Monthly Meeting Minutes

April 11, 2007
President Marianne Mussett called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm in the Terrace Room of the Conference Center of the Toledo Botanical Garden.

Secretary Annette Hill advised that minutes are available for review from the March meeting and the April board meeting.

Treasurer Karlyn Thompson informed members that our bank account balances are: savings $2045.16, checking $1410.39, and $2000 in our new CED. The signature cards on all accounts have now been updated for the appropriate current officers.

Membership Chairman, Donna Mohn reported that we sent our checks to the EGA national office and to the regional treasurer for members’ dues. Anyone who was shown as not paid during this past renewal period will not be penalized due to errors at the national office. They are hiring new staff at the national office and having a few problems during the transition. Karlyn will join the membership committee, and checks will go directly to her. Su will also be a member to maintain the roster.

There was no report from the Education Committee, or the Librarian.

The Board announced that they approved the past expense of mailing needlework kits to the Brooks-City Air Force Base medical center. Chairman, Donna Cairns has no kits on hand right now. This would be a good time to stop sending them, if we decide to discontinue this outreach program. Members would rather look through their stashes for potential donations and table the issue for now.

Anna Kerlin, our representative for the Resident’s Organization Council for TBG, reported that the sit and stitch at the 1st Sunday event for May will earn us points toward our rent discount. Please bring finished items as well as works in progress to display and demonstrate for the public from 1 to 4 pm. Sign up with Anna. She has information from TBG Volunteer Coordinator, Cindy de Saint Victor, that there is an opportunity to help at the Garden with clean-up on Saturday, April 21. On Mondays, there are opportunities for those who are willing to dig in the dirt to help with gardening. Please call her at least 5 working days in advance if you want to work on a Monday. We will forward TBG emails to members on our email list because the information is quite frequently given on short notice. The annual Plant Sale will be held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, May 10-13 with cleanup on the following Monday.

GLR representative, Caren Scarbrough reported that the traveling teacher for this year is Jonalyn Guttwein. She will be teaching in many locations in Ohio and Indiana, but we are too late to sign up. In 2008 the teacher will be Debra Forney of Connecticut. Caren will attend the regional meeting on our behalf on April 28.

Show Chairman, Diane Myers, reported that an agreement has been signed with The Toledo Lucas County Public Library for use of the Sanger branch for our annual show in September. A Contract has been sent to our prospective judge, Donna Halpin, but it has not been returned yet. We have cancelled our reservation for the use of the TBG conference center. We have added our show dates to the TBG calendar online. Diane requested a volunteer for the assistant show chairman position, but there was no volunteer. This year, several members volunteered to work on publicity for the show. Caren Scarbrough will be teaching a program next month on making silk felt. She advises that she has most of the materials gathered and the kit will cost about $8.00. She has room for 30 members to participate.

Program Chairman, Kay Griffith, now has a signed contract from our teacher for the October workshop. By August she needs a final count of participants, and Kay needs a $50 deposit from each of them by August. In August we will determine what the balance due will be. The workshop will he held October 20 and 21, a Saturday and Sunday, here at the TBG conference center. Participants will need 2 pairs of 17 inch stretcher bars.

Newsletter Chairman, Su Pellitieri announced that the deadline is April 25 for our next newsletter.

Marianne advised the members that we have received and discussed nominations for the Golden Thread Award. They are Donna Mohn, Kay Griffith and Caren Scarbrough. The membership decided that we will nominate Kay Griffith for the award. Nancy Wright will work on the nomination documentation.

Marianne announced that in our endeavor to control our spending, we have established a Budget committee, on which Marianne, Maria and Karlyn will serve. It is noted that we have 60 members, whose dues generate about $600 income per year. One of our largest expenses is the postage for our newsletter. Members discussed several options, including charging everyone for the cost of mailing the newsletter. Another option to consider is to utilize a combination mail and internet delivery for the information that members need. Two members discussed a subscription option for the newsletter, with the member paying for the extra cost of paper and postage above the online cost of maintaining a blog or website as the primary source of information. Marianne is developing a prototype blog at nagt1.blogspot.com. She asked members to check it out so that we can discuss it further in coming months. Next month we will vote on amending our standing rules to allow us to include minutes in the blog, or on our website, or newsletter.

Ruth Ann Shull, a resident of Toledo, donated stitching supplies, patterns, and materials. Marianne will bring them to the meeting next month. Several members asked about organizing a shop hop. Su is interested in at least compiling a list of shops. Bridget says that shop owners might be willing to be open on Sunday, or extended hours on Saturday to accommodate us. Regarding Stitch-ins, Katherine Thompson has agreed to be the contact person concerning the location for our evening gatherings on the third and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Marianne reminded members to consider attending the national EGA seminar in Chicago, September 2-7. Marianne asked members for any information they could offer about our member, Carol Ann Woidtke. A local writer is seeking information about Carol’s Jacobean embroidery. Donna Mohn will provide what information she can.

The business meeting was adjourned, and Bridget taught a program on “beadpoint.” The next meeting is scheduled for May 9, 2007 at 6:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Annette Meyer Hill