Oregon Poetry Association Board: Minutes of November 12, 2018 Meeting
Present: Jennifer, Diane, Shirley, Lynn, Bruce, Charles, Erik, Stella, Dale, Alan.
Minutes approved of October 15, 2018, Board meeting.
President’s Report: Shirley commented on the agenda items below.
Treasurer’s Report: Lynn presented the OPA Financial Overview for November.
Conference costs met by registration fees; all contest honoraria sent out; Cascadia grant received, so half of a $1500 donation could be spent on K-12 activities.
The Board voted to approve Lynn’s seeking a 13 month CD at .95% interest with Bank of America for a minimum of $11,000 of the Banta bequest. Lynn expressed concern about keeping signers current for any OPA account.
Charles, as Vice President with the task of oversight, will be given the ability to log into OPA’s bank account.
Lynn has asked for cost estimates for any proposed project/program so they can be included in the 2019 budget. Lynn will present a budget proposal in December.
Lynn stressed the importance of having a treasurer’s apprentice to ease transition. Alan noted that for some boards the treasurer and bookkeeping functions are separate. We can post the position on our website.
Committee Reports:
Oregon Poetry Collection Committee: Erik will ask Joy if she wishes to continue on this committee, though she is no longer on the Board.
Newsletter: Bruce drew attention to the interview he did with A. Molotkov. The newsletter deadline is the 25th of the month, as it is for Strophes. Shirley checks on the completeness of the newsletter, and Lynn is a proofreader.
Historian: Bruce is collecting paper documents that record current OPA activities.
NFSPS: Bruce will submit an article about our use of Facebook to reach people about our conferences and contests, about the Banta bequest, about OPA’s work with UO Knight Library in the UO Undergraduate Poetry Prize, and about the number of fall contest entrants.
Membership/Outreach: Charles reported on 327 current members. Erik reported on a November 9 meeting held in Eugene to discuss outreach and attended by Diane and Bruce, driving from Portland, and Shirley, Charles, and Erik. They recognized how we were just beginning to think of outreach. Even though some of the OPA units are functioning well, we should develop communication with them.
Outreach might grow membership, project OPA as a statewide organization, reach underserved areas, and involve young poets. Discussing Diane’s ideas of bringing programs to such areas, we decided that we needed to find contacts and establish relationships with counterparts to determine how to support poetry as it exists in any community, then develop a program. Such a program might combine a reading with a workshop. The Board discussed possible communities. Jennifer volunteered to be an emissary to Klamath Falls. Other communities named were Hood River-The Dalles, Bend-Redmond, La Grande-Baker City, and Newport. Diane will write guidelines for the role of emissary. Lynn will designate $600 in the 2019 budget for up to three events. The funds would be for site rental, publicity, honoraria, etc. to be determined for each community event. The Board encouraged this approach.
Old Business:
2019 Conference: Shirley led the discussion about the 2019 OPA Conference. She stressed the need for a conference coordinator. The volunteer list could include some good contacts in forming a committee.
Conference dates should fall during a September weekend.
As to sites, the Board considered many factors—driving time, parking, lodging, interesting attractions. Salem and Portland are possibilities, with further investigation needed. Shirley will send Board members a list of criteria: numbers of attendees, meals, space and lodging availability, etc. Board members are asked to explore further, but promptly, as Shirley wants to make a reservation by early December.
Facebook Group Administrator: The Board approved Adam Levon Brown to set up and oversee private OPA groups. The Board will provide guidelines and oversight.
New Business:
Fall 2018 Adult Contest Winners: Shirley reported 105 entries, with 68 OPA members among the contestants. Winning poems are being placed on the website until Thanksgiving.
OPA Co-Sponsoring: Shirley arranged an April 20 event at the Springfield Public Library offering a workshop by poet Erica Goss.
Fixed Income Reduction Request: Charles read a proposal for such a request. Discussion followed. A change of title was recommended, “Limited Income Request.” A budgeted fund can be supplemented by donations; in fact, the fund could be removed from the usual income stream and be entirely supported by donations. A donation button already on Submittable allows no specific use for donations. The bookkeeping could be difficult; the reduced amount could be seen as a waiver. Tabled until the December meeting.
OPA Poetry Award: Jennifer and Erik have circulated a proposal for an OPA award for an individual or group that has worked to help achieve the OPA mission. Discussion followed. It should not be named for a living person. The award is more like the Literary Arts’ award for contributions to Oregon’s literary culture than the Poet Laureate appointment. There is no requirement that the award be given to a poet. It might be biennial to fit between the years of the UO Knight Library Poetry Awards. A selection committee could include non-Board OPA members. Tabled until the December meeting.
Portland Book Festival: Whether OPA might have a table there in Fall 2019 will be considered at the December meeting.
Next Meeting: Monday. December 10, 5:30, by SKYPE.
Minutes submitted by Erik