SDSA Board Minutes

February 9, 2009

Co-chairs Roberto Flores and Lynne Armstrong called the meeting to order at 6:57 PM.

Members present: Bryan Gerard, Larry Stallings, Linda Allen, Lynne Armstrong, Roberto Flores, Mark Spencer, Peg MacPhail, Olga Hernandez, Cris Ramirez, Antonia Padilla and Jeanne Belaire

Members absent: Chris Forbrich

Guests: Diane Stallings and David Plylar

In an effort to keep Board meetings to an hour, Lynne and Roberto requested that committee reports be no longer than two minutes and that comments be limited to the specific topic at hand.

Program and Events: Diane reported that she has about 7 people on her committee and they are currently working on the banquet. Because of the time and effort that this requires there is no time to plan other fundraising events. They are meeting every other week and are currently planning the banquet for October. Diane has contacted several speakers and committee members are looking into different venues. They are hoping that the price can be kept to $50 per banquet ticket. Someone has donated the fee for a small band in order to provide dancing. A preliminary list of possible speakers was discussed and the Board will be notified of any other speakers that may be contacted.

Secretary’s Report: Peg made a motion to approve the minutes as presented, Bryan seconded and the motion carried. Cris reported that three motions were voted on and approved via e-mail: to have SDSA co-sponsor a Pride event, in June, with HRC, Equality Texas and the Gay Chamber of Commerce; to have SDSA sponsor the TSD Convention in Austin, in March, with a contribution of $1000; and to have SDSA be a Partner in the Gender and Walls Symposium

Treasurer’s Report: Larry presented the monthly statement and reported that the current balance was $6745.57. Bryan moved to accept Larry’s report, Jeanne seconded and the motion carried.

Board Development Committee: Cris reported on the election which went very quickly as all candidates were approved by acclamation.

Budget and Finance Committee: Mark reported that they would be meeting later this month. The committee is working on attributing expenses to particular committees in order to be able to budget more accurately now and in the future. In-kind expenses also need to be attributed to particular categories.

Endorsement Committee: David and Peg reported that the committee was polled on several recommendations and five of the eight members voted yes on them. The recommendations were first: to send candidate questionnaires to all candidates filing for an office and to invite said candidates to attend the candidate forum; and secondly, that non-members as well as members of the media be invited to attend the forum, with questions permitted only from SDSA members.

Peg made a motion to accept the first recommendation, Bryan seconded. Bryan brought up the issue of viability in terms of sending questionnaires and invitations to the forum. Mark mentioned the time factor involved in meetings and that we usually go over time as it is. Both Peg and David stressed the importance of including all candidates. Jeanne stressed the importance of being open and inclusive and perhaps having two meetings if necessary. The motion passed with 8 members voting yes and 3 voting no.

Cris made a motion to accept recommendation 2, Jeanne seconded. Bryan recalled the incident with Jack Finger, who brought a tape recorder to one of the forums. Questionnaires have only been given to members to review during the meeting and returned to the committee prior to adjournment. Olga pointed out that with the media there candidates may not be as open and that sound bites may be used by opponents to discredit candidates. Mark stated that he wants the candidates to be open and take a stand so that we can hold them accountable. Peg indicated that candidates should be able to make statements at the forum that they would be willing to make out in public. Linda wondered whether media presence would deter some members from attending the forum. Antonia stressed that the forum should be open to all. The motion passed with a vote of 8 yes and 3 no.

Larry made a motion that no candidate can speak at the endorsement forum without having submitted a questionnaire prior to the deadline designated by the committee, Peg seconded and the motion passed.

The Endorsement Committee Candidate Forum is scheduled for March 29^th. The Board requested that the committee try to keep the cost for a venue at $200 or less. David presented copies of the questionnaires to be sent out, the cover letter will be revised. He also presented the timeline for filing, deadlines, the election and a run-off, if necessary.

Voter Registration and Mobilization: Antonia will see about providing a voter registrar at the next membership meeting.

Political Relations: Roberto and Lynne will schedule appointments with newly elected candidates as soon as possible, after the election.

Webmaster: Linda Allen reported that she is working on revising the web site using a new program, Joomla. The program will allow people to update the site without having to know file protocol.

Lynne introduced Linda and Peg as new Board members. Michelle resigned from the SDSA Board. Larry made a motion to appoint David Plylar to fill that vacancy, Jeanne seconded and the motion passed by acclamation.

Mark will update the SDSA brochure and Olga will do it on the computer and Larry will get us copies.

Peg discussed the SDSA e-mails and suggested using a Yahoo group for the Board to communicate. Olga made a motion for Peg to create a Yahoo group for the Board, Cris seconded and the motion passed.

Mark discussed the contribution of $1000 to TSD that was voted on by e-mail. He is concerned that perhaps we are not being as responsible as we should be about the organization’s money and that perhaps we should set a limit on the amount of money that we can allocate through e-mail and without a discussion at a Board meeting. Peg mentioned that the Yahoo group would allow a vote with a timeline and up until that deadline votes can be made or changed. Mark made a motion that any disbursement in excess of $500 cannot be done by e-mail vote but must be considered in an in person Board meeting, Bryan seconded. The motion passed with one no vote.

Peg would like for the SDSA Endorsement Committee to look into school board elections, at least in the major school districts, to provide the membership with information. David suggested sensitivity training to the schools similar to what we are doing with the police officers.

Roberto brought up the possibility of a retreat for SDSA Board members, four to six hours at someone’s home with a facilitator. Roberto will provide further information and details on this.

Larry wants SDSA to step forward in the electronic world through various blogs. It will give us visibility and possibly bring in donations.

Travis Peterson is asking SDSA to officially sanction the Peace Officers Training as an official committee of SDSA. Bryan so moved and Larry seconded. Lynne feels that this committee is more educational than political. Peg made a motion to table the motion and Linda seconded, the motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 8:50 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Cristina M. Ramirez,

Secretary