December 2003 Board Meeting Minutes by Tom Blinn December 3, 2003
The meeting was called to order at 6:40 pm by Allen Goddu. In attendance were Allen Goddu, Tom Blinn, Patty Bixby, Phil Brown, Melanie Brown, Paul Michali, Jesse Mertz, Rob Greer, Dick Cadieux, Paul Lillios, Rich Davis, Alvin Legerlotz, John York.
Minutes from the November meeting are available on the web site. Printed copies were distributed at the meeting.
Mike Lussier was not present to deliver a formal treasurer's report. Allen Goddu stated that the bank account balance is around 30K and we are current on all accounts payable.
The first order of business was elections for the 2004 calendar/fiscal year. The office of president was open, and no member had stated an interest in running prior to the meeting.
Melanie Brown stated an interest in becoming chair of the social committee, and Patty Bixby ran as incumbent. George Bixby and Paul Michali both expressed a willingness to act as membership director. No other positions were actively contested. Allen Goddu suggested that it might be a good idea to have George and Paul share the responsibility for membership direction, just as Martin Callahan and Jesse Mertz are sharing the work of newsletter editor.
Allen Goddu provided prepared paper ballots, and members present (including the board members) voted “in secret”. The secretary counted the votes. In the contested position of social chairperson, Melanie Brown received a majority. There was a majority support for having George Bixby and Paul Michali share the role of membership director, indicated by circling both names. Two names were written in for the open position of chapter president, Patty Bixby and Rich Davis. Patty indicated she was not really interested in assuming the responsibilities of the office. Rich indicated that he would be pleased to accept the role. Allen Goddu moved that the member affirm Rich for the role, and the motion was seconded and carried by a voice vote. A list of the elected and appointed officers and other responsible members is included at the end of these minutes and will be posted on the chapter web site.
Patty Bixby reported for the social committee. The White Mountain Chapter's world famous Holiday Party will be held Saturday, January 17, 2003 at The Event Center at CR Sparks. CR Sparks is just minutes from the intersection of routes 3, 293, and 101. There will be a cash bar, door prizes, a DJ, and a wonderful dinner. The 2004 White Mountain Chapter Board Members will be introduced. The cost is $20 per person. A notice with details should be in the next Profile issue. You can register now through the chapter web site www.wmc-bmwcca.org/event/153 and then send payment by check to Susan Dugdale at the address noted on the web site. The board affirmed that there should be a PayPal account set up to allow members to pay for social events that way if they prefer. The social committee is continuing the efforts to set up a Nova Scotia road trip for next September. The social committee was encouraged to do a mailed notification about the holiday party if it is practical to do so, since the Profile has been delayed this month.
The 2004 driving events schedule is posted on the chapter web site.
Phil Brown has two trophies from the recent club race and driving events that need to be delivered to the winners who are in Canada. The first attempt at delivery failed because we did not have all the delivery costs prepaid. He will re-ship the trophies to the winners with all the costs prepaid.
Jesse Mertz reported on his investigation of the relative merits of Quark versus Adobe publishing software. His recommendation is that the chapter should purchase an Adobe suite that includes all the necessary components at a discounted price. There was some discussion about whether the Adobe formats are compatible with our current printing house, and an informed opinion that some printing houses prefer Quark formats. There was also discussion about whether the software could be transferred from Macintosh to Windows/PC platforms if that should be necessary at a future date. Jesse assured the membership that this was common practice, but will reaffirm his belief. It was noted that one of the club members is a senior sales representative at a local PC/Mac software and system vendor, and Jesse was encouraged to contact him about pricing. It was moved and seconded that Jesse should proceed with acquiring the appropriate Adobe software to facilitate the production of the Profile newsletter, with an authorized budget not to exceed $1200.
Jesse noted that he and Martin need material for the next Profile issue. An updated publication schedule will be posted on the chapter web site.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm.