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Minutes Of The WCPCA Board Meeting, November 7, 2011

Location: Home of Dorothy Soper

Attendees: Miriam Aiken, Keith Beyer, James Cloutier, Maggie Keenan, Felicia Kenney, Jack Meacham, Dale Morse, Dorothy Soper, Wayne Thompson

Guests: Lisa White, Peace Corps Recruiter from Seattle Office and Esther Chigumira, U of O student in Department of Geography, from Zimbabwe

Agenda Items

  1. Updates

    1. Newsletter. The November issue was large with good response from people who reported on their experiences at the 50th Peace Corps reunion in Washington, D.C. in September. Photos turned out well. Felicia commented that Keith sends her all the articles compiled and ready for insertion. She herself spent 4 – 6 hours formatting the issue.

    2. 50th tee shirts. James reported that tee shirt sales have netted $155 and that over 100 shirts have been sold. There are 4 left to sell.

    3. Correspondence. Dorothy sent a letter to Tricia Tate and Natalie Brinkman listing the projects that were funded from the Beryl Brinkman Memorial Fund. This letter is in compliance with a request from Tricia and Natalie that they be informed of the uses of the fund.

    4. Camp out 2012. Sam Greer will secure the campsite. The campsite is very popular so Sam had to reserve several contiguous spaces. He used his own credit card to secure the site. See attached email about campsite reservations.

    5. Kate Puzey legislation. Both the House and the Senate passed the Kate Puzey legislation and it now needs to be signed by the President.

    6. Membership. WCPCA has 140 members: 27 are first year members and 12 are students (these 39 members do not pay dues); 45 members pay $15 dues and there are 50 couples that pay $22 per couple. We have received $195 in dues rebates from the NPCA. We will receive about $1200 - $1300 in dues this year. Our goal has been to have our dues pay our “living expenses”.

  2. Treasurer’s Report. Dale distributed a detailed treasurer’s report. The checking account has a balance of $1,573.98; savings account a balance of $4,034.70.

  3. December Potluck. Maggie reported that the next potluck will be Sunday, December 4th at Dale and Leslie’s house. This will be the annual general meeting, with elections to the board. Each person who attends is asked to submit a digital image of themselves in their Peace Corps site and be prepared to tell a short story of their PC experience. Next year, Josette Green, new board member, will help Maggie with planning of the potlucks.

  4. 2012 International Calendar Sales. There were 48 calendars in Dorothy’s possession and several members of the board said they would take some for sale. Felicia made a motion that Miriam seconded, that we purchase a box of 50 more calendars so that we don’t run out and there will be enough for sale at the potluck. The board approved the motion.

  5. Draft annual report. Dorothy submitted a draft of the WCPCA 2011 annual report for review and comment. Having an official annual report on file with the NPCA is part of the requirement for keeping a 501 (3) (c) status with the IRS. Board members should submit their comments to Dorothy.

  6. NPCA Survey, “A Call to Peace”. Dorothy had asked board members to read at least the executive summary of the NPCA report of their survey of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, “A Call to Peace: Perspectives of Volunteers on the Peace Corps at 50”. Dorothy suggested that results of the survey might inform our planning and future steps for WCPCA. Two board members expressed reservations about the methodology. Insert in italics is a summary of a phone conversation Miriam had with a Peter D. Hart Associates staff member who was knowledgeable about the process.

    The sample was a convenience sample, not statistically drawn. RPCVs were actively sought to complete the survey through notices in newsletters, magazines, and NPCA membership list. There were 11,000 respondents, and she agreed that it was surprising, but she also commented that the NPCA was very active in recruiting respondents. The Peace Corps provided information for the weighting; data from the Peace Corps included gender breakdowns and region-of-service. The NPCA has total control of the data, and according to the Hart employee, the NPCA intends to access the data from time to time for other reports and citations. If we are interested in more detail about responses and weighting, we need to contact Kevin Quigley. We agreed that a public opinion survey does not have the same rigor as a scientific study, which would require more stringent sampling, weighting, and reporting. If you wish to ask other questions, you can contact Kevin Quigley at NPCA or Peter D. Hart Associates at (202) 234-5570 or info@hartresearch.com. MRA 11/09/11.

  7. Plan for December. The next board meeting will be Monday, December 5th. Newly elected board members will be asked to attend the December meeting to begin planning for 2012. Outgoing members are welcome to attend and offer suggestions about future activities. Jack commented that we should strive to get more non-board members involved in activities, for example, by strengthening the committee structure that we had in the past. For the most part, board members have carried the responsibilities for planning and carrying out activities.The meeting will also include budget planning for 2012. The updated membership directory will be distributed to members in January in PDF format. The membership directory is distributed only to members who have paid dues. We will also plan venues and dates for potluck dinners at least as far as midyear.

  8. January Board Meeting. The date for the January meeting will be set at the December meeting and we’ll try to set dates and place for other board meetings in 2012.

Respectfully Submitted,

Miriam Aiken, Secretary
11-12-11

Minutes by Felicia and Dorothy