Minutes & By Laws

The Most Recent University Women of Bowling Green State University
Board Meeting Minutes

University Women of BGSU Board Meeting Minutes October 3, 2021

Meeting called to order: 7:04 pm

Board Members Present:

Jane Schimpf, Lee Field-Starks, Hilde Farrow, Denise Robins, Susan Winters, Barbara Sanchez, Becky McOmber, Debbie Newlove, Sandy Wicks, Phyllis Hartwell, Karen Johnson, Suzanne Fahrer

Jane Schimpf welcomed everyone and introduced Suzanne Fahrer as the new Interest Group chairperson Secretary: Minutes of the 07/08/21 meeting had been distributed via email. No corrections requested.

Motion to approve the 01/12/2021 minutes as written was made by Susan Winters and seconded by Karen Johnson - motion passed

Treasurer’s Report:

Hilde Farrow reported the following financial information:

Foundation Report
- Market value = $49,888.95
- Spending account = $7,501.34
- The report for 2020-21 has not been received as of 10/3/21
Expenses since January, 2021
- Copy shop = $324.38
- Stamps/misc = $170.88
- Entertainment, luncheon = $100.00
- Foundation/scholarship = $600.69
- Speaker fee (b Sanchez) = $53.19
- Rental down payment for 2022 = $100.00
- Weebly domain for 2 years = $158.05
- Lunch check (recouped) - (850.50)
- TOTAL = $1,507.19
Deposited $3,360.00 in dues
Donation for the Foundation = $4,535.00 - including an $800.00 single donation
Income from the raﬄe = $680.00
Income from the auction = $1,194.00
Current balance in checking account = $12,775.62 as of 10/2/21
Current balance in the MMDA = $1,103.00

Motion to approve the Treasurer’s report made by Denise Robins and seconded by Suzanne Fahrer - motion passed

Motion to transfer $8,000.00 from the checking account to the Foundation account made by Barbara Sanchez and seconded by Sandy Wicks - motion passed

Committee Reports

Communications:

Denise Robins - no report

Directory:

Karen Johnson reported the following:

In 2019-20 there were 170 members
In 2020-21 there were 165 members - three lost due to passing away.
In 2021-22 there are 171 members - includes Sandra Earle (BGSU President’s wife (non-dues paying)) and was not able to reach the Mayor’s wife to invite her to be a second honorary member.

Needed to call 25 people who did not respond, but who then agreed to join group for 2021-22
Directory to be sent out Monday or Tuesday (10/4 or 10/5)

Interest Groups:
Suzanne Fahrer reported the following:

Information for each interest group is now in excel spreadsheet format
Largest groups are the BGSU Arts group with 39, the Lunch Bunch with 36, and the Travelers group with 33

Newsletter/Webmaster

Jo Ascunce was not present so Jane Schimpf reported the following on her behalf:

Would like the Interest Groups to send photos of group activities to be posted on the website

Nominating:

Barbara Sanchez - no report

Publicity:

Karen Cota - not present

Scholarships:

Mary Lynn Pozniak - not present

Old Business:

Fall Brunch:

Jane Schimpf advised that the brunch ran a bit longer than expected
Susan Winters said that next year, the group organizing the Auction/Raﬄe would need to get into the facility about 1/2 hour earlier as they were really rushed getting the tables set up especially since the Raﬄe items are not received till the day of the brunch

Jane Schimpf said that it would be an additional $50 charge, but Susan Winters felt it was worth the cost

Susan Winters - only 60 people at the brunch when compared to 2019 when there were 95 people at the brunch, however, the Auction proceeds were only $75 less than 2019.

Jane Schimpf said that the date for the 2022 brunch will be 8/27/22 at the Veterans Building at City Park
Jane also mentioned that a few people talked about missing the Pot Luck. We will have to consider the food format based on where things stand with Covid next summer

Sandy Wicks said that an option would be to have the boxed lunch with desserts provided by some of those attending the brunch

Jane mention that she thinks the Parks department will probably be investing in more tables as they determine the types of events held in the facility.

Jane thanked all those involved with organizing the brunch for all they did to make it such a success.
Jane asked about the Membership Form - most felt it was okay, but Suzanne Fahrer felt it might be more eﬀective if the information on the bottom was moved to the top. Agreed to discuss next year

Jane asked about recruitment in light of 17 new members. She felt it would be a good idea if a board member would call each of the new members to welcome them to the group and answer any questions they may have

Denise Robins mentioned that she sent an email specifically to the new members and explained that email was the main form of communication about the group as a whole as well as about interest group activities. She suggested that the board member ask the new member if they received that email and to check their junk mail if they did not receive it

Karen Johnson mentioned that there are three new members who do not have email, however, two of them have smart phones

Discussion about how to communicate with those members who do not have email

New Business:

Holiday Party:

Party will be at Barb Sanchez’s home on Friday Night, 12/10, at 6:30 pm
Joe Baker will be contracted by Barb for the entertainment
Jane Schimpf asked if we still wanted to have the party - Barb Sanchez felt that people want an in-person party and that, like the brunch, we can request that those attending and their guests be vaccinated. We could also have a total number that are able to attend, but like the brunch, she felt that those who are uncomfortable with such a gathering would probably not attend

Holiday party will be a pot luck food format with those attending bringing a “hearty” appetizer and whatever they want to drink. Barb will provide soft drinks and water. Only three board members will bring desserts so there are enough appetizers

Suzanne Fahrer, Susan Winters, and Denise Robins will provide desserts for the Holiday party
Jane asked about the possibility of catering it with deli meat and cheese trays but that would still be food source that is out in the open and not much diﬀerent than potluck.

Susan Winters mentioned that Covid numbers were decreasing and this trend is predicted to continue through the autumn

Holiday Family Adoption Project:

Barbara Sanchez reported the following on behalf of Ann Bullerjahn who was not present

Ann already has the forms from the Salvation Army
Last year we adopted five families and were able to spend $150 pre child for gifts and $250 per family for food thanks to the generosity of the membership

Donations in the form of a check should be made out to Ann Bullerjahn
Jane Schimpf mentioned that last year a motion was made to spend up to $2,000 if enough money was not collected from the membership to support five families as well as the fact that we do not need to spend as much as we did last year per child and family if the collection isn’t as big this year

Susan Winters said we will pass the basket at the Holiday party, but Jane reminded that the due date for the donations is 12/1 and the party is not until 12/10

Information about this project will be included in the next newsletter and include the due date of 12/1, making the check out to Ann Bullerjahn, etc.

New Events:

Jane Schimpf asked the board to consider new events for the spring.
Jane said that Jo Ascunce would like to again consider an evening at Arlyn’s Good Beer in April. This is the event that was cancelled last year because of Covid. There is a lot of space outside at Arlyn’s so social distancing wouldn’t be a problem depending on the weather.

Denise Robins had the idea of doing a full membership reading of the book “Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Anthony Doerr and then asking if the author would lead a discussion of the book. Anthony Doerr got his Master of Fine Arts degree from BGSU so he might be inclined to do this via Zoom

Succession Planning:

Jane Schimpf asked that the board think how the world is changing and more communication is done through digital means. Jane felt leadership positions need these skills to keep the organization strong and moving forward including a need for someone adept at using social media

Denise Robins said that we should start asking younger women to get involved. Denise also mentioned that there used to be a Technology Interest Group and that it would probably be easy to find someone provide presentations to a group of women, but would need the membership to want to attend and learn new technologies and/or social media apps such as Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, etc.

Susan Winters suggested having a membership event where someone presents on technology and/or social media

Next Board Meeting:

Jane Schimpf advised that the next board meeting will be Thursday, 1/13/22 at 7:00 pm in one of the meeting rooms available at the new Senior Center

Meeting Adjourned: 8:21 pm

UNIVERSITY WOMEN OF BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY
BY-LAWS
(REVISED AUGUST, 2018)

ARTICLE I – NAME
SECTION 1. The name of this association shall be the University Women of Bowling
                                                      Green State University.

ARTICLE II - OBJECTIVES
SECTION 1. The objectives of the University Women shall be to encourage a friendly and
cooperative spirit within its diverse membership and to foster a continuing
interest in the university and the community. University Women does not
endorse or publicize any political candidate or issue.

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP AND DUES
SECTION 1. Membership
Members shall be women who are interested in promoting and fostering an
interest in Bowling Green State University and its surrounding communities.
Honorary memberships will be extended to the president of the university, if
female, or to the female spouse of the president and to the mayor of Bowling
Green, if female, or to the female spouse of the mayor.

SECTION 2. Dues
All members shall pay annual dues as established by the
Executive Board. All members are responsible for paying any interest
group dues for the interest groups they wish to join.

ARTICLE IV – OFFICERS
SECTION 1. Officers
The officers of the University Women shall be a President, a President-Elect,
a Vice President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. These officers shall take office
the day following the Spring Commencement in May and serve until
their successors are named. All officers shall be dues paying members.

SECTION 2. The President
The President shall preside at all general meetings of the University Women,
shall be a member ex officio of all committees, and shall appoint special
committees as needed. She shall perform all other duties pertaining
to the office.

SECTION 3. The President-Elect
The President-Elect succeeds to the office of President the year immediately
following her election as President-Elect. She shall do whatever necessary to
orient herself to the duties of the office.

SECTION 4. The Vice President
The Vice President shall act as aide to the President and shall perform the duties
of the President in the absence of that officer. In the event the President is
unable to complete her term of office, the Vice President shall succeed to
the office of President.

SECTION 5. The Secretary
The Secretary shall keep an accurate record of all general, special and Executive
Board meetings of the University Women and shall perform such other
duties as may be delegated to her.

SECTION 6. The Treasurer
The Treasurer shall receive all monies of the University Women; shall keep an
accurate record of all receipts and expenditures; and shall pay out funds as
authorized by the Executive Board of University Women. Fiscal year for the
treasurer is July 1 to June 30. All tax returns will be filed at the end of fiscal
year.

ARTICLE V – EXECUTIVE BOARD
SECTION 1. The Executive Board
The Executive Board shall be composed of the officers, three or more Members-
at-Large, and the chairs of the following committees: nominating, interest
groups, newsletter, directory, web master/newsletter, scholarship, publicity,
and communications.

SECTION 2. The Members-at-Large
The members-at-large shall aid in decision making by the Board and shall
represent the membership.

SECTION 3. The Nominating Chair
The Nominating Chair along with the Executive Board will contact members to
see if they have an interest in becoming a part of the Executive Committee.
Members may also self-nominate themselves for a position. New officers will be
introduced at the Fall Luncheon.

SECTION 4. The Interest Group Chair
The Interest Group Chair shall be responsible for overseeing groups now
established, the organization of new groups, and notifying the heads of
interest groups of the names of members interested in joining their group.
Interest Groups shall be formed according to the interests of the members
in any one year. Plans for interest groups are subject to approval of the
Executive Board.

SECTION 5. The Directory Chair
The Directory Chair shall prepare a directory for electronic distribution
and maintain and update the directory as needed. The directory
                            will serve as a current roster of all members.

SECTION 6. The Webmaster/Newsletter Chair
The Webmaster/Newsletter Chair shall update and maintain our website
and will assist with the formatting of the newsletter.

SECTION 7. The Scholarship Chair
The Scholarship Chair shall be responsible for working with Bowling Green State
University, gathering names of those students eligible and selecting the
the scholarship winner or winners. The winner or winners will be nontraditional
female students attending Bowling Green State University.

SECTION 8. The Publicity Chair
The Publicity Chair shall be responsible for release of general publicity
concerning events and activities of University Women.

SECTION 9. The Communication Chair
The Communication Chair distributes via e-mail the newsletters, the directory,
and notices of events that are of importance to University Women. She also
maintains communication with the membership as needed. The Communication
Chair will not distribute materials that endorse any political candidate or issue,
religious event, or commercial enterprise.

SECTION 10. Vacancies
A vacancy occurring in any Executive Board position shall be filled by
appointment by the Executive Board.

ARTICLE VI - MEETINGS
SECTION 1. General Meetings
General Meetings shall be as determined by the Executive Board.

SECTION 2. Executive Board Meetings
There shall be at least three meetings of the Executive Board within the term
of office. Special meetings may be called by the Executive Board.

ARTICLE VII – PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
SECTION 1. The rules contained in “Roberts Rules of Order"
Roberts Rules of Order shall govern the University Women in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these By-Laws.

ARTICLE VIII – AMENDMENT
SECTION 1. Amendment to the By-Laws
These By-Laws may be amended at any business meeting of the University Women by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting, provided the proposed amendment has been submitted in writing to the Executive Board and the membership one month prior to the meeting at which it is to be voted upon.

Board Minutes and By-laws