A well known city figure is ready to pull his Caboto Club membership if the club does not change its stance on women board members.
Bill Marra has been a Caboto member for a number of years and believes the change is long overdue.
He says he reached out to the club's General Manager Ron Moro.
"In an email correspondence, I suggested to Ron that I'd be more than happy as a member of this community to assist with whatever I could assist with to see a change that I believe is long overdue and in fact I articulated that to him," say Marra. "He's acknowledged my email, he's not taken me up on my offer."
An undated photo of the Giovanni Caboto Club on Tecumseh Rd. E. and Parent Ave. in Windsor. (Photo by AM800's Steve Bell)
Marra says he's willing to pull his membership.
"The conversation I had with the board of director member, I'm certainly not going to knee jerk react right now but I think if the board decides not to make a change, I feel very strongly I'll have to rescind my membership," says Marra.
Marra was named Italian of the Year in 2013.
He says he was not acutely aware of the policy when he received the honour.
Marra says he has attended a number of events at the club including his own wedding reception, his election night party and the city's election night.
Caboto Club only allows men to sit on its board.