1/19/2016 Board Meeting

Date: 1/19/2016 
Place: Bob’s house in China 
In Attendance: John B., Ham, Carl, Bob. David 
Minutes submitted by: David 

1. Check In 

2. Minutes from 10/27/15 accepted 

3. Treasure’s report — $2491.15. (Treasurer unable to be at meeting) 

4. No update on Jim.D status to be on MCM bank accounts working with Ian and Don. (Tabled) 

5. Many thanks go out to Mike S and Ham as they have retired from the board. The board would like to thank them for their service at the meetings and at the weekends. The board is seeking new applicants to fill these vacancies. 

6. MCM picture with its’ new format to include the names of men will be sent out to the men at the last weekend later this week. Thanks Bob. 

7. Electronic Payments/and brochures. Charlie was unable to be at this meeting so this item is tabled. It was decided that they would not be used for the spring weekend. This will be a priority for the board to explore for the fall of 2016. 

8. Website Update 
a. Charlie has offered his help to update and work with Tom and Bob to make changes necessary to bring website up to date. 
b. Charlie sent in a long list of suggestions to help the website be more user friendly and up to date. The board decided to take it in steps and do what we already agreed upon. The items that need to be added will be a tab for Minutes, tab for Board members with contact information, and dates for future weekends. More changes to come. 
c. Bob will contact Tom and discuss adding himself and Charlie to the administrative side of this website so they could make the necessary changes. 
d. Charlie and Bob will make the changes necessary and let the board know when they have been completed. The board will be asked to check the website. At the next meeting further changes will be discussed. 
e. Board role names were discussed. Suggestions such as President, Chairman, Facilitator, Coordinator will be decided on at the next meeting 

9. The next MCM Weekend is April 29, 30, May 1. Brochures will be sent out on March 21. The Stamp Party will be the week of March 16. That date will be set at the next meeting. David will contact Dan who is taking on the task of developing a program for the weekend. Dan has also volunteered his expertise to put the brochure together. Thank You Dan. 

10. Sliding Scale. Currently we need 31 paying members to break even for he weekend. It was decided not to develop a sliding scale and keep the fee at $100. It was also decided to put a statement in the brochure that we are trying to build the MCM treasury up and would encourage men who feel they could pay more to do so. We encourage men to use the Scholarship fund if funds are tight. No man should miss a weekend due to financial restraints. 

11. Should we file for 501 C-3 status (Discussion Tabled). 
a. Ham will call Greg and ask if we are in any way liable for men who attend the weekends. 
b. We will ask Ian to bring our Insurance policy to the next meeting so we can discussed what we are cover for. 

12. Phone –A–Thon: 
a. David will e-mail board to find out who will be able to make calls. 
b. Bob will develop excel sheet to be used when asking questions. 
c. Bob will divide up the names and send them to the phone callers by Feb 15 
d. Phone-a-Thon will be conducted the last two weeks of February. 
e. The board will do the best it can for this go around and may need to take more time to complete the entire list. 

13. Confidentiality Statement. Men at the last weekend asked the board to develop a statement that will explain confidentiality. The statement below is being worked on… The board will have further discussion before bringing it to the weekend for discussion. 
“It is essential that confidentiality be a top priority at MCM weekends so men can feel safe to share and experience self growth in a caring, supportive environment. 
Once a man leaves the weekend it can be difficult at times to share with loved ones the growth they experienced without using a story or details on how the growth occurred. 
If a man needs to share an experience it must be done in a way that protects the confidentiality of the men at the weekend. Names, age, situations, jobs or anything that could identify a specific man is not acceptable. 
If a person wants/needs to share a story or the experience of another man outside the weekend it is appropriate to ask that man for permission. 

14. The procedure for men to identify an Emergency Contact for the weekend will be decided on by Charlie and John B to be used at the Spring Weekend. 

15. David contacted Tanglewood on how MCM could help in fixing the posts that were loose on the porch of the main lodge. The issue is that it is not just the post but the floorboards/supports are rotting as well. Tanglewood has a plan in place to fix this situation. 

16. David shared the task list and the board realizes this will change after each weekend. (See attached). David is working on a document that will simplify the Practices and Procedures of MCM. 

17. Sweat Lodge opportunities at the weekend (tabled — Ian will discuss with John Bly and report out to the board) 

18. Other: 
a. Tanglewood asked for a $100 donation for their general fund. The board had agreed that until we have a savings of at least $3000 in the bank we would not consider requests. Current balance is below that amount. The request was denied however individual members should feel free to donate and send a check to Tanglewood to help them out. 

19. Next Board Meeting will be: Tuesday Feb 23 and the Snow Date will be Tuesday March 1 at David place at 261 Main Street Thomaston 

Accepted February 23, 2016, by the MCM Board