Because the primary purpose of the amendments is to protect VEA’s tax status, most of the proposed amendments were originally drafted by VEA’s independent auditor who is a national expert on cooperative tax structure, and tax exemptions. The Ambassador Bylaws Committee, composed of owner-members, reviewed and voted to support these proposed amendments, and submitted several additional recommended bylaws changes to VEA.
These recommendations, along with recommendations submitted by the staff and legal, were reviewed by the Board of Directors during the December 2017 meeting. These changes were specifically deemed critical and were approved by the Board for a vote by the members.