2023 Annual Business Meeting Minutes                                              

5:30 PM, Monday, May 22, 2023                                                               

 Chico 1st Baptist Church, 850 Palmetto Avenue

Minutes Submitted by: Mahalley Allen

Call to Order and Welcome

President Satsie Veith called the 2023 Annual Meeting to order at 6:05 pm and welcomed and thanked members. Janet Rechtman thanked members who represented LWVBC at the 2023 California League of Women Voters Convention and asked members at each table to introduce themselves and why they are league members. Janet asked members to sign into the attendance sheet.

Keaton Denlay, Butte County Clerk Recorder, discussed local elections and encouraged LWVBC to continue to work to get people registered to vote and to inform voters of the resources available. 

Jane Wanderer, the Voters Edge coordinator for Butte County, shared information about the Voters Edge project and asked for someone from LWVBC to take over the position.

Appointment of Parliamentarian and Credentials/Quorum Report

Joe Crotts was appointed as Parliamentarian for the meeting and confirmed a quorum of membership (15% of the membership) was present at the meeting, allowing business to take place.

Review and Approval of May 2022 Annual Meeting Minutes

The minutes from the May 2022 annual meeting and the November 14, 2022, special member meeting were approved with no revisions.

President’s Report

President Satsie Veith presented her report to LWVBC. Please see the Appendix for the President’s Report.

Review and Approval of the 2023-2024 Budget

Maureen Kirk presented the proposed 2023-2024 budget. Please see the Appendix for the budget report. Sandra Flake informed league members that LWVBC is doing well financially and has sufficient reserves to feel safe about the future.

Motion to Adopt 2023-2024 Budget:

The proposed budget comes from the committee. League members unanimously voted to approve the budget.

Review of Nonpartisan Policy

League members reviewed the LWVBC Nonpartisan Policy. There were no changes to the policy. Please see the Appendix for a copy of the Nonpartisan Policy.

Review/Approval of Revised Bylaws & Articles of Incorporation

Sandra Flake shared proposed revisions to the LWVBC Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation. The proposed revisions focused on converting LWVBC from a 501(c)(4) to a 501(c)(3) organization and allowing more than one person to serve as LWVBC President. Sandra discussed the advantages of moving to a 501(c)(3) organization, including tax deductible donations and flexibility in how to use funds, among other advantages. The LWVBC will continue to be able to advocate for positions as it currently does. Please see the Appendix for the proposed revisions to the Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation. Thank you to Sandra for her hard work on the revisions to the bylaws and articles.

Motion:

The proposed revisions to the Bylaws and Articles come from the committee. League members unanimously voted to approve the revision to the Bylaws and Articles.

Program and Committee Reports

Satsie introduced current board members and thanked them for their work over the past year. Thank you to board members for submitting comprehensive reports and for their efforts on behalf of LWVBC. Please see the Appendix for program and committee reports.

Caroline Aldrich-Langen added that the Observer Corps always needs new people to join the group. She thanked current members of the Observer Corps.

Election of 2023-2025 Officers and Directors

2022-2023 Nominating Committee

Thank you to the members of the 2022-2023 Nominations Committee:

Nominating Committee Chairs: Carol Burr & Linda MacMichael

Members: Claire Greene, Linda Lunsford

2023-2025 Officers and Directors

Linda MacMichael and Carol Burr introduced nominees for 2023-2025 Officers and Directors.

Nominations from the Floor

Satsie asked for nominations from the floor for open positions. Debra Barger nominated and Janet Rechtman seconded a nomination for Caroline Aldrich-Langen for Director Observer Corps.

The open positions seeking nominees are:

Director Government

Director Observer Corps

Director Communications

Director Voter Registration

Director County-Wide Liaison

Director Assistant Voter Services

Voting:

By voice vote, league members elected Satsie Veith and Janet Rechtman as Co-Presidents, Claire Greene as 1st Vice President, Carol Holzgrafe as Secretary, Toni Reid as Director Natural Resources, Becky Cox-White as Director Social Policy, and Caroline Aldrich-Langer as Director Observer Corps.

2023-2024 Nominating Committee

The nominees for the 2023-2024 Nominations Committee are: Kathy Kaiser and Maureen Kirk as co-chairs. There is also one open position on the Nominating Committee. The board will appoint two more members to the Nominating Committee.

Voting:

By voice vote, league members elected Kathy Kaiser and Maureen Kirk as co-chairs to the Nominating Committee.

Nominations for 2023-2025 are in Bold and Underlined.

Proposed Nominating Committee 2023-2024:

Chairs:  Kathleen Kaiser, Maureen Kirk

Members: 1 non-board position open (2 board members will be appointed later)

Adoption of Program 2023-2024

At the February 11, 2023, member meeting, the Board consulted with members and reviewed results of an email survey to determine member priorities for the coming year. The Board will give program committees room to address interlocking issues in creative ways.

Voting:

League members unanimously voted to adopt the following program for 2023-2024.

1. Social Policy: Housing /Homelessness, Healthcare, Criminal Justice
2. Government: Election Integrity, Combatting Misinformation, Encouraging Voter Participation, Nonpartisan Redistricting
3. Natural Resources: Acting on Issues of Climate Change and Growth in Butte County

Member Advisements to the President and Board

It was inquired how the government work will be handled without a director and suggested a government committee. Members interested in working on the 2023-2024 program are invited to stay after the meeting to discuss further. Members discussed election events in Shasta County.

Adjourn

The annual meeting adjourned at 7:06 pm.