Aug. 18th, 2013
Board members present: David Simon, Claire Jones, Jennifer Kyker-Bangoura, Tsitsi Hantuba, Alex Weeks and MyLinda King
Agenda
1. MyLinda term limit vote
2. Interviews with potential new board members, Amy Robinson and Paul Mataruse
3. Village Meeting Follow-up
4. Zimfest 2014 Venue Selection Status and Next Steps
5. Status of Paid Coordinator Position Application
6. Preliminary Financials of ZMF 2013
7. Volunteer Coordinator
8. Board transparency
9. Gretel as IT Helper
1. MyLinda King was voted in for another 2-year term.
2. Two new board members added. After interviewing Amy Robinson and Paul Mataruse the board decided to take them both on as new members. Board now has eight members from a wide geographic area.
3. Village Meeting. The board is still discussing the feasibility of implementing some of the ideas suggested by the Zimbabweans. These include memorial plaques at the University of Zimbabwe for deceased Zimbabweans teachers who have taught extensively at Zimfest, teacher certification for Zimbabwean teachers, and a liaison to the Zimbabwean Embassy.
The format and content of the Zimbabwean Forum was different at Zimfest 2013 than it has been in the past. The board and the Zimbabweans are seeking ways to improve the communication between each other not just at the Village Meeting but throughout the year. It was generally decided that it would be best for the board and Zimbabweans to meet privately before the Village Meeting to come up with a list of topics and issues to be discussed at the Village Meeting. Tsitsi Hantuba will be the liaison between the board and the Zimbabweans.
4. Zimfest 2014. The University of Puget Sound (UPS) and Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) are both being considered. Claire Jones is leading the search and has made site visits to UPS. Claire will summarize the pros and cons of both campuses in a report for the board and others “experts” to review next month.
5. Paid Coordinator Position. Two candidates have expressed interest but have not submitted formal applications. This position will pay $8,000. The board sees this as a one-year experiment and may decide not to continue the position.
6. Preliminary Zimfest 2013 Financial Report. The festival broke even within $25. If membership fees are taken into account then Zimfest made roughly $2800 in 2013. The board and Zimfest organizers will take a careful look at what made money and what lost money and make decisions about how to keep the festival solvent. Charitable donations might be considerably lower or non-existent this year, especially given we may have a paid festival coordinator.
7. Volunteer Coordinator. Lisa McKerlick has offered to act as the new Volunteer Coordinator. The board put together a comprehensive list of volunteer tasks that might be needed throughout the year. Lisa will find volunteers for each task as the need arises. MyLinda will act as board liaison to her.
8. Board transparency. In an effort to be more transparent the board will send a synopsis of meeting minutes to ZA members within two weeks of each meeting.
9. IT Support. Gretel Baumgartner volunteered to help with computer and other technical issues.
Next meeting is Sept. 8th, Sunday 6-8pm (PST) Meetings will always be on the 2nd Sunday of each month at this time unless decided otherwise.
Minutes posted by MyLinda King on Aug. 19, 2013
