2018 BoD Officers & Minutes

Forum for members of the Westmarch BOD

Moderator: ravenb

2018 BoD Officers & Minutes

Postby Fiks » Thu Jan 18, 2018 10:12 pm

These are the members of your 2018 Westmarch Board of Directors:

Ian Crawford (Fiks), President
Jodi Van Tine (Raven), Vice-President
Robert Mott (Euric), Treasurer
Kim Richards (Elspeth), Secretary
Elisa Mott (Nakita), Liason
David Inglis (Deimos), Monarch
David Zucker (Azus), Prime Minister
Marcus Bergman (Collin), Alternate

Westmarch Board of Directors Handbook (pending update)
Westmarch Land Audits Results Archive

Minutes for each monthly meeting shall be compiled as replies to this thread.
"How harmful overspecialization is. It cuts knowledge at a million points and leaves it bleeding."—Hari Seldon
Grass grows, birds fly, sun shines, and brotha', I hurt people. Bonk!
User avatar
Fiks
 
Posts: 2564
Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 9:57 pm
Location: Wavehaven

January 2018 BOD minutes

Postby ElSpeth Sharrisselva » Thu Feb 15, 2018 1:46 pm

Westmarch Board of Directors 2018
January Meeting Notes

Thursday January 18, 2018 7:00 p.m.

Those in attendance are:
Ian Crawford (Fiks)
Robert Mott (Euric)
Elisa Mott (Nakita)
Jodi Begley (Raven)
Kim Richards (Gilchrist) (ElSpeth)
David Zucker (Azus)
Marcus Bergman (Collin MacAbee) alternate

Members unable to attend:
David Inglis (Deimos) who is out of town.

Meeting called to order at 7:23 p.m.
Role call held and last meeting’s notes were read. Corrections requested and there were none. A motion was made to accept the December 7, 2017 meeting notes as read and accurate and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

The first order of business was the election of BOD officers.
The Westmarch Corpora BOD article requirements were read.
All and new officers were voted in unanimously. They are:
Ian Crawford—President
Jodi Van Tine—Vice President
Kim Richards (Gilchrist)—Secretary
Robert Mott—Treasurer
Elisa Mott—Liaison

A quick review of the Board of Director’s handbook was read by Ian Crawford. A discussion about land attendance placeholders ensued. The wording of ‘required’ is to be replaced with ‘suggested’. The vote passed unanimously.

A vote on the continued use of the EIN form was motioned and seconded. The vote passed 6 aye; 1 nay.

Next was land audit advertising requirements. Discussion about the effects of a recent Corpora change were discussed. The motion that the current wording about land advertising in the BOD handbook be changed to match that of exactly what is in the corpora was stated and seconded. Due to further discussion a vote to retain or strike the advertising portion in the handbook ensued. The vote to strike the land audit advertising portion of the BOD handbook passed unanimously.

2016 Paypal adoption as the preferred way of receiving funds was discussed, as were fees required. The motion to continue with the Paypal adoption was stated and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Digital signatures for land contracts, EIN forms, and waivers policy accepted by the 2017 BOD. Note that CAKE and Corpora Committee no longer exist. A vote that this BOD continue to accept digital signatures was motioned and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

A vote on adopting all of the remaining policies in the handbook was proposed and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Old business:
P.O. Box Keys Current holders are Robert Mott, David Zucker, and Jodie Begley.
There is one more key held by Robbie Starks which Ian Crawford will attempt to obtain. Euric is to ask the post office if this key needs to be turned in to them and, if so, find out if there is a fee refund. A vote on tabling this key discussion until February was motioned and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Jodi Begley reported on Darkshore XXI and the problems with the site regarding payment on the site, final site fees, and moving forward with purchasing insurance. The weekend for May 10-13, 2018 is reserved for us. No deposit is required. Clarification on BOD is to approve the application and insurance contract but not disperse the funds. Payment portion is a monarchy issue. Jodi asked if a special meeting is needed to be called for this or if we can handle it in the February BOD meeting. A meeting can be called if necessary.

The motion that the Darkshore discussion be tabled, pending further information from the campsite, was made and seconded. The vote passed 6 aye, one abstain.

New Business
Land Audits due date was posted as January 31st and also February 1st. A motion was made to the 1st at 11:59 p.m. as per the Westmarch monarch and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Next is the Wavehaven audit criteria where the land voted to self-demote themselves to a barony in lieu of not passing the audit as a duchy. The discussion here was whether they submit the 2017 audit as a barony or as a duchy since the requirements for each are slightly different. It makes a difference in whether they may pass or not.
A motion was made to allow Wavehaven to submit the 2017 audit as a barony and seconded. The vote passed 1 nay, 1 abstain, 5 ayes.

Advertizing is on the agenda but was previously discussed during this meeting.

Open Floor
Marcus Bergman brought up businesses allowing Amtgard members discounts. There are currently three. H&R Block, a fitness center, a fast food restaurant; Tandy leather previously did; Hertz. Discussion of this membership perks will be tabled until the March BOD meeting.

The February BOD meeting will address land audits. A motion for the date and time was made and seconded. The vote passed unanimously. It is scheduled for Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

Meeting adjourned.
User avatar
ElSpeth Sharrisselva
 
Posts: 139
Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 10:22 pm

February 2018 BOD Minutes

Postby ElSpeth Sharrisselva » Thu Mar 15, 2018 3:03 pm

Westmarch Board of Directors 2018
February Meeting Notes

Thursday February 15, 2018 7:00 p.m.

Those in attendance are:
David Inglis (Deimos)
Ian Crawford (Fiks)
Robert Mott (Euric)
Elisa Mott (Nakita)
Jodi Begley (Raven)
Kim Richards (Gilchrist) (ElSpeth)
David Zucker (Azus)
Marcus Bergman (Collin MacAbee) alternate

Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m.
Role call held and last meeting’s notes were read. A motion was made to accept the January 17, 2018 meeting notes as read and accurate and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Old business:
P.O. Box keys: Ian Crawford was unable to obtain the key from Robbie Starks yet. Robert Mott reported his conversation with the post office on returning the extra key and whether there is a refund and received conflicting information between a clerk and a supervisor. He plans to ask again once we get the key. It was suggested to ask the postmaster.

A motion was made and seconded to revisit the P.O. Box keys in the March BOD meeting. The vote passed unanimously.

Darkshore XXI application. Jodi Begley reported earlier about a couple of new applications required by the site staff. The date is secured but there are new forms about site development plans (parking, etc.) and a medical plan. Both are posted on the CA Amtgard forum. We are required to make a map of the site, indicating what areas we use for what. She has put together a map to submit. There will be vendors and T-shirt sales at the event. Both are copied on the website and reported online. Once all the forms are turned in, everything becomes a package presented to the new park supervisor; then they will give us the amount we need to pay and what the insurance requirements will be. Hopefully this information will be available by the March BOD meeting. The new forms are more detailed than before.

The motion was made to give a loose approval of the form to allow Jodi Begley to submit the forms to the parks department and table the actual contract review until the March BOD meeting. The vote passed with 1 abstain; 6 ayes.

New Business:
Land Audits.

Ageirs Hall. No recruitment and a request for spelling corrections before submitting the audit. A question came up as to whether the officers are dues paid. Is this a corpora breach? It was determined that officers must be dues paid per the Westmarch Corpora. The corpora section that applies was read. It was asked if this were part of the audit process and determined that is it not. It was mentioned there were two weeks with no attendance; these were Christmas and New Years which were determined not to be held against them. A motion to vote on accepting Ageirs Hall as having passed the audit was made and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

A short discussion on the requirements of ledger formatting for each lands occurred because hand written ledgers are hard to read. This subject will be addressed at a later date.

Ashen Spire.
They are working on rebooting their lands since August so July records are not available. It was discussed and decided not to hold those against them for this audit. The same for their current ledger. A motion was made and seconded on accepting Ashen Spire’s audit as excellent. The vote tallied as excellent unanimously.

Aureus Saltus:
They were missing one sign in but had fighter practice the week before and one after. It was determined this was good for audit purposes. They may need a review of sign in sheet best practices due to a conflict between a Facebook post and a sign in sheet on November 12th, 2017 with only one person signed in. A motion was made and seconded on accepting Aureus Saltus’ audit as excellent. The vote tallied as follows: 4 excellent, 3 pass.

Belial Peaks:
A discussion about local park days with no attendance but were travelling ensued. There were concerns but it was decided travel to other lands should count. It will be recommended their prime minister obtain a copy of the sign in sheets from lands they visited to use to show they were active those days. A motion was made and seconded on Belial Peaks’ audit. The vote tallied as follows: 4 excellent, 3 pass.

Bremens Fortress:
Missing sign-ins without a place holder for 7-20-2017 and 11-23-2017. The ledger was also incomplete. A motion was made and seconded to vote on Bremens Fortress’ audit. The vote tallied as follows: 5 excellent; 1 pass.

Clockwork Spires:
They are exempt because they are a new group.

Crimsonwood:
Everything looks in order so a motion was made and seconded to vote on Crimson Wood’s audit. The vote tallied as excellent unanimously.

Fal Dare:
Automatic fail due to not submitting an audit per the Corpora. Attempts to contact their monarchy went unanswered.

Mistyvale:
Everything looks in order so a motion was made and seconded to vote on Mistyvale’s audit. The vote tallied as excellent unanimously.

Seven Sleeping Dragons:
Everything looks in order so a motion was made and seconded to vote on Seven Sleeping Dragons’ audit. The vote tallied as excellent unanimously.

Siar Geata:
Missing advertising was addressed in their letter. Monarchy listed under the wrong column; some are not listed under the Crown Qualifications Arts and Sciences worksheet and was not elected pro-tem. The motion was made and seconded to vote on Siar Geata’s audit. The vote tallied as follows: 3 excellent; 4 pass.

Skyfire Bay:
Automatic fail due to no audit submitted.

Sunfire Valley:
Defunct.

Sylvan Reaches:
No ledger submitted but explained in their letter. They did not meet the attendance requirement since October. Both items together mean an audit fail. They also say they are going on hiatus until summer. The audit is failed.

Thor’s Refuge:
Previous Prime Minister elections were missing and a missing sign in for 12-17-2017. There was no PM election because no one ran for the office; the current PM agreed to continue for a third term during the following six months. The motion was made and seconded to vote on Thor’s Refuge’s audit. The vote tallied as follows: 2 excellent; 4 pass; 1 abstain.

Valley of the Fallen:
A bookkeeping discrepancy on the ledger with regards to dues paid members was brought up and explained. The motion was made and seconded to vote on Valley of the Fallen’s audit. The vote tallied as unanimous for an excellent audit.

Wavehaven:
Everything looks in order so a motion was made and seconded to vote on Wavehaven’s audit. The vote tallied as excellent unanimously.

Wyvernspur:
Everything looks in order so a motion was made and seconded to vote on Wyvernspur’s audit. The vote tallied as excellent unanimously.

New Business:
It was proposed that, for future audits, we request a detailed ledger from lands. David Inglis, as Monarch of Westmarch, will ask all lands to put their ledgers in actual ledger books which specifically track debits and credits. Also, ledgers need to have specific descriptions for items listed.

It was proposed that there be an official protocol or standard recommended for how and where lands keep their receipts. There is a checklist for PM’s to use and also best practices handbooks available.

There also needs to be a Corpora direction for what happens to funds when a land goes defunct; put a limit on how long funds can be held in anticipation of the land starting up again.

The next BOD meeting is scheduled for March 15 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

With no further business, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. The vote tallied as unanimous and so the meeting was adjourned.

Transcribe by Kim Gilchrist—Westmarch BOD Secretary
User avatar
ElSpeth Sharrisselva
 
Posts: 139
Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 10:22 pm

March 2018 BoD Meeting Notes

Postby ElSpeth Sharrisselva » Mon Apr 16, 2018 3:57 pm

Westmarch Board of Director’s Meeting
March 15, 2018 7:00 p.m.

The meeting was called to order and a roll call was made.
Those in attendance are:
David Inglis (Deimos)
Ian Crawford (Fiks)
Robert Mott (Euric)
Elisa Mott (Nakita)
Jodi Begley (Raven)
Kim Richards (Gilchrist) (ElSpeth)
David Zucker (Azus)
Marcus Bergman (Collin MacAbee) alternate

Reading of the Last Meeting's Minutes
The meeting notes from the February 2018 BoD meeting were read. A motion to accept the notes as read and accurate and voted on; passing unanimously.

Old Business
P.O. Box Keys:
We have an update. The missing key was recovered and given to Robert Mott so he may pursue turning it into the post office. He will take care of that as soon as he can.
A motion was made to table the issue to the April meeting and a vote was taken. It passed unanimously.

Darkshore XXI Contracts
Update on the status and additional forms requested by the site. Medical forms have been resubmitted. Everything has been submitted and we are now waiting to hear back on what the final costs will be. Everything else for the event: website, planning, etc. are going well.

One additional question the autocrats have is regarding the Westmarch EIN number for purposes of purchasing food at a discount or tax free. Ian Crawford clarified that if the feast o crat needs the EIN number, the form can be completed and submitted; the BoD can have a vote on acceptance of that form. Should time be a factor, an emergency meeting can be called or an online review/vote via the forums.
Not everyone has had the opportunity to review the revised application forms at this time.

A motion was made and seconded to make a soft approval or table the application review for future review. The vote passed with 6 ayes; 1 abstain.

New Business
Amtgard, Kingdom of Westmarch, Inc. Tax Filings
David Zucker has updates: state and federal have been filed. One extra Biennial (every 2 years) form SA-101 listing our current leaders was last submitted in 2016 but it in unclear if it has been done since then. Cost is $20.00. We can send that out with money from the discretionary fund. A motion was made and seconded to go ahead and submit this form now to be sure we are covered. The vote passed unanimously.

There was no further discussion on the tax filings. A motion to table it until the next meeting was made and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Westmarch Fundraising was presented by Sir Gorin of Northreach, representative of Amtgard International. They are currently researching across states where Amtgard kingdoms are with regards to laws and regulations regarding fundraising. The goal is to have a couple of individuals from each kingdom to cooperate with the AI in looking at those possibilities and opportunities for fundraising at a higher level. 10% of funds raised would to to Amtgard Inc. with the remainder staying with the individual kingdom.
Concerns were voiced about how much money Westmarch is allowed without violating their 501C-7 non-profit status. David Zucker clarified that 35% of our income can come from sources outside of our membership. He also clarified that $50,000.00 is what the State of California is concerned with us making (gross). More money means more scrutiny. At that point we would need to hire a professional to handle the paperwork and taxes.

A motion was made and seconded to have a non-binding resolution to explore this venue. No vote took place.

Kinds of fundraising ideas which could make that much money was discussed. Northreach does poker tournaments. Dragonspine sells boffer swords at renaissance fairs. Partnering with other organizations is another. Every region will have different opportunities they can take advantage of. Right now the plan is to appoint two persons from the kingdom to look into what Westmarch can do. David Zucker mentioned that Westmarch can do gambling/poker in California but would need to submit the proper applications and pay the required fees.

Elisa Mott recommended we consider changing how we handle event insurance to one which is bought yearly, rather than event to event. It is something discussed and never implemented previously.

A motion was made again and seconded to enter into a non-binding resolution with Amtgard International to explore this venue. The vote passed unanimously.

Options for who shall be the Westmarch representatives were discussed. A motion was made and seconded on these representatives be the sitting monarch, the BoD liaison, and a volunteer from the general kingdom populace. Tarathena Sager (Bill) has been involved in this initially and will be invited to take the position from the general populace. The vote passed unanimously.

A motion was made and seconded that this is revisited in the April meeting to stay current on its status.
The vote passed unanimously.

Open Floor
Back to the Darkshore XXI contract. A motion was made and seconded to accept the current version.
The vote passed: 6 ayes; one abstain.

Feast of Mars bid is up for an Althing vote in a week. Jodi Begley is working with Matt Bryant (Drenth), who is autocratting Feast of Mars, on filling out the application forms for the Monterey Parks Department. A motion was made and seconded that she remain the point of contact between the BoD and Feast of Mars planning committee. The vote passed unanimously.

A motion to schedule the April 2018 BoD meeting at 7:00 p.m. on the 19th was made and seconded. The vote passed: one abstain; 5 ayes.

With no further business, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn this meeting. The vote passed unanimously.

Transcribe by Kim Gilchrist—Westmarch BOD Secretary
User avatar
ElSpeth Sharrisselva
 
Posts: 139
Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 10:22 pm

April 2018 BoD minutes

Postby ElSpeth Sharrisselva » Tue Jun 12, 2018 3:22 pm

Westmarch Board of Director’s Meeting
April 19, 2018 7:00 p.m.
http://youtu.be/di7X6k5Y_34 (April)


Call to Order and Roll Call
The meeting was called to order and a roll call was made.
Those in attendance are:
Ian Crawford (Fiks), President
Elisa Mott (Nakita), Liaison
Jodi Begley (Raven), Vice-President
Kim Richards (Gilchrist) (ElSpeth)
David Zucker (Azus), Prime Minister
Marcus Bergman (Collin MacAbee) alternate

Not Present are:
David Inglis (Deimos), Monarch
Robert Mott (Euric), Treasurer


Reading of the Last Meeting's Minutes
The meeting notes from the March 15, 2018 BoD meeting were read. A motion to accept the notes as read and accurate and voted on; passing unanimously.

Old Business
P.O. Box Keys update is postponed to May due to Robert Mott being absent. A vote to table it was made and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Jodi Begley gave a Darkshore XXI Contracts status. The insurance application is a new one; suggestions for corrections were made and and the form submitted for review in this meeting. Regarding payment, there is a credit card authorization form which must be submitted first. Current money we have is $4,422.83 and $1,075.27 has come in from prepay, allowing us to cover the park fee and most of the food costs. Jodi offered to pay for the insurance now and be reimbursed after the event.

• MoCo Parks Event Agreement
• Moco Parks Event Agreement w/ Questions

It was mentioned that Westmarch can pay the parks department directly; their information was passed on to David Zucker, Prime Minister to take care of that portion. David reported he would address this within the next couple of days. Also money will be forwarded to Matt Bryant for purchasing feast supplies. Receipts will be turned in.

A vote to agree that the agreement is acceptable and Jodi is free to submit it to the parks department was made and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

$233.95 is the new insurance cost for Darkshore and the form is updated per Elisa Mott’s recommendations.

A vote to approve the form and allow its submission to the park’s department was made and seconded, with the caveat that additional information the park may request be added without further delay. The vote passed unanimously. There was no further business relating to Darkshore XXI.

A vote to table Darkshore discussion indefinitely, allowing for an emergency meeting of the B0D should any issues arise, was made and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Feast of Mars XIV Contracts. Matt Bryant submitted the event plan and medical form first drafts for BoD review. He also included the bid he previously submitted to the Westmarch Monarchy.

A vote that we accept these documents as acceptable first drafts, for Matt to make corrections, and submit it to the Monterey Parks Department was made and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

A vote to table further Feast of Mars discussion until the May B0D meeting was made and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was the Amtgard, Kingdom of Westmarch, Inc. Tax Filings. David Zucker reported that the form was submitted earlier in the day and the $20.00 paid for out of his Prime Minister allotment.

As this year’s requirements are fulfilled, a motion was was made to table tax filing discussions until next year and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Elisa Mott reported there are no updates yet on the Amtgard International / Westmarch, Incorporated fundraising plans. An informal meeting of the monarch, liaison, and populace representative.

A vote to table this item until the May meeting was made and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

New Business
There is no new business on the agenda.

Open Floor
A discussion concerning yearly LARPing insurance commenced. Elisa Mott reported that she looked into the insurance and it is a specialty insurance so there are only a couple of insurers who offer it. It would provide a commercial liability form and mandate a $10,000.00 medical coverage, should someone be injured while playing. The medical coverage does raise the overall cost. The estimated cost was between $6.80 and a little over $7.00 per member per year. Member numbers could be calculated per the ONLINE RECORDS KEEPER (ORC); however membership would need to be defined with regards to active members or voting (dues-paid) members. A concern was voiced regarding events, where people outside of Westmarch attend: should they be insured also? Elisa answered that only Westmarch members would be included in the member count but that the medical coverage would include any Amtgard player at the event because the likely hood of every member filing a claim at the event is negligible.

David Zucker reported current Westmarch membership numbers are 335, which works out to a couple thousand dollars per year in premiums. This amount is not cost effective versus the $900.00 insurance paid per event currently used. If the Amtgard International / Westmarch, Incorporated fundraising brings in enough, it could make yearly insurance viable for the future.

A question was raised about which events would be covered by this insurance. The answer was that it covers any Westmarch event. Other more localized events would not be covered unless the autocrats apply for use of the Westmarch EIN number to the BoD. It would cover contracted Westmarch lands at their normal park days. If a claim was submitted, the B0D would determine if it should be filed or not. Additionally, there would be concerns about players under the age of 14, who play with their local monarch’s permission. A corpora change might be necessary to document who approved them and when. A suggestion to make this kind of documentation necessary now, with a corpora change and an updated waiver.

With no further comments or questions, the vote to table this discussion indefinitely with the caveat to revisit the issue when it becomes more financially viable for Westmarch. This was seconded and passed unanimously.

There was no further business for the open floor.

Schedule May Meeting
A motion was made to schedule the next meeting for May 17, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Meeting Adjournment
With no further business, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn this meeting. The vote passed unanimously.

Transcribed by Kim Gilchrist—Westmarch BoD Secretary
User avatar
ElSpeth Sharrisselva
 
Posts: 139
Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 10:22 pm

May 2018 BoD minutes

Postby ElSpeth Sharrisselva » Tue Jun 12, 2018 3:23 pm

Westmarch Board of Director’s Meeting
May 17, 2018 7:00 p.m.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-22saaaKBE (May)

Call to Order and Roll Call
The meeting was called to order and a roll call was made.
Those in attendance are:
Ian Crawford (Fiks), President
Jodi Begley (Raven), Vice-President
Kim Richards (Gilchrist) (ElSpeth), Secretary
David Zucker (Azus), Prime Minister
Marcus Bergman (Collin MacAbee), Monarch
Robert Mott (Euric), Treasurer
Elisa Mott (Nakita), Liaison

Reading of the Last Meeting's Minutes
The meeting Ian Crawford’s notes from the April 2018 BoD meeting were read. A motion to accept the notes as read and accurate and voted on; passing unanimously.

Old Business
P.O. Box Keys update: the issue is still pending. A vote to table until the June meeting was made and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Feast of Mars 14 Monterey Parks Application. Autocrat, Matt Bryant supplied the new application and also an EIN request because the parks department is asking about it. Details about new questions from the parks department were discussed and clarified. Recommendations regarding the equipment, alcohol serving, and volunteer list questions, along with a beneficiary correction will be forwarded to Matt Bryant.

The EIN request form. The motion to approve the EIN form was made and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

The motion was made to give Matt Bryant the BoD’s recommended corrections and blessing to submit the application, once corrected, to the Monterey Park’s Department. The motion was seconded and the vote passed unanimously.

A motion to table further Feast of Mars discussion until the June BoD meeting was made and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Elisa Mott reported on the Amtgard International—Westmarch Incorporated Fundraising. She reports she reached out to the Westmarch new monarch. Marcus Bergman reported that Tarathena Sager has accepted the volunteer position with this issue. Elisa will reach out to Tarathena Sager (Bill) and Jason Chapman (Gorin) for inclusion in a discussion group for the fundraising. Marcus Bergman requested to be added into that conversation as well. He also reported that the Circle of Monarchs has been informed that Amtgard International is requesting $1,000.00 from each Amtgard Kingdom for the 2019 budget. It is unclear whether the fundraising will alleviate the need for $1,000.00 or is in addition to that amount requested.

A motion to table the discussion on the fundraising until the June meeting, was seconded, and the vote passed unanimously.

New Business
Darkshore after-event report. Jodi Begley reported that she posted a spreadsheet on the forums with details on monies taken in at Darkshore. It also shows a summary of expenses, event costs, and totals. Estimated costs were $4,808.00; actual costs were $5,026.00. Income estimate was $7,000.00 (not including the $400.00 deposit); actual monies taken in were $ 7,096.94.

Jodi also reports she has reached out to the parks department regarding the higher cost of using the De Anza building and reporting issues with the declining condition of the kitchen facilities (with specifics on what appliances don’t work). The parks liaison is sending someone to inspect the kitchen. It is our hope the facilities will be repaired before Feast of Mars and/or we are issued a refund for the difference between the higher amount charged and the amount the kitchen building was rented to us for previously.

Jodi also talked with the parks liaison about the problems with the Civil War reenactment group occupying areas of the park we rented and also their ongoing cannon fire throughout the day. They had rented a separate area but set up on our rented space. We are asking for a reimbursement of money paid on an area we were unable to use.

The total net profit from this Darkshore, without any refunds or the deposit return, is $2,071.00.
A discussion ensued about whether the $400.00 of the Darkshore profit, which traditionally is put back into the Darkshore event fund, is enough. Jodi proposed changing that amount to a larger number to account for rising site costs. David Zucker pointed out that is a decision between the Darkshore autocrats and the Monarch. An althing vote would be necessary to raise the dollar amount if they so choose. Ian Crawford pointed out that this not really a decision for the BoD, other than to make a recommendation.

A motion was made to table Darkshore XXI and was unanimously agreed upon.

The next discussion item was Westmarch Wars. Ian Crawford reported we have not received an official application from the autocrat. Paul Wilkins was invited to join this BOD discussion to report on the event. He accepted and joined in.

Concerns were raised about wording in the contract forbidding bows and that a park ranger might not see Amtgard arrows as safe enough to be an exception. Paul reported having discussed this specifically with the contract company running the site. He says they have no problem with the safety of our equipment.
An additional concern was raised about whether the contract company approves of the activities planned for Westmarch Wars. Paul reports he has a verbal approval but nothing in writing. He further reiterated that the area rented is located away from day use areas.

A question was asked about leashing dogs on a limited length of six feet. Paul reports security will tell people with longer leashes about it. The BoD recommends he make this fact known to potential attendees prior to the event.

The contract restricts use of alcohol in day use areas and so the question of whether this applies to the area we are renting was raised. Paul reported that the limitation is for day use areas only; the camping area is not considered day use.

A clarification was asked for, regarding noisy generators. Paul assured the BoD that the area rented for Westmarch Wars is far enough away that any noise made by a generator wouldn’t be a problem.

The BoD is also recommending being proactive regarding policies of use of marijuana, despite it not being specifically limited on the application.

Next, a question regarding a paper form of the contract signed online—will one be available? Paul reports he doesn’t know but the contractors may not want to create a paper trail that could cause waves with the state parks. He clarified the role of the contractors as running the park. He paid the state through their online reservation website.

Last, a question came up with regards to the potential of limited fire use and no smoking imposed by the parks should there be a high fire danger in the month of August. Paul said he had no answer but would find out. The amount requested from Westmarch was confirmed as $1,700.00 and to be sent to kingdom althing for a vote. He also reports plans to obtain additional insurance over what the parks department is asking. However it was recommended not to spend the money if the parks department isn’t specifically asking for it.
A motion to table Westmarch Wars until the June BOD meeting was made and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

The next issue is Audit preparation. It was decided to discuss this now, rather than wait another month. The official end of the audit period is June 30th. The due date for audits was clarified as August 1st at midnight. Requirements were discussed and clarified.

It was mentioned and recommended that the BoD members reach out to assigned land prime ministers, as has been done in the past. There are several groups with potential issues at this time who may need extra support. Kim agreed to compile a list of current Prime Ministers. There are sixteen active lands currently.

A motion for our current game plan is for Kim to compile the list; the BoD to contact those lands’ prime ministers; report in the June meeting, was seconded, and the vote passed unanimously.

Ashen Spire has sent a letter petitioning a name change from Ashen Spire to Nymyr’s Sanctum. They are requesting the start date remain the original starting date of Ashen Spire and that members’ start dates also remain the same. A new contract will be needed for Westmarch but it is unclear on whether Amtgard International Board of Directors will also need a contract. Until that is signed, audits will remain as Ashen Spire. Robert Mott agreed to contact AIBoD.

A motion was made for Robert to contact the AIBod and for us to contact Nymyr’s Sanctum to start on the contract paperwork for Westmarch. It was seconded and mutually agreed upon.

Open Floor
An issue with the Kingdom of Celestial Kingdoms was brought forth. A long and lively discussion ensued; however it was pointed out this is not a BOD issue. Advice was imparted and the issue abandoned.

Next was a concern about event funding with regards to money from one event falling over into the next and the time between when an event turns in funds after their event and the next event needing money for fees and applications early. Should bids be asked for earlier? Pros and cons were discussed and it was decided this was, again, not an issue for the BoD to decide and the issue set aside.

Schedule June Meeting
The next BoD meeting is scheduled for June 12th at 7:30 p.m. The motion was made and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Meeting Adjournment
With no further business, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn this meeting. The vote passed unanimously.

Transcribed by Kim Gilchrist—Westmarch BoD Secretary
User avatar
ElSpeth Sharrisselva
 
Posts: 139
Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 10:22 pm

June 2018 BoD minutes

Postby ElSpeth Sharrisselva » Tue Jul 10, 2018 2:56 pm

Westmarch Board of Director’s Meeting
June 21, 2018 7:30 p.m.


Call to Order and Roll Call
The meeting was called to order and a roll call was made.
Those in attendance are:
Ian Crawford (Fiks), President
Jodi Begley (Raven), Vice-President
Kim Richards (Gilchrist) (ElSpeth), Secretary
David Zucker (Azus), Prime Minister
Marcus Bergman (Collin MacAbee), Monarch
Bryan Kloberdanz (Po) Alternate

Not in attendance are:
Robert Mott (Euric), Treasurer
Elisa Mott (Nakita), Liason

Reading of the Last Meeting's Minutes
Meeting minutes for the May 2018 Board of Directors meeting were read by Kim Gilchrist. A motion was made to accept the minutes as read and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Old Business
P.O. Box keys update: Although Robert Mott isn’t present, he previously reported that should the extra key be turned in, there would be no forthcoming refund. Furthermore, should we need a new key in the future, a new charge would be instituted. The motion was made to just hold on to the spare key and keep it in the Prime Minister box and seconded. The vote passed 1 no, 5 ayes. The question of if the P.O. Box is checked regularly was asked; Jodi Begley reported she checks it at times but that Robert Mott checks it often. He will be directed to turn the spare key in to David Zucker for safekeeping in the PM box. This issue was mutually agreed upon to table indefinitely.

Feast of Mars update: As we have no recent update, Jodi Begley is messaging the autocrat for information. In lieu of that, it was mutually decided to table the update for the time being until the July meeting. Jodi heard back from Matt Bryant and reported he has no updates at this time.

Westmarch Wars update: August 23, 2018 There are no further updates on this event as well. Our liaison officer will contact the event autocrat and inquire about any needs they may have and for an update. Marcus Bergman reported that the funds were approved via a Westmarch Althing. David Zucker reports the monies have been transferred to Paul Wilkins (Etah) and that we did not incur Paypal fees.

The open issue with Westmarch Wars was insurance. Per mutual agreement, our liaison officer will asked to check in with the autocrat to see if there are any other contracts which need approval and report back to the BoD at the July meeting.

Amtgard International/Westmarch Fundraising Initiative update: Elisa Mott is not present for an update; however, Marcus Bergman as monarch reported that most items discussed did not need an NPO from Amtgard International. That would be needed should we extend fundraising beyond 35% of our own membership. We are waiting on Jason Chapman (Gorin) to report back from contacting the AI BoD regarding limitations we may have and processes we need to utilize their system and splitting the money brought in with them. For 2019, David Inglis’ current Westmarch fundraising efforts has more than covered our obligations to Amtgard International. The project is moving forward slowly. It was mutually decided to table this item until the July meeting.

Upcoming land audits preparations: Kim Gilchrist has compiled a list of the current Prime Ministers with their contact information. It was shared with the BoD without the individuals’ personal information. She reported that most PM’s are open to being contacted through Instant Messenger. That list is attached to this document.

Two audit periods back (January through June 2017), the BoD members split up the lands and contacted their PM’s to offer assistance. Options to repeat this, have the liaison officer reach out to all the lands, or take a hand’s off approach. It was decided to repeat splitting up the lands among BoD members for outreach because of its positive influence upon audits turned in, particularly with PM’s who are new to the job.

Marcus Bergman proposed we reach out only to the lands who have a new PM and those who have struggled with audits previously. Jodi Begley will contact Ageir’s Hall. Marcus Bergman will take Fal Dare and Siar Geata . Ian Crawford will take Ashen Spire and Aureus Saltus. Kim Gilchrist will take Sylvan Reaches, Clockwork Spires, and Skyfire Bay. An announcement will be made on the forums and Westmarch FB page for, if anyone wants help, to reach out to a member of the Westmarch BoD. David Zucker will send out a check list as before since it was helpful.

This issue will be tabled until the July meeting, though the August meeting is the actual audit review meeting.

New Business
Marcus Bergman reports two new lands have formed within the twenty-five mile radius of current Westmarch lands. The AI BoD needs our monarch to sign off on them; he wants the Westmarch BoD’s impression of them. The closest is in Davis, which is close to Mistyvale. They are wanting to start as a freehold with the potential to join Westmarch in the future. They are looking to be running in time to catch the fall college students returning. Mistyvale is fine with it.

The second is San Marcos, which is twenty-three miles from Siar Geata . Despite the formation possibly be caused by personality strife, the monarch of Siar Geata has no issue with the new land. The new park is on an alternate day from Siar Geata . They also wish to start as a freehold, with the potential to join Westmarch.

Both lands are on hold with the AI BoD until the Westmarch monarch approves them.

Discussion ensued over whether we should be concerned if the San Marcos land doesn’t want to play battle games, do A&S, or roleplay. They only want to fight. We can take that into consideration when they apply to join Westmarch. It will limit the awards and ability for their members to advance within Amtgard. They can choose to institute those elements of Amtgard at a later date.

All of the board members present approved the idea of both lands. Marcus Bergman will contact the AI BoD regarding the lands.

The next issue is one of the Golden City Principality who want to join Westmarch. They are experiencing members joining them to avoid Celestial Kingdom bans. Their monarchy reported to Marcus Bergman that they do enforce all bans. Marcus informed them they would have to become a shire should they join Westmarch and follow our audit process. There would be an influx of four, possibly five, knights which could affect the Westmarch Circle of Knights. We are waiting on the CK’s approval pending a conversation with Marcus Bergman and the banned persons.

Concerns include the location of other kingdoms being closer than Westmarch. Per the Westmarch CoK, Marcus Bergman will contact David Inglis who is the WM CoK contact for input by the Westmarch knights. The issue will be tabled indefinitely at this time, per mutual consent of attending BoD members.

Open Floor
There is no business for the open floor.

Schedule Next Meeting
The July meeting is scheduled for July 10th at 7:00 p.m. A vote was taken for scheduling this date and time; and passed unanimously.

Meeting Adjournment
With no further business, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn this meeting. The vote passed unanimously.

Transcribed by Kim Gilchrist—Westmarch BoD Secretary

Westmarch Prime Ministers
(as of June 12, 2018)

Duchy of Thor's Refuge
Monica Cross (Momma)

Duchy of Crimson Wood
Jason Arevalo (Yeison)

Shire of Aegir's Hall
Justin James Taunton (Kram)

Barony of Aureus Saltus
Christian Dreeszen (Ka’a) is stepping in for Victoria Frazer (Lady Arriana Hale)

Barony of Wyvern's Spur
James Anderson (Thistledown)

Barony of Wavehaven
Misty Fletcher (Misty Charcho)

Barony of the Seven Sleeping Dragons
Ty Smity (Azalin d'Vraxzal)

Barony of Fal Dare
Devon Wirtz (River Gayle)

Barony of Mistyvale
Teresa Bergman (Tamara MacAbee)

Shire of Belial Peaks
Bethany Wa (Tranquility Kallan)

Shire of Sylvan Reaches (currently not meeting)
Edwin Siegel (Bustanado)

Shire of Nymyr’s Sanctum (formerly Ashen Spire)
Sarah Worley (Meyliassa)

Shire of Clockwork Spires
Carmen Stevens (Lepish)

Shire of the Valley of the Fallen
Sabine Toscana (Michelle Ramirez)

Shire of Bremen's Fortress
Morgan Grant (Nerokos)

Duchy of Siar Geata
Tirzah Brown (Thorn)

Shire of Skyfire Bay
No officers on caamtgard
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
User avatar
ElSpeth Sharrisselva
 
Posts: 139
Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 10:22 pm

Re: July 2018 Meeting Notes

Postby ElSpeth Sharrisselva » Wed Aug 15, 2018 7:20 pm

Westmarch Board of Director’s Meeting
July 10, 2018 7:00 p.m.


Call to Order and Roll Call
The meeting was called to order and a roll call was made.
Those in attendance are:
Ian Crawford (Fiks), President
Kim Richards (Gilchrist) (ElSpeth), Secretary
Marcus Bergman (Collin MacAbee), Monarch
Robert Mott (Euric), Treasurer
Elisa Mott (Nakita), Liason
Bryan Kloberdanz (Po) Alternate

Those not in attendance are:
Jodi Begley (Raven), Vice-President
David Zucker (Azus), Prime Minister

Reading of the Last Meeting's Minutes
The meeting notes from the June 2018 meeting were read and corrections regarding the portion about The Golden City were brought forth by Marcus Bergman. “They are experiencing members joining in order to avoid CK bans.” This was a speculative concern relayed to Marcus Bergman by a member of the CK and not actual fact at this time.
A motion was made to accept the minutes with corrections applied. The vote passed unanimously.

Old Business
Feast of Mars update:
Autocrat Matt Bryant reports: We have our crat teams made, games are being discussed, trainers are chosen, menu is made, site is locked in. Things are on schedule. Insurance has already been approved, as has the site application. With no further concerns, a motion was made to table this indefinitely. It was seconded and the vote passed unanimously.

Westmarch Wars update:
The Liaison officer was to contact the autocrat for an update. Elisa Mott reports she did not have contact with him due to not realizing she was to do this and was absent last meeting. Now that she knows, she will reach out to him. Marcus Bergman mentioned concerns with the recent loss of feast-o-crats and asked if there is news about who is hosting the meals and their menus. Robert Mott reports there are a few groups hosting meals but the lack of kitchen facilities has others wary of volunteering. A stove was offered but has not been accepted at this time. Ian Crawford asked if there is anything the B0D can do to help and it was determined that was not a BoD issue. Last we heard the event did not yet have insurance. Elisa Mott will include an update on that when she talks with the autocrat and will report on it. If we need to vote on something before the August meeting, we will hold an emergency meeting.

With no further Westmarch Wars issues, the motion was made to table this discussion until August and have an emergency meeting should one be necessary. It was seconded and the vote passed unanimously.

Note: Elisa Mott mentions she received contact from Paul Wilkins during this meeting about the insurance for Westmarch Wars. He does not have it yet but intends to obtain insurance for the event. He will notify her once he gets it set up.

Amtgard International/Westmarch Fundraising update: We’ve been waiting for information from the Amtgard International representative. Elisa Mott reports she has not heard from him but will contact him for an update on processes and information. He has been unable to answer some questions but perhaps the Amtgard International hasn’t reached the point where they can answer those just yet. Marcus Bergman will talk with him at Clan later in July. The motion was made to table this until the August meeting. A counter motion was voiced that we should table until the September meeting since the August one will be addressing land audits. The counter motion was seconded and voted upon. The vote passed unanimously.

Land audit preparations:
Ian Crawford reports on Ashen Spire and Wavehaven. Aside from a few light issues, Ashen Spire is behind but should be ready to submit their audit on time. He did not get in contact with Aureus Saltas. He will do that later in the week.

Kim Gilchrist reports Sylvan Reaches is still on hiatus. Due to mundane life, it’s unlikely they will start back up soon so an audit will not be expected. Whether they fold is now up to them. Kim had difficulty reaching Skyfire Bay and eventually got in touch with their Facebook group moderator. They are reported to have 8-10 members but no real interest in anything other than the fighting aspect of Amtgard. It is unlikely we will see an audit from them. Clockwork Spires: the PM correction is Megan Ferrin. She reports being ready to submit at this time. She does have guidance from Bacchaus.

Marcus Bergman was unable to respond to Siar Geata despite reaching out twice; however, their ORK records are up-to-date so they should be fine with their audit. He talked River Gale of Fal Dare. She’s missing January and February sign-ins from the previous P.M. Is behind on the ORK and expects to fail the audit. She will submit the audit paperwork in any case. Marcus is concerned with their attendance and ledger entries being light. Their land is struggling.

Jodi Begley was to contact Ageirs Hall but they have already submitted their audit. Other lands who’ve already submitted are Mistyvale, Bremmen’s Fortress, and Valley of the Fallen.

Marcus Bergman urges the BoD to use the checklists and go over the audits prior to the August meeting. Audits are due August 1st at midnight.

Robert Mott reports that Thor’s Refuge PM, Monica Cross, is waiting on Crown Qualification results to include. Bryan Kloberdanz reports she is also waiting on proof of advertising. They expect the audit to be submitted on time.

With no further audit discussion the motion was made and seconded to table this until the August audit meeting. The vote passed unanimously.

New Business
Jodi Begley wished to discuss the subject of the Prime Minister hand-off contract but that will be addressed in the September meeting. The issue is , because it is a type of contract, whether this BoD must look them over and sign them. Should a scan of those be included in the audits? They could be emailed and stored electronically. The motion was made and seconded to move this discussion on to the September meeting and the vote passed unanimously.

Open Floor
Ian Crawford was approached as Monarch of Wavehaven by the Westmarch Regent about Wavehaven hosting Kingdom Midreign. He has found a site and a contract to reserve the site. He also requests use of the Westmarch EIN number. He doesn’t have the final fee quote yet but expects it to be $166.00 plus taxes.

Ian reports Westmarch will be handling the site fee, while Wavehaven will provide for the feast with the expectation to be reimbursed by any monies donated at that time to help cover the costs. They are renting a picnic spot with barbeque grills but no kitchen. Electricity will be an extra fee. Marcus Bergman says to contact him if those are needed and he will take care of authorizing Westmarch to pay for the electricity.

The event has been moved from Aureus Saltus to Wavehaven per direction of the Westmarch Regent due to a conflict of dates and details.

A motion was made and seconded that the EIN application and contract be approved. The vote passed 5 ayes, one abstain.
An alcohol permit will be addressed if necessary since it involves fees and a deposit. Ian will discuss it with the Westmarch Regent and reach out to the BoD should one be needed.

Schedule Next Meeting
A motion was made and seconded to schedule the August meeting for Friday, August 17, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. The vote passed unanimously.

Meeting Adjournment
With no further business, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn this meeting. The vote passed unanimously.

Transcribed by Kim Gilchrist—Westmarch BoD Secretary
User avatar
ElSpeth Sharrisselva
 
Posts: 139
Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 10:22 pm

August 2018 BoD Meeting Notes

Postby ElSpeth Sharrisselva » Tue Sep 18, 2018 3:13 pm

Westmarch Board of Director’s Meeting
August 17, 2018 7:00 p.m.


Call to Order and Roll Call
The meeting was called to order and a roll call was made.
Those in attendance are:
Ian Crawford (Fiks), President
Jodi Begley (Raven), Vice-President
Marcus Bergman (Collin MacAbee), Monarch
Robert Mott (Euric), Treasurer
Elisa Mott (Nakita), Liason
Bryan Kloberdanz (Po) Alternate
David Zucker (Azus) outgoing Prime Minister

Members not in attendance:
Kim Richards (Gilchrist) (ElSpeth), Secretary

Reading of the Last Meeting's Minutes
Ian Crawford read the minutes from the July BoD meeting in Kim’s absence. A motion was made and seconded to accept the minutes as read. The vote passed unanimously.

Old Business
Westmarch Wars contracts. Elisa Mott reports she reached out to Paul Wilkins (Etah) but has not heard back from him. If anything is needed from the BoD before the event next weekend, an emergency meeting shall be called. Jodi asked about whether there will be insurance for the event and if it is mandatory. Elisa noted it was preferable but not a requirement and that Paul Wilkins would ultimately be responsible for insurance issues. Ian referred to the Corpora and found no stated consequences for the event autocrat not purchasing insurance for the event. Because he did not bring the contract to the BoD to sign off, Paul is responsible. During this discussion, Paul Wilkins did forward signed documents to Elisa Mott who then forwarded them to each BoD member.

During review of the insurance question arose regarding the insurer, Evanston Insurance Company, being a business outside of the State of California and if that is problematic. Bryan Kloberdanz checked into them and discovered they have been licensed to insure in California since 2004.

Marcus Bergman drew attention to three lines of the insurance form which are cause for concern. They are as follows:

California
1. THE INSURANCE POLICY THAT YOU ARE APPLYING TO PURCHASE IS
BEING ISSUED BY AN INSURER THAT IS NOT LICENSED BY THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA. THESE COMPANIES ARE CALLED "NONADMITTED" OR "SURPLUS
LINE" INSURERS.
2. THE INSURER IS NOT SUBJECT TO THE FINANCIAL SOLVENCY
REGULATION AND ENFORCEMENT THAT APPLY TO CALIFORNIA LICENSED
INSURERS.
3. THE INSURER DOEE NOT PARTICIPATE IN ANY OF THE INSURANCE
GUARANTEE FUNDS CREATED BY CALIFORNIA LAW. THEREFORE, THESE
FUNDS WILL NOT PAY YOUR CLAIMS OR PROTECT YOUR ASSETS IF THE
INSURER BECOMES INSOLVENT AND IS UNABLE TO MAKE PAYMENTS AS
PROMISED.

Elisa Mott reports this is normal for this type of insurance company. She is concerned there is no named insured, no policy fee, and it shows an annual policy starting in February. Those were listed on the certificate of liability. He has listed himself as the insured. The address used is the one of the site. The actual policy document doesn’t give the right information. Elisa will get with Paul Wilkins and let him know this policy does not cover what he thinks it does and he would be the one liable should any loss occur.

A suggestion was made to ask him to go through the Event Helper as well. She will also post any corrected documents he submits to the Caamtgard forum.

An additional concern involves page 136 of the policy regarding the disallowance of marijuana at the event. Because of recent California laws changing there may be confusion. Currently we have zero tolerance. The Monterey Parks department has previously banned the use of marijuana at it’s parks. We need to make it clear that this is something prohibited at any event. Should this be included in our contracts? Possibly our Corpora. It was proposed to table the discussion of marijuana and refer the issue and any Corpora amendment to the current monarchy since it is not a BoD issue .

Per the Westmarch Wars insurance policy, a motion was made to table this in favor of the liaison officer, Elisa Mott who is also an insurance professional, to ask Paul Wilkins for new documentation and continue any discussion on the forums. The motion was seconded. The vote passed with 6 ayes.

New Business
Feast of Mars insurance documentation. Matt Bryant turned in the application forms for BoD review and approval before paying for it. Pricing was discussed with regards to quote parameters. The BoD decided it was unlikely to change significantly. Also a question regarding specific wording which prohibits historical reinactment. It was clarified that this applies to groups such as the Civil War reinactors and not Amtgard. A motion was made to approve the application forms with the caveat that it be resubmitted for a new quote. The motion was seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Land contract for Nymyr's Sanctum which had changed since the BoD previously signed. Two concerns which have been voiced were that it was signed previous to this review and that there are signatures in the wrong locations. Also some signatures are legal names and others persona names. Should we redo this contract with the new amended contract? It was proposed they be allowed to use the name Nymyr's Sanctum now and requesting a new contract using the updated contract and all the names in the proper spot. The motion was made and seconded. The vote passed six ayes and one abstention. The incoming prime minister will be asked to take this request to Nymyr's Sanctum to resubmit the contract.

Prime Minister hand-off. A question arose previously on whether the BoD needed to provide a signed document for banks to allow a change of persons on bank accounts. Ian Crawford reports, after a discussion with a bank official, such a document is not necessary. The outgoing and incoming persons simply must be in a branch of the bank at the same time.

Questions regarding the Westmarch Prime Minister changing hands the day after this meeting came up with regards to a Paypal payment which must be made and the BoD Treasurer, Robert Mott, being able to audit the books. David Zucker (Azus) reports Alycia Pozzi (Fenra) has the passwords to the accounts; he has the physical paperwork and cash box. He will be meeting with her to hand off everything. He reports the cash in the cash box is $66.67. None of the BoD present felt this was a large enough amount to deposit before the hand off.

BoD President, Ian Craword requested it be made a priority for the outgoing prime minister, BoD treasurer, and incoming prime minister meet for the hand off and audit of the books. It is noted this will be difficult coordinating everyone’s schedules but is a necessity. Before the next meeting will be ideal.

A motion was made to table the prime minister hand off until the September meeting and was seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Land audits:
Marcus Bergman (Collin) suggested we vote first and then, if we disagree, a discussion on that point can take place as does the Amtgard Circle of Monarchs. Reasons for the rating will be added afterwards. There were no objections from the BoD members present.
Aegir's Hall
Fail rating per unanimous vote.
Their previous rating was a pass. Attendance requirements were not met for April, May, or most of June. No sign in scans were turned in and incomplete recruitment.

Ashen Spire
1 abstain, 6 excellent votes for a rating of excellent.
One date was incorrect on a sign in.

Aureus Saltus
Fail rating per unanimous vote.
Did not meet weekly. Missing sign in sheet, election, crown qual results. Plenty of good advertising. Their ledger did not have an opening entry.

Belial Peaks
2 pass, 5 excellent votes for an excellent rating.
They met extra days and travelled to ensure attendance. Sample flyer was used with not showing where it was being used. This was clarified that, per the corpora, samples are acceptable.

Bremen's Fortress
1 pass, 6 excellent votes for an excellent rating.
Questions about their ledger legibility; it is chaotic.

Clockwork Spires
They did not turn in an audit so get an automatic fail rating.

Crimson Wood
1 pass, 6 excellent votes for an excellent rating.
Paypal account but no ledger or images from the account. However, it was determined that it was a personal account and not an official land account; the process should be documented better. One Flurbtastic sign in was off by a month. A sample of a flyer without direction of use. The flyer was for coronation. There were also scans of business cards.

Fal Dare
Fail rating per unanimous vote.
As this is their third fail in a row, it was proposed to offer them the chance to self demote before it goes to a kingdom althing vote. This is the monarch’s prerogative. They did turn in what they had. No crown qual or election results. No recruitment examples. No attendance and missing sign in sheets.

Mistyvale
Excellent rating per unanimous vote.
The enthusiasm of this park is notable.

Seven Sleeping Dragons
Fail per corpora.
Did not turn in the audit in time which, per corpora, is an automatic fail. The audit itself was great; just didn’t get turned in on time.

Siar Geata
2 pass, 5 fail, for a fail rating.
Missing the March 10th sign in. They didn’t meet regularly. Missing crown qual results. It was pointed out that there is no place to list results of others besides persons running for offices entering items in the A&S. Quals were not run according to the corpora.

Skyfire Bay
They did not turn in an audit so get an automatic fail rating.


Sunfire Valley
They did not turn in an audit so get an automatic fail rating. They are considered defunct.

Sylvan Reaches
They did not turn in an audit so get an automatic fail rating. It was recommended that it be explained that there is no such thing as a hiatus in Westmarch.

Thor's Refuge
Excellent rating per unanimous vote.
Audit could be more organized; Ledger beginning and ending balances should be indicated on the worksheet. Sign in sheets were missing dates on them. The print date of the document is not the official meet date of the sheet.

Valley of the Fallen
Excellent rating per unanimous vote.
Their packet submitted did not include a total for their unique monthly average. No total for the ledger on the worksheet; the audit was abbreviated per the handwritten. David Zucker had added notes explaining the attendance averages. They did show their flyer ‘in use’.

Wavehaven
1 pass, 6 excellent for an excellent rating.
One date was an excel sheet on a phone, not a physical sign in sheet. Crown quals was not complete.

Wyvern's Spur
6 pass, 1 abstain for a pass rating.
Attendance was wonky for April, May, and June. Bank statement should have bank routing and personal information redacted. Ledger was done on lined paper and not an actual ledger book. No crown qual results. No advertising; however there was a demo.

The high number of fail ratings is discouraging despite BoD members reaching out and offering help. We need to encourage audits be turned in earlier.

The motion was made to close land audits and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Open Floor
No new business.

Schedule Next Meeting
A motion was made to schedule the September BoD meeting for September 20th at 7:00 p.m. The vote passed 1 abstain, 6 ayes.

Meeting Adjournment
With no further business, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn this meeting. The vote passed unanimously.

Transcribed by Kim Gilchrist—Westmarch BoD Secretary
User avatar
ElSpeth Sharrisselva
 
Posts: 139
Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 10:22 pm

September 2018 Meeting Minutes

Postby ElSpeth Sharrisselva » Sun Dec 02, 2018 7:08 pm

Westmarch Board of Director’s Meeting
September 20, 2018 7:00 p.m.

Call to Order and Roll Call
The meeting was called to order and a roll call was made.
Those in attendance are:
Ian Crawford (Fiks), President
Jodi Begley (Raven), Vice-President
Alysia Pozzi (Fenra) Prime Minister
Marcus Bergman (Collin MacAbee), Monarch
Robert Mott (Euric), Treasurer
Elisa Mott (Nakita), Liason

Members not in attendance:
Kim Richards (Gilchrist) (ElSpeth), Secretary
Bryan Kloberdanz (Po) Alternate

Reading of the Last Meeting's Minutes
Ian Crawford read the notes from the August 2018 minutes.
The motion was made to accept the minutes as read with an amendment regarding Siar Geata’s rating and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Old Business
Feast of Mars XIV
The autocrat has reported that nothing further is needed; everything is paid and ready to go. A motion was made to table discussion of Feast of Feast of Mars until October meeting when we will expect an after event report. It was seconded and the vote passed unanimously.

Amtgard International / Westmarch Fundraising
Liason officer, Elisa Mott reports she has not heard anything new. The AIBoD does not have a formal process to request their number in place yet so we are best to concentrate on local efforts until that is in place.

Marcus Bergman reports the main issue is trying to used their NPO for fundraising locally here and, because there is not yet a process in place, it is a gray area at this time. There are differences in lands’ across states non profit status’ which make the process more difficult.

Whether Westmarch should consider changing their status came up. The BoD has not previously discussed it. Concerns were raised about moving Westmarch to a service or educational entity. The differences between the types of non-profit groups is something we need to research. We also need to find out how and why some Amtgard groups have obtained the educational status. Do we need to change our status for fund raising purposes? Jodi Begley was appointed to research the current status, requirements, and what other kingdoms are. She will report in the October meeting. Elisa Mott will also research on the Secretary of State website to see what she can find out and coordinate. Robert Mott also offered to help with this research.

Marcus Bergman suggested contacting AI Bod and ask for a list of all the kingdom’s NPO status.

Clarification: our EIN number is our identifier given to us by the Federal government.

A motion was made to create a subcommittee, headed up by Jodi Begley, to research the possibility of a 501 (c) 3 for Westmarch. The motion was seconded and the vote passed unanimously. It was also pointed out that the subcommittee does not need to be entirely comprised of BoD members; however a monthly reporting to this BoD will be required for BoD oversight.

Prime Minister Hand-over, Financial Audit and Contract
Treasurer, Robert Mott reported that the Westmarch hand-over went well. Alysia reports there were no inconsistencies with the Westmarch paperwork and the finances. They filled out and signed the hand-over paperwork as required. The Westmarch current financial standings are as follows: main account is at $2,491.04; Darkshore has $4,869.67; Westmarch Wars has yet to be repaid so it is at 29 cents; Feast of Mars was paid out so it is at zero. Clarification: for Feast of Mars, there was no placeholder amount left to not zero the account. Alysia reports the bank indicated this was not a problem so long as there were forth coming transactions. $66.67 in cash; Paypal is at zero.

A motion was made to accept the financial report as read and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Land PM Hand-overs
A discussion ensued over whether, because the hand-overs are a type of contract, whether the BoD is responsible for overseeing those. Are the local lands doing the contracts? If so, they should be filed somewhere. Some lands have those hand-over contracts; some don’t. It is not something required per corpora. It is possible we may need to request a vote to change the corpora; another possibility is to make it part of the normal audit process.

Jodie Begley asked, if individual lands used the hand-over contract, would it make a difference? Ian Crawford read from the corpora about prime minister contractual responsibilities. Article 3; Offices of the Kingdom; Item 4; Prime Minister; item number 14.

It is not enforced currently.
A motion was made to table this discussion until the October meeting so the BoD members have time to consider ways to implement and enforce the PM hand-over contracts. It was also proposed to add it to new business for the next meeting. A discussion ensued over whether this BoD covers only Westmarch matters and not individual lands. Per Eliza Mott, this BoD deals with 3rd party contracts so any contracts within lands of Westmarch may be a monarchy issue and not a BoD matter.

Ian Crawford read from the corpora. Article 10: Board of Directors; Item 1.
He asked if an outgoing officer signs a contract with another Westmarch officer, does that fall under this BoD’s jurisdiction. Marcus Bergman pointed out the main issue here is oversight and who in the monarchy is responsible for that, or if that falls to the BoD. Jodi Begley reiterated this issue is about whether this is something for the BoD.

A motion was made to table this discussion until after we discuss Corpora Compliance in new business. It was seconded and the vote passed unanimously.


New Business
Audit Post Mortum
8 excellents; 2 passes (including Siar Gaita); and 7 fails (3 from no audits submitted). What can we do to make the audit process better? Is the BoD reaching out to land prime ministers helping? Jodi Begley reports this was instituted because of a similar situation of too many land fails and that it did dramatically help at first. However, this time it didn’t make any difference.

Robert Mott suggested we look at the scores of the previous audits. He and Marcus Bergman separately mentioned they didn’t remember there being a significant change for the better. The last time the BoD reached out to lands was the audit for period July through December 2016. Comparing that audit period to our most recent audits, here are the land changes:
For the July through December period of 2016 (audit done in January 2017) there were four fails and two passes. For the next period of January through June of 2017 (audit done in July) there were five fails and three passes.
Ashen Spire failed both audits
Sunfire Bay failed both audits
Wavehaven went from a pass to a fail (attendance)
Aureus Saltus failed
Fal Dare went from an excellent to a fail
Valley of the Fallen went from a fail to a pass and then on forward to an excellent the next audit.
Sunfire Valley went from a fail to a defunct

Looking at the core lands for the same time period, there were one pass all else excellent; 2 fails with everyone else excellent ; 2 passes and everyone else excellent. This year’s has not yet been added. 2 fails in the core lands from this year’s though.

Jodi Begley asked if we are not reaching out as a BoD enough, not training prime ministers, or do the lands have apathy towards the process? Should we educate them about audits?

Marcus Bergman stated that there’s hand-off issues between prime ministers, an attitude of ‘we got this’ or ‘we have until the 31st’ procrastination that all come into play. He further points out that 99% of the work for audits come from the land. The BoD has provided them with tools, the method, and a calculator. He believes the issue is burn out from people who have been in office or played Amtgard for long periods of time and improper hand-offs to new people. The exiting prime ministers are not starting the audit paperwork before turning everything else to the new person. He feels we do reach out and help enough. If they keep up the paperwork ongoing then it’s easy; not so if everything is left to the very end. They also need to understand what the Corpora dictates requirements.

Ian Crawford is working to update the audit worksheet to add a line to fill in to indicate they did hold crown qualifications. His additions include: add reminders to attach completed results scanned to the worksheet. Add the cultural winner to the worksheet. July 17, 2018 is the most recent corpora we have. He will update the corpora once these last updates are added. A question regarding when changes take effect: when they are voted in or when the corpora is updated. It is when they are voted in. He will get an updated corpora uploaded to caamtgard.

Eliza Mott suggested, instead of asking for scans of paperwork, that we require ORK updates to show things like attendance. Give them a streamlined idea of what we expect them to do. Scanning the sign-in sheets is a big deal for many.

Jodi asked if making a YouTube video would be helpful. Lady T has made a document for ‘how-to’ fill out the audit form.

What else can the Westmarch BoD do now to help the lands? We keep reaching out to the lands we were previously assigned to see what we can do to help them or teach them the process.

Robert Mott expressed concern that adding a line indicating who was the cultural champion and their score may be interpreted as no longer needing to fill out the other scores about crown qualifications. Ian feels asking them to send in the scans of results and the line for scores on the other officers to prove they actually qualified.

A motion was made to pull up the list of lands submitted and re-divvy them as necessary. It also could be taken care of in the October meetings. This board will not be doing any more audits. However, we should be reaching out to the PM’s now so they have time to get everything in place. Do it now so there is no sense of urgency at the last month.

A motion was made to table audit babysitting until the October meeting and was seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

BoD Best Practices Document
This 2 page document is what the AI Bod wants to see from a land’s BoD when they come up for kingdom status. It also is a guideline for other Amtgard BoD’s to follow.
The following document details the standards to which member kingdoms of Amtgard International are expected to organize their Board of Directors. It is broken out into two sections, the first are things the AI BoD considers as requirements for approval from the Amtgard International Board of Directors. This section is a list of best practices that, though not required, are thought to be of large benefit to the kingdom. In addition, Kingdom Boards of Directors are expected to comply with all applicable state, local, and federal laws.

Requirements for groups petitioning kingdom status and existing kingdoms
• Board of Director members are ultimately elected by the populace.
• Board of Director members must be able to be removed by the populace.
• Financial records must be made available within a reasonable timeframe upon request of any kingdom member.
• Financial statements with all account routing information redacted may be published on a recurring basis, multiple times a year online or in newsletters.
• Meeting minutes must be published openly within a reasonable timeframe on a public, archivable location.
• Board of Directors should not have in-game authority, unless that in-game function specifically impacts business related aspects of the organization (e.g. finances, regulatory compliance, or safety of members). For example, while BoDs should be concerned with the finances of an event, BoDs should have no say in the granting of awards. An exception should be made to remove members of the monarchy in problem situations or where there is a conflict of interest.
• Boards should have a Code of Ethics for members.

Best Practices
• Members should have steady employment, regular access to the internet, not be felons, and time available to attend meetings.
• Establish term limits for board members.
Stagger elections so one half of the electable member spots are elected each cycle (i.e.: 1 year term, every 6 months have an election cycle for members.)
• Boards should have the ability to remove members that cannot regularly attend schedule meetings.
• Have safeguards in place for removing kingdom monarchs for CoC violations.
• Boards and Kingdoms should have financial policies available to members of the kingdom.
• The monarch and another elected kingdom position should be active within the Board and to sign off on financial projects that occur within their reign.
• Financial statements should be published at least once a reign and should be reviewed prior to publication.
• Financial records should be published at least once a reign and should be reviewed prior to publication.
• For long-term projects, form committees or subcommittees for completing projects. Membership doesn’t necessary have to include solely Board of Director members.
• Meetings should generally either be open to the public or recorded and made available.
• Meeting minutes should be published.
• Publish meeting minutes in a kingdom forum (newsletter, Facebook group, etc) within 15 days of meetings.
• Closed meetings should only happen when discussing information that is not for public consumption.
• Adhere to a Code of Ethics:

o Ensure the right of all Amtgard members to appropriate participation without discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, national origin, race, religion, age, political affiliation or disability or regard to geographic, political, religious, or socioeconomic characteristics of the state or region represented.
o Faithfully abide by the Articles of Incorporation, by-laws and policies of the AI BoD, and directives of the Amtgard Circle of Monarchs.
o Exercise reasonable care, good faith, and due diligence in organizational affairs.
o Attempt to avoid conflicts of interest, or the perception of conflicts of interest, whenever possible, and if such a conflict is unavoidable, will fully disclose the conflict at the earliest opportunity.
o Maintain a professional level of courtesy, respect, and objectivity in all Amtgard-related activities.
o Strive to uphold these practices and assist other members of the board in upholding the highest standards of conduct.
o Exercise the powers invested for the good of all members of the organization rather than for their personal benefit.

This BoD currently meets all of these except the following:
The code of ethics for the BoD is not in our corpora.
In best practices, we do not require BoD members to have steady employment.
We do not have term limits for BoD members and do not stagger electing them.
We do not have the safeguards in place for removing kingdom monarchs for CoC violations.
Kim does need to become more proficient at transcribing the minutes in a more timely manner. They need to be looked at before approved.
We have not needed to have closed meetings.

Pros and Cons of these were discussed.
It was brought up how we require our BoD members to come from core lands. Perhaps add a new non-core member or make all the BoD seats open to anyone no matter what land they are from. Marcus Bergman asked if he proposed the new seats, would the BoD add their recommendation. That discussion will have to be at another time. It also requires a corpora change.

A suggestion was made to ask for a Corpora amendment to add this list of code of ethics. A motion was made for this BoD to adopt this document; additionally request the code of ethics be added to the Corpora under the BoD section; and also to have that put into our BoD handbook. The motion was seconded and passed 2 abstention, 4 ayes.

Marcus Bergman, as monarch, declared his intention to ask for the new seats be brought up for a vote and that the AI BoD Best Practices Document be amended to better fit our situation. It was pointed out by Ian Crawford that this BoD has asked for the document as is.

Per the issue of staggering BoD seat elections, options were discussed. We already have two members change out when the monarch and prime minister change so we only need one more. It was proposed this last one be the alternate. Eliza Mott suggested to match it with Prime Minister elections so audits aren’t being reviewed by new members. It gives better checks and balances; plus gives the new members time to acclimate. It was also suggested to elect them per the Althing of December (term begins on January 1) and the Althing of June (term begins on July 1). The current corpora says the BoD is elected in January and serve until the end of December.

The AI BoD Best Practices Document is posted on caamtgard under the section concerning this meeting. Eliza Mott suggested we all read through it on our own; come up with recommendations as to which proposals we’d like to adopt besides the code of ethics; and table this until the next meeting. Her suggestion was made into a motion, which was then seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

The remaining issues are of insurance and Corpora Compliance and Contract. Each member was then polled regarding whether to table these two matters until October. Table insurance: 1 abstain and 5 ayes so this issue will be on the October meeting agenda. Corpora Compliance and Contract: 3 abstain, 1 table, 2 to discuss tonight so this will be up next.

Marcus Bergman reports that with Azus’ new tools, several things of concern have become apparent in lands which are struggling. ORK updates are slow or not being done. Other items are not being complied with such as votes being held, situations which are technically breach of contract. A requirement of the ORK update within a week of change is in the Corpora, yet a few lands are beyond 4 weeks behind. Are they meeting and what’s going on? He stated that, per contract law, breach of contract removes rights you have per the contract. Should these lands lose their contract or, alternately, is to suspend the land as far as being able to give awards, vote in elections until brought into compliance. What is a three step process, the first being a warning, should we be instituting?

Ian Crawford asked what the actionable object is for the BoD. Marcus Bergman responded that because the BoD oversees contracts, they have the ability to determine a land is no longer a contracted land under Westmarch and meaning it does not go to a popular vote. How many internal steps do we want to see until we take steps to void their contract?

As per an employer, first is a verbal warning, then if things don’t change the monarch or BoD goes to the land and says this is second warning (written) and tell them if things continue to not change then they will be in breach of contract and as of the next audit period they are removed.

Ian Crawford believes it is too harsh and black and white. He feels it’s a failure of leadership.

Eliza Mott asked, at what point in the process does the treasurer step in and seize funds? What guidelines? Ian Crawford said we should not even consider the money.

Marcus Bergman mentioned a land in that position would still be Amtgard which brought up Eliza Mott’s question of when we should go to the AI BoD, tell them this land is non-compliant, and see what they can do to encourage the land. Is that an option?

It was suggested that, in the second warning, the land be informed that along with losing their rights to give awards and vote for Kingdom items, that they will be reported to the AI Bod so they can prepare themselves for potentially moving the land to a freehold. What ‘carrot’ can we give them--others aren’t working now? Several lands are slowly sliding down to a lower status. We need to know when to take steps.

Robert Mott said that, because there is nothing in the current Corpora which lays out steps for this, the BoD cannot do anything. Marcus Bergman stated this is contractual law which gives the BoD power to handle the situation…to enforce it. He wants to know what steps he must take, as monarch, before he comes to the BoD with a land needing it’s contract voided. What does the BoD want to handle the issue?

Suggestions:
• A set schedule of what was done with the land; what communication. Get the liason officer involved along with the monarch for another set of eyes or/monarch support. Helps facilitate a relationship with the land.


A motion was made to table this discussion until the October meeting and was seconded. The vote passed with 1 abstention; 5 ayes.

Open Floor
PM Hand-off Contracts
A motion was made to table the PM Hand-Off Contracts until October and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Schedule Next Meeting
A motion was made to schedule the BoD meeting for Thursday, the 25th of October at 7:00 p.m. The vote passed unanimously.

Meeting Adjournment
With no further business, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn this meeting. The vote passed unanimously.

Transcribed by Kim Gilchrist—Westmarch BoD Secretary
User avatar
ElSpeth Sharrisselva
 
Posts: 139
Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 10:22 pm

October 2018 Meeting Minutes

Postby ElSpeth Sharrisselva » Sun Dec 02, 2018 7:09 pm

Westmarch Board of Director’s Meeting
October 27, 2018 7:00 p.m.

Call to Order and Roll Call
The meeting was called to order and a roll call was made.
Those in attendance are:
Ian Crawford (Fiks), President
Jodi Begley (Raven), Vice-President
Alysia Pozzi (Fenra) Prime Minister
Kim Richards (Gilchrist) (ElSpeth), Secretary
Megan Fay (Faye), Monarch
Robert Mott (Euric), Treasurer
Elisa Mott (Nakita), Liason
Bryan Kloberdanz (Po) Alternate

Reading of the Last Meeting's Minutes
Kim Gilchrist read the minutes of the September 2018 meeting. A motion was made to accept the minutes as read and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Old Business
Feast of Mars port mortem
Matt Bryant (Drenth) posted the attendance was between 201 and 208. Ending balance of the Feast of Mars account is $5,438.86. The starting balance before this year’s event was at $2,901.10. Alysia reports a few accounting mistakes between ledgers but she was able to figure them out and make it balance. All the monies have been turned in to Westmarch and there are no outstanding issues.

A motion was made to close Feast of Mars for 2018 as an awesome success and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Amtgard International/Westmarch Fundraising
Elisa Mott reports there has not been any movement from the Amtgard International because their BoD does not have established guidelines on how the individual kingdoms can us the AIBoD’s tax number. Until they do that, events do not have a way to promote and use the EIN number. They don’t yet have a form such as the one Westmarch uses. Hopefully they will address this before our next month’s meeting.

Westmarch’s Non Profit Designation
Jodi Begley reports she researched what the 501 (c)3 versus the 501 (c)7 entails. She reported on her findings.

The definitions are as follows:

501 (c)
In general:
• Exempt from some federal and from state taxation
• Receive unlimited contributions from individuals, caps, unions
• Subject to tax on “unrelated business income” not including selling donated merchandise or other activities by volunteers
• Need to keep proper records and, since 2008, if gross receipts are less than $50,000, must file Form 990-N.
• Must make records available for public inspection, and failure to file Form 990-N can result in a fine up to $250,000.

501 (c) 3
• Corporation, trust, unincorporated association exempt from federal income tax
• 501 (c) 3 exemptions apply to religious, charitable, scientific, literary, educational, amateur sports competitions, public safety testing, or programs for the prevention of cruelty to women, children and animals
• Donors contributions can be tax-deductible if greater than $250 and accompanied by receipt
• Many donors will not donate to 501 (c) 3 entities since they can not use their donations as a tax deduction
• Two categories:
o Public charities get a substantial part of their income from the general public or the government
o Private foundations (non-operating foundations) get most of their income from investments and endowments

• To apply, required to file IRS Form 1023, accompanied by a $850 filing fee if yearly gross receipts expected to be greater than $10,000; if less than $10,000 only $400 fee required
• Organizations automatically accepted for 501 (c) 3 status are churches, and organizations that are not private foundations with gross receipts less than $5,000
• 501 (c) 3 organizations are not taxed on $ difference between revenues and expenses

501 (c) 7
• Social or recreational club organized for pleasure, recreation, or other non-profitable purpose
• Must have shared interests and have a common goal directed toward pleasure or recreation
• Must provide opportunities for contact between members
• Facilities and services open to all members and no individual member may derive profit
• Donations are only considered tax deductible if it is to be used exclusively for religious, charitable scientific, educational purposes or prevention of cruelty to children, women and animals
• Can derive no more that 35% gross receipts from “non-members”, and n more than 15% gross receipts from the general public
• If at least 75% are members, the remaining are deemed non-members

Westmarch currently is a 501 (c) 7. This information was also posted on the CaAmtgard forum.
While we do educate and fighting is a sport, we don’t wholly fit into any of the categories for the 501 (c) 3. It would also be difficult for us to get public donations, investments, or endowments. Education is our best bet but not the best fit for us.

As per what other Amtgard kingdoms have, Ian Crawford mentioned he spoke with members of Dragonspine, who said they are a 501 (c) 3. No one else reported speaking with other kingdoms on this issue. Ian reported that Amtgard International is filed as a 501 (c) 3 (educational). He clarified that they are not considered an umbrella for tax exempt issues. Individual kingdoms are encouraged to obtain their own non profit corporate status.

Eric Mott reported that, in previous years of the time Westmarch first obtained their Non Profit designation, he visited with representatives of large retailers such as Safeway and Sam’s Club. They reported that they would no consider donating to organizations such as ours so long as they had charities to work with like schools, women’s or homeless shelters, and things like that.

Ian reported on Dragonspine’s Maize Maze where it is an event connected with a harvest fair. They put on a big demo, workshop, and charge people for the chance to participate. It gives them a weapon. For us to do similarly, we need to find a niche market in our own local area to fill a similar need.

Robert Mott mentioned contacting Freeflow Academy where we have previously had demos and the space to use. They may be a non profit and we could so something in conjunction with them. He also mentioned opportunities such as the Carmichael Founders Day, which has been used the last few years. There weren’t many who stopped by though.

We need to keep our eyes out for an opportunity to seize. We need to focus on the fund raising, over recruitment for places such as Lunacon where the majority of attendees are too young for recruitment.

What actionable items do we have? What should we do next? It was decided to table the issue but keep an eye out for opportunities for the future. We also should not limit the number of people who can watch for opportunities. Subcommittee of Jodi Begley, Robert Mott, and Bryan Kloberdanz (who will hit up the Folsom Renaissance Faire for next year). The subcommittee will primarily be researching the legal aspect of the non profit designation and whether it’s advantageous to change it or not. Look into finding a person with legal background to assist and advise.

A motion to table this discussion until the November BoD meeting and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Prime Minister Handover Contracts
This issue was tabled from September. It was turned over to the monarch in order to make it a part of the audit process. A motion was made to table this once more to the December meeting (due to a monarchy change coming up on November 11th). It was seconded and passed unanimously.

Audit Post Mortem
Improvements to the audit worksheets which are not yet completed. Research whether reaching out has a positive influence on audit results or not. We may want to continue reaching out now to keep in touch and lands informed. Reminders for those lands having crown qualifications in the next few weeks to include their results in the upcoming audit. It was agreed to have a sign up sheet for us to pick a land or two to reach out to.

We should, as BoD members, continue to remind people with posts and social media commentary to keep this in the forefront of lands’ PMs’ minds. Robert Mott mentioned he passed his Reeve test and challenged everyone to beat his score. Jodi recommended we follow up with our assigned lands after crown quals to help them succeed.

A motion was made to table this until the November meeting with the exception of getting a sign up list out and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

BoD Best Practices
Last month we adopted the Code of Ethics; it has not yet been added to the corpora or the handbook yet. A call for input was called for on the best practices document posted to the CaAmtgard forum. Ian Crawford will make an editable copy for this BoD to review with highlights on action items, items we do, and items we don’t do.

Alycia Pozzi mentioned she uploaded a shareable Google Doc to the Westmarch Google drive. A motion was made to table this until the November meeting and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Annual Insurance
Elisa Mott will post the document in the CaAmtgard forum. She went over an insurance industry LARP insurance policy. It has a general liability like what we normally get for events; it also includes $10,000 worth of medical payment coverage ‘for members’. Additionally, if the park or facility needs additional forms, those are an extra $100.00 each to be added. Charge for premium is based on a ‘per member’ charge. Per the Online Records Keeper (ORK), Westmarch is listed as having approximately 157 people signed in but the total number of people registered comes to almost 1,300 (active and inactive). We have two issues: how to determined the number of members for the insurance and how Westmarch is going to pay for the premium which may involve an Althing item.

She further clarified that it would be an annual policy that would cover all of the lands in Westmarch on a weekly basis and at events. Jodi Begley reported that just in 2018 at Darkshore and Feast of Mars, we paid approximately $600.00 this year for events. Elisa also proposed an increase of land tithes to pay for the insurance and for the land Prime Ministers to report the number of active members at the tithe payment time for insurance purposes (when they make their dues paid list).

The insurance website also breaks down members under eighteen years of age and those over eighteen. It still remains an issue of accurate reporting from the PM’s in order that we pay the proper amount. The alternative is to simply consider every active member as an adult for insurance purposes.

It may not be a board action yet but something to pass on to next year’s board for serious consideration. It will cover medical and damages. Liability for personal liability for officers is something to ask for in the future. Elisa Mott reports this company doesn’t currently offer that. She also stated that she checked other companies but they were higher in pricing.

Actionable items: Decide how to figure the membership numbers and then brought to an Althing; figure out how it will be funded. Ian Crawford proposed Alysia Pozzi, as Kingdom Prime Minister, and Eliza Mott, as BoD Liaison, work together to figure out a good proposal with workable numbers to submit a proposal for the 2019 Westmarch Board of Directors and the current monarchy at that time to consider.
Eliza will begin putting together a proposal.

A motion was made to tab le this discussion until the November meeting for an update and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Corpora Compliance
This was championed by Marcus Bergman, as monarch, who is no longer in office. A motion was made and seconded to tab le this issue indefinitely. The vote passed 2 abstain; 5 ayes.

New Business
Fal Dare Sponsorship Status
Alysia Pozzi reports that she spoke with the current prime minister at Fal Dare and was told that the vote they made regarding leaving Westmarch was a preliminary vote; that they did not intend to leave Westmarch as of yet; and they planned to hold a new prime minister election for someone who is active. No further questions or concerns were raised.

A motion was made to table this discussion indefinitely. The vote passed unanimously.

Open Floor
There was no further business.

Schedule Next Meeting
A motion was made to schedule the BoD meeting for Thursday, November 29th at 7:30 p.m. PST and seconded. The vote passed unanimously.

Meeting Adjournment
With no further business, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn this meeting. The vote passed unanimously.
User avatar
ElSpeth Sharrisselva
 
Posts: 139
Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 10:22 pm


Return to BOD

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests

cron