PHG Board Meeting 08-27-20

Agenda
Portland Handweavers Guild Board Meeting
7 PM, August 27, 2020
Online Zoom Meeting

1. Call to Order – Meeting called to order at 7:05 PM
   1. Roll Call: Chris Rossi, Dan Steves, Lynne Fitzsimmons, Sylvia Emard, Janis Johnson, Robin Korybski, Lynette Peterson, Sue Walsh, Linda Engquist, Maggie Patterson
   2. Determination of Quorum
   3. Any changes to the agenda
2. Minutes from previous board meeting – Sue moved to approve, Robin seconded. Approved unanimously.
3. Treasurer’s report
   1. For the period of June 25 to August 29, 2020:
      1. Income: $829 in membership
      2. Expenses: $524 MAC rental through September, $134 for the Guild PO Box, Zoom andchecks
      3. Balance: Checking $7028, Savings$11896, Paypal $8528
   2. Chris would like to move the Paypal balance into our checking account. Approved.
4. PHG Website Update
   1. Dan Steves presented a tour of the new website (moved from Wix to WordPress). There is contact information. Profiles are being created for all members. There will be forums. Dan is investigating Paypal integration. Joining/Renewing membership is available now.
   2. The members section will have a YouTube channel.
   3. Dan is researching modules for workshop registration. Lynne asked to be involved.
   4. There was a discussion about opening the forums to non members. After some discussion it was decided to make them open to nonmembers.
   5. There will be a walkthrough of the new website at the next general meeting
   6. The library link is available
5. Library and Rentals Update
   1. Robin reported that we now have limited access to the closet. She is planning to reopenthe Library and rentals. She has the key
   2. The proposal is for members to email her library requests; there will be a handoff of checked-out materials on the 3​rd Thursday of each month.
   3. There was discussion of library return dropoff points, possibly using Ruthie’s as the eastside dropoff location?
   4. She needs volunteers to help with dropoff and pickup of the returns.
   5. Robin and Judi took pictures and notes of the current rental equipment. She needs thewebsite updated. Dan said to send the information to both him and Amy.
   6. Brief sidebar on the possibility of the MAC never re-opening. There is a PPR levy on theballot; if it does pass, there will be money for the MAC.
6. Organizations – Sue Walsh
   1. Convergence and Complex Weavers​ seminars cancelled; Knoxville 2022.
      1. Complex Weavers took no loss – got some refunded; got lots of donations. It is all run by volunteers. They formed a new committee, crafted a financial strategy; will use that group to plan for the future, grow, protect what they have. 
      2. They plan to publish a 40​ anniversary book later this year. It is late (pandemic, but late before). “The end is in sight”. Ordering is now closed to pre-orders, but will be open for sale after all pre-orders filled. “It is beautiful”.
      3. Kathy McCarthy is president, Darlene Driscoll is vice-president. They are online.
   2. HGA​ looks great on paper, paper thin in real dollars. They refunded some conference money, but others will take credit towards the next Convergence, so that money is already dedicated. If 2022 has a problem, they’ve got no money. HGA office closed, COE exams are virtual. SSD (Shuttle, Spindle and Dyepot) contains a notice that grants are available. Sept 30 is the grant deadline. Permanently transitioning to all remote staff. which saves $10k/year plus cleaning. Internet based telephone service. All the “stuff” is in remote storage.
   3. WEGO​ – last spring meeting cancelled. Oct 2020 meeting in Baker City now on Zoom.
   4. Proposal​ – there is a current budget item for Sue to travel to WEGO meeting. HGA isencouraging people to join/renew; educational funding comes from Fiber Trust. They are encouraging guilds to donate to Fiber Trust, which is a fund that HGA uses to promote education in weaving and fiber arts. The Fiber Trust does outreach and education at the HGA level, and is a charitable fund. Sue would like to take that money and donate to the Fiber Trust.
      1. We had budgeted $200 for mileage, plus a portion of the hotel cost.
      2. We currently have no income from Workshops, but our meeting expenses are down
      3. SSD prints which guilds support the Fiber Trust, and the amount of their donation.
      4. Robin proposed revisiting this in November
      5. Decision: we will revisit this in November
   5. ANWG Confererence​ – everything is at a pause. Committee chairs are meeting; sending a letter to Willamette U about access to the site. University access is currently staff and students. Plan A, expecting that the conference is going forward, but need plan B. If cancelling; cancel before the registration is open
      1. Discussion: Linda – many conferences have gone virtual. Sue – considering. It would be seminar-only. There is a virtual conference back east, a couple local are attending to see how it was. Also under consideration, delaying for another 2 years. Montana thinks large conferences are over. And then there’s Canada; half our footprint. Montana is backing out. Break-even is 300 attendees.
      2. Nametags – Judy Stewart is coordinating attachment of lanyards to pockets. Probably closer to 400 max attendees.
7. ANWG dues are due​; will coordinate w/Lynette. End of June 215 members (dues based on that)
8. Janice GOTG and MAC Contingency Plan
   1. GOTG​ was scheduled for the beginning of May. It didn’t happen. All OCC commitments had been moved to Halloween weekend. Now that is not happening at all, the Convention Center is returning the money. Aside: Roger Crooks – GOTG Treasurer for several years, had a stroke; doing better now.
   2. PHG has paid about $6670 to GOTG LLC, which was to be funded by booth fees for artists. Board – reimburse all the artists. Expect we’ll be out a few hundred dollars – expenses for the business (D&O ins, business registration). About $6000 coming back to us. Detailed account is forthcoming. If next Spring, will need a chair from PHG.
   3. MAC contingency plan​. We may have to leave MAC, or rental equip/books not working. What are our requirements for a different space?
      1. Discussion: Bus line, parking, number of people. Sue has talked to Rebecca Martin about that. Dan has looked into it. Would it be a pandemic only solution or a long-term solution? Robin expects retail/office space rentals will be real cheap in the coming year. Rebecca’s effort was looking w/connecting w/a similar guild, a shared interest and schedule slightly offset from ours. Able to accommodate programs, workshops, and regular teaching. Something which could be open more than one day a month. Large open warehouse/industrial places would work for us. She had stuff in her head, but nothing written down. We need a team of 3 people to work on what we need. West side? Where it meets the best need? MAC isn’t working well for us anymore, get a better deal on workshops at Mill End. Eugene guild uses ETC.
      2. Wildcraft (N PDX)
      3. Sue – focusing on a strip mall space ADA accessible, 2 room sections. Kitchen-like area. No carpet. Dan wants to partner w/Fiber Rhythms
      4. Sue, Lynne, and Robin will proceed with a proposal based on the Guild facility requirements. (Janis too? Don’t remember)
9. Sept General Meeting planning – do the website tour before or after sharing? (Linda E asks)
10. Dan is wearing too many hats.
11. Memberships/renewals – ask Dan if they are renewed or not. 45 or 50 renewals.
12. Do we need to continue day and evening meetings? Driving not required for Zoom. Linda willsurvey the membership.