MeetingMinutes:2006-12

OutWorlders, Inc.

December 2006

The regular business meeting of OutWorlders was held on Sunday, 17 December 2006, at 2:00 p.m. at Atlanta Diner. Wm S. Boozer, Dan Benge, Bruce Berryhill, Russell Broomfield, Ed Degruy, Kris Harter, Robert Marshall, Kris Roehling, Shelby Smith, Patrick and Michael were present.

Old Business

• Elections

  We held elections for the 2007 officers. Only sponsoring members are allowed to vote in elections, and Elections Coordinator Kris Roehling collected votes (both via email and in-person votes from the meeting). Kris and Robert Marshall tallied the votes.

  The first count of the votes resulted in an even tie for President. The official counters, Robert and Kris, returned to the group asking for advice. At that time, Wm withdrew his vote, before the official results were announced, breaking the tie.

 Congratulations to everyone for “running a good race.” Kris said at the meeting that it is clear that both Ed and Wm are valued by many folks in OutWorlders and we are lucky to have more than one good leader to choose from. It’s a good problem for a group to have.

  

Here are your Officers for 2007:


  President	Ed DeGruy
  Vice-President	Dan Benge
  Treasurer	Jeff Smith
  Secretary	Shelby Smith

  Congratulations to the winners! Also, thank you to Kris for running a smooth election.

• Pending Proposal

  It was proposed in November that OutWorlders Inc. authorize $50 for the purpose of co-hosting a room party at the 2007 Chattacon on January 26-28, 2007. Monies not to be used for alcoholic beverages.

  The proposal passed unanimously.

New Business

Discussion: Proposed Budget
Last month, Jeff, the treasurer, submitted a proposed budget. There was discussion during the meeting about changing the budget to reflect our goal to increase membership by 10 members, bringing the total from 25 expected members to 35 expected members. No final decision was made at this time.

Discussion: Funds for Special Events
There was also discussion about utilizing some of the group’s funds for regular events, like game night and Dr. Who night, to pay for refreshments. The discussion resulted in the option to designate $200 for the Event’s Coordinator to use in a discretionary fund. This was not officially proposed at this time.

Discussion: Posting Minutes
There was discussion about how minutes are posted to the different list-serves. At present, they are posted four times to each of the groups four list-serves. Shelby expressed that this is a hassle. Bruce suggested that the minutes be posted to the Outworlders’ website. The idea was tabled until the new internet coordinator is in place for 2007.

Discussion: Lollipops with images
Bruce brought lollipops with various images on them to present as a possible marketing tool for Outworlders. This was tabled for when the new Public Relations Coordinator is in place.

Officer Reports 


Treasurer’s Report—No Report

Event Coordinator’s Report

The Holiday Party at Kris Roehling’s house was a big success. Thanks to Kris for holding it.

A New Year’s party is scheduled for December 31st at Jeff, Alan and Patrick’s house.

Special Interest Groups Reports

OutWorld Writers

The writers’ group is not meeting in December. Our next meeting is scheduled for 28 January 2007.

OutWorld Readers

The readers’ group read Ard Magister, by Laura Underwood, for our December meeting. We found it disappointing. For our January meeting, we are reading The Merro Tree by Katie Waitman.

Gaylactic Outpost Atlanta

The Outpost continues to prepare for the room party and other activities at Chattacon. Authors Jim Grimsley and David Gerrold have agreed to come to Gaylaxicon 2007 next October. The Gaylaxicon 2007 Organizing Committee will be sending out its first progress report at the beginning of next week. The salient news is that the hotel which was to host the convention will no longer be able to do so. Consequently, we are checking out two different downtown hotels on 19 December 2007. The membership fee for the convention is still $40; however, that amount increases to $50 on 01 January 2007.

The meeting adjourned at 3 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by Shelby Smith, Secretary
[Redacted]