Board Members present:  Satsie Veith, Claire Greene, Marcia Moore,

Janet Rechtman, Toni Reid, Corky LeTellier, Nicole Drummond, Jennie Blevins, Sandy Shand

Absent: Carol Holzgrafe, Lisa Cooperman

Guest: Sandra Flake

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:31 p.m.

Update on 501c3 Transition:    Sandra Flake discussed an issue that has arisen regarding Per Member Payments to LWVC and LWVUS, which are both not 501c3 organizations.  According to IRS agent Harold Fodor, who reviewed our application, if we become a 501c3 organization we can no longer make payments to 501c4 organizations.  Sandra (having been appointed to act on the Board’s behalf even though she is no longer on the board)  was able to reach an understanding (with the assistance of Tom Carson who has helped us as well as other LWV chapters through this process) with Fodor, that if we complete final payments to 501c4s before we are granted 501c3 status, and if the board resolves to make no further payments to 501c4s, we should  be able proceed with the final review of our application (Form 1023) for recognition of 501c3 status.    The Board unanimously approved the resolution, which also included an explanation about how the process of future billing and receiving dues will be turned over to the LWVUS effective February 1, 2025. Treasurer Shand will immediately send the early PMP payments to LWVC and LWVUS with an explanation for the early payment of these fees that normally would be due in 2025.  Then, Presidents Veith and Rechtman will sign and send to Mr. Fodor the board resolution and explanation of early payment of PMPs.  The hope is that this will satisfy all IRS objections.  Sandra also says that Tom Carson has verified in writing that the dues we are currently collecting for renewals will not be subject to future PMPs. This should resolve Mr. Fodor’s objection because the process of paying PMPs will no longer be in effect after the transition to the new membership fee structure.    Sandra Flake was thanked profusely for her outstanding effort in this ongoing process.

Minutes were approved as read.

Reflections on Voter Service Activities:  Toni Reid and Claire Greene gave reports.  Both indicated that the League had good visibility in many of the areas we served.  Toni felt that with attendance still being fairly low, a high priority to work toward in future election seasons would be live feed for the forums.  Starting to work on that early and possibly engaging more League members who have contacts or talents in that area would be important.  Claire also feels that the League should video future forums so that we can inform others who are trying to privately video that only official League videos should be made or used.    Claire also mentioned that she is planning a presentation on how candidate forums are planned. 

Holiday Party:  We chose December 11 at the League office from 3-6 p.m. for our holiday gathering/potluck.  Sandy Shand will contact the Audubon staff to make sure they don’t have anything planned for that time that might conflict.  She will notify the Board by email

Dues Collection:  Marcia Moore reported that she is planning to send another email reminder immediately after Thanksgiving, to be followed a week or two later with telephone calls to the remaining current members who have not yet renewed.  This timing seemed to meet with board approval. 

Board Member/Committee Reports: 

               Social Policy:  Nicole Drummond discussed the work the social policy committee is planning in the area of protecting women’s health, criminal justice, housing, and vulnerable populations.  An event is being planned for late February or early March.

               Membership:  Marcia Moore alerted the board that we will have a fairly sizable task helping the membership understand the transition to membership fees which are still somewhat in the planning stage.  It is likely that there will need to be group gatherings as well as one-on-on assistance for many people in our league who will probably have many questions. 

Planning for Future-Retreat:  The board agreed that an off-site retreat in early January would be ideal.  Janet Rechtman has already done some planning and will look into a site and a date and communicate that to us.  Discussion was held but no decision reached as to whether it should be open only to board members, to board members and possibly nominees for next term, or the entire league.  She also is working on a fund-raising letter to be sent out after Thanksgiving. 

Nominating Committee Appointments:  Satsie Veith reminded us  that we need two board members on the nominating committee.  Nicole Drummond volunteered to join Debra Barger and Patty Haley who have already volunteered.  We need one more board member for the committee.  Claire Greene is considering it.

Without further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7 p.m.

Submitted by Marcia Moore