DAKOTA ALANO SOCIETY, INC.
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
September 27, 2020
The Board Meeting opened with the Serenity Prayer at 5:04 pm. Introductions were made and the Twelve Traditions were read by John F.
Board members present: Jean D., Daren G., Pat B., John F., Jerry H., Martha D., and Noah D.
Board members absent: Paul T., Sarah C.
Incoming Board members present: Joe H.
Incoming Board members absent: Jim M., Gordy L.
Guests: Mark W.
Secretary's Report: Martha noted that the August Board Meeting minutes had been distributed via email and no necessary corrections had been noted. John motioned to approve the August minutes. Joe seconded and the motion passed.
Treasurer's Report: Jerry had emailed to the Board the May, June, July, and August financial documents for review. General discussion ensued about the documents. Jean noted that due to the pandemic and the trouble with Quickbooks the past several months, no meeting donation numbers are apparent in May/June/July, but all were deposited in August. Pat asked if all the bills are on autopay. Jerry said we are moving in that direction.
Daren asked if we still have liability insurance. Due to uncertainty, he will follow up.
Noah asked about the continuing problem of meetings donations being left as cash, which can lead to theft as well as extra work for the Treasurer. He asked about the feasibility of asking trusted servants/treasurers to make direct drops into the bank.
John noted that the Rosemount club group donations are handled in that manner. We would need to provide deposit tickets to groups.
Mark asked about using Venmo or PayPal as other ways for groups to easily submit their donations.
Noah suggested Venmo may not have the security coverage needed; perhaps could still be used but not linked to the main account.
Jerry suggested this might be a difficult time to add more change or requirements to trusted servants’ responsibilities.
Daren suggested we at least give them different deposit options, while still allowing donations to be left at the house.
Jerry noted that if groups want to leave cash, they can lock it inside the literature cabinet.
Visitor Questions and Concerns: None
Officer Elections:
The following Officer nominations were proposed and agreed upon:
President: Daren
Vice President: Noah (this position also serves as Literature & Medallions committee chair).
Treasurer: Jean
Secretary: Martha
The remaining Board members selected and confirmed the following assignments:
Facilities Maintenance: Pat
Publications: John
Supplies: Joe
House Security: Gordy
Assistant Treasurer: Jim
Advisory Board appointments
Mark W was present and indicated interest in serving another year on the Advisory Board.
Susan H was unable to be present due to illness, but had expressed interest in serving another year.
Lonnie L and Mike F had both indicated they are not seeking another year on the Advisory Board.
Outgoing President Jerry expressed interest in being elected to the Advisory Board.
Outgoing Treasurer Sarah had indicated to Martha that she is not seeking election to Advisory Board.
Unknown if outgoing Board Member Paul is interested in being considered.
The Board voted to approve, and did approve the following Advisory Board appointments:
Jerry, Mark, Susan.
Committee Reports:
Literature & Medallions: Daren reported he purchased As Bill Sees It Books. Pat said we need more hard cover Big Books. Daren will purchase.
Facilities Maintenance: Pat noted the basement is starting to smell again. Noah will gather some members and clean up the basement.
Jean asked if the heat has been turned on. Pat will check and will make necessary thermostat adjustments.
Noah mentioned the large tree branch overhanging sidewalk leading to back door. The Church will be contacted to ask about safety concerns related to branch.
Jerry reminded us to check the side door, as it has been left unlocked in the past.
Publications & Public Relations: John said he will resume publishing the newsletter in October. Jean suggested that the newsletter include notice that all groups should be continuing to gather meeting donations, per our 7th tradition, as some meetings had mistakenly believed donation collection was not occurring. John said he will make sign of reminder, put this in the newsletter, and can put notices in the individual groups’ cubbies.
Supplies: No report or needs mentioned. Joe mentioned he is comfortable paying for supplies and receiving reimbursement after the fact. It was noted that Paul has the Costco card still.
House Security: Noah reported that Jerry got keys made for the literature cabinet. Joe was given a door key. New Board members not in attendance tonight will need to obtain keys next month. Jerry noted that currently with the locksmith used by the Alano, he and Lonnie L. are authorized to have keys made. This will need to be transitioned to Daren and Gordy, as incoming President and Housing Security.
Old Business:
Ongoing effects of COVID-19; communication with trusted servants: discussion ensued about whether current posted information needs to be changed (at Annual Membership Meeting, one member had expressed confusion about mask mandate). After review, it was decided the current wording, posted on the Alano door, is clear and does not need to be redone. The State of MN has not changed the mandate since the notice was put up.
Pat mentioned that with the weather getting colder, individual meetings may have different needs once they move from meeting outside to inside.
Wells Fargo credit card: Jerry reported he had received the cards (one with his name on it as President, and one with Paul’s name on it as Supplies manager). He will give them to Jean for safekeeping, as neither will be used. Discussion ensued about whether they should at this time be updated to reflect incoming President and Supplies person, but decided no action needed now.
Church/rent obligations: Jerry reported that the Church waived the rent for the Alano from May through September. Jerry arranged with the Church for Alano to pay reduced rent of $500 from October through December. Discussion ensued about whether the Board feels comfortable with this arrangement. Daren made a motion to accept this arrangement . Jerry seconded the motion and the motion passed. The current full rent is $1,025, which will increase to $1,050 in January 2021.
Daren noted that we continue to have high level of reserve funds and suggested we have future discussion about this; do we want to continue to hold high reserve amount as a non-profit entity.
The meeting closed with the Lord's Prayer at 6:16 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha D