OPA Board Meeting Minutes, June 8

Minutes of the Oregon Poetry Association (OPA) Board Meeting of June 8, 2021

The meeting was scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm via Zoom.

Present: Jennifer Jennifer Rood (President, Historian), Sue Fagalde Lick (Vice-President), Dan Liberthson (Secretary), Dave Mehler (Membership Co-chair), Susan Morse (Assistant Secretary, Adult Contest Chairperson), Lorna Rose Hahn (Membership Co-Chair, Outreach Chair)

Not Present: Rana Tahir (Treasurer), Dale Champlin (Newsletter and Verseweavers Editor), Rayn Roberts (At-Large)

I. Jennifer called the meeting to order at 7:00.

II. Approval of Minutes

A motion by Dan to accept the May 4, 2021 board meeting minutes was seconded by Sue and approved unanimously by voice vote.

III. Officer Reports

A. President’s Report (Jennifer Rood)

1. May Workshops

Our two workshops were a great success:

1. 1. • May 6: Derek Sheffield–“Tracking the Ecopoem in the Anthropocene”
      • May 15: W. Todd Kaneko–“Writing the Vertical: Using the Lyric Mode to Create and Revise Poems”

These workshops were a nice follow-up for our March Verseweavers readings and April Pan/de/mik 2020 readings.

1. Clackamas County Arts Alliance—Literary Arts Committee

As OPA rep, I attended a brainstorming session of the CCAA-Literary Arts Committee on May 25 for a discussion of how they might increase exposure and opportunities for the literary arts in Clackamas County.

1. Banta Award

Nominations will open on June 14 (next week) and run through Sunday, July 18. I’ll work with Bruce Parker to get the nomination announcement on our website, and with Lorna and Dale to advertise.

1. NFSPS—National Federation of State Poetry Societies
   1. National Convention: June 10-June 13.
   2. I’m signed up to attend, including the State Presidents’ Meeting on June 10.
2. Recruitment for Open Board seats

   Three board seats will open in October, so we need to have a ballot by September to send out to members for voting. Each of us needs to ask one or two people to consider running! Anyone interested should contact me.

3. Something New I’d Possibly Like to Do

   Third Friday Summer Poetry Readings Celebrating Poets’ Birthdays. Prompts would go out ahead of time. Members would come together to share their poems in an open mic format on the third Friday of July, August, and September.

• July 16—“The Sea” by Pablo Neruda
  Incorporate a line from Pablo Neruda’s “The Sea” into a poem, in English or in Spanish, or write a new poem that involves the ocean in some way. In honor of Neruda’s birthday, July 12, 1904.
  
• August 20—“How to Be a Poet“ by Wendell Berry
  Incorporate a line from Wendell Berry’s “How to Be a Poet” into a poem, or write a new poem celebrating the experience of being a poet. In honor of Berry’s birthday: August 8, 1884.
  
• September 17—“The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver
  Incorporate a line from Mary Oliver’s “The Summer Day” into a poem, or write a new poem that is rooted in summer in some way. In honor of Oliver’s birthday: September 10, 1935.

B. Vice-President (Sue Lick)

No report

C. Secretary (Dan)

No report

D. Treasurer’s Report (Rana Tahir)

Current Bank Balance: $46,072.66

IV. Committee Reports

A. Membership (Dave Mehler)

OPA membership now totals 355.

B. Contests (Susan Morse)

A proposed schedule for the fall poetry contest was discussed: opening on Aug 1, closing on Aug 31, judging in September, announcement of winners and a reading in October.

C. Verseweavers, Pandemic 2020 Anthology, Newsletter (Dale Champlin)

No report

D. Social media (Lorna Rose Hahn)

No report

V. Old Business

Dan proposed a motion that was revised after discussion to read “I move that we hire a professional grant writer to assess whether it would be appropriate for OPA to apply for a Collins Foundation grant to fund the Cascadia children’s poetry contest, and if so, to write the grant application.” The motion was seconded by Lorna and carried unanimously. Ideas to increase submission to the contest were discussed, as in recent years only a limited number of students entered. Susan  proposed creating a “Poets in the Schools” program with to be staffed with volunteers. Jennifer suggested  taking up this idea at a future meeting. There was considerable discussion about what should be the theme for the fall conference, which needs to be finalized so a keynote speaker and workshop leaders can be selected.

VI. New Business

None

VII. Announcements

The next board meeting will be on July 20 at 7 pm.

VIII. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:33 pm.

Minutes recorded and prepared by Dan Liberthson, Secretary