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Catholic
Defense League Annual Board
Meeting Minutes Catholic Aid Association
Conference Room Attendance Val Baertlein, Hap Corbett, Dick
Houck, Joe Kueppers, Stella Lundquist, Pat Phillips, Tom Schramer, Merlyn
Scroggins, Pat Shannon, and Cletus Tauer Absent Gene Keating, Irene Perizzo, Marlene
Reid, Kelly Rowe, Minutes
The Board reviewed Minutes of the
October 19 Board meeting MSP: The Board approved the Proposed
Changes to Bylaws
The Board discussed a proposed change
to the Bylaws that would overcome a barrier to electing a new Board. The
exact text of the proposed change was sent to Board members ten days prior to
this Board meeting. The Board then discussed the term “members” used in the
proposed change and generally agreed that it could be confusing. MSP: The term “members” in the proposed
change of the bylaws was changed to “directors.” MSP: Article IV, Sections 1 through 9 of the
Bylaws, were replaced with a new Article IV, Section
1 which stated: The Board by an affirmative vote of a majority of the
directors present, is empowered to elect any number of directors to the Board
and Officers of the CDL for any arbitrary term(s). The Board generally agreed to consider
fully implementing the concept of electing Board members to staggered terms
of office at some time in the future. Board members also agreed to restore
the Bylaws to the original Article IV, Sections 1 through 9 at the next Board
meeting. The Governance Committee was charged
with closely reviewing the set of changes it had proposed to the Board
earlier. This set of changes is to be sent to all Board members with a
request for a response regarding any concerns or suggested changes. The
Governance Committee will then meet to review these responses, address
suggestions, and prepare a revised draft with final language for approval at
the next Board meeting. Election of DirectorsA slate of candidates was then presented
for a vote. MSP: The following were elected to the CDL
Board of directors for the length of term indicated: Val Baertlein-3 years Hap Corbett-1 years Dick Houck-3 years Joe Kueppers-3 years Stella Lundquist-3 years Irene Perizzo-3 years Pat Phillips-3 years Marlene Reid-3 years Kelly Rowe-3 years Tom Schramer-3 years Merlyn Scroggins-2 years Pat Shannon-3 years Cletus Tauer-3 years Election
of Officers
The newly elected Board then discussed
the election of Officers. A slate was drafted and presented for a vote. MSP: The following were elected as Officers
of the CDL Board: Merlyn Scroggins – President Cletus Tauer – Vice president Kelly Rowe – Secretary Tom Schramer – Treasurer President’s
Report
Merlyn expressed his appreciation for Pat
Phillip’s efforts at chairing meetings and coordinating many League
operations, referring to him as “chief of administration.” The Board generally agreed to continue
and to expand the sharing of the President’s duties. At this point the formation
of an Executive Committee was discussed. Several Board members agreed to
volunteer to serve on an Executive Committee in addition to Board Officers. MSP: The Board appointed an Executive
Committee with the following members: Merlyn Scroggins Cletus Tauer Kelly Rowe Tom Schramer Val Baertlein Dick Houck Pat Phillips Kelly Rowe Steven Scott of the Pioneer Press wrote
a cover story on the Voter’s Guide for Concerned Catholics. About 60
calls came into the CDL office, both for and against the ad. Dennis McGrath,
Director of Communications for the Archdiocese, and Catholic Charities staff
also got calls in response to the ad. It was clear that many people
responding to the ad did not know about CDL’s independent status in
relation to the Archdiocese. CDL’s relationship to the Archdiocese was
then discussed. CDL has no formal connection with the Archdiocese. However,
the relationship between the two organizations is considered good because
Minnesota Bishops by and large have supported CDL’s efforts. Some Bishops are
on CDL’s Advisory Board. Treasurer’s
Report
Balance Sheets for October 31 and
November 11 were presented, along with a Statement of Operations for October.
The additional Balance sheet was presented to show the final disposition of a
$10,000 grant to CDL for purchasing the Voter Guide ad. The Statement of
Operations for October showed receipt of the grant, which was not expensed
until November. MSP: The Board received the October
financial statements. Website
Report
Pat Phillips and Dick Houck are exploring
restructuring the website to emphasize the idea of subscription, in order to
get more subscribers to the CDL Internet newsletter. Governance
Committee Report
The governance Committee,
earlier charged with reviewing the Bylaws and proposing any changes that
would facilitate CDL’s management and operations, will meet again to address
and incorporate feedback on the proposed changes. The Governance Committee will meet on Thursday,
December 2, at December
Board Meeting
The Board discussed whether a December
meeting should be held, MSP: The December Board meeting is
cancelled. Annual
Banquet
The Banquet is scheduled for April 22.
Austin Ruse is lined as Keynote speaker. There was some discussion on finding
a Bishop to say Christmas
Letter
The Board discussed sending out the
Defender with a Christmas fundraising letter from Merlyn. The Board also
discussed topics that could be part of the Defender. Dick Houck shared a mock
up of the Defender as completed to date. New Business A suggestion was made to call more
attention in Greater Minnesota to CDL’s efforts. It was suggested that press
releases be sent on CDL successes to outstate newspapers, and that fax
delivery may be more effective than email. Next
Meeting
The next meeting of the CDL Board is
scheduled for Thursday, January 20, at |