Minutes
Reunion Association Annual Meeting
January 27th, 2018
Attendees:
- Kate Morand, President (Chair)
- Robert Gold, Vice President (Co-Chair)
- Wendy Oldeen, Secretary
- Bill Lemieux, Treasurer
- Ellen Byrne, Logistics Committee Chair
- Suzanne Arist, Committee Member
- Adrienne Johnson, Committee Member
- Jada Robitallie, Committee Member
- Peter Martin, Committee Member
- Marel Sitron, Member of the Class
- Matthew Robinson, Member of the Class
- Louise Bruggeman, Member of the Class
Per the Association Charter, there shall be an Annual Meeting of the Association, open to all members of the ETHS Class of 1974. The meeting is to be held the last weekend in January.
The Meeting came to order at 12:03 p.m. CST. Kate reviewed and sought approval of the agenda and the minutes of the 2017 annual meeting. Both received no objections and were approved unanimously.
Kate reminded the group of the three levels of participation:
- Members of the Association
- The Planning Committee
- Executive Board (Kate, Bob, Bill, Wendy and Ellen)
Executive Committee Reports
Membership Committee
Kate continues to handle the Membership Committee duties. She reported that we continue to add members, slow and steady, to the web site and the Facebook page. 429 classmates have joined the web site. 703 have not joined. 20 classmates are in email bounce back mode. Kate has been contacting these individuals and three have provided corrected email addresses. We will continue to obtain correct emails for this group.
Earlier in 2017 the Committee was provided with the names of people to find. This was not very successful. Since 2013 we have been aggressively attempting to find missing classmates and it has been acknowledged that some of our classmates just do not want to be found or do not use social media.
There was a suggestion to appeal to Classmates through the Facebook page, “You Know You From Evanston IL, When?”
We need a new chair for the Membership Committee who will commit to 3-4 calls per year. Matt and Adrienne agreed to co-chair the Committee. There was a motion to appoint Adrienne and Matt as Co-Chairs. This was seconded with no discussion and all were in favor. They will get together with Kate within the week.
Treasurer’s Report
North Shore Community Bank & Trust in Wilmette is where we do our banking. All transactions are reviewed and approved by the Executive Board. Wendy is the secondary signer. We started 2017 with $2,461.58. There was one transaction, $106.19 which was spent to extend our ETHS1974.com domain name registration until 2024. The current balance in the account is $2,355.39.
There was a motion to instruct the Executive Committee to consider a 2018 donation to the ETHS Educational Foundation later this year. It was agreed that we will consider a donation of up to $300 subsequent to payment of deposits required for the various venues. The motion was seconded and all were in favor with no discussion.
There was a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report. It was seconded and approved unanimously.
Logistics Committee Report
The survey results provided valuable feedback that we used while selecting the proposed dates and venues. We have chosen the last weekend in July, similar to the 2014 reunion. Thursday, July 25th through Sunday, July 28th. There was a motion to approve the dates. The motion was seconded and there was no discussion with all members present voting in favor.
In the summer of 2017, Logistic Committee Members Bob Gold, Wendy Oldeen, Ellen Byrne and Suzanne Arist toured venues over a day and half. The criteria we looked at was affordability, social engagement and one that would offer a range of experiences. There were three categories:
- Large Gathering Venues – 250-300 people
- Middle Size Venues for small gatherings
- Restaurants, Bars, Patios suitable for a Pub Crawl
For the large venue, we were looking for affordable, informal, easy access, traditional club style but not dress up. We ruled out the Women’s Club, the Ballroom at the Merion, the Hilton Garden Inn and the old Orrington Hotel (now a Hilton). We discussed outdoor venues but there is concern over the number of people needed to support an outdoor venue and the uncertainty of the weather. Some of the options considered would be cost prohibitive. The Levy Center and the Evanston Golf Club fell out as the best.
Friday night at the Levy Center would be BYOB and start in the late afternoon to facilitate groups spinning off for dinner elsewhere. It is very affordable and there is plenty of parking. The decision about whether we want to use the Gym and kitchen in addition to the outdoor area and small meeting rooms is being deferred.
Under our proposal, the Saturday night event would be at the Evanston Golf Club. We would have use of the entire second floor. There is plenty of free parking. There is a $1,500 base fee for the night and a minimum of $10,000 for food and beverage. A cash bar and buffet was the suggestion based on the survey and previous experience. An early estimate of the cost is in the range of $70-$75 per person.
Ellen moved to approve the Levy Center for Friday night and the Evanston Golf Club for Saturday. The motion was seconded. All were in favor with the exception of Marel’s objection to the Levy Center for Friday night. Discussion was held. It was agreed that we needed to put down a deposit to reserve the date as soon as possible.
New Business
Bob brought up the tax exempt status of our organization. He reiterated the need to find an attorney in Illinois who would know how to get this done. We are looking for 501(c) (3) status. We need someone to make it happen. Bill agreed to call Steve Jambois, Class of ’75 for information.
Bob moved that we adjourn at 1:50 p.m. The motion was seconded and the Motion carried. Adjourn 1:50 p.m.
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