2003 Annual Meeting

Date: September 7, 2003

Present:         
Board: Carol Davidson, John Chaffee, Sheila Kaminsky, Fred Schoeps, Simon Delekta, Cathy Perkins, Wendy Swanson

Directors: Doug Wilson, Felicity Pickett

Director Emerita: Prue Berry
Staff: Nuna Bosler, Maria Maroney
Members/Visitors: Sam Cherubin, Mary Zoll, Joseph Ricotta, Carol Scheier, Bob Scheier, Jonathan Drummey, Bruce Robbins, Rickie Peterson, Mark Taylor, Alice Goldfarb, Ellen Blanchette, Star Christie, Judy Friedman
Absent: Anna Westley, Peter Hogan, Rachel Benson

Carol called the meeting to order at 2:40 pm with introductions.

Minutes

Motion (Sheila): to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as written. Motion  seconded by Rickie and approved.

Executive Director’s Report

Things at Rowe are in quite good shape, but are not so good in the outside world. Camps are going well—we have a group of strong directors. Transitions to new camp directors have gone well. There have been some legitimate complaints about moldy tents and old vans, and these are fixable. The town was upset when approx. 6 Men’s Wisdom Council campers went swimming in Pelham Lake. Doug realizes that we really need our own swimming hole, which will probably be in the ballfield. Hopefully, the WomenCircles community will be agreeable about it. The conference center is going well—people are signing up for programs. We changed printers for the latest catalog, and this went well, except for the fact that the Thanksgiving dates are wrong. The board is filled with good people; Prue is charming; Felicity takes good care of the place; we have a good board president.

Director's Report

Although there were some tough issues to deal with, it was a great year in general. We’ve recovered from the financial challenges that we experienced last year (2001/2002) as a result of low enrollment after 9/11. We had strong enrollment all winter (2002/2003), followed by another drop in the spring just as our country was declaring war on Iraq. We  seem less vulnerable to the economy than we do to the state of the world. Due to the high enrollment over the winter, we ended the year on budget.

While Doug was away, Felicity held the space, which gave her a chance to be out front. Her usual role is more behind the scenes.  She feels she grew from the experience. She is grateful to the folks who helped out in Douglas’ absence:  Joan McElroy, who was responsible for the catalog, Rob Okun and Pam Steager, who each edited one of the Centerposts, and all of the volunteers who hosted weekends. She is happy to have Doug and Prue back again.

Felicity’s word for the year is involvement. She has been touched by the many people whose involvement keeps Rowe growing. Besides the folks who helped out while Doug and Prue were away, there has been a great deal of involvement by Work Week volunteers. We added a winter Work Week to our schedule this year and now have three weeks a year when a crew of volunteers come and help us care for this place. The progress on the completion of the dining room addition including finishing the trim work, completing the siding, installing doors, painting, and building shelves in the basement has happened due to the love and care of this wonderful Work Week community. 

Our fundraising efforts have really taken off due to people’s willingness to be involved. A group of former campers organized a fundraising appeal to honor Berna Derby and steve oden, two people who have had a strong influence on camp. The Derby/oden Fund is being used for restoration work on the Chapel. As part of that project, a former camper, Walter Packard, arranged for a donation from his family’s business. Chapman Waterproofing Company donated the services and all related expenses for a crew to come and restore all of the stonework on the Chapel. The value of the donation was over $75,000. 

Another group of campers and camp staff put on a benefit in NYC for the Woodside Diversity Fund. Not only was it a great time, it raised money as well. They hope to continue it as a yearly event. The benefit was one of a series of efforts to raise funds for the Woodside Program. The group also organized a holiday letter writing event and a phonathon.

The need for additional staff housing has been one of our top priorities. The Lehr farmhouse came up for sale (it is just across the road from our camp). So far, through the generosity of so many Rowe folks, we have raised $46,000 for a down-payment on a house. We made an offer on the house, but the town has put in a higher bid for it. This must be decided by a town vote. This issue is very crucial, since we now have two families living at Rowe as staff. This house would work so well for us due to its size and location. We are hoping that it will work and at the same time have begun to look at other possibilities as well.

Thanks to the involvement of Ann Evans and her cookbook committee, we now have a cookbook. It is very well done and has great recipes as well as lovely pictures of Rowe, wonderful stories, and lots of great quotes. It portrays the spirit of the place. They are now for sale.

The WomenCircles community is trying to raise money towards creating a room to honor women at Rowe. The room will be handicap accessible and will hold women’s art, books, and videos. The Iris Fund will sponsor art projects that will be used to raise funds for the “Women’s Room.” The first project is a documentary video, Mother Earth: Revisioning the Sacred, by Mary R. Hopkins.

The craziness of summer was made a bit easier this year. We’ve gotten two-way radios for staff and have two golf carts on loan that are being used by both staff and guests. We hope to raise the money to purchase the golf carts.
Felicity is very grateful to the many people who continue to support Rowe through their involvement, financially and in many other ways.

Budget (Nuna)
The new budget includes funds for staff housing and associated increased revenue from subsequently available private rooms (now being filled by staff); 1 ½ new staff positions; more realistic numbers for utilities. We are budgeting to bring in slightly more than we spend, There will be a $5.00 increase in program fees.

Motion (Simon): to approve the budget as presented. Seconded (Cathy). The motion passed.

Board Terms (Cathy)

The terms of office should be staggered to encourage continuity in the board, so that there is no large turnover at any given time. The proposed terms are as follows:

President           2002-2004
Vice President   2002-2004
Treasurer           2003-2005 (had been 2002-2004)
Clerk                  2003-2005 (had been 2002-2004)

Buildings & Grounds   2001-2004
Development                2000-2003
Human Resources        2000-2003
Public & Denominational
Outreach                       2002-2005 (had been 2000-2003)
Adult Programming      2002-2005 (had been 2001-2004)

Youth Programming            2001-2004
Youth Advisor            2001-2004

Motion (Cathy): to formally adopt the new staggered terms for officers and trustees. Seconded (John). Motion passed.

Slate for FY 2004 (Cathy)
President: Carol Davidson
Vice President: Cathy Perkins
Treasurer: Fred Schoeps
Clerk: Sam Cherubin

Buildings & Grounds: John Chaffee
Development: Simon Delekta
Human Resources: open position
Public & Denominational Outreach: Wendy Swanson
Adult Programming: Peter Hogan
Youth Programming: open position
Youth Advisor: Rachel Benson

Motion (Cathy): to nominate Fred (Treasurer), Sam (clerk), Peter (Adult Programming), and Wendy (Public & Denominational Outreach) for their new positions. Seconded (Bruce). Motion passed.

Summaries of Board Positions and Actions During the Past Year

President: Her goal is to work on development. Carol delegated strategic planning to Cathy. The board was streamlined from 17 members to 10. Carol maintains communication with Felicity, Doug, and Cathy on a regular schedule. She formed a committee for the swimming hole. The President is also on the nominating committee. Carol acted as an ambassador at CU2C2. She  will work towards more communication with trustees this year and more commitment for development from the board members.

Vice President: There is a fine slate of officers and trustees for the new year, and she’s begun to explore possibilities for the board slate in FY 2005. Cathy assisted the president and director in setting and staying the course through some formalized strategic planning. She defined a case statement with the director, which was presented at GA and worked on goals as well as establishing a vision. In the coming year, she will work on ways of improving the effectiveness of the board.

Clerk: The minutes were taken, transcribed, and distributed in a timely fashion. The annual meeting minutes, along with the case statement, were sent to all members. The bylaws have been maintained.

 Buildings and Grounds: John has not done as much on-site work as he expected, but his experience in construction is helpful. He has been in contact with UU churches in his area, and has left catalogs at the churches and at area hospitals.

Development: The case statement was put together by the director and vice president. Goals—board giving at 100%; an annual report on development; many resources can be explored, such as the Woodside Diversity Fund, staff housing funds, and chapel funds. Because of the work of Felicity, the amount of fundraised money has increased. Simon redistributed the Four Part Allegiance to Development for the board:

1a. Hosting or helping to host development events,
1b. When at Rowe during programs or meetings, connect with conferees, engage them in conversation, ask questions, and get to know them.
2. Annual gift: make a significant monetary gift towards the dining room or annual capital campaign.
3. Annual ask: decide on one person to call upon to invite to donate a monetary gift to the dining room or capital campaign.
4. Bring a friend: introduce someone as a new camper or conferee to Rowe.

Human Resources: Wendy did a board assessment during the retreat. There is a need for better orientation of board members (this will happen at the November retreat). At last winter’s retreat, there was an evaluation of portfolios; this is ongoing. While Doug was on sabbatical Felicity and the staff did a great job working on staff housing.

Public and Denominational Outreach: There has been good planning and piloting, but outreach is an ongoing thing. Fred obtained a database from the UUA (Rowe is in the Clara Barton District). There needs to be work on a marketing plan—Doug will do this. A part-time staff person is doing radio ads. Word of mouth must be encouraged.

Rickie Peterson spoke about his feelings concerning the new dining room, as well as about development.

Motion (Carol): to adjourn the annual meeting (at 4 pm). Seconded (John). Motion passed.

Respectfully submitted,

                Sheila Kaminsky
                     Clerk