Advisory Board Minutes - June 2005

(1 June 2005) The June 2005 meeting of The USGenWeb Advisory Board was called to order by National Coordinator Shari Handley.

AGENDA
June 2005 Meeting

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MOTION 05-09 - BRC RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS
REPORT FROM CHAIR OF GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE COMMITTEE
MOTION 05-10 - DISBAND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE COMMITTEE/FORM PERMANENT GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE
APPOINTMENT OF SCOTT BUROW TO ADVISORY BOARD VACANCY
STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS FOR REPRESENTATIVE AT LARGE
REMINDER ABOUT USGENWEB NATIONAL ELECTION NOMINATION PERIOD
MOTION 05-11 - DECLARING 6/30 AS THE DEADLINE FOR CANDIDATE'S SERVICE
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS: GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES DRAFTING COMMITTEE
RESIGNATION OF USGENWEB-DISCUSS MAILING LIST ADMINISTRATOR
MOTION TO REVISE THE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES COMMITTEE
NATIONAL ELECTION REMINDER
JUNE ADJOURNMENT

Shari Handley
National Coordinator
The USGenWeb Project

(2 June 2005)

By general consent, the minutes of the February through May meetings of the Advisory Board were approved as written.

(2 June 2005)

Shari Handley, National Coordinator, ruled this motion carried over from May to be out of order on the grounds that if it passed it would not be valid due to time constraints that would not permit it to be carried out.

(3 June 2005)

Shari Handley, National Coordinator, asked for a report from the Grievance Procedure Committee

Angie Rayfield, Committee Chair, reported that there had been substantial interest and input from the project membership but not much input from the committee members. She suggested that the committee be disbanded and that a Grievance Committee be appointed to take the procedures so far developed, complete them, and begin hearing grievances. She presented a motion to that effect.

(6 June 2005)

Angie Rayfield, SEMA SC Representative and chair of the Grievance Procedure Committee, moved that the Grievance Procedures Committee be disbanded, and that a permanent Grievance Committee be established according to the guidelines set out below. Also that the Grievance Committee's first task should be to complete the committee's working procedures, in accordance with the guidelines set out below, with additional guidelines including, but not limited to, procedures for handling conflicts of interest and appeals to the Advisory Board, and that these procedures be submitted to the Advisory Board for review and approval within 30 days of the formation of the committee. The Grievance Committee should be prepared to begin hearing grievances by no later than August 1, 2005.

(8 June 2005)

Seconded by Denise Woodside, SEMA CC Representative, seconded the motion.

(9 June 2005)

Shari Handley, National Coordinator, number the motion 5-10 and opened the floor for discussion.

(13 June 2005)

Shari Handley, National Coordinator, called for a vote on motion 5-10.

(15 June 2005)

Shari Handley, National Coordinator, announced that the vote had failed: yes - 4, no - 8, not voting - 3 (final tally was yes - 4, no - 10, not voting - 1)

Voting Yes: Angie Rayfield, Denise Woodside, Derilee Bednar, Linda Blum-Barton

Voting No: Betsy Mills, Bettie Wood, Cyndie Enfinger, David Morgan, Don Kelly, Jan Cortez, Kathi Jones-Hudson, Larry Flesher, Scott Burow, Teri Brown

Not Voting: Gail Kilgore

(3 June 2005)

Shari Handley, National Coordinator, announced that only one qualified member expressed interest in filing this vacancy. She announced that Scott Burow, SC for Illinois, would be appointed to fill the remainder of Richard Howland's term by general consent. Shari also thanked Sandra Quinn and Lorraine Newsome for expressing willingness for volunteering, although the didn't meet the minimum requirements for time in service.

(5 June 2005)

No objections were received and Scott officially became a member of the Board, to serve through the end of August 2005.

(5 June 2005)

Share Handley, National Coordinator, announced that instructed the Election Committee to post a statement clarifying the requirements for Representative at Large, as follows:

Note: Article VI, Section 9 of the bylaws are silent on the subject of qualifications for Representative-at-Large. However, precedent and common sense, as well as the intent and spirit of the bylaws themselves, clearly mandate that a candidate for RAL have the same qualifications as candidates for National Coordinator. Therefore, candidates for Representative-at-Large must have at least one year of service as a member-in-good-standing in USGenWeb to run for the office.

(8 June 2005)

Tina Vickery, Election Committee Chair, posted the following announcement on behalf of the Committee and asked that it be forwarded to Project Mailing Lists and Members:

The nomination period for the USGenWeb Project National elections is now open.

Nomination Period Wednesday, June 1, 2005 12:01 AM CST through Tuesday, June 14, 2005 11:59 PM CST.

Please visit the USGenWeb Project National Election - 2005 index page for information about the election and announcements from the Elections Committee:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~usgwelections/national-2005/

Nomination Form: http://rmweb.indiana.edu/USGenWeb/National2005.cfm

The Elections Committee encourages all to participate in the nomination process!

Sincerely,
USGenWeb Project Election Committee
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~usgwelections/

(18 June 2005)

Cyndie Enfinger, Archives Representative, moved to clarify the cut-off date to be used in determining length-of-service eligibility, as spelled out in Bylaws Article VI Section 9, for USGenWeb Advisory Board candidates. Candidates must have been seated in their qualifying role on or before June 30th of the previous year.

(18 June 2005)

Betsy Mills, Representative at Large, seconded the motion.

(18 June 2005)

Shari Handley, National Coordinator, number the motion 5-11 and opened the floor for discussion.

(22 June 2005)

Shari Handley, National Coordinator, called for a vote on motion 5-11.

(25 June 2005)

Shari Handley, National Coordinator, announced that the vote had passed: yes - 13, no - 0, not voting - 2

Voting Yes: Angie Rayfield, Betsy Mills, Bettie Wood, Cyndie Enfinger, Denise Woodside, Derilee Bednar, Don Kelly, Gail Kilgore, Jan Cortez, Kathi Jones-Hudson, Larry Flesher, Linda Blum-Barton, Teri Brown

Voting No: None

Not Voting: David Morgan, Scott Burow

(20 June 2005)

Shari Handley, National Coordinator, issued a call for volunteers for a committee to draft procedures for handling grievances, as follows:

Seeking volunteers to serve on a committee tasked with developing and presenting a new set of procedures and policies for the handling of grievances within the USGenWeb Project. 2 members of the Advisory Board and 7 non-AB volunteers from the USGenWeb general membership will be chosen. The procedures and policies for the handling of grievances will include the handling of requests for mediation within the USGenWeb Project. Upon completion of a draft of the procedures and policies, the committee will present their recommendation to the full Advisory Board for a vote on their acceptance.

If you are interested in serving on this committee, please send the following information:

1. Your name
2. Your position(s) within USGenWeb
3. The URL(s) of the site(s) for item #2
4. Your email address
5. Your reasons for wishing to serve on the committee, along with any special skills or training you bring to the task.

Thank you,

Shari Handley
National Coordinator
The USGenWeb Project

State Coordinators, please pass this note on to your state business lists. Thanks!

(20 June 2005)

Tina Vickery, Administrator of the USGENWEB-Discuss mailing list, announced that she was resigning effectively immediately for the best interests of the USGenWeb Project.

(22 June 2005)

Angie Rayfield, SC Representative for SE/MA Region and Grievance Procedures Committee Chair, moved that the current grievance procedures committee (members: Betsy Mills, Angie Rayfield, Jan Cortez, Denise Woodside, Don Kelly) be enlarged to add 5 members, to be chosen from volunteers from the project membership, with the slate approved by the Advisory Board, and that any future vacancies in the procedures committee be filled by project volunteers.

And she further moved that the National Coordinator request a permanent e-mail list be set up for the use of the grievance procedures committee, to be turned over to the future Grievance Committee for their use when procedures are in place. The list discussions will be archived, and permanently open to all project members on a read-only basis; during the discussion of grievance procedures, the list may be opened for posting by all subscribers by majority vote of the procedures committee.

(22 June 2005)

This motion was seconded by Bettie Wood, CC Representative for SW/SC Region.

(27 June 2005)

Shari Handley, National Coordinator, ruled the motion out of order and didn't assign a number.

(29 June 2005)

Tina Vickery, Election Committee Chair, posted the following announcement on behalf of the Committee and asked that it be forwarded to Project Mailing Lists and Members:

The Election Committee with the invaluable assistance of Larry Stephens have the preparations for the USGenWeb Project 2005 National Elections almost complete. Passwords will be mailed over the next few days to all registered voters in the USGenWeb Project.

Voting will begin July 1, 2005 (12:01 am) and will end July 31, 2005 (11:59 pm) CST.

Information about the candidates can be found at:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~usgwelections/national-2005/candidates-index.html

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SPAM BLOCKERS: To receive a password you must have your spam filters turned off or have them set to receive email from stephenl@indiana.edu - Stephens, Larry V.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT LOGO BALLOT:

To vote for a logo, you must have the three digit identifier (e.g., AA1). The identifiers are on the logos page at http://usgenweb.org/logos/index.shtml. Before you open the ballot, view the logos and write down the identifier of the logo you like best. If you leave the ballot to look at the logos again, you may not be allowed back to cast your vote. The server may think you have already voted. Don't risk it. Be prepared!

The next three top vote-getting designs (or less if there are not three additional entries) will be the official alternate logos. In the event of a tie, the Advisory Board will vote to break the tie. The decision of the Advisory Board will be final. There was no monetary compensation for this contest. The logos may be viewed here prior to voting. http://usgenweb.org/logos/index.shtml

Also on the ballot is Bylaws Amendment Proposal http://www.usgenweb.com/volunteers/notice.shtml

The Election Committee will be adding applicable links to their FAQ and Useful Links pages shortly.

We encourage all to participate in the USGenWeb Project 2005 Elections!

Sincerely,
Tina S. Vickery, Chair
USGenWeb Project Election Committee
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~usgwelections/

(29 June 2005)

Shari Handley, National Coordinator, announced that the meeting was adjourned, with the July meeting of the Advisory Board to be convened on 5 July 2005. There were no objections.