Oregon Poetry Association Board Meeting of August 24, 2020

Meeting scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom, with Dave Mehler hosting.
Meeting called to order at 7:19 due to technical difficulties.

Present:  Bruce Parker (President, Historian); Diane Corson (Membership Co-Chair, Outreach Chair); Jennifer Rood (Vice-President); Dave Mehler (Membership Co-Chair); Dale Champlin (Newsletter and Verseweavers Editor); Susan Morse (Assistant Secretary, Fall Poetry Contest Chair); Stella Guillory (Spring Adult Contest Chair).

Absent:  Carolyn Adams (Treasurer); Dan Liberthson (Secretary).

I.  Call to Order

President Bruce Parker called the meeting to order at 7:19 p.m.

II.  Approval of July 23, 2020 Minutes

Acceptance of the July 23rd minutes was moved, seconded and unanimously approved.

III.  Reports of Officers

           A)  Web Tech Manager and Web Design committee:  Both positions are needed by October 1st.  It was agreed that Milepost 42 (Stacy Clements) would be hired as the Web Tech Manager.  The current design of OPA’s website was discussed, and it was agreed it needs updating.  Lisa Story will be hired to work with Stacy, the Web Tech Manager, to coordinate a re-design of OPA’s website.  A motion was made, seconded, and passed to hire Stacy and Lisa for these positions.  Some of the Banta bequest will be allocated for this process.

            B)  Banta Award:  There are four nominees for the award.  A decision will be made and announced at the next Board meeting and the award presented at the October 10th OPA conference.

            C)  Fall Adult Contest:  Entries have been slow, with very few in the New Poets, Under 30, and Spanish Language categories.  It was agreed the contest deadline would be extended to 9/15/20 to encourage more entries.

            D)  Dale Champlin reported that entries are going well for the OPA Pandemic Anthology with about 60 poets submitting so far. 

            E)  Web Content Manager:  A volunteer is needed for this position which currently involves daily updating of the website.  Dave Mehler previously contacted the OPA volunteer list and got only one response.  It was discussed that updates to the website could be limited to once per week, which may encourage more volunteers to come forward for this position.

            F)  Board Elections:  The terms of three Board members expire October 1st.  Elections are usually held during the Fall Conference.  Since the conference is virtual this year, the Nomination Committee will seek candidates in advance of the conference, soliciting input from members through the newsletter and/or member recommendations. 

            G)  Conference Update:  The Conference Committee (Diane Corson, Dave Mehler, and Dale Champlin) has been reviewing workshop applications.  Four workshops are currently scheduled.  An announcement soliciting more workshop presenters will be placed in the newsletter.  A tech person is still needed to run the Zoom program, edit, and record videos, etc. for the conference.

Treasurer’s Report
Was sent via email to members in the absence of the Treasurer.

IV.  Adjournment

The next Board meeting was scheduled for Monday, September 14, 2020, at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Meeting adjourned at 8:16 p.m.

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