By Jessica O’Brien
I’m writing this month’s report in Dulles Airport, DC, awaiting my later flight to Paris for a month’s walk in France. Our last 2018-2019 Board meeting was last night, and it was a long one due to several discussion items and the election of new Board positions. Here’s a synopsis.
First of all, the new 2019-20 Board positions:
President – Jessica O’Brien
Vice President – Doug Hansen
Secretary Susan – Fournier
Personnel Chair – Bruce Thomas
Finance/Annual Giving Chair – Ben Puckett
Next, Board members on Committees:
Comm of Right Relations – Rachel Delbos
Personnel Comm – Katrina Landon
Finance Comm – Susan Fournier
Safety Comm – Fred Gilbertson
Fundraising Comm – Katrina Landon
ByLaws Comm – Jessica O’Brien
Leadership Comm – Rachel Delbos
You may notice that the former Vice President/Personnel Chair position has been divided into two positions, which can be combined or not, depending on what the Board finds most effective. This requires a bylaw change which will be brought to the congregation for a vote at our June 2nd Congregational Meeting. It has been difficult at times to find a Board member with the necessary experience to chair the Personnel Committee as well as the willingness to serve as Vice President. Establishing two possible positions eases that complication.
We approved UUA General Assembly (Spokane, WA) offsite delegates Katrina Landon, Les Solomon and Bruce Thomas. We still have two delegate spots available. Please consider attending off-site, in your own home or out on the deck. All registration fees are paid for our 5 delegates, so there will be no cost for you to attend the great workshops and vote on UUA initiatives. Contact Les Solomon or the office right away, as the registration deadline is May 1.
Leadership School at SUULI takes place next October in Wertz, VA, near Roanoke. Our two attendees will be Pat Russo and Kerry Mellette. This is an amazing leadership opportunity, and if you would be interested in the future, please speak with Linda Lane-Hamilton, Leadership Committee chair.
With the 2-Services Task Force in attendance last night, Rev. Laura presented the Task Force’s findings from their survey and from observing other local congregations. Be sure to attend the Café Conversation in early May to hear their report and exciting recommendations.
We also heard from Joe Cross, our Facilities Manager, about the use of our space for meetings and events. Believe it or not, our space is filling up and space for inside and outside groups to meet looks to be even scarcer in the future. The Board discussed setting up a committee to assess space usage and rentals in order to develop policies that are fair, easy to understand and easy to apply. Stay tuned: some new meeting spaces may be made available in the meantime to mitigate our crowding. In addition, a group has been formed to negotiate a new lease with the Church of God, which rents our space on Saturdays. Their present lease ends soon.
In closing, help me again welcome our new Board members, Doug Hansen, Bruce Thomas, Stacy Bolling and Fred Gilbertson. I encourage you to thank them for stepping up. And when you see Les Solomon, Nan Hart, Franz Gross and Ariel BenYishay, our retiring members, please thank them as well for their yeoman’s service on the Board.
In transit, Jessica O’Brien