SDSA BOARD MINUTES
The meeting was called to
order at 7:00 PM by Lynne Armstrong.
Members present: Lynne Armstrong, Richard Moon, Travis
Peterson, Olga Hernandez,
Joe LaMonica, Bryan Gerard,
Jeanne Belaire, and Cris Ramirez.
Members absent: Roberto Flores and Ruth Dalrymple.
The minutes of the last Board
Meeting were approved as read by Cris Ramirez, secretary. Cris reported that Travis made a motion, via
e-mail, that “The Board of Directors of Stonewall Democrats/San Antonio goes on
record as supporting passage of ENDA, and will recommend that members do the
same, and will actively beseech national elected officials from Texas to do the
same.” The motion was seconded by
Roberto and passed. The SDSA Board also
approved, via e-mail, Lynne’s request to have Josephine Tittsworth as a speaker
at the July membership meeting which will be held on the 16th.
A treasurer’s report was
distributed indicating that the current balance is $1,045.23. Lynne addressed the concern expressed by some
members that a more detailed report on expenses be given to the membership.
The report given to the Board
will be presented to the members also. There
was some discussion about putting this information on the web site, since we
are a PAC and this is public information.
Bryan suggested that when the report is made, the membership should be
reminded that the more money we have the more influence we have.
Richard asked if SDSA was
doing the SOS bash this summer, Lynne indicated that we were not and instead we
were doing the Olga and Lynne Birthday Bash on May 26th, as a
fundraiser for SDSA. A minimum donation
of $25 is being requested of those attending.
Originally this was to be a fundraiser for Olga/National Stonewall, but
since Olga was able to raise some of the money required through a
mini-campaign, the proceeds of the Birthday Bash will now go to SDSA. Olga will be sending out an announcement this
week.
Richard reported that the
Endorsement Committee is scheduled to meet next week. He reported that in the past once an
endorsement has been made we have not changed our mind. Lourdes Galvan is in the run-off and she has
been endorsed by SDSA. An announcement
will be made at the next membership meeting requesting volunteers to work for
her. There was a question about which
committee will be responsible for recruiting volunteers and per the by-laws it
is the responsibility of the Voter Registration and Mobilization
Committee. The Endorsement Committee
will meet to discuss the run-off races and decide on any endorsements,
recommendations will be made to the Board.
Bryan suggested that Lourdes be invited to the next membership meeting
and Lynne said she would pass this on to the Program and Events Committee.
Bryan moved that Lynne,
Roberto, Bryan and Warren Kelly be approved as members of the Political
Relations Committee, Cris seconded and the motion passed. Bryan will follow up on some key points that
were discussed at their meeting.
Olga reported that the
membership is currently 151, however some of the quarter one renewals will not
be renewing. Olga will continue to
contact some of these members for whom she has gotten a new address. Based on her experience so far, Olga will be
sending an e-mail for renewals, follow up with a phone call and finally,
mailing an application. Olga discussed
reimbursement for paper, stamps, etc.
Cris suggested that the Budget/Finance/Fundraising Committee consider
allocating $50 to each committee for operating expenses. Jeanne will begin organizing this committee. Bryan indicated that the Political Relations
Committee will attempt to contact politicians and recruit them as members. Jeanne suggested including a return envelope
with membership applications. Olga gave
a brief description of a tier membership proposal submitted by James
Poindexter. This plan would include a
student level, a general level, couple/household level, a supporter level, a
sustainer level and a corporate level, with certain rewards being given for
higher levels. The San Diego club has a
modified tier level. SDSA has one of the
lowest membership fees. Lynne requested that Olga take this back to the
committee and that the committee rework it with the correct information and
then present it to the Board again.
Richard indicated that the dual membership discriminated against single
people and some of the board members agreed.
Joe reported that Voter
Registration and Mobilization met to do phone banking for Kat Swift. The question of committee members being SDSA
members came up. Since there is no
specific mention of this in the by-laws then non members can be SDSA committee
members.
Lynne reported for Program
and Events. She passed out a handout on
the banquet. The save the date
announcement should include Second Annual Awards Banquet. There was a lengthy discussion on the no
ticket proposal. Although no tickets
saves money, it is difficult to know who is coming and how many to expect. How are people going to get to this event, is
there a number to call, are checks to be mailed? A request was made to have a member of this
committee attend the next Board meeting.
How many people are we planning on and how many extra will they
accommodate? Lynne will pass these
questions and concerns on to the committee members. The committee is requesting nominations from
the membership for awards. A handout
with an explanation of the awards was passed out; there should be information
on who to return the form to. The SDSA Board
will make the final decision on awards.
Cris, Board Development
Committee, indicated that the only item she had was the vacancy on the SDSA
Board. Lynne indicated that she and
Roberto had not fully discussed this yet.
They will and will report to
the committee.
Bryan, from the
Communications Committee, reported that the committee will be following up on
using the list server.
Travis reported that the
Peace Officers Training has a curriculum and will have six hours to do the
training. They will be meeting on May 27th
to finalize presentations and will begin training cadets on June 21st.
Travis brought up a concern
that Dan had about members making motions from the floor at a membership
meeting. Dan submitted a change to the by-laws that would require motions to be
submitted to the SDSA Board prior to the membership meeting. This concern came
about as a result of a motion by Ted Switzer to impeach Alberto Gonzales. As a result of this motion SDSA incurred
expenses for certified letters sent to legislators. Travis felt that the members should have the
right to make motions from the floor, Richard agreed. Bryan noted that he was concerned about
motions being made that would cost SDSA money.
Suggestions for a speaker in
June were given, the new fire chief, Charles Hood, former city council woman,
Patty Radle. Olga suggested someone from
Texas Stonewall come and give a presentation on becoming a delegate to the
National Democratic Convention. Lynne
indicated that Shannon Bailey was scheduled to come in October. Since his presentation is about two hours
long, Jeanne suggested that the presentation not be given at a membership
meeting, but that it be offered to those wishing to become delegates at a
separate meeting.
General Claudia Kennedy will
be speaking here the morning of July 21st and attending the Bexar
County Women’s Dinner that evening. She
has some time between events to speak to SDSA; Lynne will give this information
to the Program and Events Committee. The
new member reception will be on July 14th.
Cris suggested that it was
not necessary to have committee reports from every committee at the membership
meeting. Those committees needing to
report something can get on the agenda prior to the meeting and the co-chairs
can ask if there are any committee reports.
Travis moved that members who
wish to present an item for a vote at the general membership meeting should
make every effort to present the item for consideration by the SDSA Board at
the meeting prior to the general membership meeting. Jeanne seconded. The board agreed that motions need to be
evaluated in terms of the scope, the mission and purpose of SDSA by Board
members as well as members, at general meetings. The co-chairs can table motions. The motion did not pass.
The meeting was adjourned at
8:40 PM by a motion from everyone and a second by everyone.
Respectfully submitted,
Cristina M. Ramirez,
Secretary