WOMEN’S NATIONAL BOOK ASSOCIATION Annual Board Meeting June 3-5, 2011 New York City, New York Minutes of the Meeting
Friday, June 3, 2011 Open Center 22 East 30th St
Board Attendees: Mary Grey James---Nashville Chapter, National President Valerie Tomaselli---New York Chapter, National Vice President/President Elect; WNBA Pannell Award Chair Margaret Auer---Detroit Chapter, National Treasurer Ruth Light---Los Angeles Chapter, National Secretary Joan Gelfand---Immediate Past President; Development Chair Emily Sachs---Washington DC Chapter, President Linda Lee Chernoff---San Francisco Chapter, President Annette Haley---Detroit Chapter, President Bebe Brechner---Nashville Chapter, President; Web site Co-Chair Julia Drake---Los Angeles Chapter, President Lisa Braxton---Boston Chapter, President Shin Freedman---Boston Chapter, Vice President Judy Solberg---Seattle Chapter, President Quinlan Lee---Charlotte Chapter, Program Chair Jill Tardiff---NRGM/GGR Chair; United Nations Liaison Gloria Toler---The Bookwoman Editor
Guest Attendees Gail Marshall – New York Chapter Rhona Whitty---New York Chapter, Chapter The Bookwoman Editor Rachel Weiss-Feldman---New York Chapter, Membership Chair
1:45 pm---Mary Grey called the meeting to order.
Mary Grey introduced the meeting by talking about new opportunities for WNBA. She suggested we let “reimagining” be the theme for this meeting. She imagined this meeting as finding new ways of solving issues.
Everyone introduced herself and mentioned one of her favorite books. The books are as follows:
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
Page 1 of 23 Los Angeles Diaries by James Brown The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein Marketing in the Age of Google by Vanessa Fox Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson The Paris Wife by Paula McLain Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life by Kim Severson Straightman by Richard Russo Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle The Last Rendevouz by A. Plannagenet A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway One Day by David Nicolls A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan The Sweet Relief of Missing Children by Sarah Braunstein Small Hands Clapping by Dan Kledes Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel Room by Emma Donahugh The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Each chapter president then reported on the successes and the challenges of the year.
Mary Grey began by describing a potential chapter in NEW ORLEANS There is much enthusiasm in New Orleans, and from all of us, for the beginning of the New Orleans Chapter. There will be a June 6th formation meeting. Mary Grey will attend their July meeting.
NEW YORK CHAPTER Successes— Transition from Valerie to Karen Leveccia as president Successful recruitment of young members—Karen instrumental with this Chapter newsletter upgraded with a regular book review, Constant Contact, using the archives for ideas, and a UN corner
Challenges--- Long-term member retention Filling the program chair position Getting programs organized
LOS ANGELES CHAPTER Successes--- Steady influx of members Attracting more literary people Events very eclectic Web site increasingly professional in appearance Newsletter is good
Page 2 of 23 LABookwoman Day---had agents, new media presentations, book apps presentation
Challenges--- Changes in leadership Web site sometimes attracts people who are reluctant to participate Trying to get younger members Want to develop a connection with WRITEGIRL
WASHINGTON DC CHAPTER Successes--- Strong newsletter; five hard copies per year Use Constant Contact for email blasts Events at bookstores (Busboys and Poets); they publicize to their email list once you have had an event there Partners with Reading connection; volunteers work to read in homeless and abuse shelters, etc.
Challenges--- Officer positions open Retention of officers People not volunteering
SAN FRANCISCO CHAPTER Successes--- Meet the agents event very successful, big moneymaker Provided price break for agents who are members Also had publishing panel at the library, want to expand that event Effie Lee Morris Day, a low maintenance event Also have a “creativity” event
Challenges— Getting new members Retaining current members Recycling of same member on board
Linda is planning to have a co-president, and she was encouraged to check the by-laws about this plan. Linda mentioned phone calls being important when a new member joins.
Rachelle mentioned that people can go to wnba1917 and watch YouTube videos that have to do with WNBA.
NASHVILLE Successes---
Page 3 of 23 Had good events; NRGM at the public library, Southern Festival, Hot Picks for Spring 21st year for the summer reading series
Challenges--- Lost bookstore connection where they have partnered for many years Membership declined
SEATTLE Successes--- Cathy Rustagi is providing a great newsletter Biggest event was NRGM Two writers now on board
Challenges--- New chapter; membership is small Retention is difficult; people sign up but are never heard from Governing board has burden of too much work and too much turnover Trying to find their niche in Seattle, a city with many literary organizations Wondering if a standard location for meetings is a good idea; Seattle is very spread out Trying to find their unique identity
BOSTON Successes--- Emphasis on up and coming authors Membership is okay; have filled a few of the open board positions Expanding outreach by donating books to shelters Monthly board meetings are by conference call Two members are outreach chairs Hired a public relations firm staffed by college students Had annual meeting called “Journey of the Writer”
Challenges--- Losing money on our two major events Need program chair, Web master, and Bookwoman liaison
Lisa and the board are interested in having a sports celebrity be a speaker at an event. Margaret mentioned “What Detroit Read?” where well-known people from the city spoke and talked about what they read.
DETROIT Successes--- Collaborative events with libraries and other organizations are their strongest Give biannual Bookwoman Award
Page 4 of 23 Give small jobs to many people
Challenges--- Membership dropped Don’t charge for events, so money is an issue Want to do more social networking Want to work on getting newspaper coverage for events
CHARLOTTE Successes--- First year that they had a strong programming Did a “Bibliofeast”, authors moved to different tables when each course was served. This will be their “signature” event Children’s publishing event – rise of the YA novel Partnered with other organizations
Challenges--- How to grow and how to “sell” idea of WNBA
WEB SITE DISCUSSION It was decided in 2009 that we would do a Web site update, and that update was launched in September of 2010. The final cost was $1800.00. The designer outsourced the development work to someone in India, and that became problematic. Although the site was finally launched, the co-chairs will be looking for a new designer.
WEB SITE DISCUSSION.: Bebe provided a visual walk through of the web site pointing out features and requesting feedback.
Bebe noted PLANS to increase security have The Bookwoman “teasers”..perhaps a book review section have more chapter Web sites “clean up” the members only section
There was a discussion of how to estimate the cost of ongoing Web site updates; Margaret suggested that Bebe check out Web site expenses from the past. PayPal should be used to take payments for ads and for donations.
Comments about the Web site: Are all of the pictures appropriate for WNBA? Navigation isn’t always easy List of officers hard to find
Page 5 of 23 Attention needed in WNBA Award winners section Buttons should be more obvious
ACTION ITEM: Each chapter president is asked to work with their board to write a chapter introduction that shows consistency with other chapters in its form. This introduction should have a “snappy” tag line.
ACTION ITEM: The Executive Committee was asked to provide a budget to cover maintenance, repair, and enhancement for the Web site. This action item includes funding of a new person/persons for Web site repair. NC & Bebe would probably select the person.
ACTION ITEM: The national directory should include more than an individual’s name. Contact information should include at least an email address. Linda suggested there be a small “pitch” about why to be in the directory. NOTE: Business categories are important because they make the directory more useful.
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents should work with their boards to update application forms to include the information that a member can have their blog address on the national Web site.
ACTION ITEM: The button on the Web site for forms should be bolder/more recognizable, and network forms should be updated in this way. All the responsibilities for the Web site (except building funds into the budget) are the responsibility of the Web site co-chairs – NC and Bebe
ACTION ITEM: Bebe and NC will update the Members Only section so that it is alphabetical and there is a by-laws file.
ACTION ITEM: Bebe and NC will put member benefits on the Web site when these benefits are defined and submitted to them.
ACTION ITEM: Bebe/NC/Web administrators will check all books listed in each of The Bookwoman issues and add them (if not already listed) to the online author list.
ACTION ITEM: Navigation categories across the top could include drop down menus.
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents will promote the promotional opportunity program that is on the national Web site.
ACTION ITEM: For any of the chapters that have WordPress, Linda will install the Gravity Form plugin, which is used to set up forms for membership and other events. This can be used and paid for online,. Chapters just need to get a zip program to open the folder. Winzip or other free zip programs are available.
Page 6 of 23 ACTION ITEM: Joan, Jill and the Executive Committee will prepare a benefits package for sustaining membership and it will be included on the Web site.
ACTION ITEM: The Communication Chairperson (when we have selected one) will be responsible for contacting WNBA Award winners to have them link to WNBA’s site.
ACTION ITEM: The names of the 2004 and 2006 WNBA award winners link to their Web sites. Bebe and NC should change these to links to the citations read at each of their ceremonies.
ACTION ITEM: Bebe and NC need to update the Web site regarding some of the WNBA Award pages (1980-2002) since these are still old Web site pages.
THE BOOKWOMAN DISCUSSION There was a discussion with the following points: it has been difficult for the BW editor to get current contact information for the chapter BW liaison Gloria is looking for articles; articles from chapter newsletters can be submitted Gloria had discussions with Shannon (former editor) about submission and distribution perhaps a committee could be created to help Gloria; members of this committee get exposure to the publishing world; Gloria might prefer helpers that are geographically close; Annette volunteered to be Gloria’s proof reader and copy editor and Judy said she knew a chapter member who might be interested in copy editing and she (Judy) would check with that person.
Gloria handed out hard copies of the BW submission guidelines.
There was a discussion about book reviews; will they be created only by members? Valerie said the policy should be related to publishing on both the Web site and to the BW; for the all electronic issues there could be links to reviews of members’ books written by others outside WNBA Margaret referenced the 2010 minutes where a decision had already been made which stated “...every issue should include a review of a member’s book or a sponsor’s book; one issue may include a review of a book outside this realm; the fall issue will note that the BW will begin in January to have reviews.” Also from the 2010 minutes. “Shannon will work out the details of how to find the person who will do the book reviews.”
Additional discussion ensued regarding digital or hard copy publication, and about the cost of printing. BW is a “tool” and should be kept as a hard copy publication
Page 7 of 23 If BW is online we need permission from writers of articles for ongoing Web access, potentially non-members A change of printer needs executive committee approval The number of pages, the cost of printing and the location of the printer were discussed.
The editor can decide the publication schedule. We want 3 issues per year, and the schedule can be flexible in order to coincide with NRGM and GGR announcements.
There was a discussion about digital versus hard copy. Mary Grey asked everyone to be ready to vote on this topic by Sunday morning.
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents are responsible for contacting The Bookwoman editor for corrections
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents are to provide their chapter’s most recent The Bookwoman liaison to both Gloria and Margaret.
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents are to notify Gloria of the number of extra copies of The Bookwoman they will need. Gloria will send out an email asking for this information.
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents are responsible for making sure that their chapter’s The Bookwoman liaison sends articles for The Bookwoman. Articles from the chapter newsletter may be submitted.
ACTION ITEM: Annette and Judy volunteered to be proof-readers for The Bookwoman.
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents will canvass their chapter members for others who might be proof-readers, and send those names and contact information to Gloria.
ACTIION ITEM: Chapter presidents will also canvass their members for people who could be book review editors, and send those names and contact information to Gloria.
ACTION ITEM: The Bookwoman editor will establish new BW submission deadlines will recommend to Executive Committee for approval the printer to be used will push back the production schedule so as to include NRGM and GGR information will publish Board of Directors’ plus committee heads’ and representatives’ membership and contact information in The Bookwoman will adjunct the number of extra copies of the issues after hearing from board members
ACTION ITEM: Gloria will run a column in The Bookwoman on personal stories of “what WNBA connections did for me”, or “what touched me”, with the idea of creating a
Page 8 of 23 more coherent connection between the chapters. Chapter presidents should funnel these stories, and people, to Gloria.
ACTION ITEM: Bebe will call on board members for personal stories.
ACTION ITEM: Gloria will include in The BW a member spotlight article, which can be pulled from the chapter newsletters (e.g. new books, etc.)
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents will make sure that their chapter newsletter is sent to all other chapter presidents, plus the rest of the Board of Directors, plus committee heads and representatives.
Mary Grey adjourned the meeting at 5:25 p.m.
Saturday, June 4, 2011 The Culture Center 410 Columbus Ave.
The meeting began at 9:03 am Attendees: same as Friday plus Rachelle Weiss-Feldman
MOTION: Mary Grey moved that visitors be allowed to participate in discussions. Ruth seconded. Passed unanimously.
WHAT CAN WNBA DO FOR YOU? Presented by Joan Gelfand Joan discussed how WNBA has benefited her, and how others can also benefit. Following are some of her points: You get connected: Joan became a registered blogger with the Huffington Post You get connected: She was interviewed on KPFA radio She received many invitations to speak – when you speak in front of a large group you have a captive audience She received prestigious invitations Being on a WNBA board is a resume booster – you can use the chapter president as a reference; people in the corporate world have connections in the corporate world
Joan passed around a paper detailing some of the many opportunities that have been forthcoming as a result of her being involved with WNBA. This paper is available to be used in any way chapter members would like to use it.
Suggestions—put it on the chapter Web site, have a member benefit page in chapter newsletters
Page 9 of 23 Several members then shared their personal achievements and connections they have gotten through WNBA.
DISCUSSION ABOUT THE EASTMAN GRANT Mary Grey put cards out that had the names of the chapters (minus the Charlotte Chapter who chose the association in 2010) on them. She then closed her eyes and picked a card from the ones on the table and it was San Francisco. San Francisco will now choose a library association anywhere in CA and that association will receive the Eastman Grant.
The point was made that the presentation of this grant provides possible opportunities to enhance WNBA’s recognition, and possible recruitment of people into leadership roles.
ACTION ITEM: San Francisco Board will select the library association to receive the $500.00 WNBA Eastman Grant; Mary Grey will do follow-up communication with the library association.
DISCUSSION ABOUT THE WNBA PANNELL AWARD The WNBA Pannell Award, as usual, was presented at the Children’s Book and Author Breakfast at Book Expo of America. Following are the main points of the discussion: Queen Anne Bookstore (Seattle) won in general bookstore category Fairytales Bookstore (Nashville) won in children’s bookstore category awardees receive $1,000.00 plus an original piece of art five jurors spend 4 weeks selecting the winning bookstores Penguin Young Readers gives us $3,000.00 per year for this we should get assurances/evidence from winning stores that they publicize us and the award we need more nominations every chapter should come up with one nomination Bremer Trust, set up by Pannell family in perpetuity, supports this award submissions are online only now
There was the question of whether only one award should be given each year as there are few applications. It was noted that two awards do not have to be given each year, an award should only be given if the bookstore is deserving.
ACTION ITEM: Jill recommended that the WNBA Pannell Chairperson approach the Association of American Booksellers for Children asking for a list of children’s bookstores in chapter cities so that they may be considered for potential nominations.
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents are responsible for informing chapter members of when to send in WNBA Pannell nominations to Valerie, (name of store and contact information) and Valerie will provide follow up with the store.
ACTION ITEM: Every chapter should submit at least one nomination for the Pannell Award.
Page 10 of 23 DISCUSSION ABOUT NEW CHAPTER DEVELOPMENT There was a discussion about New Orleans. The main points are as follows: name of person spearheading this is Susan Larsen who will hold a formation meeting on June 6th Mary Grey will attend a larger meeting in New Orleans in July They have a good core of leadership Existing by-laws now being used a template for their by-laws Margaret suggested they get immediate access to the Members Only section of the national Web site Mary Grey should get a letter of intent following the June meeting; then the chapter will be official
Joan talked about the process of beginning new chapters. our policy is that interested parties need to come to us, rather than someone from WNBA soliciting people to form a chapter Minneapolis has contacted us Mary Grey said she wanted to only add one chapter per year WNBA closed Dallas, and now there is a resurgence of interest from that city Chicago, Austin, and Philadelphia are possible chapter cities
ACTION ITEM: Bebe will give the incoming New Orleans Chapter access to the Members Only section.
Roz Reisner joined the meeting at 10:00 a.m.
DISCUSSION ABOUT THE COMMUNICATION CHAIR The main points are: our activities are not being disseminated to the outside world enough we have a job description for this position which is on the web site this description has been sent to chapter presidents and posted in BW can alter job description to suit different needs, responses coordinating social media is an important skill and missing from the job description; newsletter is mentioned but web site is not Communication chair would oversee internal communications with chapters (e.g., chapter Facebooks, Web site) Co-chairs should be considered since there will be so much to monitor; should the job description be broken into 2 or 3 positions? (e.g., one takes press releases; one does social media; one needs to oversee) we have close to 800 Twitter followers all chapters can send tweets to Jill and she will retweet them
The three national Twitter accounts are as follows: WNBA National @WNBA_National
Page 11 of 23 WNBA at the United Nations: WNBA @WNBA_NATL_UN
@WNBA_NRGM WNBA National Reading Group Month
All WNBA members following any or all accounts should identify themselves with the following hashtag so Jill can readily pick up and follow and retweet: #wnbamember
Shannon has been doing the Facebook.
ACTION ITEM: Susan Walker, new Charlotte Chapter President, will send the chapter’s Facebook and Twitter information (TweetDeck) to Jill.
ACTION ITEM: Every chapter president should make sure that Jill has their chapter’s Facebook and Twitter information.
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents should develop contacts with local media and invite them to chapter events
ACTION ITEM: Jill will craft a letter for the chapter presidents to send to their chapter members, making them aware that if they have a Twitter account they should start following one or all of the national Twitter accounts.
ACTION ITEM: Valerie will re-conceptualize the Communications Chair position into three/four positions and will send to Executive Committee for review. New description will then be shared with chapter presidents and added to Web site
THE TREASURER’S REPORT presented by Margaret Auer This discussion was moved to later in the agenda.
THE UNITED NATIONS presented by Jill Tardiff This discussion was moved to later in the agenda.
DISCUSSION ABOUT THE WNBA AWARD The main points are as follows: Award ceremony was a stellar event and NYC handling equaled need a new chairperson for this award we should consider making the name of the award cover 2 years (e.g. 2010/2011); in future the award nomination will have the even/odd numbered year but the selection should be made in the even numbered year WNBA needs to look for underwriters of the award there are benefits to giving the award to a high-profile person
Page 12 of 23 Lee suggested always trying to tie the giving of the award to an already established literary event ---conference, trade show, etc. concern that the event is always held in the state where the winner lives Communications Chair will be very involved in getting this award more exposure award could be announced at some literary event nominations should prohibit self-nominations and announcement should be included in the solicitation information
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents will canvass people in their chapters for a potential chairperson for the WNBA Award and send names and contact information to Mary Grey; it was recommended that we consider past presidents for this position.
ACTION ITEM: In the future, the WNBA Award will include the year of the selection and the following year (e.g. 2010/2011—even/odd number years) in order to accommodate the winner’s schedule for a ceremony.
ACTION ITEM: Everyone should be thinking about any possible people or organizations that might underwrite the WNBA Award ceremony
ACTION ITEM: Self-nominations for the WNBA Award are prohibited, and this should be included in the nomination process information.
ACTION ITEM: The WNBA Award Chairperson should review the national manual and incorporate any changes regarding the WNBA Award.
DISCUSSION ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT CHAIR Joan Gelfand is the Development Chair. Following are the main points of the discussion: Joan pointed out we need more funds plus several committees, one of which should be a grant writing committee writing contest as moneymaker; NY chapter starting to do this; publicity needs to be in place and managed well for this project fundraising---dinner with an author, signed copies of books, phone communication with an agent Goodsearch is good and easy way to make money; every time a member searches the Web the organization gets a few pennies. Concern that Goodsearch will feel like “nickel and diming” people; earmarking the money for national might avoid the “nickel and diming” feel; Linda said if we list all chapters, plus national, people can choose to whom the money goes
ACTION ITEM: Joan, who is the Development Chair, wants to create a grant writing committee; chapter presidents should check their chapter membership for good, strong, successful grant writers and send names and contact information to Joan.
Page 13 of 23 ACTIION ITEM: Once it is established, the grant committee should prepare one grant application this year (The Big Read; promoting literacy)
ACTION ITEM: Joan wants to establish a committee to organize a national writing contest. Julia Drake and Rhona Whitty volunteered to help with this project.
ACTION ITEM: Ruth will contact one of the LA members who has indicated the possibility of organizing a silent auction that would benefit WNBA. This activity would fall under the Development Chair rubric.
ACTION ITEM: Everyone is asked to send any fundraising ideas to Joan and she will keep a running list of them.
ACTION ITEM: Bebe will set up a national account for GoodSearch. Bebe will send to WNBA_all the information on how to set this up.
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents will notify Mary Grey of their progress, if they plan to participate, with a GoodSearch account by the end of July.
11:00am: Gail Marshall (New York Chapter member) and Rachelle Weiss-Feldman arrived
NATIONAL READING GROUP MONTH presented by Jill Tardiff Jill led the discussion about NRGM, and she and Roz Reisner are co-coordinators. The main points are as follows: great chapter participation NRGM is good opportunity for getting paying sponsors the “top dollar” contribution to NRGM will be called premier, and that name will be at top of left navigation bar; rest will be listed in abc order featured books are ones whose publishers have donated money; mid- September to mid-September is time frame for featured books Jill needs people for advisory board NRGM signature event will be in Nashville from now on Jill tries to get at least one GGR author at each chapter’s NRGM event a marketing toolkit is on the Get Involved page of the NRGM Web site food establishments are excellent places for NRGM events sponsoring/partnership agreements are “in the making” Roz is main person for GGR; GGR sponsorships available last year-14 readers; this year-20 readers Roz created a private blog for GGR readers where only members could post; every host is a book many authors are available all year—not just at GGR time publishers pay for their authors to go to NRGM events
Page 14 of 23 Jill manages 60% of NRGM money, 15% is available to chapters for their events, 25% goes to the national general fund. GGR guidelines/criteria should be on Web site so people can see what book needs to be in order to be included in this program regarding book reviews for The Bookwoman it was decided that no book reviews would be published except for books that were selected by the GGR members, and that one of the GGR readers would provide the review (this is different/contrary to the discussion on page 7 about book reviews) next year is fifth anniversary of NRGM
ACTION ITEM: Margaret will send an email to Jill about invoice information for LightWedge.
ACTION ITEM: Jill will add to the benefits for sponsorship that books selected by the GGR members will/could have a review written for The Bookwoman.
ACTION ITEM: Once finalized, Jill will send to Bebe the GGR guidelines/criteria, and Bebe will add them to the Web site. They will also be posted on the NRGM Web site.
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents will inform their chapters that Jill is looking for members for the NRGM advisory board, and send any names and contact information to Jill.
ACTION ITEM: A proposal will be submitted next year recommending that there be (potentially $25.00) a submission fee for GGR books.
ACTION ITEM: Jill will send GGR logo stickers to independent bookstores through ABA mailings in August to be put on GGR selected books.
ACTION ITEM: Jill is starting to work on getting trademark for the NRGM/GGR logo.
CHAPTER PRESIDENTS’ RELATIONSHIP TO NATIONAL presented by Ruth Light Ruth presented several points concerning this relationship, and there is a page on the Web site called “Chapter Presidents’ Relationship with National” and all chapter presidents should become familiar with that page. All of the points of this discussion are either on that page, or listed in the following action items:
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents should introduce her/himself in the following format: your name, what your position is in the chapter, and your relationship to the national board (am a member of the WNBA National Board of Directors).
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents should familiarize themselves with the document on the Web site that describes their relationship to national.
DISCUSSION ABOUT FINANCES Margaret presented information about finances, with the following points:
Page 15 of 23 chapters get reimbursed up to $150.00 for NRGM expenses if they submit their request by December 31st following the program national has a policy that reimbursement for internal bills will only be paid if they are submitted no later than one year after the event all reimbursement requests require a completed Request for Payment form, which is on the Web site when an individual makes a contribution to national or to a chapter WNBA needs to acknowledge using the donation form, which is also on the Web site. when WNBA raises $25,000.00 or more per year the association moves to a different IRS category. NOTE: when completing the epostcard recently I noticed this number has been raised to $50,000 Columbia University is asking for a donation of $1,000.00 this year for storage of WNBA archive records. Mary Grey will send a letter saying a donation of $1,000.00 is not possible. The Eastman Grant is $500.00 per year. Pannell is stable because of donations from Penguin Young Readers Group; if Penguin were to discontinue supporting the Pannell we could only fund it for 2 years. Margaret asks chapter presidents to try to be realistic about projected membership numbers. was a discussion of whether or not a chapter could benefit from a sponsor/sustaining member relationship; the by-laws show an avenue for chapters to get monetary benefits from a company without “stepping on national’s toes”. was a discussion about how the promotional program money is recorded; it is now considered miscellaneous money; it was recommended that this money be separated out under Subscriptions and Ads so we can track it. currently, the per capita to national is $14.00 and the per capita for network members is $17.00. the two chapters in CA are now required to fill out an e-postcard for the state in addition to the e-postcard for the federal government.
MOTION: Move that the per capita late fee (one month after Jan 7 and one month after April 7) of 2 percent be continued. Moved by Auer; seconded by Tomaselli Approved unanimously
MOTION: Move that the 25 percent sustaining member incentive for chapters be suspended. Moved by Auer; seconded Barbour Approved unanimously
MOTION: Move that WNBA per capita fee be raised to $16 effective FY 2013/2014. Moved by Auer; seconded by Gelfand Approved unanimously
Page 16 of 23 Note: this would mean January 7, 2014 per capita payment would be $16/individual member
MOTION: Moved that WNBA network per capita fee be raised to $20 effective FY 2013-2014. Moved by Auer; seconded by Tomaselli Approved unanimously Note: this would mean January 7, 2014 per capita payment for network members would be $20/individual member
MOTION: Moved that network membership fee be raised to $55.00 effective FY 2012- 2013. Moved by Auer; seconded by Light Approved, 12 yes, one abstention Note: this would mean on June 1, 2013 network membership fee would be $55.00.ACTION ITEM: Margaret will closeout the FY 2010/2011 books once interest statements are received.
ACTION ITEM: Margaret will ask appropriate members of the board for their anticipated expenses for FY 11/12.
ACTION ITEM: Margaret will pull out PayPal income from miscellaneous income and put it into the advertising line.
DISCUSSION ABOUT SOLUTIONS TO THE CRITICAL ISSUES OF THE ORGANIZATION AND OF THE CHAPTERS 1) Getting and Retaining Members: a. phone calls (each member calls 5 people) b. develop a “pitch” about the benefits of membership c. have a table/booth at local events to publicize WNBA d. match up members with complementary interests e. ask other organizations to put WNBA on their calendars
2) Getting Members Involved a. chapters have “members at large” to develop new leaders
3) Finding a place to Meet a. Saturday afternoon “meet and greet” (S.F.’s was very successful) b. donated space (restaurants, libraries, bookstores, shopping malls, community centers, condo rec rooms) c. develop list of places with detailed info about how to select and how to contact d. meeting frequencies may need to be revisited
4) Board Burnout
Page 17 of 23 5) Losing Money
6) Publicity
NB---There were computer problems that led to the loss of data regarding the preceding three bullet points.
DISCUSSION/PRESENTATION ABOUT THE UNITED NATIONS Jill made a presentation about the UN, and our relationship to it. Following are a few of her main points: Jill can get UN items at a discount—just let her know. our relationship with UNICEF began with Claire Freedman, who for about 15 years was our UN representative; Claire did a lot to put us “on the map” with the UN; Claire was on the UN board for International Year of the Child; in 2000 Jill met Kate Webber and reinvigorated the Year of the Child with her. The UN’s respect for NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) was not strong till Kofi Annan; NGO’s much stronger now.
Jill introduced Lacey Stone, UNICEF representative, who gave a presentation with the following main points: UNICEF wants to do whatever it takes to get to zero preventable child deaths UNICEF began in 1946—they have global authority—they can negotiate with governments, even rebel groups—focus on innovation (school in a box program, portable educational kit, etc.) UNICEF in Afghanistan started 1,000 classroom project UNICEF has equity-based approach—reaches poorest of the poor UNICEF meets all 29 Better business Bureau’s conditions TOT (Trick or Treat) is 60 years old TAP Project—to provide clean water to the world’s children
It was suggested that chapters connect TOT donations to their NRGM events.
ACTION ITEM: Jill will discuss with Lacey Stone about whether our best UN project would be for each chapter to send $40.00 to Lawrence O’Donnell’s “kids-at-a-desk” charity.
Mary Grey adjourned the meeting at 4:55p.m.
Sunday, June 5, 2011 The Culture Center 410 Columbus Ave.
Mary Grey called the meeting to order at 9:05.
Attendees: same as Saturday, plus Rachelle Weiss-Feldman
Page 18 of 23 DISCUSSION ABOUT LONG RANGE PLAN Margaret provided information on how we will proceed with updating the plan Long range plan update will be the responsibility of incoming (2012/2014) Vice President/President elect Margaret will survey chapters and board members on whether individual responsibilities are appropriate to carry forward Information gathered to be passed on to vice president for further work
DISCUSSION ABOUT THE BY-LAWS Margaret led a discussion about the by-laws, with the following main points: suggested national by-law revisions sent by Lee Fairbend will be discussed by the executive committee every chapter should update their by-laws; by-laws should be consistent with the national by-laws, but can differ in some ways Margaret has copies of suggested changes to chapter by-laws if anyone needs them; they were sent out in 2003
ACTION ITEM: The proposed revisions to the national by-laws were delivered to the Executive Committee on May 17, 2011, and those recommendations need to be reviewed by the Executive Committee.
ACTION ITEM: The Executive Committee will determine whether there will be an electronic ballot to vote on the proposed changes to the by-laws, or whether the changes will be voted on at the 2012 national board meeting.
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents will ensure that their chapter by-laws are reviewed and made consistent with the national by-laws—there is a chapter by-law template in the Members Only section of the national Web site.
ACTION ITEM: Once the chapter by-laws are reviewed, chapter presidents should send a final copy of their by-laws to Margaret and to Bebe.
ACTION ITEM: Bebe/NC will put chapter by-laws into the Members Only section of the national Web site as back up.
ACTION ITEM: Chapter presidents should make sure their chapter’s by-laws are on the chapter Web site.
ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION ABOUT THE BOOKWOMAN some people want more than one issue of BW to be electronic fall issue must be hard copy electronic version is hard to read three hard copy issues are not feasible financially was a discussion of how to format the electronic issue we are not ready to set a budget for printing because Gloria must be able to negotiate with the printer
Page 19 of 23 talked about schedules—fall issue out no later than September 19 GGR announcement is Aug. 12
ACTION ITEM: The fall issue of The Bookwoman must be retained in hard copy.
MOTION: Move that the publication of two issues of The Bookwoman be retained in hard copy. Moved by Margaret, seconded by Lisa. Motion approved: 12 yes, 1 no
DISCUSSION ABOUT A NOMINATING COMMITTEE FOR OFFICERS we need to form a nominating committee; Valerie will serve as the executive committee representative the chair of the nominating committee is the one who calls people that are going to be nominated for national office. several people considered being on the committee names and addresses of the committee will be published in the fall issue of The Bookwoman this committee will be active in the spring the election of national officers takes place no later than 3 months before the national meeting. committee members select their own chairperson; Annette will be the chair being on the committee does not exclude someone from being nominated
MOTION: Move that Annette Haley (Detroit), Lisa Braxton (Boston), and Valerie serve as the nominating committee for the 2012 election. Moved by Auer, seconded by Quinlan Lee Approved unanimously
MOTION: Move that Jill be the alternate member of the nominating committee should one or more members of this committee be considered as a candidate for national office. Moved by Tomaselli, seconded by Quinlan Lee Approved unanimously
DISCUSSION ABOUT LOCATION FOR ANNUAL MEETINGS The discussion focused on how to keep costs down for annual national meetings.
ACTION ITEM: June 8, 9, 10 of 2012 will be the dates of the meeting in Los Angeles. ACTION ITEM: The 2013 national board meeting will be in Nashville. ACTION ITEM: The 2014 national board meeting will be in Detroit.
OLD BUSINESS There was a reiteration of mentors San Francisco---Mary Grey Los Angeles---Margaret Detroit---Margaret Seattle---Jill
Page 20 of 23 New Orleans---Mary Grey Charlotte---Mary Grey Nashville---Mary Grey Washington DC---Mary Grey Boston---Valerie
NEW CHAPTER DEVELOPMENT Additional discussion about new chapter development included these points; Dallas is probably going to begin this year; Minneapolis might be interested New Orleans is certain national does not require a new chapter to pay the per capita dues the first year discussion about Seattle and charging for events national can do “up front” allocation to a new chapter, which they pay back could there be a scholarship fund for new chapters to help with sending president to the national meeting?
Web site comments--- was always the plan to “clone” our national Web site for the chapters this is not an option with the person who did our Web site upgrade
ACTION ITEM: Bebe, Linda and Valerie will discuss setting up chapter Web sites
Back to new chapter development--- bring on two chapters per year? best to do only one since it costs money and effort to begin a new chapter
MOTION: Move that new chapters with less than 40 members keep their first two years of membership fees with no per capita being sent to national. Moved by Tomaselli, seconded by Linda Lee Approved unanimously
OTHER
ACTION ITEM: Linda Lee volunteered to create a Web site for new chapters and for chapters that do not have a Web site for $99.00. This Web site would include feed Twitter, etc.
ACTION ITEM: Margaret will send Linda a check to cover Seattle’s fee once Seattle agrees to move forward with a Web site.
Mary Grey thanked the host chapter, New York, for the excellent and gracious care they provided us for the national meeting.
Mary Grey adjourned the meeting at 12:30 pm
Page 21 of 23 NB---Following the national meeting the executive board finalized the dates of the annual national board meeting for the next three years. They are: June 8,9,10---Los Angeles June 8,9,10---Nashville June 7,8,9---Detroit
______Signed______Date Ruth Light, National Secretary
______Signed ______Date Mary Grey James, National President
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