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The meeting was called to order at 5:40 p.m. by Vice President, Leslie Lawson.
Those present were: Leslie Lawson, Don Holznagel, Sandy Sterling, Lyleth Winther, Sandra Stapleton, Jeanette Hopkins, Cathy Lauer, Bruce Conrad, CR Hanna, Sue Lydic, Gerry Lenzen, and Jim Morrow
The September minutes were presented and there was one correction. Under Budget , the minutes should read, "Income from the Research Committee, including the GFO marriage website, was well over what was collected last year." A motion to accept the minutes as corrected was made by Sue and 2nd by Don. Motion carried.
Old Business:
Open House - Sue reported that 78 members or guests attended the Open House on Saturday, October 7th. Chances for a one-year paid membership were sold for a profit of $63. The winner was Jeanette Hopkins. The book sale netted $1,475.95. The "Ask the experts" feature was very popular, and the experts were busy all day. Sue will make a report of the income and expenses for the day. It was agreed that the Open House should have been advertised more. Jan will send out 'thank you' notes to the APG volunteers for their expert services.
Future Planning Meeting - There will be a meeting October 21 at 3:00 p.m. in the Higgins Room to brainstorm on where the GFO Organization is heading.
Treasurer’s Report - Jeanette presented a report for July, August, and September, noting that there were some unexpected expenses that weren't budgeted. The lease for the old copier ends December 31, 2006 instead of September, and the remaining cost due is $480 per month through December. Also, Redside billed us $325 for installing an electrical 20-amp circuit for the new copier.
Earnings for the period included $60 interest from the $6000 Columbia Funds that has been moved out. There were two memorial donations of $120 and $250 to be used for the purchase of books.
Sandra reported that 33 persons have registered for the Fall Seminar for a total of $1155.00.
Research income from all sources was estimated to be $300 in the budget. To date we have already taken in $345. DNA commission totals have dropped slightly.
Emily Aulicino will not be handling the DNA program for our organization, so a person to manage the program needs to be found. A motion was made by Lyleth to approve the Treasurer's Report and 2nd by Don. The motion was passed.
Electronic Newsletter - Sandy reported that the project is going well and that to date there are165 members signed up to receive either the PDF version or the TEXT version. More names are added daily to the list. It will be a while before we can determine what the savings will be.
New Business:
Street Sign Permit - The new permit is posted on the sign that is placed in front of the building when the library is open.
Marketing and Publicity - Michele Fricke has resigned her position on the committee for Marketing and Publicity. Michelle Holley will assume the position..
Nominating Committee - The position is still open to head the Nominating Committee. Sue will ask William Smith
Tax Return - Doug Henne, who has volunteered his services for the past few years to file our tax returns, has declined doing it again. A new person must be found to take over the job. Sandy has looked over her list of members with CPA experience and there are a few people who may be willing to do it. Jeanette is filing a tax extension just in case we are unable to fill the position soon.
Safe Deposit Box – Jeanette has learned that we don’t have the proper documentation for officers who have access to the box. A letter was submitted in February of this year naming Joyce Esterbrook, Doug Henne, Jan Robinson, and Jeanette Hopkins as authorized to access the box, but the letter evidently is not in the bank records.
Southwaterfront History Project - Don is a committee member of the project and discussed with the Board the possibility of inviting the committee to visit the GFO library during off hours to research Portland History. It was agreed that it would be a goodwill gesture and there was no opposition voiced to the idea. Don will email the Board when he has something further to report.
Membership Meeting - Saturday, October 14th the program will be "Genealogical Resources for Mennonite and German Russian Researchers" by Tim Janzen.
Additional Report – Jim Morrow reported that Ruth Bishop will buy all telephone books for $10.00 per box. Lyleth told us that an article in the Insider stated that the telephone books will be available for our members to purchase; therefore a notice will be offered to the members that after December 31, the books that are left will be sold to Ruth. A discussion regarding the possibility of having a mid-winter family history fair and inviting other societies to participate was held. A committee to look into this will be made up of Gerry, Jeanette, Leslie, and Sue. We still have lots of excess books that need to be sold. February is the suggested month for a fair.
Sandra Stapleton moved that the meeting be adjourned and a 2nd was made by Jeanette. Motion passed and the meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.
Submitted by
Cathy Lauer
GFO Secretary
The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by President Jan Robinson.
Present were: Jan Robinson, Leslie Lawson, Don Holznagel, Sandy Sterling, Lyleth Winther, Jeanette Hopkins, Cathy Lauer, Loretta Welsh, Sandi Whiteman, Bruce Conrad, and Sue Lydic.
The Minutes were presented and there were no corrections. Motion to accept the minutes as presented was made by Sue, 2nd by Lyleth. Motion carried.
Old Business
Nominating committee - A committee has not yet been appointed. The By-laws state that a committee must be named prior to the December Board Meeting. Each of the current Board members at the November meeting were asked to consider staying on for another term so that the task of finding new persons to be on the ballot would be minimal. Current elected Board Members who are willing to serve another year are: Bruce Conrad, Don Holznagel, Sue Lydic, Jeanette Hopkins and Sandy Sterling. Leslie Lawson, Jan Robinson, C.R. Hanna, Cathy Lauer and Larry Sullivan have served the length of time allowed by our By Laws or have other obligations they want to pursue. Appointed positions for Editor, Publisher, CMD Director, Technology Director and Marketing and Publicity Committee are not elected and therefore the Nominating Committee does not need to find the replacements for these individuals. Sue will continue to look for members willing to be on the committee.
Taxes - Jeanette has filed an extension for the tax returns. This extension will give us until February 15, 2007 to complete the tax report. The Audit committee needs to audit the books before the taxes can be filed.
Treasurer’s Report – Jeanette submitted her accounts spreadsheet and reported that we are doing as well or better than expected. The October donations resulting from the annual appeal have generated a good amount. Also the Fall Seminar receipts were significant. Although the final totals have not been assessed, it is estimated that the profit from the Seminar will be about $1500 The Vanguard investments have performed well. A motion by Lyleth to accept the Treasurer's report was 2nd by Sandy Sterling. Motion carried.
Job Descriptions - Jan would like the Board to review their job descriptions for additions or corrections to make it easier for new members filling the vacant spots at the next election.
ISBN – At our July 2006 Board Meeting, a discussion was held regarding the purchase of a block of 100 ISBN numbers at a cost of $350.00 Looking into the actual purchase, Loretta found that the cost would actually be $900.00 and suggested that we not purchase them until the money has been raised. After discussing the pros and cons of the purchase, the Board decided that it was important that we continue with our plans to order them immediately because the next Marriage CD is due to be available within the month and it was felt that having the numbers would be advantageous for sales. Several members of the Board pledged additional funds and we will borrow from the Annual Appeal funds (to be paid back later) if the additional funds cannot be raised through donations. Original vote was for $350.00. Bruce made a motion to amend the original motion to increase the fund to $1000 for 100 ISBN numbers and associated expenses, to be purchased immediately. Sandy Sterling 2nd the motion. Passed.
Additional information regarding ISBN numbers: Checking into past minutes since July, there was never a motion made to purchase the numbers, therefore the amendment to the "original motion" (see above) is void. The following motion has been submitted by email and voted on by email:
"It has been moved by Lyleth Winther and 2nd by Leslie Lawson that we order the set of ISBN numbers as soon as possible, using funds already donated, and the rest to come from general funds, that portion to be replaced by a small fundraiser article to be placed in the January Forum Insider, as well as on the ORForum mailing list now."
Board members voting to approve are Lyleth Winther, Leslie Lawson, Bruce Conrad, Jeanette Hopkins, Sandy Sterling, Don Holznagel, Cathy Lauer, Sue Lydic, Loretta Welsh, ... more...... ???
Audit Committee - Sue has volunteered her sister, Jennifer Griffin to be a part of the committee to audit the Treasurer's books. Sue and Jennifer will complete the audit by the end of December.
Professional Researchers - Jan will review the GFO web page to be sure the status and the credentials of all the persons doing research is current and accurate.
Membership dues - It has been determined that the $30.00 dues for membership is fully tax deductible to the full extent provided by law. Jan will revise the President’s letter that is included in the membership renewal letters and new member packets to inform the members. Sandy will create a list of the inactive members to contact for renewal. The tax deduction may be a selling point for renewal. Lyleth will include the information in the next Insider.
Grants - Don Holznagel continues to explore new ideas for Grants from outside businesses. He proposes to open our resources to history groups, schools, teachers, and others. We may develop In-Service Kits that can be printed up in our own print shop. More ideas will be presented later.
New Business:
Member Privacy - Sandy Sterling brought up the subject of identity theft with the posting of address, telephone number, and email address information for our members. The Board agreed that we should not post the information of our new members in the Bulletin. As the current Bulletin is ready for printing, this will be effective with the first Bulletin published in 2007.
At 7:00 p.m. a motion was made by Sue, and 2nd by Sandy Sterling that we adjourn. Motion carried.
Next Board Meeting will be December 12th at 5:30 p.m.
A planning meeting will be December 12th at 4:00 p.m.
No membership meeting in December
Next membership meeting will be January 13th, 2007
Submitted by Cathy Lauer
Secretary
The meeting was called to order at 5:45p.m. by President Jan Robinson
Present were: Jan Robinson, Leslie Lawson, Larry Sullivan, Don Holznagel, Lyleth Winther, Jeanette Hopkins, Cathy Lauer, Loretta Welsh, Sandi Whiteman, Bruce Conrad, Michelle Holley, and guests Dottie Miller and William Smith.
November minutes were presented and two additional names were added to the record, Larry Sullivan and Sandi Whiteman, as voting yes for the ISBN motion to purchase the numbers immediately. Lyleth moved that the minutes be accepted, 2nd by Leslie. Motion approved.
Library Hours - Don presented his study of the Friday Night hours and questioned if there is a need to continue the schedule into the new year. He reported that he followed the attendance for a full year, and the Friday evening usage has dropped to almost no patrons at all. Don would like to work hours other than Friday and Dottie has trouble getting volunteers to fill the spot. He said he would be willing to continue this schedule until the end of December. The library will be closed on Friday evening effective January 1, 2007 unless other arrangements can be made. A questionnaire will be placed in the January Insider for members to specify what days and hours they most likely would want to use the library. Sandi will submit a form to Lyleth.
Nominating Committee - William Smith reported that his committee has chosen a slate of prospective officers to be placed on the ballot for the coming year.
Treasurer's Report – The annual appeal for money donations has brought in almost $6000, which is almost half of what we hoped to receive. Jeanette has been collecting items to sell at the Spring Seminar (freebies from Office Depot). The copy machine receipts are running about the same as what we were earning with the coin machines. Jeanette will write a short item for Lyleth to include in the Insider, thanking contributors for the great response to the annual appeal. Lyleth made a motion to accept the treasurer's report, 2nd by Michelle. Accepted.
Endowment Fund – Sandi will submit a report next month.
ISBN – Loretta will order the numbers immediately.
Audit of Treasurer's Books – Jan reported that Sue and her committee have completed the audit.
Renewal of books – A new policy about renewing books that have been checked out will be written up by the Library Director (Sandi). A discussion of the Board concluded that a 2-week loan, with one renewal, either by phone or by bringing the books back to the library, would be acceptable. Special consideration may be necessary for unforeseen emergencies. The renewal policy needs to be on our website and posted within the library.
Volunteer Recognition – Michelle would like to arrange a social get-together for all of the volunteers of GFO in order that we can become better acquainted with each other. She suggested having Cake and Coffee meet-and-greet after a membership meeting or maybe having a potluck on a quarterly basis.
Volunteer Coordinator - We are currently in need of a volunteer coordinator.
Tax check off - Jan will research the requirements for a check-off box to see if it would be feasible for our organization to apply for one.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.
Next Board meeting - January 9th at 5:30 p.m.
Next Planning meeting - January 9th at 4:00 p.m. [pot luck]
Next Membership meeting - January 13th at 2:00 p.m.
Submitted by
Cathy Lauer
Secretary GFO