Regular Meeting -- August 21, 2016
The Board of Directors held its regular monthly meeting at 2007 Bert Avenue, Austin, TX 78704, starting at 2:42 pm. The following directors (constituting a quorum of the full board) were present at the meeting: Secretary John McGarey (by phone), Treasurer Penny Chambers (by phone), Lia Nelson and Kim Pillsbury. The following directors were absent: President Kathy Lee.. Robert McGarey (Executive Director), William Cox (member) and Ivan Medina were also present at the meeting.
The board took a moment to send prayers and healing energy and positive thoughts to board president Kathy Lee, since reports say her son was shot and ins in critical condition. After that, the Mission Statement was read aloud. Minutes from the previous meeting were read aloud and approved as read.
Members & Friends Photo Board. Lia has been working on the photo board, and the board decided that it looks great! She has also been working on the Info Board outside, and it is enticing to see what's going on here at the Center.
Repairs. There is water damage in the ceiling tiles near the back door, and Lia has been talking with Bill Edelbrock and Austin Buckingham about ways to fix it. Lia is also concerned about the "sinkhole" by the side of the main building, where the old septic tank is falling in. She would like us to fill it in with sand, and she suggested Bill might be able to do that.
Meetup. Last month we had 513 members, this month we have 567 members.
Trailblazers. The conference is in 5 weeks.Everything is incredibly going well but remaining things that need to be done at this point is getting signups for the conference. We have space for 280 but have only 11 signups. The board discussed methods of getting more signups to the conference. Our marketing materials are top rate!
William would like to attempt working with Facebook Advertising. He indicated that their ad platform targets ads in such a way that they end up being particularly relevant. Penny was suggesting how important and valuable Facebook advertising is as well. Penny provided a perspective that this is the first of many conferences that can make a difference. She sees this as a groundbreaking idea that has great potential for making a difference in the world. Even if we are doing this in 3 months when it needs 18 then we shouldn't beat ourselves up if it doesn't experience the kinds of success we are hoping for. It can expand in many ways from there and can be a great stepping stone for future conferences and for the center in general.
John asked about the difference between this conference and the previous conference. That one, which was packed, had connections to the Edgar Cayce community and midwives and INACS. Hence, reaching out to sponsors and other organizations would be helpful.
Financials. Bob finished the 990's last Monday. Our insurance coverage has improved substantially this year, since for the past 10 years three buildings on the property were not covered and the additional insurance does not cost much more. Potential income from the conference is on the order of $30,000.
The financials for August are looking reasonably good, especially when compared to December from last year when we were $11k in the hole. We are doing better in part due to getting responsible paying renters. Last year the center postponed rent for a renter to help them get through a personal issue, but as a result we received very little in rent from them. That situation has since been corrected. So this is quite a turnaround since December of last year.
Since there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at around 4:15 pm.
Minutes submitted by John McGarey, Secretary, August 21, 2016.