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The meeting was called to order at 5:40 p.m. by President, Jan Robinson.
Present were: Jan Robinson, Larry Sullivan, Don Holznagel, Sandy Sterling, Lyleth Winther, Jeanette Hopkins, Cathy Lauer, Loretta Welsh, Sandi Whiteman, Bruce Conrad, Sue Lydic, Michele Fricke, Rex Bosse, Gerry Lenzen, Connie Lenzen, Jim Morrow, William Smith.
Minutes of the June meeting were presented for approval. Motion was made by Rex and 2nd by Lyleth to accept the minutes. Motion carried.
Treasurer's Report - Jeanette presented a recap of the balances. She noted that there was a loss of income due to slow member dues. The Budget Total was $2500 short for estimated income, however expenses were less by $800 than what was projected. A motion to accept the Treasurer's report was made by Lyleth and 2nd by Rex. Motion carried.
Telephone Books - As a marketing test, fifteen telephone books were listed on Ebay. Six were sold on Ebay and one was purchased by a Forum member for a total of seven sold. The Ebay listings can be found by using Advance Search for seller using our seller identity, "genforumor". We discussed putting a list of titles on our GFO website before advertising them on Ebay and also placing a copy at the reception desk. An inventory needs to be made listing what we have. Once the list is compiled, Rex will work with Kathy Cardoza to post it to our website. Bruce, Rex, Don, and Sandy (Sterling) have volunteered to compile the inventory.
Membership - Michele was happy to report that Sandy has been trained and has now taken over the duties of membership chairman. Our total number of members as of June 30, 2006 is 1107.
First Families - Lyleth reported that the committee has had one meeting to work on the details of the project. The original plan was to have four categories, but it has been reduced to three. Gerry suggested that we check the websites of the Oregon Genealogical Society and the Washington County Historical Society for comparison of prices for their Certificates before setting our cost. It was agreed that a $20.00 cost would be acceptable. Lyleth will advertise the First Families in the Insider and the Bulletin An applicant does not have to be a members of GFO.
Brochures - Jeanette said that there was a problem with printing the brochures and they had to be redone by the printers. They should be ready soon
Corporate Sponsorship - Jan had nothing to report. Her committee will meet soon.
Pricing of CDs - Loretta is comparing the costs of various extraction CDs published by other groups to help to establish a reasonable price to charge for our CDs.
Goals & Vision Statements - Jan led a discussion that was carried over from the June meeting. Sandi (W.) made a motion which was 2nd by Jeanette that we adopt the following statements as worded:
Mission Statement:
The Genealogical Forum of Oregon, Inc., provides extensive resources for historical and family research.
Vision Statement: The Genealogical Forum of Oregon, Inc. will be widely recognized as a premier provider of assistance and resources for genealogical researchers and family historians.
The motion carried.
Print Shop - Loretta reported that George Brown's book has been printed and is| ready to collate and bind. Nine books were printed for pre-orders, two for the library|shelves, and one copy for the author, making a grand total of twelve.
New Printers / Copiers - Proposals were obtained from four vendors for new and used machines: Copytronix (used), Oce, Copytronix (new), and Pacific Office Automation. Rex made a motion that was 2nd by Sue that we have Loretta Welsh and Jim Morrow approach Pacific Office Automation for a written proposal for the Bishub 600 machine based on 25,000 copies per month and overage fee of $.0075 per image or less for a 60-month lease. A final proposal must be presented to and approved by the board before signing the contract. Motion carried.
New Business:
Endorsement for Byron Blankenship - It was agreed on by the board that we should not make an endorsement as a group because it would set a precedent for future requests. Individuals can make endorsements however if they choose to do so.
Marketing & Publicity - Michele gave us a list of the goals that she plans to work on:
Writing Contest - Larry has given the task of selecting a theme for the next writing contest to Peggy Baldwin and her writing class. They have suggested the theme "In the Face of Adversity". Peggy will be in charge of the project, the details, and the judging. She should report to Larry. Loretta moved and Lyleth 2nd the motion that we accept the theme. Motion carried.
Obits in Oregon - William Smith has written a draft of FAQs "How Do I Find an Obituary for Oregon Deaths?" based on conversations he has had with patrons coming into the library, from telephone calls, and from other Research Assistants. He has compiled a detailed list of Obituary Collections found at the GFO library. The list could be posted on our website for additional research revenue. Larry will work with William on this. Loretta Welsh is
coordinating for William with Eileen and Sam as part of the extraction team.
Carpet Cleaning - The funds for carpet cleaning have not been sufficient to schedule the job at this time. We need $720, but have collected only $221. A suggestion to make up a "Thermometer" chart showing the progress of money donations was discussed. Lyleth will place a reminder in the August Insider of our need for funds.
Collection Management - Sandi submitted her goal objectives for the current year. Her 1st goal is to complete the materials inventory, followed by a review and analysis of the materiel on the shelves, weeding out those items deemed not beneficial to our collection. The Dewey Decimal numbers will then be reviewed and analyzed, giving shortfalls and excesses.
New Acquisition List - Many Forum members have expressed that they miss the new publications list that was formerly posted in the Bulletin and would like to see it resumed. Many members do not have Internet and listing them may bring people into the library. It has also been suggested that we publish extractions in the Bulletin. One possible subject would be an index of Deeds.
Calender - A tentative date was chosen for our Open house. We will try to schedule it for October 7th. Gerry will contact the Building Manager about renting additional rooms. Our focus will be a class on Internet Genealogy and a white-elephant sale to reduce our inventory of books, phone books, and other items. Lyleth, Sue, and Jennifer Griffin will be on the planning committee.
Scheduling Agenda Topics - Lyleth made a motion to put those persons that have specific topics to present to the board at the top of the agenda so that they may leave if they so desire after their presentation has been made. Rex 2nd the motion. Carried.
ISBN Numbers - Connie reported that every book that is sold in a bookstore or on the Internet has a ISBN number assigned to it. These numbers are purchased in blocks of 10, 100, and 1000. The ISBN number company is R. R. Bowker, LLC., a Cambridge Information Group Company. She suggested that the GFO should consider ordering a block of 100 in order to have our own publications listed in national bookstores, for instance, Amazon Books. Being listed in bookstores could possibly increase our book sales.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Next board meeting is August 8th at 5:30 p.m. Next membership meeting is September 9th.
Submitted by
Cathy Lauer
Secretary, GFO
The meeting was called to order at 5:35 p.m. by President, Jan Robinson
Present were: Jan Robinson, Leslie Lawson, Larry Sullivan, Sandy Sterling, Lyleth Winther, Jeanette Hopkins, Cathy Lauer, Sandi Whiteman, Bruce Conrad, CR Hanna, Sue Lydic, Michele Fricke, Gerry Lenzen, Jim Morrow, and Peggy Baldwin.
Minutes were presented and there were no corrections. Motion was made by Larry, and 2nd by Sandy S. that the minutes be accepted as written. The motion was approved.
Peggy Baldwin made a presentation for the Writing Contest. She suggested that the contest should be open to non-members as well as members. A $10.00 non-members fee would accompany the entry. She would like to see the contest promoted in the Bulletin, the Insider, the Writers Group, seminars, the monthly GFO meetings, the Open House, and the seminars. Peggy will have a brochure printed up outlining the Purpose, Requirements, and Judging Criteria for the contest which will be inserted in the Insider and Bulletin mailings. She will work out the mailing issues with Lyleth. She also told us that the GFO Writers Group will change their meeting time to be held the same day as the monthly membership meeting, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., hoping that more people would come. A mini-class to teach how to cite sources will be held from 1 to 3 pm on Saturday the 30th of September. There will be a question and answer session about the writing contest at 3 pm, following the mini-class. The theme for the Writing Contest will be "In the Face of Adversity"
Treasurer’s Report - Jeanette submitted copies of her report to the Board, but told us that some changes need to be made. She will send out a final report by email to all the Board members. The Endowment Fund and Investments are doing as well as expected. The figures show that we lost $2600 at the end of July, but membership renewals and other income will undoubtedly make up the loss next month. Research fees are bringing in more money that what we had expected from them. Lyleth moved that we accept the Treasurer's Report. It was 2nd by Leslie. The Motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS
Printer Replacement - Jim presented proposals from four (4) companies. The leading contenders were (1) Pacific Office Automation - Konica Division and (2) Pacific Office Automation - Ricoh Division. A report was submitted showing the bids, and Loretta recommended the Konica Division. Larry made a motion that we accept Loretta's recommendations, 2nd by Lyleth. Discussion was called for as it needed to be clarified why Loretta choose Konica. The motion was withdrawn. After much discussion, it was agreed that Ricoh was a better choice.
A new motion that we accept the bid from Ricoh Division was made by Larry and 2nd by Sandy S. Motion carried.
Copy Machine for library - A donation was made of a copy machine and Jim suggested that we put it in the reading room as a test to see if it would meet the needs of the patrons. Jeanette also knows of a copier that her employer may be willing to donate to us. It is a newer machine than the other donation and she will check with her employer about it. The question then arose about the first donation and Jim assured us that the donor would be agreeable to selling it as surplus items if another use could not be found within GFO.
ISBN – Jan reported that the cost of $300 to purchase 100 ISBN numbers is not budgeted so Jan and Loretta will donate $200 and asked if someone else would care to help. Jeanette and Sandy S. also committed to a money donation..
Bylaws – Nothing to report
Street Signage – Bruce reported that he hasn't had a chance to drive around, looking for other signs that may be comparable to what we want to submit for permit. The sidewalk sign used in front of the GFO library will soon need a permit renewal if we want to continue to use it. The cost last year was $45 for one year, beginning September 2005. A two-year permit was $80
Appeal for Money Donations - Jeanette has written up an item to include in the September and December issues of the Bulletin appealing for money donations. She told us that our annual membership dues of $30 uses only10% ($3) for membership expenses, therefore 90% ($27) is a donation and tax deductible
First Families – Lyleth reported that plans are on schedule and that it will be advertised in the Insider & the Bulletin.
Brochures – Jeanette is still working on getting the final brochure out.
Friday Hours - More discussions will be held next month.
NEW BUSINESS
Membership CD - Larry is almost finished with the new membership directory CDs. He is including several other items including the Marriage CDs Index, the Index to Surnames, our publications, and our Writers Contest winners.
Budget Amendment - Jeanette would like to amend the budget to include $50 for the membership directory. Sandy made a motion, 2nd by Lyleth, that we do so. Motion carried
Membership Issues – Sandy S. brought up a question about the importance of the request for Surnames and Locations that is found on the membership form. Do we use the information for anything? The answer was YES. If the patron leaves the lines blank, then she should assume that the names remain the same as last submission.
Life membership - A few applicants for Life Membership have only made their first payment and are in arrears. Sandy would like it clarified if they are to be recognized as Life Members with the first payment or do they become Life Members when the final installment is made. They do not receive their membership badge until the final payment is received. Jan will write a letter to the few members who have only made a partial payment, asking that they please remit by a certain date or their 1st payment will be converted to annual dues.
Five-generation Charts. – No individual is presently working to monitor the 5-generation charts that we previously asked patrons to fill out for submission to GFO. If we can find someone to do it, we may continue to ask for charts.
Length of service – Sandy S. presented two lists from the membership files: (1)current Alphabetical by surnames and (2)current Chronological membership showing number of years membership.
Nominating Committee – Volunteers are needed for the task.
Open House – Sue met with her committee to talk about the plans for the 60th-Anniversary Open House. It will take place Saturday, October 7th during the normal open hours, 9:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Suggested plans include tours, computer demonstrations, book and other supplies sale, and "Ask the Expert" sessions. Lyleth feels we need classes but the committee is still negotiating on that. Sue read her article which will appear in the next two GFO publications. Refreshments will be cookies, punch, and coffee. A greeting desk and a new membership sign-up desk will be placed at a yet-to-be-determined location.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
Next Membership Meeting is September 9th, 2:00 p.m.
Next Board Meeting September 12, 5:30 p.m.
Submitted by
Cathy Lauer
Secretary, GFO
[CORRECTED]
The meeting was called to order at 5:40 p.m. by President, Jan Robinson.
Present were: Jan Robinson, Leslie Lawson, Don Holznagel, Sandy Sterling, Lyleth Winther, Sandra Stapleton. Jeanette Hopkins, Cathy Lauer, Loretta Welsh, Sandi Whiteman, Bruce Conrad, CR Hanna, Gerry Lenzen, and Dick Page.
The August Minutes were presented and there were no corrections. Leslie moved that the minutes be accepted as written, 2nd by Sandi W. The motion was approved.
Endowment Fund - Dick Page made a presentation for the Endowment Fund Committee. He first commented on the present economic situation and how it was effecting our investments. The genus of the Forum’s Endowment Fund was earnings from the 1991 and 2001 NGS conventions, later supplemented by life membership dues and donations. There is an annual payout to the Forum of 4% of the corpus (about $5,300 last April.) Presently, there is about $142,000 in the fund.
The current approved asset allocation is 55% equities and 45% fixed income. The equities are invested in Vanguard index funds. Dick recommended a slightly more aggressive allocation to equities and that we remain passively invested in the equities rather than moving to managed funds. He presented us with several options.
Loretta made a motion that we stay with Vanguard but change the allocation to 60% equity and 40% fixed income keeping a 10% range plus (+) or minus (-). Bruce 2nd the motion. Motion carried.
Amendment to the previous motion was made by Don and 2nd by Sandi W. that we allow some leeway to chose another family of funds group if it becomes more beneficial. Motion passed as amended.
Dick then discussed the General Fund’s long term investment portfolio that is managed by the Endowment Fund Committee. Presently, there is just under $30,000 in the portfolio.
A motion by Loretta and 2nd by Sandy Sterling that the general fund’s CDIC account be included in the calculation of the investment ratio of 55%-45% that the Endowment Fund Committee uses. The motion was voted down. and did not carry.
Jeanette corrected the motion to read, Direct the endowment fund committee to include our CDIC fund amount in the equity and fixed calculation of the investments managed by the Endowment Fund on behalf of the GFO general fund. The motion was 2nd by Loretta and was passed.
Treasurer's Report - Jeanette presented her Balance of Accounts spreadsheet. which shows a gain in general funds of $2900 from last month. The remaining money we have from the Krauter donation needs to be assigned by Marty to determine what he wants the money to be used for.
Budget - Income from the Research Committee, including the GFO marriage website is well over what was collected last year. Loretta has taken over the lookups from Nathan who has resigned. We agreed that we should send a "thank you" card to Nathan on behalf of the Board for the work he has done. Telephone books will not be advertised on Ebay as it was deemed too much work and expense for the small amount of sales that we made. They will be sold in the GFO library. The ISBN #s fund is still short from goal, and the carpet cleaning fund still needs additional money. These were not budgeted and individual donations were solicited for these items. Jeanette may change the GFO banking to Washington Mutual. Bruce made a motion that we accept the report, 2nd by Loretta. The motion carried.
Membership - The membership cards prior to 1986 have been purged and sent to storage. Memberships after 1986 - current will be in the file. Membership CDs are done and ready for members to pick up.
First Families - The application forms are on the GFO website. No applications have been made to date.
Signage - The sign permit for the GFO sign that we use outside the library building has been renewed for $45.00.
Electronic Newsletter - Sandy Sterling told the Board that the plans are to notify those members who previously signed up to have the Insider sent electronically that we will be sending out the October and November issues on a trial basis in addition to their receiving a printed copy in the US mail. We will ask each recipient to let us know if he/she still wants to receive it in this manner and also to choose either Text or PDF. The bugs will be worked out during this trial period.
New Business:
Risograph - Loretta was happy to report that we now have the new Ricoh copier/printer/scanner. . The contract on our old one has been up since February and we now own the old machine. We now have one machine that does the work of the 2 machines that it replaced: the old collator (purchased from Clark Co. Genealogy Society many years ago) and the old Risograph duplicator (that printed the Insider and Bulletin). Both the old Risograph duplicator and the old collator are currently stored in the lower storage area, and both are barely working. The old coin changer that used to be attached/cobbled to the Reading Room Photocopier is currently in the Print Shop, until the monies remaining in it are removed. Once the monies are removed from the Coin Changer, it too will go to the lower 40 storage area. The old Risograph duplicator, the old collator (both in an "as is" condition) and the old coin changer (that only accepts older dollar bills and not the newer ones) will all be placed on Craig's list to see if we can sell them for a nominal fee, rather than to have to pay for disposal. A motion was made by Sandy Sterling and 2nd by Lyleth that we allow Loretta to dispose of it with the best deal possible.
Budget Amendment - Concerning annual appeal to membership for funds, it was moved by Lyleth and 2nd by Loretta that we increase the budget expenses by $400 for annual appeal production and mailing expenses and increase income by $4000 for projected donations from the annual appeal mailing. Motion carried.
GFO Grants - Don Holznagel has compiled a sample GFO Proposal Concepts paper and would like input on what activities we might like to focus on in order to secure grants from the business community. K-12 education was discussed and Don will pursue the education connection and report next meeting. He needs more good ideas from the Board.
Brainstorm Session - Jan proposed the idea of forming a group to brainstorm what we will do in the future. She will continue the thought for the next meeting.
Web page - Gerry would like to see the Web page redesigned to focus on the library first, then the content. Jeanette has a friend who would be willing to work with Kathy Cardoza to place our info in a more prominent spot on the Google search page. Jan will have a discussion with Kathy to see if this would work for her.
Additional Budget Request - Sandy S. needs more money for life member badges, and she would like to increase the budget to $100. Motion was made by Sandy S. and 2nd by Loretta that we do so. Motion carried.
Email Committee Reports - Sandi W. has asked if we can send all committee reports by email to save time.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m.
Submitted by
Cathy Lauer
Secretary, GFO