Board of Directors

Regular Meeting -- January 15, 2006

The Board of Directors held its regular monthly meeting at 2007 Bert Avenue, Austin, TX 78704, starting at 1:15 pm. The following directors (constituting a quorum of the full board) were present at the meeting: President Pam Latham (Oceanna), Vice President Pam Chambers and Treasurer Kathy Lee. Robert McGarey (Executive Director) and Emmett Skiles were also present at the meeting.

Reading of Mission Statement and Approval of Minutes

The Mission Statement was read aloud at the beginning of the meeting. Minutes from the previous meeting were read aloud and approved.

Executive Director's Report

Diane Ladd. Bob and Pam met for dinner with thrice-Emmy-award-nominated actress Diane Ladd, who is a friend of Bob's mom, and they had a great time together. Diane is willing to donate some scripts, etc., to a celebrity auction for the Center, and in general is passionately involved in changing the medical model in the US.

Events Planning Committee. We are currently planning a Spring conference in May featuring Bob's mom, a Fall conference in October focused on peace, and a 2007 Wellness conference.

Member Activities. Bob noted that as a result of our emphasis on national speakers and on advertising our workshops and classes, our member services seem to be taking a back seat. However, he thinks that's OK for now, since becoming more visible in Austin will attract more people who are passionately interested in what membership is all about: building emotionally-healthy community.

IRS Form 8734. The form on which we submit our application for permanent approval of our nonprofit status is due at the end of March. Bob hopes to have it completed by the end of January.

Finances. We apparently just broke even in 2005, though we had budgeted a $35K surplus. We had a $2.3K loss from bingo this month, which was unexpected. We earned $32K less this year than last year from bingo. JP is working on grants, but they usually take a year or so to materialize. Lia's year-end fundraising letter has brought in more than enough to cover the expenses for it, and has established us as a place to think of when people are planning where to place their year-end donations.

Steven Michael's fundraising efforts haven't yet produced any income. We're near our limit on our $10K line of credit, and we hope that our $10K CD will be released so that we can pay down the credit line and our other loan for $2.5K. Our bingo leasing company has proposed a change in our lease that seems very disadvantageous, and Bob is looking into it. On the up side, we are now receiving rent again from the Archives for the Garage, $400 in December and $600 starting in January. So overall, Bob announced that we may need to get very creative with raising money next month if our bingo receipts are down again.

Encouraging Items. JP is poised to work on getting volunteer assistance for the Center, and Bob says he really needs some help with secretarial and/or bookkeeping duties. Pam and Bob cleaned up the Massage Room, and it looks great! Pam has been helping with bill paying and has helped us not miss any deadlines on the bills. Finally, Bob has noticed something shifting in him during the last couple of months that has made it much easier for him to network and attend parties and other gatherings. He thinks this will make it much easier for people to find out about the Center, and result in some substantial benefits for the Center.

Since there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:25 pm.