PROBUS CLUB OF VANCOUVER
MINUTES OF MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING APRIL 5.2016
ATTENDEES:
Doug Jones – chair, Rich Carson, Doug Cucheron , Raymond Greenwood, Doug Lambert, Norm Leach, Hugh Lindsay, Ian Paterson, Peter Scott, Roy Williams.
Invited guests: David Pulfrey, Dave Muller, representing Brian Maunder
Vice-president Doug Jones called the meeting to order at 9:30 am. Rich Carson acted as secretary.
1,2,3 A quorum of members being present, the president declared the meeting properly constituted for the transaction of business. A financial report was circulated prior to the meeting. This report is not included in the minutes. A copy is available Doug Cucheron .All committee chairs were present or represented.
4. A proposal to approve the minutes of the Feb 2, 2016 meeting, as distributed was made, seconded and passed unanimously.
5. Doug Cucheron confirmed that he had prepared a financial report for the period to March 31, 2016 that indicated that club finances were in accordance with the annual budget.
8. Norm Leach reported that speakers were either confirmed or being actively pursued for the next few meetings. A number of interesting names were put forward as possible future speakers.
a Bramwell Tovey’s agreement to speak to the group has been confirmed, with the date to be confirmed, hopefully at the September 2016 meeting to be held in the Music Centre. Norm will seek an indication of interest in attending at the April meeting so that detailed arrangements can be made.
b Possible speakers for the Presidents’ Lunch were discussed. Some members indicated that it was important to have an entertaining speaker and not too downbeat a topic .It was also noted that the venue does not favour extensive use of visual aids.
9. In Brian Maunder’s absence, Dave Muller reported that the new badge arrangements were working well. Raymond Greenwood asked if the telephone numbers of new members could be forwarded to him promptly so he could solicit their participation as cashiers or greeters. Jack Zaleski will be asked to clarify the timing of adding new member details to the roster.
10. Ian Paterson outlined a busy Activities calendar that will be described in detail on the website and in future newsletters in addition to announcements at monthly meetings. Planned outings include a tour of the Police Museum and neighbourhood in April that is fully subscribed and a walk around Chinatown in May that will be led by John Atkins. Future activities may include an evening at Bard on the Beach and a tour of the Museum of Anthropology.
11. Doug Lambert reported that there was nothing new except that he is waiting for next year’s rental proposal from the Planetarium, assuming that it will incorporate a modest rate increase.
12. Peter Scott told us that David Pulfrey will be producing the may newsletter and that all content should be forwarded to David, with a copy to Peter. Peter described his difficulties in distributing the newsletter and avoiding having him treated as a “spam” distributor. Peter is to discuss with Jack the possibility of using Mail Chimp to distribute future copies. Peter also indicated that it may be appropriate to add pictures of activities in progress to the newsletter from time to time and the Activities Committee will try and arrange this. There was a broad conversation regarding the possibility of providing notice of non-club events in the newsletter. While it was noted that members could well be interested in such notices, the administrative issues relating to determining which notices to accept, which to reject and editorial considerations made the suggestion impractical at this time. Although not all agreed, it was concluded that no such notices would be included. Peter Scott agreed to ask Bill Sexsmith to clarify the conditions under which a member of one Probus Club can attend a meeting of another club.
13. Raymond Greenwood reminded members of Canada’s150th birthday next year and urged that this be taken into account in selecting speakers and activities.
14. Hugh Lindsay indicated that all current website issues had been addressed under other agenda items.
15. Roy Williams reminded members that two past presidents had recently been lost, Pidge McBride and Dennis Creighton. The proposal to confer life membership on Bill Sexsmith was unanimously approved and recognition will occur at the Presidents’ Lunch.
16. (a) It was agreed that it is not necessary to archive committee minutes, other than the board of directors either on the website or elsewhere. Committee chairmen should retain records that will be helpful to their successors.
(b) The challenges of replacing John Gunn as meeting scribe were discussed at some length. It was agreed that John should be publicly thanked by Jack Zaleski for his contribution at the earliest possible time and indications of interest in taking over John’s role should be sought from the membership.
The transcription job was described as 3 stage. The first is taking down the speech questions and answers during the meeting. John arranges this by using a recording device. We should investigate whether the Planetarium or our projector coordinator could provide this service.
The second is transcribing and editing the tape which John has performed so well. Final editing is performed by Peter Scott prior to addition to the website. The second step in the process is key and the one that must be replaced. If no volunteer from the membership emerges, we should hire a commercial transcription service that should be available for about $200 per meeting. The committee agreed that this would be a suitable expenditure, if necessary.
It will likely still be necessary to arrange for final editing, as the transcriber may not be knowledgeable about the subject matter or the requirements of our members.
As previously discussed, we should inform all speakers that their presentations will be reported in our monthly newsletter and on out password protected website.
The meeting adjourned at 11:45 am.
The next meeting will be at 9:30 am on June 7, 2016 at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club.