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Email Newsletter for December 2008Greetings from the West Cascade Peace Corps Association!
In this edition of our electronic newsletter, you'll find:
January 12: Board Meeting at Dorothy Soper's home.
January 16: Bimonthly Potluck to be held at 6pm at the home of Mike and Chris Helm, 1147 E. 26th Avenue, Eugene. Their phone number is 484-4626. Hannah Klausmann will present a program on her experience as a PCV in Mongolia.
January 23: Eugene International High School Pan-African Conference. WCPCA has been invited to set up a booth at the Eugene International
High School Pan-African Conference on January 23. We *think* this
will be held during the day at Wheeler Pavilion at the Lane County
Fairgrounds. Write to info@westcascadepca.org if you served in Africa
and want to help with our booth.
February 21: Regional RPCV Groups' Meeting. WCPCA will host the winter regional meeting of the Northwest RPCV groups in Eugene on Saturday, February 21st, from noon to about 3:00 pm at EWEB headquarters in the Community Room, 500 East 4th Avenue. If you can attend, contribute a potluck item, offer a place for
someone to stay, or want to suggest an agenda item, please email
James Cloutier at cloutierjames@yahoo.com or Rolly Thompson at
rolly@foxhollowfiber.com. (See additional information below.)
NEW BOARD: WCPCA has a new board that will serve from January
through December, 2009. The board would like to keep in touch with
the membership through the newsletter and the meetings or activities
that bring us together. Feel free to contact a board member if you
have questions, concerns, or want to take a more active role in the
organization. Contact information will be in the forthcoming
membership directory and is available now on our website at
http://www.westcascadepca.org.
Notices of all board meetings will be in the calendar on the website.
All members are welcome to attend.
2009 WCPCA board:
Officers:
- President: James Cloutier
- Vice President: Rolly Thompson
- Secretary: Dorothy Soper
- Treasurer: Jack Meacham
- Communications Coordinator: Felicia Kenney
At-large board members:
- Robert Dwan
- Maggie Keenan
- Michael Kresko
- Shannon Micheel
- Evangelina Sundgrenz
- Wayne Thompson
- Bob Watada
GOALS FOR 2009:
At its December meeting the board had a lengthy discussion of
priorities and goals for the coming year. A consensus emerged on
the following goals to guide WCPCA's work of learning, philanthropy
and service for 2009:
Goal #1: continue bimonthly potlucks with a program at each; work on
developing an alternative activity for the alternate months. Goal #2: award grants to the PC Partnership Projects of three to
five Oregon PCVs. Consider funding other humanitarian projects.
We didn't set the timing or amounts of the awards. The funding
will depend on our income. Goal #3: identify and carry out fundraising activities to earn money
to offer grants and also to add funds to the principal of Beryl's
Memorial Fund which is invested. The board expects to use proceeds
from this fund, but not the principal, to support grants.
Fundraising Ideas included sending out a fundraising letter to
potential donors, one socializing type of activity, continue selling
calendars and shirts. Goal #4: continue to volunteer in local service projects.
Board members have taken responsibility for much of the work toward
these goals in addition to their constitutional obligations. But
to realize the goals fully we'll need volunteers from the membership
at large. In some cases this would be for a one time only
activity; in other cases there are ongoing responsibilities. If
you can spare some time, you'll find good company and a good return
on your efforts. If you are interested please contact Dorothy
Soper at dorothysoper@comcast.net or Rolly Thompson at
rolly@foxhollowfiber.com. REGIONAL RPCV GROUPS' MEETING: Representatives from the Portland,
Seattle, Olympia, Spokane, Idaho, and Montana RPCV groups along with
WCPCA meet twice a year to find common ground in ideas, projects,
and even campsites. Usually about a dozen people take part.
WCPCA will host the winter regional meeting of these groups in
Eugene on Saturday, February 21st, from noon to about 3:00 pm at
EWEB headquarters in the Community Room, 500 East 4th Avenue.
A good turnout of WCPCA members would make this an especially
fruitful meeting. We plan to serve a potluck lunch. We also
would like to offer a place to stay to any guest who wants to spend
the night in Eugene.
If you can attend, contribute a potluck item, offer a place for
someone to stay, or want to suggest an agenda item, please email
James Cloutier at cloutierjames@yahoo.com or Rolly Thompson at
rolly@foxhollowfiber.com.
Thanks in advance for supporting this activity. DUES AND MEMBERSHIP: WCPCA dues ($15 for individuals, $22 for
couples, no charge for students or anyone in the first year after PC
service) are payable yearly. Renewals are due in the month that
you first joined. If you remember that it's time, go ahead and send
your check to WCPCA, PO Box 5462, Eugene, OR 97405 or renew online
http://www.westcascadepca.org through Paypal.
If you forget, that's okay, as you will receive a reminder from
WCPCA's secretary around the time that your payment is due. If you
have updates for your address, phone number, and/or e-mail let us
know as soon as possible. Look on the website for email addresses
for board members.
The board plans to publish a membership directory in the latter part
of January. Please join or renew, if necessary, by January 15th so
that you'll be included.
WCPCA now has 83 members. This includes 14 couples and 55
individuals. Six people pay no dues. We received about $1,300 in
dues in 2008 (some for two year memberships). We need about $1,000
for annual fixed expenses. The rest we can use for service. Help
us stay at the $1,000 mark or go beyond!! Be included in the
directory!! Be cool and join!! DONATIONS: Donations to WCPCA are now tax-deductible. WCPCA is a
tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code.
You're welcome to make donations to WCPCA, either along with your
dues payment or at another time, by sending a check to WCPCA, PO Box
5462, Eugene, OR 97405. You will receive a letter acknowledging
your donation for tax purposes.
If we cover our fixed expenses through dues, the board will use
donations for philanthropic work. EUGENE INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL PAN-AFRICAN CONFERENCE: WCPCA has been
invited to set up a booth at the Eugene International
High School Pan-African Conference on January 23. We *think* this
will be held during the day at Wheeler Pavilion at the Lane County
Fairgrounds. Write to info@westcascadepca.org if you served in Africa
and want to help with our booth. LORRAINE PARCE: A longtime WCPCA member, Lorraine died of age
related causes in late November in her home in the Porltand area.
She was a PCV in both Tunisia, 1983-86, and Jamaica, 1986-88, where
she worked in projects concerned with the education of the deaf.
When Lorraine made her home in Eugene after her PC service she
devoted considerable time and effort to WCPCA activities. She was
a friend to all in the organization. Those of us who knew her have
lost a friend and will remember her fondly.
The full text of the minutes is available on the website.
This was a joint meeting that included members of the outgoing and
incoming boards. Attending: James Cloutier, Evangelina Sundgrenz,
Maggie Keenan, Justin Overdevest, Jack Meacham, Mary Meacham, Wayne
Thompson, Rolly Thompson, Dorothy Soper
The board welcomed Maggie Keenan as a new board member at large. She
was elected by the board via email in early December.
Treasurer's report : Evangelina, the outgoing treasurer, gave the
final treasurer's report for 2008 which is summarized below.
Bank accounts and investments are the following:
OCCU: checking account: $2,864; savings account: $5.00
Edward Jones: money market account: $8,563; value of
bond: $16,800
Annual operating expenses in 2008: $900. The board's goal
to pay these expenses through membership dues was met in 2008.
WCPCA awarded two grants for a total of $1007 to Peace Corps
Partnership Projects. Fundraising consisted of selling calendars,
shirts, and cards and have yielded $1,750 to date. Donations were
$765. Total revenue was $3,100; total expenditures were $3,400.
Jack, the incoming treasurer, will draft a budget for 2009 to
present at the board's January meeting.
Note that since this meeting the board has voted via email to keep
all funds that have restricted use in one or more accounts that are
separate from unrestricted funds. The only restricted funds that
we now have are those designated for investment in the principal of
Beryl's Memorial Fund. In some cases the restriction was made by a
donor. In other cases the board restricted a given sum. This
decision will require the treasurer to transfer some of our funds to
a different account(s). Membership : Dorothy reported that WCPCA now has 83 members.
This includes 14 couples and 55 individuals of whom about a
half-dozen pay no dues. In November about a dozen people renewed
their membership and five new members joined.
In 2008 we received approximately $1,150 in dues. This figure will
probably drop somewhat in 2009 because some of those who paid in
early 2008 have a two year membership. Assuming the same number of
members, projected dues for 2009 are $663. Business card : Maggie suggested that board members have a
business card with WCPCA contact information to use to recruit new
members. The board agreed. Evangelina will work on this and
report back in January. January potluck : Rolly confirmed that our next potluck will be
on Friday, January 16th, 6:00 pm, at the home of Mike and Chris
Helm. Hannah Klausmann will present our program. She is a
recently returned PCV from Eugene. Her service was as a high school teacher
in Mongolia. Hannah received a grant for her project from WCPCA.
She'll describe her project and the area of Mongolia where she lived
and show photos. Calendar sales : Rolly reported that the sale of 200
international calendars is going well. WCPCA had a table at the
Holiday Market for its first weekend. Other sales have been
through local stores or individual WCPCA members. We expect to
sell all of the calendars. This is our primary fundraiser of 2008.
Expected revenue is about $1,900. Goals for 2009: The board had a lengthy discussion of
priorities and goals for the coming year. A consensus emerged on
the following goals to guide WCPCA's work of learning, philanthropy
and service for 2009:
Goal #1: continue bimonthly potlucks with a program at each; work on
developing an alternative activity for the alternate months. Goal #2: award grants to the PC Partnership Projects of three to
five Oregon PCVs. Consider funding other humanitarian projects.
We didn't set the timing or amounts of the awards. Goal #3: identify and carry out fundraising programs to earn funds
to offer grants and also to add funds to the principal of Beryl's
Memorial Fund which is invested and its proceeds are available for
grants. Fundraising Ideas included sending out a fundraising letter to
potential donors, one socializing type of activity, continue to sell
calendars and shirts. Goal #4: continue to volunteer in local service projects.
Allocating responsibilities to work on the above goals:
With these goals in mind, the board identified some specific
responsibilities to support them and began to identify those who
might accept the jobs. These responsibilities are in addition to
those specified in the bylaws.
- developing the e-newsletter further (Maggie)
- membership, membership directory (Dorothy)
- selecting projects to propose to the board for funding
- maintaining and developing the website and membership database (Felicia)
- overseeing fundraising
- coordinating our volunteer service on local projects
Further work to identify people on or off the board to accept these
responsibilities will be necessary. Volunteers are welcome! The next board meeting will be on Monday, January 12th, 7:00pm at
Dorothy Soper's home. All members are welcome to come and join our
WCPCA business meeting.
Minutes by Dorothy
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