OPA Board Minutes, November 10, 2020

Minutes of the Oregon Poetry Association (OPA) Board Meeting of November 10, 2020

The meeting was scheduled to begin at 6:30 pm via Zoom.

Present: Jennifer Rood (President, Historian), Dan Liberthson (Secretary), Dave Mehler (Membership Co-chair), Dale Champlin (Newsletter and Verseweavers Editor), Rana Tahir (Treasurer), Lorna Rose Hahn (Membership Co-Chair, Outreach Chair), Rayn Roberts (At-Large), Sue Fagalde Lick (Vice-President)

Not Present: Susan Morse (Assistant Secretary, Fall Adult Poetry Contest Chair)

I. Jennifer called the meeting to order at 6:35.

II. Approval of Minutes

A. October 12, 2020 Minutes (Regular Meeting). A motion by Lorna to accept these minutes was seconded and approved unanimously by voice vote.

B. October 26, 2020 Minutes (Special Meeting). A motion by Dave to accept these minutes was seconded and approved unanimously by voice vote.

III. Officer Reports

 A. President’s Report (Jennifer Rood)

Thank you to those who attended the special Board meeting of October 26 to take care of the necessary motions to transfer banking privileges to the new Treasurer and President. Rana Tahir has now officially replaced Carolyn Adams as Treasurer.

You should have received a contact sheet in your e-mail containing the addresses, e-mails, and phone numbers for all Board members for this year. Hopefully this makes it easier to communicate directly with each other.

I have appointed Lisa Baldwin and Charles Castle to be the OPA liaisons to the Oregon Poetry Collection at the University of Oregon. They replace Erik Muller and Joy McDowell. I have asked them to check to see what copies of Verseweavers and Cascadia are on file at OPC so that we can provide missing copies from ours, and to check whether or not OPA’s photos of Oregon’s past Poet Laureates might be displayed there.

I reached out to Julie Cummings, the current NFSPS president, to let her know that I would like to talk with her about our successful Fall conference via Zoom. We plan on talking later this month. (NFSPS canceled their conference this year.)

I received an e-mail on November 8 that Sharon Roso, a former OPA Board member who also served as President during the early 2000s, passed away. I sent a condolence letter on behalf of OPA to her daughter, along with Maya Angelou’s poem “When Great Trees Fall.”

Bruce Parker (former OPA President/Historian) and Diane Corson (former OPA Board member and Conference Coordinator) made a Halloween visit to deliver OPA historical materials to my house.

From our ample stores, we will be gifting some back copies of Verseweavers to Eleanor Berry, former OPA President, who lost everything in the recent fires. She edited Verseweavers for years, and a poem of hers appears in the 2001 edition. Bruce Parker is taking care of that.

Our 2020 Banta Award recipient Linda Varsell Smith received her gift (an owl-faced angel made by Corvallis artist Joy Phillips), a certificate, and a copy of the presentation speech. The angel currently resides in “Heaven,” the name of the room where her collection of angels lives, and she has framed the certificate and hung that in her home as well.


 B. Vice-President (Sue Lick)

No report


 C. Secretary (Dan)

No report


 D. Treasurer’s Report (Rana Tahir)

Official transfer of treasurer responsibilities was completed on Thursday, November 5th at the Bank of America branch in Beaverton.

a. Bruce Parker’s debit card is lost, and Carolyn Adam’s debit card was handed over to Bank of America. Diane Corson retains her deposit-only debit card as a membership co-chair. Rana Tahir will be mailed a debit card.

b. In order to add current president Jennifer Rood to the BoA account and issue her a debit card, Rana, Diane, and Jennifer will need to coordinate to have the meeting at multiple branches at the same time so that current account holders can sign the paper work.

c. Rana will gain online access to the account when she receives her debit card. At that point she will be able to change log-in and email notifications.

IV. Current business: Most current business is old tasks that need follow up.
a. Send acknowledgment letters.
b. Send reminders to people with OPA checks that have not been cashed.
c. Check on GoDaddy website renewal.
d. Send out reimbursement checks.


V. Committee Reports

Membership (Dave Mehler)

Because memberships are all renewed in March, members who join the prior August don’t get a full year. Solutions proposed: (1) Move membership expiry to August and give those who join in the prior March an additional half year (Dave), (2) use the tracking software Wild Apricot (Lorna), (3) make renewal dates semi-annual or quarterly (Dan). Dave opts for implementing August expiry for now (with members getting a half-year extension if they join in March). Jennifer tabled the matter until the next board meeting. Before then, Dave will craft a motion and Lorna will investigate the cost of Wild Apricot.

Contests (Susan Morse)

No report

Verseweavers, Pandemic 2020 Anthology, Newsletter (Dale Champlin)

1. Dale will talk to Rana about the cost of publishing, and will need credit card information to pay. Rana will get the credit card next week.

2. Providing the newsletter to people even if they aren’t members (e.g., membership expired or part of larger poetry community) was discussed. Jennifer remarked it would be good publicity and people might then join to participate in an anthology or contest they learned about from the newsletter. Publishing poems in the newsletter or on the website and notices of publication would be reserved for members. Dale moved that we open the newsletter and the bulletins to an extended group of poets. There was unanimous voice vote approval.

Social Media (Lorna Rose Hahn) Lorna sent an email to the board asking if its members wanted to put together a profile with head-shot to appear in the newsletter and on the website. Jennifer commented that this would increase the visibility and transparency of the board. The idea was adopted, with participation left up to the individual board member.

VI. Old Business

Reported above.

VII. New Business

Do we want a spring (April) conference? Diane Corson has volunteered to organize it. It would be smaller than the fall conference. Dale and Jennifer discussed having periodic seminars or workshops via Zoom (e.g., every other month) rather than a conference. Jennifer will talk to Diane about this.

Cascadia—How do we revive some form of student contest? Discussion tabled until next board meeting.

VIII. Announcements

The next board meeting will be Tuesday, December 15, at 6:30 pm.

Other. Rayn discussed having poetry readings at a facility in Elkton. This idea will be explored in the future.

IX. Adjournment. Jennifer adjourned the meeting at 8 pm.

Minutes recorded and prepared by Dan Liberthson, Secretary

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