the “hardship” is that Geoff discovered us too late.
This approach honors both the bylaws and Geoff’s contributions to the community.
Here’s how we could proceed:
- Keep Geoff as a Professional Member for the next five years.
- Use the hardship-dues policy to significantly minimize his financial obligation.
- Revisit the situation in July 2026. At that time, we could either amend the bylaws or, with input from the Governance Committee, draft a “hardship” provision in the Book of Rules to address cases like this.
This solution respects our rules while recognizing Geoff’s valuable role in AIBD.
In the meantime...
In the meantime...
My Motion:
I move to approve Geoffrey Perkin's change of status request, on the condition that he maintains his Professional Membership for an additional five years. To facilitate this, I also move that Geoff receive a discount code to cover the cost of his next five Professional Member renewals, reducing the fee to $0.
Prior Actions:
Governance & Bylaws Committee: No Objection (2/2/2026)
Membership Committee:
Membership Committee: