of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Columbia SC August 14, 2000
Members Present: Heather Cunningham, Dave Dickey, Morgan Maclachlan, Kevin Meredith, Patrick Price, ex officio, Dave Sparrow, and Joan Watterson,
Members Absent: Betty Glad, Kay Gregory, Joe Kyle (Pres.), and Rusty Wenerick.
Visitors Present: Donald Griggs, Mike Paget, and Judy Turnipseed
Call to Order: Dave Dickey served as presiding officer, and called the meeting to order with a reading at 6:12pm.
Minutes of Previous Meeting: The July 2000 meeting minutes were read. It was noted aloud that Laura Ingram would attend the September Board Meeting to go over her Red Tape and Other Fun Stuff. Morgan moved to accept the minutes as written; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Nominations for UUA President: Donald Griggs and Judy Turnipseed were both present at the meeting to report on the 2001 UUA Elections for President, Moderator, and Financial Advisor positions, and to ask for the Board's nomination of the Rev. William Sinkford for UUA President. The process was explained in detail, with emphasis given to the fact that we can nominate as many of the candidates as we would like, and that our nomination does not presume the candidate our vote will go for at the 2001 UUA General Assembly. (Each presidential candidate requires nominations by 25 congregations from 5 districts.) The Presidential position has three candidates, the Moderator two, and the candidate for Financial Advisor is unopposed. During the conversation, Patrick also requested that we nominate Diane Miller. Morgan moved that we nominate both candidates; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Heather will be responsible for getting the nominations to the candidates. Donald agreed to write an article for the Unigram explaining the Board's nominations, and the differences between the nomination and the vote for election.
During the conversation of the nominations, a discussion occurred regarding the process for the voting procedures. Judy explained that we, as a congregation, are given as many votes as we have delegates to General Assembly, by the UUA standards of congregational size. It was mentioned that in the past, our delegates have been given little to no direction or information on what to do or how to vote at General Assembly. The big questions are: "How are the delegates going to be chosen and instructed on voting according to the congregational choice?" and "How do we find out about who to vote for?" Morgan suggested forming a sub-committee to look into the voting procedures (e.g. absentee ballots), and Donald said he could create VHS tapes from the candidate material available on the UUA website, for viewing at informational congregational luncheons. Dave D. agreed to contact Mark Tompkins regarding the process for educating and collective decision-making from the congregation.
The Endowment Committee Reports: Mike Paget was present as Chair of the Endowment Committee. The committee is requesting $150.00 for a pamphlet to promote Endowment Public Relations. The Finance Committee is aware of this request. There would be a quantity of 500 tri-fold, one-color pamphlets to be sent to existing UUFC members and friends, with extras on hand for future members/friends. Heather moved to grant the request of $150.00 to the Endowment Committee for the creation of the PR pamphlets; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Mike also requested, on behalf of the Endowment Comm., for either a loan or a guaranteed repayment on possible money lost for an Endowment Potluck/Dinner. The projected amount is $200.00, and the projected date is October 14, at 6:30pm. (The committee is working with the Finance comm. to guarantee the event does not conflict or compete with any other fund raising events.) The committee is wanting to hold a semi-formal dinner to "introduce" the Endowment to the congregation, and to give people the opportunity to make a symbolic gesture of investment in the UUFC Endowment; they would also like to see the engagement become standard, occurring every three or so years. Presently, they are considering either selling tickets or having an entry fee to the party, and would like to have a dinner with a presentation and a "drinks" bar for donation. Mike confirmed that the $200.00 would be for paper products and the initial investment on food and drinks that could not be reimbursed from ticket sales, donations, or entry fees. Joan moved that we reimburse the Endowment Committee for any money they lose on the October potluck; the motion was tabled for a decision at the September meeting, when Mike Paget will give us a set amount.
Treasurer's Report: Dave Sparrow gave the Treasurer's Report. The first spreadsheet the Board looked at was the 1999-2000 End-of-the-Year report, where we ended the year with $10,000 to the good, primarily due to a $10,000 donation made during the year. On the Statement of Income and Expense, Dave pointed out that the increased amount under the Vendors total was due to repairs made to the AC/Furnace equipment; and that the donation to the Shelter Neck congregation in NC for flood damage is showing under the Facilities line item.
The Board also looked over the July Summary and Statements. Dave mentioned the budget is not yet completely in the accounting computer program, so all line items are showing over budget. He also made mention that the Certificates of Deposit are now staggered to become due every three months, for emergency purposes.
Report on Capital Drive: Dave Sparrow also reported on the Finance Committee's Capital Drive, and stated that 17% of the $10,000 requested has been collected. Joe Kyle has agreed to speak at a Pulpit Editorial with a Special Collection being held to go towards the capital drive.
Bookkeeper Report: Dave Sparrow reported that Shell Tane, the interim bookkeeper, is making a financial manual and performing a minor audit to our records. She and the Finance Committee will be going through the building, creating a list of the UUFC assets. She has also agreed to train Peter Kandis, Sr., sometime in September to prepare him for taking over the position in September.
Bank Signature Cards: Dave also asked for approval for the signature cards to be signed. Morgan moved that the President, President-Elect, and Treasurer be given the rights to sign on the UUFC savings and checking accounts, and for the Treasurer, Susan Corbett, DRE, and Alice Leeper, as chair of the RE Committee, to sign for the Religious Education checking and savings accounts; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Minister's Report: Rev. Patrick Price's report was accepted as written.
Staff Reports: No other staff reports were available.
Welcome & Announcements / Greeters: Heather and Patrick explained to the Board their roles as Welcomers and Greeters on Sunday morning. A copy of the new Welcome and Announcements was passed around so members could see the text they would be reading.
MRC Member Election: Patrick asked if the Board would take an informal vote on two possible candidates for the MRC Committee. The two candidates were Sej Harman and Sandra Carnesale. The Board voted with a tie vote, and Patrick agreed to contact absent Board members for their votes as well.
2000 Board Retreat: The agenda for the 2000 Board Retreat was shared and reviewed. A potluck sign-up sheet was passed around for the luncheon, and an informal show of hands indicated that all present would be in attendance. It was agreed that both Shell Tane and Peter Kandis, Sr., should be invited to attend, and Dave Sparrow agreed to contact them.
Board Members as Committee Liaisons: The following shows a list of the Board members asked to serve as liaisons with the respective committees. NOTE: The Caring Committee, at this time, does not have a liaison; the Canvass Committee does not yet have a Chair, which is to be appointed by the Finance Committee.
Endowment Comm. Dave Sparrow, Rusty Wenerick
Membership Comm. Morgan Maclachlan
Finance Comm. Dave Sparrow
Building & Grounds Kevin Meredith
Social Action Joe Kyle
Religious Education Comm. Dave Dickey
Nominating Comm. Joan Watterson, serving as an official member of the Comm., according to the By-Laws.
Worship Comm. Morgan Maclachlan
11th Board Member: The Board briefly discussed the open position on the Board. Joan agreed to ask the members of the Nominating Committee of the progress on this suggestion.
Closing Logistics: The sign-up sheets for the welcome and an email/phone/fax listing were passed around and completed as requested. Dave Dickey agreed to do the next Unigram "Intro of Yourself", Morgan agreed to bring a reading, and Joan will bring snacks.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:10pm.
Heather Cunningham
Secretary, UUFC Board of Trustees
Summary of July 10, 2000, Minutes
Motions Passed:
Action Items:
- The July 2000 Board Meeting minutes were approved as written.
- The Board agreed to nominate both Rev. William Sinkford and Rev. Diane Miller for the UUA Presidential Candidacy.
- The Board granted the Endowment Committee $150.00 for the creation of a public relations pamphlet.
- The President, President-Elect, and Treasurer will serve as signers for the UUFC checking and savings accounts. The Treasurer, Director of Religious Education, and the Chair of the RE Committee will serve as signers for the Religious Education checking and savings accounts.
Decisions Made:
- Laura Ingram will attend the September Board Meeting to give her Board Orientation.
- Heather is responsible for sending the nomination forms to the presidential candidates via the UUA. Donald Griggs will write an article in the Unigram explaining the UUFC nominations of Sinkford and Miller, and the difference between nominations and the actual voting procedures.
- Dave D. will contact Mark Tompkins to discuss the process for educating the congregation on the 2001 UUA Elections at General Assembly. Within this realm will also be the process for our collective decision on which candidates to vote for.
- The Board will decide at the September meeting, after hearing a precise amount, whether or not to guarantee repayment of any possible funds lost on the Endowment Dinner in the month of October.
- Joan will check with the existing Nominating Committee members on recommendations for the vacant 11th Board Member seat.
- Board Members will serve as liaisons to the committees indicated previously.
If there are any suggestions for additional indexing of items, or if there are any other recommendations about the minutes, please contact Heather Cunningham at 803-xxx-xxxx, or via email to heather@LFS-SC.org. Thank you.
In the event of discrepancies the paper copy of the minutes as contained the the board minutes binder shall be the official version. This binder is maintained by the administrator in the congregation office.
Your comments/corrections are welcome. Email to Donald Griggs at dgriggs@chaliceweb.org