Date: May 20, 2015
Place: John R. in Camden
In Attendance: Brad, John B., Carl, John R., Ian, Alan, Ward, Ham, Bob, Sepp, Don, David
Minutes submitted by: David
1. Check In
2. Review of Weekend – “Very positive”, “Well organized”, “Great food”, “Larger numbers”,” Good business meeting”, “Outstanding work from Program Committee”, “Board work is evident”, “Excellent energy”
3. Review of Minutes… Minutes were accepted with minor adjustments. Minutes from this business meeting at the weekend will be sent out to all men that were there along with the picture. Bob will be responsible to send attachment.
4. Treasures Report: We took in $3715
coffee $73.86
food $785.45
t-shirts $ 13.96
postage $147.00
printing $102.44
insurance $200.00
Tanglewood $2240
savings account: Current we have $1750
5. Registrar’s Report: Things went pretty well. Discussion on whether we should send out a blurb to all guys to bring closure to the weekend or if the circle was enough. Also discussed was if there was a way to put names to the guys in the picture so people can make the connection. Who would do this? Can we set up a camera so when people check in at the weekend they have their picture taken with the name attached. Confidentiality was discussed along with would this interfere with men coming in to be in the moment and somewhat anonymous. No decision was made. Will be discussed again at the board level.
6. Photography- The use of the MCM50 group picture can be used on the website as men were told the purpose of the picture as well as given the option to step out of the group for the picture to be being taken. Pictures taking will not be allowed at the weekend with personal electronics. The only allowed photos will be by the MCM Photographer who at this time is Maine Bob. Thank you Bob.
7. There was training by Tom B our Webmaster as how to post to the MCM website. Tom sent Ham instructions and Ham will figure out a time when interested men from the board can gather to learn how to post minutes announcements etc.
8. Mentor Initiative: It was felt that it worked very well this past weekend. John did a great job being sure that new men had a mentor. This weekend mentors were generally people who brought a new man to the weekend. It was discussed that a mentor should be a person that the new man does not know so they can make a new connection. We will follow the guidelines developed from the board meeting on December 9, 2014:
Mentor Program: This is a work in progress. When a new man sends in his registration we will ask John B. to assign him a mentor. Mentors were asked to volunteer and sign up at the last weekend with their e-mail and phone numbers. The responsibility of the mentor will be to try and contact the new man before the weekend to discuss the weekend, answer questions etc. On the weekend, contact the person on Friday night and check in during the weekend. A follow-up call after the weekend at some time will also be a way to help a new man process the weekend. It was suggested that a workshop on “Mentor Program” be held at the Spring weekend. We realize that this is a start and hope to develop this program as time goes on.
It was decided by the board that since we have only a few new men each weekend, the mentors would be from the board. We did not have a workshop on mentoring at this Spring weekend.
9. Minutes from the business meeting will be sent out to the men who attended this past weekend. Minutes from the board meetings will be posted on the website, giving men who are interested purpose in checking the website. If these minutes (once accepted) are ready before the picture is sent out then Bob will attached them as well.
10. Summer 50th Celebration: Carl and Ham will hammer out the details and report at the next board meeting. The place will be at the Duck Trap beach area. Last summer or early fall were suggested times. This event will be a pot luck style picnic. We will need to decide how to let members of the MCM community know that this is happening. Wives, girlfriends, significant others, etc. will be welcomed to this event. This is a chem free event as all MCM gatherings are.
11. Bocce Balls: The set that John C brought was broken this past weekend in an exuberant game of intense bocce ball. It was decided that his set would be replaced by MCM and MCM would buy its own set of balls for the weekend. David will take responsibility to contact John as well as purchase 2 new set before the next weekend. Approximate cost is $50 a set for quality balls.
12. There is a defibrillator on site in the office in the main lodge at Tanglewood. David will ask if it is in working order and we will ask at the next gathering if anyone has had training in using one. It was decided by the board to allocate $200 to build a medical kit. We will ask that Joe and Phil collaborate in making this purchase. David will contact Joe and ask if he would be willing to take this purchase project on.
13. Reusable nametags will be purchased for men to use. We will get both clip on and ones that hang from a string around the neck. When men can see a man’s name it is easier to address him when first meeting. (Nametags also help us who have name recollection issues). John B will make the purchase.
14. Outreach to others will be discussed after we have reached out $3000 reserve limit.
15. Ian will talk to a bank representative and research the viability of men paying on-line for the weekend. The board will also discuss how to use a combination of snail mail as well as electronic e-mail in sending out brochures for the fall weekend.
16. A Phone-a-thon was suggested to contact men before the October gathering.
17. Alan and David will work on a Mission Statement for the board to discuss
18. Check In and Check out procedures were discussed and it was decided that first we build a mission statement and then see how the Check In/Out part of the weekend supports this statement.
19. The remaining items on the May 20 agenda will be discuss at the next meeting.
20. Next Meeting will be at Ward’s house on June 17 from 6-8
Minutes accepted by board on June 17, 2015