Board Minutes 2022-05-25

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][alg_back_button][/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The meeting was called to order by President Beryl Cole at 1:01 PM. Those in attendance:

Beryl Cole, John Cole, Dennis Rice, Cindy Potter Taylor, Mark Jacobson, Mona Morris, Joel Sisitsky, Eric Sharenow, Ina Getzoff, Glenn Segal, Marilyn Lane, and  Judy Gelpey. Absent: Walter Rosenthal, Larry Schulman and Allan Huss.

Beryl opened the meeting with a request for a moment of silence to remember and pray for the victims and their families of the horrifying shotting yesterday in Uvalde, Texas.

Reading of the minutes from the 4/27/22 Board meeting were waived as the meeting concerned only the elections. Mona motioned for approval and all accepted.

There was no Treasurer’s Report

Committee Reports:

Nominating Dennis Rice reported that Larry Schulman will step in as Treasurer until 8/31/22 as Gail Ikler has resigned.

Membership Report VP Joel Sisitsky

#Family Life Memberships –               20

#Individual Life Memberships –          47

#Family Annual Memberships –          53

#Individual Annual Memberships –    125

Total:                                                  245

Special Interest VP Eric Sharenow regarding Policies & Procedures

Eric is working on the operating manual and is creating a different file, or sub-titles,  for each topic. He will email a rough draft to the Board members. He will be glad to take recommendations at any time and will continually update topics.

Reception – Glenn Segal  72 people attended the May 11^th meeting.

Publicity Marilyn Lane had nothing to report. She has the programs through December but is hoping we have a Program Chair to work on January thru May, 2023.

Scattered Seeds Allan Huss was absent due to Shiva. Mona brought up the fact that the amount of donation upon the death of a Board member, spouse or child of such was still $36 that was voted on 4 years ago and that the amount should be increased. Ina said that a sympathy card is always sent and $36 was still the amount that would be transferred from the Operating Account to the Reserved Account. Beryl said that a sympathy card was mailed.  Mona moved that the amount be raised to $72 for any Board member, spouse or child of such. Ina seconded. A discussion ensued – John asked what would happen if more than $72 was needed and Eric replied that we need to treat everyone the same when possible.

There was also discussion brought up by Mona whether the donation should go to the family of the deceased’s request or to an organization that does genealogical research. Joel felt that we should honor the person’s wishes.  Ina suggested donating to a large cancer center such as MD Anderson or Sloan-Kettering. Marilyn suggested MD Anderson. Dennis motioned to donate to the Pancreatic Center the family requested. Joel seconded and the vote passed with one abstaining. The vote also included raising the donation amount to $72.

Website/IT Update John Cole. He reported that he has modified the home page and added some events. But he is concerned that the home page is loading slowly and he will look into Host Gator and try to determine how to fix that problem. He also noted that the News & Events for the current issue profiled Joel Sisitsky.

Eric asked if we could seek more sources to assist and possibly shift the domain host provider. Mona asked if it is a bandwidth problem and John said no. Mona also brought up the fact that several of the Board members are receiving spam mail from a disabled Contact Us. John will look into that issue.

Old Business Beryl said that at the 4/27 Board meeting, it was suggested that a questionnaire be emailed to all members asking about their hobbies and professional expertise. Dennis moved that we proceed with this and Marilyn seconded. The only discussion was John reinforcing that this will be sent via email and not regular mail. The vote unanimously passed.

New Business Beryl announced that she would like to see more people on the Board. Eric suggested first giving new people a committee assignment or a special project so we can determine their strengths and skill set. John said that in Section 5, Article 5 of the by-laws, it states that the President can appoint Board members ad hoc for 1 year to lend assistance to a project but they cannot be appointed officers. Dennis remarked that we need to move forward with new leadership and he would like Barbara Nowak to work on the library issue. Beryl said that we need the following chairs: Librarian, Treasurer, Program and Sunshine. Suggested new Board members are Arnie Mullen, Barbara Nowak, Gail Ikler and Andy Wakshul.

Mona suggested that the  Nominating Committee who worked so diligently should be offered other positions.

Library Cindy and Beryl will be visiting Shaarei Shalom where our library is currently located. However, it looks like we will have to find a new location. Judy suggested more mid-county so people from West Palm and north wouldn’t have to drive so far.

Future Meetings Beryl is hoping that in September, meetings can be in-person as well as Zoom

John would like to expand the Website Committee and would like Walter Rosenthal, Mark Jacobson, Cindy Potter Taylor and Mona Morris to get involved. They are also looking for a Website Graphic Designer. He asked if Tuesdays at 10:30 were still good for standing workshops. John explained that these workshops focus on one goal and purpose and should not become Board meetings. He also explained that there are no motions or business to be acted upon in these workshops. They are to focus on committee work.

There was a recommendation to elect Barbara Nowak for the Board immediately. Beryl made the motion and Dennis seconded. Passed unanimously.

Mona made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 2:03 PM and Eric seconded. The next Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 22nd.

Respectfully submitted,

Judy Gelpey, Secretary, JGSPBC[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]