LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY
BOARD MEETING
JANUARY 2, 2008

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:  Nancy Creevan; Tod Jonson; Rich Bailey, Mary Alice Sargent, Rick Feldman, Mary Ann Waite, Diane Miller

OTHERS PRESENT:  Scott Casbeer – Treasurer; Lynn Bishop – Recording Secretary;

The meeting was called to order at 11:35 am by President Nancy Creevan.  New members were welcomed to the Board.

Vote for WEC Director
The only appointed position is that of Director of the Wilkes Education Center. 
08.01.1            Moved by Nancy Creevan; Seconded by Tod Jonson THAT Mary Alice Sargent be appointed as Director of the Wilkes Education Center.  Motion Approved Unanimously.

Minutes of December Board Meeting
Minutes were not available but will be emailed to all Board members.  Nancy will send email addresses for all Board members.
ACTION:         LB to email Dec. 5/07 minutes
                        NC to send email addresses for all Board members

Financial Report

• The financial report was presented by Scott Casbeer and copies distributed to all members.   Points noted:

• Income is down about 3%. This is an improvement over late 2007.
• Donations are down about 34%.  However, the Dinner Club will begin operating in January and in the past income from this has been between $2,000p -$6,000p.  Tequila trips will be running every month, or every other month.  Income from the last trip was $4,000p.
• Nancy pointed out that the fiscal year runs from September to September.  Discussion followed regarding the possibility of changing the fiscal year to match the calendar/board term year.

ACTION:  Rick Feldman and Scott Casbeer will put together a comparison of the advantages/disadvantages of changing the fiscal year for the next board meeting.

• Video rentals and merchandise sales are down about 20%
• Total gross income is down about 2.7%.
• Expenses are down about 1.6%, mainly due to the fact that a good job was done with maintenance and equipment replacement in FY2006-7 and this is reflected now.
• Wages are up due to Christmas bonuses paid in December.
• Mary Ann Waite questioned why money is being lost on the sale of stamps.  She knows someone who can sell them to LCS at less than face value.  It was pointed out that this is illegal.  The sale of stamps is not losing money.  There are stamps on hand but the accounting system has no way of showing inventory.
• In response to Rick’s question of whether the $5,000 shown in the International Community Foundation account belongs to LCS it was pointed out that this is the initial amount that had to be deposited with the ICF, but it does belong to the LCS.
• Rich Bailey suggested that periodically the accounts should be cleaned up by the Treasurer.
• Financial statements are up-to-date as of December 31, 2007.

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Board Meeting
January 2, 2008
Page 2

08.01.2      Moved by Rich Bailey; seconded by Mary Alice Sargent THAT the December 31, 2007 Financial  Report be accepted as presented.  Motion Approved

Officer of the Day
The Officer of the Day was instituted approximately four years ago.  Every day that LCS is open there will be a Board member on duty.  This provides an opportunity for Board members to walk around, see and be seen, meet new members, talk to regular members, answer questions people might have and get feedback from members.
Monday:           Mary Alice Sargent
Tuesday:         Mary Ann Waite
Wednesday:    Diane Miller
Thursday:        Tod Jonson
Friday:             Rick Feldman
Saturday:         Rich Bailey

New Board Member Information
Gate keys were provided to Rick Feldman and Mary Ann Waite.  A key will also be made for Diane Miller.  Diane, Rick and Mary Ann will also be provided with office keys.

Yellow volunteer name tags will be provided to all Board members, and will be left in individual mailboxes in the main office.

Board members were asked to note on the magic marker board in the main office when they are planning to be away.  Nancy will be away from January 12-19th.  Tod will be away from January 20 to February 1 or 2.

Mary Ann asked if emails for Board members could go through the website.  This is not possible at this time but the idea can be investigated for the future.

2008 Organizational Chart
Nancy distributed copies of an organizational chart which is a revised 2006 chart.  Discussion of the chart followed with the following points being noted:

• Changes can be made if necessary.
• Currently there is no Directory of Technology, which falls under the President’s area.  Rich requested that position remain where it is at this time as it is something he is interested in.

• Not all of the titles in each area have names associated with them. 
• A Public Relations person is required.  This person needs to be bilingual and should be carefully selected.
• All positions in Mary Alice Sargent’s area are filled.
• Under the President’s area the Director of Major Donations has not been filled.  Charlie Smith will be the Director of Plans & Projects.
• There are currently people in place for Security Director (Karl Barnhard), Community Liaison (Ilsa Picazo), Cultural Activities Director (Ektor Carranza), Grounds (Tod Jonson), Gardens (Ken Gosh), Information Desk & Bulletin Board (Barbara Madren), Newsletter (Eloise Hollyfield), Webmaster (Kenee Campo), Recording Secretary (Lynn Bishop), Treasurer (Scott Casbeer), Office Manager (Tee Falcon) and the Assistant to the President (Betty Schrader).

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Board Meeting
January 2, 2008
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• Nancy is currently Director of Volunteers but is looking for someone to replace her.
• A replacement for Diane is required for the Activities Director position.
• If jobs are very large they can usually be divided up.
• Managers of major fund raising events are appointed as required.
• It is important to have job descriptions for some of the positions.  This would make it easier to try and recruit people.  Rich Bailey pointed out that there should be complete job descriptions for the Office Manager and Librarian and possibly other positions where if one of these people were to leave suddenly it could be difficult to know what the person does, where things are ordered from etc.
• Mary Ann Waite suggested that for the first few months of the new Board’s term it might be necessary to meet more than once per month.  In response to this suggestion, Mary Alice suggested that a one day brain storming session might be helpful.  This would give members an opportunity to get to know each other, look at things people have in mind for the Board and to set down goals and objectives. A timetable for implementing and completing goals should also be set.  She suggested that the meeting be held at the Wilkes Center from 9:30 – 12:00 and 1:00 – 3:00 with a one hour break for lunch.  Lunch should be brought in.  It was agreed to hold the meeting on Monday, January 7, 2008.

Action:  Mary Alice to facilitate meeting.
               Rick Feldman to provide an overhead projector and laptop computer.
   All Board members to bring a list of the things they would like to see for
   their own areas, and for the LCS as a whole.

• Paid staff members are:
• Tee Falcon – Office Manager
• Scott Casbeer – Treasurer
• Ann Heath - Librarian
• Berta and Selena (LCS maids)
• Venancio and Mauricio (LCS gardeners)
• Contract workers – Mexican accountant and an attorney
• Wilkes Center – manager, librarian, gardener and maid
• Nancy pointed out that on the back of each newsletter there is an Advisory Committee list.  These are people, mostly volunteers, who are not Board members but are at mid-management level.  The Advisory Committee provides a valuable resource to the Board.  The Board used this committee as a sounding board when they were contemplating raising the membership fees, for example.

Recognition for Charlie Smith
Nancy suggested either giving him a life-time membership or holding a special luncheon or dinner for him.  She was not sure if this should be something the general membership is invited to or whether it should be just past Board members who served with Charlie and special guests such as the Mayor and the US Consulate General. Rich indicated that he felt there should be a dinner should be just for selected guests and that a life-time membership also be presented.    Tod suggested presenting him with one of the silver medallions and also suggested inviting the past Consul General.  Some discussion followed regarding where to hold the dinner.
Action:  Nancy, Tod and Mary Alice will meet to make plans for the dinner.

• It was noted that there is no entertainment category in the budget. This is something that should be discussed when setting the next budget.

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Board Meeting
January 2, 2008
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Review of “In Progress” Items
1.         International Community Foundation/501(c)3

This is an umbrella organization that allows LCS to attract donations from both individuals and foundations in the United States and allows the donations to be tax deductible.  Charlie Smith and the Prines are currently working on information regarding the LCS to go on the website.  Nancy asked that all Board members look at the site – www.icfdn.org.  Anytime someone asks about making a donation to the LCS they should be directed to that site.  The money will go through the ICF and receipts will be issued by them. The LCS pays an administration cost of $250.00 US per year, and the ICF keeps 1.5% of all donations.
Action:  Rick Feldman will write an information sheet to explain the process to prospective donors.

• $10K USD Donation for Crime Reporting System

An anonymous donor is providing the LCS with $10,000 to be put toward a crime reporting system.  Currently many crimes are not being reported, and if they are they are they may not be dealt with properly.  There are many different departments within the Mexican legal system and they do not always communicate with each other.  The new crime reporting system will not replace the need to report crimes to the Mexican Police and the Ministerio Publico, which is responsible for investigation; but it will be used to track the types of crimes and the areas where they are occurring.  The LCS will work with the local authorities to set up the system.  Once the money is received a graduate of the Institute of Technology will be designated to work on the system and a professor will supervise the project.  The system will be set up in the front of the garage and the Ham Radio Club will continue operating from the back of the garage.

• Plans & Renderings Now On Website

The plans and renderings for the proposed renovations to the LCS are available in the Reading Room and are also now on the website.  Feedback, by email directly to Charlie Smith, is being requested.  It was noted that it is important to inform the membership that these are preliminary drawings for what will be at least a 5-10 year project.

• Directory Status

No changes can be made to the white pages, blue pages or front and back cover.  Tod estimates that the directory will be available for distribution between early to mid-February.

Around the Table
Nancy explained that this is the opportunity for each Board member to discuss what is happening in their own area.
Diane Miller:  Has spoken to Mary Alice regarding utilizing WEC to the fullest and will be moving all Spanish classes to that facility in May. 
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Board Meeting
January 2, 2008
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Mary Ann Waite:  Asked if WEC had ever had an open house and if the facility could use English children’s books. 
Mary Alice Sargent:  There has not been an open house as they have tried to keep the facility for the Mexican community as much as possible.  The first priority is offering English and Computer classes for the Mexicans.  The second priority is Spanish classes for LCS members.  They are not in need of any computer donations at this time as they just received 4 new computers.  There is a short wait list for the computer classes but it moves quite quickly.  It is not possible to have more computer classes at this time because of a lack of instructors – not due to a shortage of equipment.  Instructors for the computer programs must be fluent in Spanish as well as able to teach computer skills.  Children’s books in English could be used.

A new counter top stove and a wall mounted oven must be purchased.  It was suggested that Mary Alice Sargent price stoves and ovens at various local stores, including Soriana´s and Uncle Sam´s.
 Rich Bailey:  Wants to start working on updating the membership program and bringing the computer systems up-to-date. He agreed with Mary Ann that the membership directory should be on-line and there should be a system for members to renew their memberships on-line.
Rick Feldman:  On his inside agenda he wants to learn more about what is needed from the Senior Financial Director.  He is working with Los Ninos on setting up a 501 (c) 3 foundation in the US.  He has found about 26 agencies that are funding education locally and he is thinking of calling them together for a focus group meeting.
Tod Jonson:  Asked if it might pay to consider having an ATM on the LCS grounds.  Nancy pointed out that security issues make this idea impractical for LCS.

• Moved by Diane Miller; seconded by Rich Bailey THAT the meeting be

adjourned at 1:35pm.

 Respectfully Submitted

_________________________________________
Lynn Bishop, Recording Secretary