MeetingMinutes:2010-02

OutWorlders, Inc.

February 2009

The regular business meeting of OutWorlders was held on Sunday, February 21, 2010, at 11:35 am at Atlanta Diner. Michael Green, Jeff Smith, Wm Boozer, Ken Fernandez, Scott Bobo, Robert Marshall, Vandy Beth Glenn, Kris Roehling, and LizBeth Dison (by speakerphone) were present. Vice-President Green called the meeting to order.

Officer Reports

President’s Report

Not present.

Vice President’s Report

To date, ten sponsoring members have paid up for 2010. This is down from an average of 20. We want to call a meeting to discuss the future of the group with Lizbeth; she will remind people on our Twitter feed and Facebook group to re-up their dues, and we will follow-up with last year’s sponsoring members about paying up again this year.

If they decide not to renew, we must find out why. There are 732 members on the Announcements Yahoo! Group, and 266 on the Discussion Group.

Secretary’s Report

No report.

Treasurer’s Report

We have $3,885.15.

Events Coordinator’s Report

Dan Benge has resigned due to time constraints, so this position is vacant again.

Public Relations Coordinator’s Report

Outworlders has a Twitter feed now.

Internet Coordinator’s Report

There was a weird spike in hits for Valentine’s Day. The Calendar page and Dr Who page were the principal beneficiaries. Many searches also come from Google; the search term “Atlanta gay sci fi” is a major source.

We have a Facebook group. Robert will link the Outworlders page to it.

The business address of the group needs to be updated on the site.

Historian’s Report

We have more history all the time, and the digital picture frame/slideshow will be brought to upcoming conventions.

Special Interest Groups Reports

Readers Group

Did not meet, and will not meet in March, April, or May.

Writers Group

No report.

Gaming

Strategy gaming was canceled due to lack of interest. This has happened often in recent months, and we may need to rethink the whole event. Ken will post about the problem to the Yahoo! Groups.

Old Business

Our banking information still needs to be updated, as does our signature card.

Our 10th anniversary is June 14th. The first Outworlders event in 2000 was an outing to see the first X-Men movie, so maybe a party which includes a screening of that film would be a good way to recognize the anniversary.

Do we still want to have spring and fall picnics? The spring picnic is usually a really good event. We need a coordinator. The group will supply the entrée, while everything else is potluck. This year’s spring picnic will be Sunday, April 18th.

Chris Kids will remain our charity for this year.

For movie outings, Edward DeGruy maintains a list of who is “hosting” which movie premieres.

A vote to allocate money for provisions for a “Lost” party failed. The vote was unanimous, except for one who voted “Present.”

We voted to allocate $140 to host a Charity Game Day event. By 4-2, the allocation was made.

New Business

The Gaylactic Network wants Atlanta Outworlders to host the 2011 Gaylaxicon. We will “host” the convention, but use Outlantacon as our “service provider. It will cost Outworlders nothing.

Michael Green has a draft of our bid letter. Our name is attached, but we have no obligations.

Information has come in from Atlanta Pride about “early bird” registrations. Wm will pay for it. There is a separate charge for the parade, but we don’t usually do the parade. We have already budgeted for the table.

Michael Green introduced an amendment to the bylaws. It will be uploaded to the Sponsors Yahoo! Group. This is the text:

Proposal to amend the By-Laws by replacing Section 5 with the following:

Section 5. Proposals and Voting.

Part A. Proposals

A proposal must be submitted for any action that will incur expenditures for the organization which is not already covered by the official operating budget. A proposal must be submitted for any changes to the official operation budget. Proposals may be submitted for any other business decisions as necessary.

All proposals must be submitted in writing to the presiding officer and the Secretary during official meetings.

Part B. Voting

Only sponsoring members of the organization may vote on organizational business.

A sponsoring member may assign his or her voting rights to another sponsoring member via proxy. All proxy assignments must be submitted in writing to the presiding officer at the start of a meeting. A proxy assignment must include the sponsoring member’s full name and email address and the full name of the sponsoring member to assign the proxy. All proxy assignments must be approved by an affirmative vote of a simple majority of the attending sponsoring members.

For a vote to be valid, a minimum of 10 sponsoring members or 25% of the sponsoring membership (whichever is fewer) must cast votes on the proposal. A proposal shall be adopted by an affirmative vote of a simple majority of voting members.

A sponsoring member who has declined an invitation to join the Sponsoring Members mailing list or who has unsubscribed himself or herself from the Sponsoring Members mailing list shall not be considered in determining the minimum number of votes needed for consideration or adoption of a proposal.

The meeting adjourned at 12:21 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by Vandy Beth Glenn, Secretary, Atlanta Outworlders.