THE DAUGHTERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS BOARD OF MANAGEMENT MEETING Minutes of the Regular Meeting February 13-14, 2015 Hyatt Lost Pines Hotel, Bastrop, Texas The regular meeting of the Board of Management (BOM) of the Daughters of The Republic of Texas met on Friday, February 13, 2015, at the Ranger Room, Hyatt Lost Pines,Texas. President General Ellen S. McCaffrey declared the presence of a quorum and called the meeting called to order at 8:40 am. Members Present: Ellen McCaffrey, Betty Edwards, Carolyn Raney, Nancy Matlock, Melissa Goodrich, Beverly Locklin, Pat Horridge, Esther Silva, Janie Babcock, K. Jenschke, Elizabeth White, Barbara Stevens, Debra Pearson, Ora Jane Johnson, Nona Hoyer, Mary Ann Oliver, Ronda Helton, Karen Thompson, GayNell Wells, Kathy Howell, Arlene Garey, Billie Dawson, Lacretia McReynolds Excused absence: Kim Zapalac, Susan Aikin Guests: Kay Crews, John Ellen Becker, Nancy Shurtleff, Dorothy Landoll, Sam Myers, Pam Lyn, Martha Withers, Elizabeth Hedges, Leslie Recine, Melinda Tomerlin, Richard Linex, Jean Sitterle Chaplain General Nancy Matlock gave the invocation. Fifth Vice President General Carolyn Raney led the pledges to the U.S. and Texas Flags. Baron de Bastrop Chapter President Dorothy Gaddis welcomed the Board to Bastrop and invited the board to visit. She gave local tourist information and maps. REPORTS OF THE OFFICERS GENERAL PRESIDENT GENERAL ELLEN S. MCCAFFREY filed My routine travel schedule continues with trips to Austin and San Antonio for committee meetings and attorney consultation. Ideally, a package of applications will appear in the mail just before a trip to Austin rather than just after I return. Our Convention Chairman invited me to join her in San Antonio for the convention menu planning (food tasting) – it was so nice to have a driver! We owe Elisabeth White a great debt of gratitude for being chair one more time. In December, 10 Daughters traveled to Washington, DC for the chartering of the Elisabet Ney Chapter. The chartering was lovely; the ladies were very hospitable, friendly and interesting. We toured the White House to see the Christmas decoration – they just left you speechless! We toured the Capital where we saw Elisabet Ney’s statue of Sam Houston. It was a fun, cold weekend with great companions. Attendance at the Alamo employees’ Christmas party was larger and noisier – which translates to: “fun was had by all.” I took a prospective member with me to Miss Ima Hogg’s Christmas luncheon. 1 Board of Management February 13-14, 2015 January has been fairly quiet, allowing me to handle several tedious but necessary chores. Dusky Waters resigned as Bylaws Chairman. K. Jenschke and I reviewed the Manual of Procedure, made a few changes needed to conform to the 2014 bylaws. Members of the Bylaws Committee helped to review and proof it. The list of chapters by district was out of date by several years. Chapters that disbanded in the last two years are kept but marked disbanded; the active chapters are now current up to and including the Elisabet Ney Chapter in Washington and the Pinckney Chapter in Mabank! After indexing, it was sent to the Webmaster. The Nominating Committee brought to our attention a paragraph missing from the 2012 bylaws revision. Corrections have been made, both to the bylaws and the MOP with an explanation printed in RED. The most current Bylaws and Manual of Procedure can be found on the members’ website – many thanks to our fantastic Webmaster! She will keep the MOP updated with any changes approved by the board at the last two meetings of the current term. Our Webmaster also researched and set up PayPal on the website for the Republic of Texas Museum. They can now sell tickets to their symposium online. Attempts to meet with Jerry Patterson before he left office as Commissioner of the General Land Office were not successful. We are now working towards a meeting with the new commissioner. Larry Laine was re-appointed as Deputy Clerk of the GLO and the Alamo falls under his supervision. I am sure you have seen the announcement in the papers that the GLO hired Becky Dinnin as Alamo Director for the GLO. She will be responsible for the “strategic leadership of the Alamo” – her expertise is in communications, capital fundraising, tourism promotion and management – she has worked for the SA Chamber of Commerce for 7 years. Born in Plainview and raised in Groom (outside of Amarillo) she has an MBA from SMU and an undergraduate degree in journalism from Baylor University. Melinda Tomerlin will continue as Alamo Executive Administrator The Legislature is in session! There are currently three bills that we are watching and Leslie Recine will be here later today to discuss those. Leslie is being very helpful as we wade through all the activity going on in Austin during this session. Her knowledge and experience are most appreciated. On Friday, February 27th, I invite you to join me at the State Cemetery for the dedication of a cenotaph in honor of Jose Antonio Navarro! On a sad note, Annie Burney, is retiring as Shrine Hostess at the Alamo. I have been a Daughter for nearly 35 years and Annie is the only Chapel Hostess I can remember. She has served both the Alamo and the Daughters honorably and graciously. She will be missed in the Shrine. Motion #1. Corresponding Secretary General Pat Horridge moved that the DRT Board of Management approve the Lym Architecture PLLC contract for the design of the Republic of Texas History Complex building. ADOPTED TREASURER GENERAL BEVERLY LOCKLIN filed Your Treasurer General attended the BOM November meeting in San Antonio. She opened a new unrestricted investment account at Edward Jones in November. With this new account, the DRT now has seven accounts with Edward Jones; all but this new account are restricted. The money in the new account will be held as reserve funds for use when and as needed. On November 13, The Treasurer General met with the DRT Republic of Texas Museum Committee to hear the final presentation from Mr. Kim Williams, Museum Planner, who was hired to provide “a concept plan for the interpretive exhibits within the designated museum space” in the new DRT Headquarters. As part of his report, he distributed the document “Museum Concept Plan Booklet” and made a power point presentation. 2 Board of Management February 13-14, 2015 Most of the DRT Insurance policies are renewed yearly in November. The DRT Treasurer General and DRT Accountant met with Mr. Gary Grissom, DRT Insurance Agent, to discuss the various policies. Mr. Grissom answered questions and made suggestions about other insurance policies to be considered by DRT. On November 18, the DRT Treasurer General and the DRT Accountant had a telephone meeting with Mollie Cullinane, a lawyer who works with nonprofits. The meeting was primarily to discuss how DRT should handle the situation with the chapters that lost their IRS status for not filing a 990- N e-Postcard for three consecutive years. During this meeting Ms. Cullinane provided only general information. Again on January 27, the Treasurer General and Accountant met with Ms. Cullinane by phone. For this meeting she requested several items be sent to her so that she could provide more specific information about how to help the chapters reestablish their IRS status. In December, the Treasurer General joined several other BOM members to attend the Alamo appreciation dinner in San Antonio. There were two called Finance Committee meetings: one in December and one in January. Please see the Finance Committee Report for descriptions of these meetings. In January, the Treasurer General and the Accountant met in San Antonio at the Alamo Research Center (formerly, DRT Library at the Alamo) with Leslie Stapleton, Director, and Madalene Morgan, Library and Administrative Assistant. They met to discuss several follow-up matters pertaining to the DRT Library Collection bank accounts that are now handled at DRT Headquarters in Austin. The Treasurer General has been active in her DRT Chapter. She attended the November meeting, the Christmas Party in December, and the January meeting. She is member of the nominating committee and also was on the committee that reviewed and revised the Chapter Bylaws. Mr. Sam Myers, contract accountant to the DRT, spoke to the Board. Motion #2 Treasurer General Beverly Locklin Beverly Locklin moved that the BOM approve the recommendation of the Finance Committee to remove the designation of the unrestricted net assets held in the Kate Harding Bates Parker Endowment Account, and that the funds be transferred to the DRT Library Collection General Operating Account. ADOPTED Motion # 3 Treasurer General Beverly Locklin moved that the BOM approve the recommendation of the Finance Committee to remove the designation of the unrestricted net assets held in the Staff Development Fund and the funds be transferred to the DRT Library Collection General Operating Account. ADOPTED Motion # 4 Treasurer General Beverly Locklin moved the BOM approve the recommendation of the Finance Committee to designate $10,000 held in the Acquisition Account for the future acquisitions of books and other collections and transfer the remaining amount in the Acquisition Account into the DRT Library Collection General Operating Account. ADOPTED Motion # 5 Treasurer General Beverly Locklin moved that the BOM approve the recommendation of the Finance Committee to award a NTLP grant to the French Legation Museum Committee for $16,313.00 for various repairs and replacements. The five items in this request are (1) replacements of HVAC and thermostats in the Historic House, Kitchen and Carriage House; (2) repair to Carriage House gable, (3) rodent control in the Carriage House, (4) lighting repairs in all three structures, and (5) removal of tree leaning on the stone wall.