Board of Directors

Regular Meeting -- November 16, 2008

The Board of Directors held its regular monthly meeting at 2007 Bert Avenue, Austin, TX 78704, starting at 1:30pm. The following directors (constituting a quorum of the full board) were present at the meeting: President Kathy Lee, Vice President and Secretary Leslie Harvey, and Treasurer Pam Chambers. Robert Gardner was absent. Robert McGarey (Executive Director) was 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 not available at this time.

President's Report

Power/Lighting Opportunity. Kathy learned of an opportunity through Austin Energy where they will do a free evaluation of the wiring/lighting situation at the Center and offer to cover 80% of the cost to upgrade it. There are other rebate opportunities available as well. Bob recommended that Robert Gardner look into this further.

Business Financial Leadership Conference. On Dec 2nd there is a conference at the Austin Convention Center that includes Rudy Guliani, Colin Powell, Suzy Ormand, & others. Kathy has 15 tickets to give away and we need to get the word out.

GoodwheelChairs. More progress has been made - an inventory database has been created in excel. We now have the infrastructure we need - repairs & maintenance: Steve Dodd; space: downstairs garage apartment; security: lock on door; administration: Chris Grigassy & Kathy; advertising: banner up on warehouse. We had 1 sale last month, (1) $75 wheelchair. Larry has given the Center responsibility for the phone bill and will not pay for it anymore. We may want to consider moving that phone line to the new GoodwheelChairs space.

Treasurer's Report

Grant Writing Opportunity. Pam is investigating an opportunity to utilize a grant writing representative to apply for grants on our behalf. It would cost us ~$2600 to commission them, then if they get us $100K we will owe them an additional $3400. There are many different types of grants to apply for, but our focus would start in paying off the mortgage, improving the grounds, etc. Bob wants Robert to investigate the company (and others like it) by talking to the folks at the Hogg Library (they have special direct knowledge on the subject of grants) to see what they think. Bob is also concerned about how much of his time this may take to implement (one more task he doesn't have time for).

Vice President's Report

Shabby Chic. We had a work day last month and the office is now functional. Yay!

Executive Director's Report

Pam's Snacks. Pam did snacks for the assertiveness classes and they were a big hit. She even received a thank you card for them. It really enhanced the experience for the participants. Great job!

Volunteers. We have new volunteers to do financial data entry and the retail area. A retail inventory was done but it still needs to be entered into the computer.

Habibi's Hutch. The owner of Habibi's Hutch has asked if he can have his employees park at the Center. He's willing to pay for it, but cost has not been decided. The Board is interested, but wants to know how much he wants to pay before approving. There is enough room for 5 vehicles to park, so it is feasible. Bob asked Kathy to talk with Andrew to finalize the details.

Association for Humanistic Psychology. Bob was approached in Ashland to see if we wanted to co-sponsor conferences with them here in Austin. AHP is a national organization and they have had conferences that made a lot of money in the pastThey want us to submit proposals and see what is possible. Bob's current idea is a conference called 'The Magic of Virginia Satir: Healing Families, Groups and Nations." Bob may also have the opportunity to join their national board, and may go to the meeting in January if feasible. Bob just became a lifetime member.

Personal Growth Conference in San Marcos. Kathy is going to volunteer there and Bob is getting an email ready to go out to the full email list, as a way of cooperating with the conference sponsors and getting more exposure for the Center.

Garage Apartment. Chris Martin is still living in the garage apartment. He's currently scheduled to be moved out by the end of the month and still owes $1100. We're not sure about the status of the utilities, but need to check and see. We may have a replacement tentant lined up with Frieda who house-sat while Bob & Pam were away.

Combined Charities. The City of Austin has a workplace giving program where the employees donate via payroll deductions to United Way or other federations comprised of independent charities. We can only sign up with one federation, and Bob is researching which one with which to sign up. The 2 federations that seem to match up with us are Independent Charities of Texas (free) and Community Shares ($1000 one-time fee). The Board approved affiliating with one of those federations and authorized Bob to decide which is the better federation for us, and then take the necessary steps to sign up.

Financial Situation. Funding from Bingo appears to be steady and there are indications that it may stay steady for at least the short-term. We are still working on getting all the financials together to pursue re-financing the mortgage, and our credit is still holding up well.

Since there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at around 3 pm.

Minutes submitted by Leslie Harvey, Secretary, November 16, 2008.