Attachment F
All Star One Executive Committee Summary of Discussions and Actions
November 2009 – October 2010
Members: Tricia Coleman, Bill Gimpel (Treasurer), Paul Jennings, Carla Osgood, Pam Pierce, Laurie Powsner, Debbie Weiner Soule, Scotty and Annie Stewart (Registrars – sharing one seat), Kathy Tillman, Debbie Walton. Consulting: Cheryl-Anne Sturken (2010 co-chair).
- A lengthy and ongoing discussion has occurred, since November, about the meaning of being on the Executive Committee, what members can and should expect from one another, how we will relate to one another and to the Chairs as a body, and more.
- A charge was created for the fund raising task force
- A process was initiated to propose bylaw revisions to include the term of office of the treasurer and other officers
- We decided to pursue 501©3 status to encourage greater generosity in donations to the conference with tax deductability a benefit
- We decided to undertake a complete website revision, following developmental work by Laurie Powsner and Annie Stewart. Annie used a blog platform to mount a new All Star One site that is much improved.
- We decided to develop and study a conference online registration program, after learning that we were not selected for the SIC pilot online registration program. Scott Stewart developed this program.
- We discussed the need to document the real costs of running the conference and the need to note donated items as well as those purchased/financed. The treasurer agreed to track donated expenses and goods.
- A lengthy and ongoing conversation has occurred, in consultation with members of the fund raising task force and the financial aid committee, about the financial aid needs of the conference, and the ways in which funding can be achieved.
- An ongoing conversation began around ways in which the larger All Star One community can be kept better informed about governance activities, and included in the governance process.
- A draft mission statement for All Star One was drafted by a sub-committee. The statement has been introduced to the Chairs and a comment process will begin at the on-island Chairs meeting and the on-island Town Meeting.
- We discussed ways in which we can support ‘island citizenship’ by working with other conferences to encourage registration if All Star One is oversubscribed.
- We authorized the financial aid committee to disburse nearly all of the funds available for financial aid to forty individuals who the committee felt should be supported.
- We discussed the current three-year limit on receiving financial aid, and supported the financial aid committee’s recommendation that this limit be dropped. We supported the committee’s recommendation that $12,500-$14,500 (or more) will be needed for financial aid for 2011.
- Deb Weiner Soule notified the Exec of her intention to step aside as convener, effective August, 2010.
- We enthusiastically supported the Sturken’s “Party With a Purpose” proposal, to help raise funds for the financial aid fund.
- We discussed these questions:
What are the core functions of the Executive Committee?
To whom are we responsible?
What are the boundaries of the Executive Committee’s authority?
What are the best processes for meeting (including best use of phone, email, comment periods, etc.)
What are the mechanics we should use for conducting a meeting so that everyone feels ‘heard’?
- We received the resignation of Laurie Powsner from the Executive Committee
- Paul Jennings and Deb Weiner Soule were asked to enter into a discussion with Jim Prochaska regarding his proposals around funding of financial aid with the goal of developing a proposal that all could support.
- We developed an agenda for the on-island chairs’ meeting and the on-island town meeting and discussed our goals for these meetings and the tone we hoped to achieve, as well as the need for civil discourse.
- We agreed that the vacancy on the Executive Committee would not be filled until the fall Chairs’ meeting in Rhode Island.
- We asked Phil Pierce to chair the Chairs’ meeting, and Tom Coleman to chair the Town Meeting.
- Paul Jennings was elected as convener for the Executive Committee, effective August, 2010.
- We developed a timeline of when documents need to be furnished to the Chairs prior to the fall meeting in Rhode Island.
- We discussed issues of concern which had occurred during the 2010 conference and developed a plan to help us understand them as well as proposals to manage difficult issues going forward.
- We discussed the possibility of recommending that Council of Conferences representatives serve for set terms (as for other conference leaders) and the idea of recommending that one CofC reps be a current members of the Executive Committee.
- We developed a timeline for distributing all Whispering Pines materials in advance, electronically, to cut down on paper and ensure that all have ample opportunity to review materials prior to the meeting
- We asked Tom Griffiths to Chair the Whispering Pines meeting, with the goal of ensuring that all Chairs have an opportunity to fully participate in the meeting.
- We approved the revised draft conference mission statement which will be brought to the Whispering Pines meeting for discussion and vote.
- We discussed the need for additional Children’s staff members and potential refinements to the Children’s program for 2011.
- We discussed child safety issues and developed some guidelines around expectations of conference attendees to support right relationships, and agreed to begin working on a behavioral covenant
- We discussed recommendations to help our conference reach two goals: steady funding of financial aid at a level recommended by the Financial Aid Committee, and solid support of our Annual Fund to help us reach our stated conference goal, and reviewed proposals to achieve this.
- Debbie Weiner Soule, Secretary