2016 BOD Minutes & Officers

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2016 BOD Minutes & Officers

Postby Fiks » Thu Jan 21, 2016 9:32 pm

This thread shall contain copy of/links to the minutes of our meetings for the year 2016.

2016 Officers
Ian Crawford, President
Marcus Bergman, Vice-President
Jodi Begley, Secretary
Baylis Weaver, Treasurer
Angel Traub, Liason
Bryan Wheeler, Monarch
Robbie Starks, Prime Minister
Mark James, Alternate
"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!
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Re: 2016 BOD Minutes & Officers

Postby ravenb » Wed Jan 27, 2016 7:23 pm

Westmarch BOD meeting notes
Thursday January 20, 2015
Meeting was called to order 1904 by Marcus Bergman (Colin McAbee)( alternate and past BOD member), sitting in for David Zucker (Azus)
In attendance: Marcus Bergman, Jodi Begley (Raven Skullsmasher), Angel Traub (Vidya), Bryan Wheeler (Kalevra Fallstar), Ian Crawford (Fiks), Robbie Starks (Laoric), Baylis Weaver.
First order of business: Election of officers
President Ian Crawford confidence 7 no confidence 0 abstain 0
Secretary Jodi Begley confidence 7 no confidence 0 abstain 0
VP Robbie Starks confidence 5 no confidence 0 abstain 2
Treasurer Baylis Weaver confidence 7 no confidence 0 abstain 0
Liason Angel Traub confidence 7 no confidence 0 abstain 0
Kingdom Monarch and PM serve on the BOD but cannot serve in a position. Marcus Bergman voted in place of David Zucker as David Zucker was absent.

OLD BUSINESS:
1 Vote to populace concerning detailed proof of advertising (a Corpora amendment) was declined by the populace. Marcus Bergman suggested trying to use the criteria of possible when evaluating advertising. We will review advertising procedures during review of audit procedures.
2 Follow-up on audit of Mistyvale books going to happen? To be determined.
Marcus Bergman left the meeting 1922. We have a quorum present still.

3 Review structure, function and activities of the BOD. Ian Crawford read and reviewed Article IX: Board of Directors http://caamtgard.com/docs/docs/wmk_corp ... -04-06.pdf. General Information, Officers of the Board, limitations of the Board. Minutes of the meetings will be posted electronically, broadcast over YouTube https://www.facebook.com/groups/Westmar ... age_bubble. A written copy of the Meeting notes will be posted on caamtgard.com BOD forum within one month after the meeting took place.
4 An attendance of 51% of the voting members is considered a quorum.

NEW BUSINESS
1. Angel Traub asked for clarification on the eligibility of Robbie Starks, Baylis and herself to participate on the BOD, due to questions as to whether they qualified as voting members. Article X, Section 1, item 3 states that only voting members may hold a seat on the BOD. They had achieved member status before the members of the BOD were officially elected January 10, 2016. Questions were raised about park attendance not being entered and sign-in sheet for Robbie Starks, and members announcing candidacy before they qualified as eligible voting members. The corpora states “only voting members may hold a seat on the Board of Directors. Voting membership must be maintained in order to remain on the Board”. Order of precedence: already voting eligible members are first to be chosen. Therefore, by althing standards, voting should have been first for members who were voting eligible at the time of declarations, then those who were not and declared, and then anyone else. Thus, the original election should have been only for those candidates who were voting members at the time of declaration.
a. In cases of contention, it is up to the monarch to ultimately decide if we need another election. If so, then those members in question would be asked to leave the BOD and we would need to refill the vacated positions. Kalevra Fallstar Bryan Wheeler declared that we will keep the positions filled as is and not hold another election, because members have all put themselves in good standing since being voted in.
b. There was still a concern about whether Robbie Starks Laoric is now voting eligible. There is a sign in sheet at a fighter practice that is unavailable. He needs to make sure he signs in definitively from now on to maintain voting eligible status.

2. LAND AUDITS

The agenda for the next meeting will consist primarily of land audits. Land PM’s submit their audits to Kingdom PM (Azus David Zucker) at any time, when asked, and/or every 6 months. The Confederacy Board of Directors shall conduct regular audits every 6 months (twice annually), typically the end of the first and sixth months. Fiks Ian Crawford referred to the Corpora Article IX Sponsored Chapters, Section 2 Audits.
All chapters must provide: copies of attendance sheets for the last 6 months, proof of advertising their chapter, copies of financial records and ledger for the past 6 months, copies of bank statements if applicable, and meet attendance requirements. Principalities, Duchies and Baronies must submit: a list of current officers, a list of current dues paid members, the results of the most recent crown qualifications, and the most recent crown election results.
Excellent rating: submits all required items
Pass rating: missing one required item but providing everything else
Fail rating: missing more than 1 required item. A fail rating is automatically assigned if the chapter’s audit is not received by the date set forth by the WM-BoD.
Minimum attendance is 75% of the numbers they needed to become their current size.
If a sponsored chapter gets two excellent ratings in a row, and meets requirements for status promotion, they will automatically be brought to a Westmarch althing for promotion vote. Likewise, if a chapter gets two consecutive “fail” ratings they automatically are brought forward for an althing for demotion consideration.
Promotion/demotion are not automatic. They require approval of the Kingdom Althing and Kingdom Monarch.
Audits will be posted by David Zucker at caamtgard.com, BOD site. Audit results need to be posted within one month from the deadline of January 31, 2016, thus the deadline for BOD review is March 2, 2016. The next BOD meeting date and time will be determined based on David Zucker Azus availability as the PM needs to be present. A meeting link will be posted on the Westmarch Facebook page.
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Audit Results July–December 2015

Postby ravenb » Sun Mar 06, 2016 10:20 am

Westmarch Board of directors meeting for Land Audits February 20, 2016
Members: Ian Crawford Fiks, president
David Zucker Azus Prime Minister
Marcus Bergman Colin vice president
Jodi Begley Raven Skullsmasher secretary
Baylis Weaver Ubrick treasurer
Angel Traub Vidya liaison
Notes: Brian Wheeler Westmarch Kingdom Monarch may be late due to Kingdom travel
Mark James Waterhammer not in attendance
Still have 51% quorum

I. Old Business
a. Westmarch PO Box status.
Per Azus, the PO Box fee is paid through the end of 2016.
The box fee is paid in one year installments and is good to 12/31/16. Discussion and volunteers to hold the WM PO Box keys, Prime Minister and one other in locale.
Robert Mott Sr. has (all) the keys to PO Box 66092, Sacramento, CA 95866. We will revisit moving the PO Box towards the end of the year. For now, the three keys will be distributed to: Kingdom Monarch Brian Wheeler, Kingdom PM David Zucker, and BOD secretary Jodi Begley.
The post office box is for official Westmarch use only.
b. Westmarch tax filings
Westmarch has tax-exempt status. There are three forms required to submit, with a $20 fee to file.
SI100 submitted to CA Secretary of State paid biannually, due this year
199N California Franchise Tax Board annual
990N Federal IRS annual
Forms need to be filed by May 15. Baylis (BOD Treasurer) and David Zucker (PM) will go over the paperwork by the next meeting, they will have a timeline and/or due date by the next BOD meeting, and we will continue as old business until all three are taken care of.
II. New Business
a. Land Audits
Ian read from the Corpora: Article IX, Section 2. Audits.

Section 2. AUDITS
1. The Kingdom may audit any sponsored chapter at any time to ensure the smooth operation of the sponsored chapter.
2. The Kingdom Board of Directors shall conduct regular audits of all lands every six (6) months.
a. All chapters must provide the following requirements:
i. Copies of attendance sheets for the past six (6) months.
ii. Proof of advertising their chapter, such as a flyer for a demo.
iii. Copies of financial records and ledger for the past six (6) months.
iv. Copies of bank statements, if applicable.
v. Meet attendance requirements.
b. Principalities, Duchies and Baronies must submit:
i. A list of current officers.
ii. A list of current dues-paid members.
iii. The results of most recent crown qualifications.
iv. The most recent crown election results.
3. Audits will be given ratings by the Board of Directors.
a. A land submitting all required items will earn an “excellent” rating.
b. A land missing one (1) required item but provides everything else earns a “pass” rating.
c. A land missing more than one (1) required item will earn a “failed” rating.
d. If the Kingdom Board of Directors fails to post the results of the audit within one (1) month of the deadline all lands automatically receive “excellent” ratings.
e. If a chapter’s audit is not received by the date set forth by the WM-BoD it will be considered an automatic rating of “fail”.
4. All groups must maintain minimum attendance requirements equal to 75% of the numbers they needed to become their current size.
5. Promotion and demotion themselves are not automatic, but require approval of the Kingdom Althing and Kingdom Monarch.
a. If a sponsored chapter passes two (2) consecutive regular audits with “excellent” ratings as well as meets the requirements for the proposed status promotion, they will automatically be brought to the Westmarch Althing vote for promotion consideration. There are several lands that got “excellent” last audit, so if they receive an “excellent” this audit, we will pass that on to the Kingdom Monarch as “Here are the lands that deserve consideration”. He then decides to move to an althing. Promotion is not automatic. The althing is automatic with or without Monarch approval, but in the end it is the Monarch who decides when, he can delay but the vote needs to happen.
b. If a sponsored group fails two (2) consecutive regular audits they will be automatically brought before the Westmarch Althing vote for demotion consideration.

Deadline for submission of land audits was January 31, 2016. Results need to be posted by the BOD by March 2, 2016, to meet the 1 month deadline.

Results- concise notes will be posted the night of or right after.

All lands submitted their audits on time.

Shires are required to meet every other week, so gaps not so much. Every other land is required to meet weekly, unless they provide a good reason for not meeting (historically this has been considered).

Audit items: bank account: if a land has a bank account, they must submit copies of statement: WH, WS, CW, TR, Siar Gaeta (personal account) - must have bank statements. Bank statements are optional, but not if there is a bank account.
Financial records and ledger- scan or screen shot of ledger (1/2 credit), transaction receipts (1/2 credit)

Proof of advertising: only 1 example given in the Corpora, (flyer for a demo), but it can be more.
Screenshots of websites- must be dedicated for the group.
Copies of a flier is proof of advertising material but better is to see it posted- shows trying to increase numbers. Same for business cards.
Is it acceptable to just submit the flyer, or better proof that it has been posted?
Historically we have accepted only the flyer, so this vote would need to be done before the NEXT audit to be fair on this audit. The Kingdom declined more exact verbiage so there is still a huge grey area
Social media? Facebook, it depends. If they use a link in addition- or business card in combination with something else, but per se FB is only a communication tool. Use link to Facebook of craigslist on the card as a contact. Need receipt of FB payment or screenshot. For example, Aegir’s Hall FB page-they can pay FB to promote their page, and then show a screen capture of receipt or screenshot of payment as proof of advertising.
Meetup-definitely membership generating. Screen capture has historically been accepted.
Article
Crimsonwood-photos at demo.
Demo-“assisted with demo”. Does that count? Did they really do anything there? No proof or photo or anything written.
Approving- has to show that it was directed toward a particular land.
It would be nice if the Corpora said: Recruitment activity vs advertising.
Next monarchy will be polled- how do you feel about the advertising issue?
Other Corpora suggestions: Table of contents, page numbers. These are mostly just formatting details which Fiks can add to the pdf.

AUDIT RESULTS
Aegir’s Hall. Reason FB advertising was brought up- did they pay to have the FB page promoted? No evidence. The only proof of advertising is their FB page. No receipt or screenshot. There is a way to find out more information, which could be documented with a screengrab, which would give more information. Therefore: missing proof of advertising.
Shire- so only required to meet every other week. Missing sheets for 9/6, 12/6, 12/27, and entire month of July scans. However, there were many discrepancies in numbers between sheets, the ORK and audit by one or so participants. Not as vital but sloppy paperwork or circumstances. Since a shire is required to meet only every other week, only one missing sheet isn’t a big deal, but a huge chunk of missing sign in sheets for July. Therefore: incomplete on attendance records
So:
1) Missing proof of advertising.
2) Missing entire month of July scans, Sept 6 and some in December. Number of discrepancies between sheets and the ORK (not a big deal). The main concern is the huge chunk of July sheets missing. (Incomplete scans)
3) Tithes ($40) vs dues ($90) - discrepancy-also from July when PM not keeping records well. Questioned record keeping vs when dues were paid. Has 8 dues paid members. No scan of actual ledger outside of audit. (Missing financial records)
Votes will be made alphabetically by name:
D (David) F
M (Marcus) F
B (Baylis) F
A (angel) F
J (Jodi) F
I (Ian) F
Unanimous fail.

Ashen Spire
Met once with one person during audit period. Nothing submitted.
A F
B F
D F
I F
J F
M F
Unanimous fail.

Aureus Saltus- Barony
Weaponmaster was cancelled- only one person. Large swings in attendance. Online event listing and patch article. Unique monthly sign-ins not indicated in audit. Noted in tabs. Edited uniques with 7/31, 8/14, 9/30, 10/11, 11/21, 12/17, met reqt for Barony.
?which park they were at- changing parks?
7/1 no sign in sheet-no ORK listing. Questions about where they were meeting. There was a question about where they were meeting in the last BOD reign. No ORK entry for 7/1, which is a Wednesday-midweek. about where they were meeting. Met 7/8 midweek-fighter practice? - should have been 7/5. Typo? No sign in sheet and not in ORK. “Wyvern’s Spur visit”- sign ins when did meet. Online sign ins-emails-copies. Wyverns Spur
9/6 WMW. No credits then.
All misses explained and all sheets accounted for. Checked Wyverns Spur in the ORK and identified AS members Lakvar, Emma. So good reasons for no sign in when they did not meet and sign ins when they did meet. Used online email sign ins which is new and works well if members have phones but no paper. Met attendance requirements.
Advertising- Mountain Mikes doesn’t really promote their park. Links difficult to open for some- would be better if it was a scan or screen capture. Article Ka’a wrote-is it personal to park? It lists all parks in CA Food fight is general to all parks in CA. Usa.net crown Quals. Adv 11/1 noon 1 day. It is questionable how well you could see this, like a single meetup and doesn’t denote an ongoing event. Pass with everything taken all together- needs improvement by criteria of Corpora.
Handful of audits that are just excellent- they have everything in a nice package, well formatted and were well done. Angel recommends posting some of these as an example for lands to use as examples of what we are looking for. These particular ones were nice and what should be strived for. We will revisit this at the end of the meeting.
Soft yes on advertising, everything else was OK. Ka’a did say that they were having stressful issues preventing them from their advertising as good as it should be. Hey- we don’t have enough people for our park so we are just going to pick up and go visit another park? Not a Barony move. New Barony- should be noted unless it was prearranged but when parks close on the same day that they travel if not enough members, should not be let go. They met requirements, once is OK, but not if it becomes more frequent. Also, day after a major holiday.
A E
B E
D E
I E
J E
M E
Unanimous excellent


Belial Peaks-Shire
Formed in April. Joined late last year November 2015 (only 1 ½ months), therefore exempt from this audit. First 6 months as part of WM only looked at but not P/F. Test audit? This is a grey area- not in the Corpora so not fair to grade this time. Next time Jan-June so then it will be fair to ask for a complete audit for the next audit period.
First 6 months as art of WM they are looked at but not assessed pass/fail.
Missing sheets in July/Aug but not missing meetings (before they joined WM, meetings are recorded in ORK). Photo of banner- assumption was they displayed it. Better would be a photo of the banner being displayed, say in a parade or a con. Just a photo- not a pass per Ian- needs to be a little more.
A P
B P
D P
I P
J P
M P
If with WM before July, would receive a unanimous pass (due to missing one item as insufficient advertising). Thank you for submitting an audit.


Bremen’s Fortress
Comment: file names in order please, which would make it much easier to go through if they appear in order.
All copies of fighter practice, therefore just main park day sign ins. Only time fighter practice sheets count is if they didn’t have a regular weekly meeting. Only park with a week night meeting. Fighter practice sheets are required if that is their weekly meeting and entered in ORK. Historically, TR was holding fighter practices and regular park day so had 8 sheets/week. The BOD at the time asked that they submit sheets for main park day only.
No scan or screenshot of ledger. Ledger was entered by hand into audit form. Ledger submitted on audit form would not match what the ledger would actually be, that is why we want a screenshot or scan of the actual ledger. Random order, credits by date, debits by date, interspersed. Running total is correct If the entries were as happened, mixing entries with receipts. Had to have a ledger somewhere to be able to copy the ledger into the audit entry. Need excel or ledger somewhere with a scan. So they need to show they have a ledger.
Per corpora, copy of financial record and ledger. Two parts to one requirement. On audit form +1/2, no screenshot or scan (-1/2).
Exempt last audit period, Joined just before 7-12/2014 audit period, therefore this is a live audit.
A P
B P
D P
I P
J P
M E (Only missing ½ of one requirement)
Pass.

Crimsonwood
Bank account closed due to the fact it was held by an individual, and was closed before the previous audit.
Ledger of dues paid and active players and uniques, but not financial ledger.
Has ledger, but not supporting financial records. (-1/2)
A E
B E
D P
I P
J P
M E
Discussion: Compared to BF- ledger at least that looks correct numbers-wise. Looks like a transcription of notes but looks like an actual ledger, vs BF. Has a ledger that shows monetary flow but not supporting records, vs BF who transcribed their ledger into the audit form but showed no proof of an actual ledger. BF also out of order, random amounts, different dates. CW more like what a ledger should look like so more accurate picture of actual monetary flow. BF missing ½; CW missing ½.
Tie: 3P:3E. BOD President tie break. NOTE: Pass for consistency missing ½ financial: proof of financial records.

Fal Dare-Barony
Quals- were cancelled as no one ran for office. All officers are protem. FB note the day of Quals that they were moved indoors/cancelled due to weather. They tried to run Quals at the last minute to get Quals before elections. Regent quit the day before Qual. Need to have some sort of Quals to have some sort of passing grade. Lists results of Quals which were null because there was no event. Can they use WM Quals? Notes on the audit form-local vs Kingdom Quals. The idea is that officers are actually qualifying and doing what they’re supposed to be doing. Doesn’t change the requirement, just the thinking behind why this is a requirement. Line on pro-tem officers is open to interpretation.
Entire monarchy as protem-should not be able to get excellent rating. Should be part of the audit system: #protems, and also limit ascent in the Kingdom land hierarchy, vs Amtgard officers. This would be something to look at then when considering for promotion- that’s where it would end.
Is attempt to hold Quals enough (does that count)? Or do you have to have Quals? Reqt is attending Quals and qualifying. Where do you draw the line on how many officers you have that are pro-tem?
Audit- held Quals, were elected, list of officers. Issue here is- no Quals-no results. The bottom line- hold quals, officers elected, list of officers.
Proof of advertising-picture of flyer on wall, online ads (carsonmail.org), business cards-FB. This is an example of what proof of advertising should be. Clear, good.
A P
B P
D E
I P
J P
M P
Pass. No Quals results.


Maybe we should post the excellents- these particular ones are a good example of what we are looking for in an audit.

Mistyvale-Shire
Sheriff had to do the audit on the evening of the 31st due to the PM being banned and got it in on time. GOOD JOB!
A lot of missing sheets-16-at least 10 in a row, not sequential but in groups. ORK verifies meeting at least every other week, therefore attendance is OK for a Shire.
Many difficulties with PM doing anything.
Scans of sign in sheets more than reasonable. 7/15 A&S, many sheets are arts and sciences meetings. Only ones that matter are the park days. Missing 2 park days but not sequential, most sheets ARE there. So the only sheets missing o 7/25, 9/9.
Sloppy ledger but there. Fixed and recently elected a new PM.
Advertising- Craigslist- adequate- shows continuous advertising from August forward. Newspaper article (good, shows both MV and TR) and the rest “icing on the cake”. FB page similar to AH, good but fails on its own.
List of past and current officers-backwards? Dues paid member list is immense.
A E
B E
D E
I E
J E
M P
Excellent. Second in a row.

Seven Sleeping Dragons
Cancelled great weapon in Weaponmaster due to gear breaking but Quals still happened. Gorilla elected because no one else ran.
David recalculated the averages, not counting the zeros for rain or event (coronation, FOM) days, and the numbers still met attendance requirements. Recalculations were higher. Don’t count zeros for those days as they are excusable.
Flyer-looks good- displayed on a board.
A E
B E
D E
I E
J E
M E
Unanimous excellent. Pass on previous audit.

Siar Gaeta-Duchy
Advertising- meetup qualifies on its own
Six attendance sheets not entered in the ORK. 11/28 – 12/23 no ORK entries but met three times in between. PM not entering?
As a land they met audit requirements but “semi-sloppy” PMing.
Note: sign in sheets are all there (not in order), but not all are entered in the ORK, therefore credits for players are not getting entered (not an audit requirement). 7/8, 8/15, 9/12, 11/7, 12/5, 12/12, 12/19
Ledger-no receipts, no scan of a working ledger. Paid $70 for meetup but no receipt (-1/2) for missing that part of financial records. Meetup costs are now higher. Had to speculate that $70 was for meetup as there was no scan of a receipt. Meetup costs paid every 6 months. Treasurer can do a receipt check- receipts can count as the financial record.
A P
B P
D P
I P
J P
M P
Unanimous pass. Missing ½ of financial records.

Sunfire Bay Exempt

Sunfire Valley-Shire
Failed Crown election requirement but is not a requirement for a Shire so OK
Excellent last audit.
Missing meetings? 1 sign in not in ORK. Joint Quals 8/9, so 4/5 meetings in August. Only met once in September, but WMW? Yes at WMW, covers September. No sheets for 9/6, 9/13, only 9/23 in ORK 9/20 and 9/27 have sign ins but are not in the ORK. Met ¾ weeks in September. November 22, 29 missing- 2 in a row. December- only 1 week, 12/6. ORK-3 meetings recorded 12/12, 19, 26. OK if fighter practices are the only weekly meetings. December- fighter practices. Do fighter practices count as weekly meetings? Met every other week. Missing sign in sheets, audit dates do not match ORK dates. Unique monthly average is 5.8 (6) which meets requirement for Shire (4), so failed to meet every other week in December.
Missing meetings in December, meetings weren’t cancelled, just people didn’t show up. A suggestion was in the past a place holder sheet was provided to prevent “missing” sheet.
Are “meeting requirements” the same as “attendance requirements”? Attendance requirements are outlined in Audits, section 2av4. Meeting requirements specific to a Shire are listed on the following Corpora page as “every other week”. This is a change in language from the original Dragonspine Corpora. Shire: 4 unique monthly average.
Missing attendance automatic failure? No, not meeting averages is auto fail.
Per Corpora 2a (v), meet attendance requirements. 4 all groups must maintain minimum attendance requirements equal to 75% of the numbers they needed to become their current size.
Failed to meet EOW- only met once in December. Missing meetings in December. In the past we required place holder sheets. To meet attendance reqts: meet # times, and 755 peeps
Section 4 clarification of 2av
Elections-lack of.
A P
B P
D P
I P
J P
M P
Unanimous Pass. Attendance requirements not met.

Thor’s Refuge
Quals results missing. Quals were held- hand-off issue.
Attendance- assuming they met in July-August. Missing sign in sheets and no attendance in ORK for a significant period. Met unique monthly average.
Bank statements, but no scan of petty cash ledger or receipts.
Missing sign in sheets without ORK entries. 8/16-8/23 consecutive without meeting/zero attendance. Plus all of July. Missing sheets for days they did meet (Colin was there and verified meetings did happen) failure of transfer from PM. If they met the monthly average, there would be no penalty for unexcused weeks in a row. SFV excused sheet for no meetings. Compare to the criteria used for SFV had ORK entries but no sheets. TR has no ORK and no sheets. Past PM passed off sheets to someone who did not enter them in the ORK and now missing those sheets. Therefore- failed on sign in scans.
Financial- can upgrade this area if they can later provide scan of physical ledger.
In the past, upgrades have only been allowed F=>P. Fails: AH, AS, TR. Of these two, AH would still fail if they submit financials.
A P
B F
D F
I F
J F
M F
Fail. Missing Quals results, did not meet attendance requirements, no ledger.
July 5 entered in ORK but no sign in. A lot of sign ins that didn’t get to PM, therefore missing sign in sheets. Hand off 8/30- 2 sheets in August entered but one of them lost

Valley of the Fallen
Joined in November-EXEMPT-not required to submit and they didn’t.

Wavehaven
Missing sign in sheet 10/10, no ORK entry- FOM
Flyer- proof it was posted? Permitted picture of flyer only for other lands so this is OK.
Bank card transaction accidentally used for personal charge. Account was promptly paid back.
A E
B E
D E
I E
J E
M E
Unanimous excellent: second consecutive excellent

Wyvern’s Spur
Food Fight donation sent out now
Spreadsheet of Winter audit- calculations for uniques and monthly average- not an audit document.
A E
B E
D E
I E
J E
M E
Unanimous excellent: second consecutive excellent. Has the numbers to request promotion to Barony.

Skipped: Valley of the Fallen- joined in November- and Sunfire Bay-joined in January, so exempt. Belial Peaks also joined in November 2015 but submitted an audit. Honorable mention.
Colin requested MV resubmit unique monthly sign ins since you can’t have uniques > attendance. For example, 3 weeks 28,36,37 with UMA 20, another 20, 30, 16 with UMA 7. If you go to two lands in one day you can only count one. Resubmission would not change the rating (excellent) and is still above what they need for a Shire and adequate for a Barony.
Corrections- upgrade scores:
TR- needs sign ins, financial records, Quals results.
AH (Shire) - advertising, copies of financial, sign in sheets. Last pass 2013. Fifth fail in a row. Recommend remove core status? Not automatic. Up to the King to decide, bring to althing. Would need to correct all three to bring up to pass.
Ashen Spire (Shire)-althing. Recommendation to the King to ask for althing to drop Ashen Spire as a viable land (would also remove core status).
AH: by Kingdom corpora, no Barony status removed, therefore removal not automatic. They were never a Barony, got core status through principality corpora. Question whether they submitted the request 6 months ahead of time, they said the King at the time lost it therefore they got it in anyway. They have nothing since gaining core status, only status of a non-Barony or higher being core.
Six lands had financial records missing.
We have never given an option of upgrade to excellent.

Three lands, Siar Gaeta, TR, AH: financial, financial, and financial no scan of ledger
Need clarification of what is needed. Possibly the lands did not realize exactly what they needed, and David expressed concern that perhaps he could have done a better job reaching out about this aspect of the audit. For example, Crimsonwood got a pass, through a tie breaker, due to -1/2 financial. The stakes for allowing lands to upgrade their scores by submitting a ledger scan vary between lands, and may supersede historically not allowing a land to upgrade from P=>E. For example, CW not much difference as it is a big land. BF the difference between P/E as they can get bigger. TR P/F-looking at a possible demotion (last five audits for them P/P/E/F/now F), AH pass- please don’t knock out of core. So in looking at the lands and what is at stake, votes were taken on:

Financial records review possibly different from previous BOD, so vote taken to allow missing scan/screenshot of ledger or receipts to upgrade rating “box ticked”
A Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
So for the Fails, resubmit at least 2 of the three audit items by February 29 to upgrade F ->P. Pertains to Aegir’s Hall and Thor’s Refuge.
A Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
Is submitting a scan of the ledger something that people just don’t know, is a veteran park unaware, or should they know better? CW last audit- bank statement. Maybe past BOD looked at financials differently, in which case if there are differences in grading between BoDs some form of clarification should be made.
Crimsonwood- Will be allowed to submit a copy of their ledger for an upgrade of pass to excellent.
Announce the results now, contact those lands affected, with a revision submission deadline of February 29th to Ian or David, to allow the modified ratings to be completed by the original deadline of March 2.

Other new business: Contract- Skyfire Bay cannot sign their contract because the founder and current sheriff is a minor. Need to have parent sign or re-election since Sherriff can’t be a minor. Contract cannot be waived. Since not an agenda item for this meeting, will add to next meeting’s agenda, the date of which will be determined.
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ravenb
 
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March BoD Meeting 3/12 @ 7:00PM

Postby ravenb » Thu Mar 17, 2016 1:23 pm

Westmarch meeting notes March 12, 2016
Rollcall: Present: Ian Crawford Fiks president, Marcus Bergman Colin vice president, Baylis Weaver Ubrick treasurer, Jodi Begley Raven secretary, Angel Traub Vidya liaison, Brian Wheeler Kalevra WM Monarch. David Zucker Azus not present, delayed expected shortly. In absentia: Mark James Water Hammer alternate.
OLD BUSINESS
1. WM PO Box status: Last meeting, we agreed that the Monarch, Prime Minister and Vice President should each hold a POB key. Robert Mott Sr. Euric still has all three keys, and is expected to be at Thor’s Refuge tomorrow 3/13/2016 to give the keys to Marcus Bergman for distribution.
2. Aureus Saltus petition to use Westmarch EIN number- will postpone until David Zucker arrives
3. Westmarch tax filings: Baylis Weaver has talked with David Zucker about this, and his plan is to have the Federal filing done by the end of March, the State filing by the first or second week of April. This includes a Statement of Information.

NEW BUSINESS
CONTRACT SIGNING
• At the end of the audit meeting Angel Traub brought up an item concerning the contract with Skyfire Bay. In a conversation February 15, April spoke with their current Champion (only contact she had via FB at the time), and was told that the current SB Sherriff was a kid and can’t sign Westmarch paperwork. Originally their mom signed the contract with Burning Lands. *Contract has to be signed by a legal adult, both the Monarch and Prime Minister, both of which have to be adults. So we will need to wait until they have new monarchy, to make sure that the officers of Monarch and PM both will need to be adults. According to the Corpora, all except Heir apparent will need to be above the age of 18.
• Other parks contracts: One of the parks Kalevra visited in SoCal, Bremen’s Fortress, gave him their contract. He was told they needed to sign it and back date it. Asks for six BOD signatures, and we will get as many BOD members as we have to sign it.
• We should be receiving a Belial Peaks contract and Valley of the Fallen as well. They will fill them out and mail them to the WM POB.
At 1950 hours, David Zucker Azus officially joined the meeting.
Any other outstanding contracts? Any mail yet? Angel will poke the two groups to remind them they need to get their contracts in, and Skyfire Bay needs to have a legal adult as Monarch. Is there a deadline for these contracts? Yes, one year from joining Westmarch (when the althing happened), which may be from Burning Lands corpora. So, that means that Skyfire Bay has until January, Belial Peaks and Valley of the Fallen is November. Bremen’s Fortress may have previously had a signed contract which was possibly lost, but Kalevra has a current BF contract which he will collect BOD signatures as he can.

OLD BUSINESS ITEM #2
Aureus Saltus petition to use WM Employer Identification Number (EIN#). David Zucker- AS wants to set up a demo at a local farmers market and they need to demonstrate a proper organization and needs our EIN# to do that. They are not expecting to collect donations. One of the problems is if they get too much money from donations, the IRS doesn’t like it if they get more than, say 22%, maybe 35%, from non-member sources (specifically monetary donations). This is the primary reason we have not handed out our EIN. Non-monetary contributions, e.g. goods, not as important. Risks to handing out EIN: too much monetary income, opening bank accounts, someone asking for legal identification of a corporation. We need control over what it is being used for and we have assurances that it is being used for appropriate things. Potentially, someone could still find all of this information with a tax-exempt search.
Victoria Frasier- booth as a non-profit at Farmers Mart and need EIN# to apply, with their main purpose of recruitment. Colin asked whose names are on the official paperwork from last year- that is the information that should be kept separate from EIN and not given out. Last year IRS requested principle officer which was Robert Mott Sr; California required principal officer and PM which was Robert Mott Sr and David Zucker, respectively, so depending on when Baylis files this year it will be either Kalevra or the next King.
Is there any other form of paperwork besides the EIN they could use? Good feelings about using different forms of recruitment such as this. They can be trusted if this is the only form of identification they can use. Maybe have their Monarch to see if there was an alternative? Would it be out of line to ask for a copy of the application from the Farmers Market?
Motion was made to contact AS Monarchy to request copy of filled out application for BOD review. As this is a weekly venue, no urgency so make the request to table and review at next BOD meeting. If it needs more urgent action, we can discuss and vote on BOD forum.
Angel Y
Baylis Y
Brian Y
David Y
Ian Y
Jodi Y
Marcus Y
Azus will contact AS to collect the application we request.



OLD BUSINESS ITEM #3
WM filing status: Azus and Baylis still need to get together and organize filings. The deadline is the end of May, but an agreement as to when we would get this done was as stated by Baylis in old business above. Motion to table further discussion until next meeting:
A Y
B Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y

Revisit POB key: Keys have not been distributed, so we will table further discussion until keys have been distributed.
A Y
B Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
Marcus will agree to contact Euric about getting the keys tomorrow at TR 3/13/2016.

PETITION TO USE WM EIN# FOR DARKSHORE: David Zucker spoke with Mikezilla concerning funds for Darkshore for food. Mikezilla would like to contact vendors for food donations to try to get discounts. 501(C) 7 donations will not be tax deductible for the donors. Their food budget is realistic but is more than in Darkshore account, so discounts are good but they will need an althing. There is no Event Corpora section for Darkshore, so they don’t get free reign of funds. Darkshore funds were transferred to WM, so there is a Westmarch account for Darkshore but they still have to go through an althing to spend it. As this is more of a Corpora matter, the issue for the BOD is whether to let them use WM EIN# to get food discount.
The EIN# request form requires the identity of the organizations the EIN will be given to. Since no request form has been submitted yet, we need more information to make a decision, consistent with what the BOD is asking of Aureus Saltus. Mikezilla, watching this discussion, provided the names of Costco and Cash ‘n Carry as the vendors he is looking at. The EIN request form needs: Monarch or autocrat signature and date, requestor signature and date, need for EIN, if monetary donations are expected what is the expected amount, list of organizations you will be giving EIN to, if approved by BOD vote BOD president and treasurer signature and date, if denied reason why. Anticipated amount still unknown, and donation of goods not a big concern to IRS. Per Mikezilla- will have hard numbers this week when menu finalized. There is a deadline coming up concerning althing approval of funds. Do we postpone and discuss in the forums? This is a WM event, not an individual land, so we can open voting. A motion was put forth to provide Darkshore to use EIN#.
A Y
B Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
David and Mikezilla need to collaborate and collect required information and form completed and signed in the interim ASAP before Darkshore.

REQUEST BY WM MONARCHY TO CONDUCT FINANCIAL AUDIT OF MISTYVALE
Kalevra presented a request to audit MV, appropriate to cover WM, as the current PM of MV is in conflict with the person recently banned by MV for misuse of funds. It is the BOD prerogative to conduct audits of individual lands, and is not implying improper conduct. Two independent audits of their own, plus WM BOD audit have been conducted. They found improper practices with the previous PM, and the concern now is this current issue occurred six months before the first and was not found in the first audit. So it seems like either the audits weren’t done fully or maybe an issue with the current audit, so it would be proper practice for an independent party (not MV), as in the BOD treasurer review MV books and evidence that was found to make sure everything is correct. The result of the second issue is severe, and is potentially a ban for a very long time, so the Monarchy wants to make sure the books are reviewed and everything is correctly done before that happens.
Request supported by the Corpora Article X: Board of Directors, Section 2 Officers of the Board 3. The Board of Directors shall elect from their members a Treasurer who shall: a. work closely with the Prime Minister in monitoring the Kingdom funds, and b. Perform unsolicited audits of the Kingdom financial records.
It could be inferred that being a contracted land of WM, all MV and sponsored land financial records are property of WM. The request is supported by Corpora as there is a precedence there. Baylis has already reached out to current MV PM and has received the current financial information from their PM (yesterday), and will finish his review by next week. He will make a spreadsheet documenting any differences, and questionable transactions without receipts or with no logical explanation. Links can be provided to the BOD by Baylis. Financials will be checked against past two years of audits of MV, with a projected completion date by Friday. Kalevra requests any communication about either ban because of financial discrepancies with books be directly made to Kaytana, the current MV Monarch, as she has been personally involved in both and is the best direct source for information. Ian requests Baylis please post link on BOD forums when the review is organized. As the result of this audit determines whether or not a person has a Kingdom-wide ban, Kalevra requests so as not to leave this person hanging, please have this finished in a two week time frame.
Azus Kingdom PM is also empowered to perform Per Corpora: article ix, section 2, item 1. "The Kingdom may audit any sponsored chapter at any time to ensure the smooth operation of the sponsored chapter." Past audits have been saved by Azus on Google drive and link for MV audits will be provided to Baylis.
Colin helped with original discovery when Lady T took over as PM. He says there were written inconsistencies on some of the receipts, written after the fact by Kaytana, which were included with financial submission spreadsheets. Colin was the one who assembled the spreadsheets so can direct questions about spreadsheets to him. Noted that Colin is also married to Lady T (current MV PM). Kalevra’s concern is that Colin is also involved in possible litigation between Lady T and the person being banned, therefore possibly a conflict of interest? Everything needs to be above any question due to the severity of the implications. Thus this BOD audit is only an information gathering and review, and the BOD won’t have anything further to do with it unless it escalates. We will thus table this item and return to this next meeting. WM Monarchy will be free to do what they need to with the information.
Table to next meeting:
A Y
B Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y

OPEN NEW BUSINESS: NONE
Motion to close and seconded: Vote to close
A Y
B Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
Meeting adjourned.
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ravenb
 
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Re: 2016 BOD Minutes & Officers

Postby ravenb » Sat May 21, 2016 7:55 pm

Westmarch BOD Meeting April 23, 2016

715 pm call to order
Ian Crawford (Fiks) BOD President
Angel Traub (Vidya) BOD liaison
Baylis Weaver (Ubrik) BOD Treasurer
David Zucker (Azus) Westmarch PM
Jodi Begley (Raven) BOD secretary
Mark James (Waterhammer) BOD alternate
Not in attendance: Brian Wheeler (Kalevra) Westmarch Monarch
Marcus Bergman (Collin MacAbee) BOD Vice President

OLD BUSINESS
I. Aureus Saltus petition to use Westmarch EIN#
They were going to provide information as to what they needed the EIN# for and to whom specifically they were going to submit the # to. They did provide a website with information on the Farmers Market. Looks like you do need to register using the site. They are not collecting funds, demo only, no sales, no donation jar out. Pro: one of our groups gets a chance to do a demo. Cons: Potential for fraud? Someone else gets the number and uses it illicitly. With enough digging, anyone could find the EIN# and use it fraudulently. Looks like they need it to prove they are part of an NPO in order to apply, similar to what is done at Cons and demos.
They have not filled out an actual request form yet. Notes from last meeting: contact AS Monarchy to provide form with data filled in.
Motion to approve letting Aureus Saltus use Westmarch EIN# but without the form filled out for BOD review at this time. Nothing specifically in Corpora that this is a definite requirement, it is decided on a case by case basis.
Vote to offer EIN information and permission without the form now, with the stipulation they then need to fill out the required form and submit it to the BOD.
Angel Y
Baylis Y
David Y
Ian Y
Jodi Y
Mark Y
Motion passes.

II. Westmarch tax filing status
Federal form 990N has been filed. CA 199-N has been filed with Franchise Tax Board. SI100 which needs to filed with the Secretary of State has not been filed yet. Deadline is mid-April. There is a $20 filing fee. If there is a late fee, Baylis will pay. It can be filed online, and needs the names of the principle officers.
Suggestion by Baylis to create a document that outlines this process for the next BOD, e.g. how to create logins, like a “cheat sheet”, with as much information as securely possible. Screenshots of forms will be taken and sent to David for archiving.
Motion to table as there is still one form outstanding, which will be done and posted immediately after this meeting. Follow-up will be done on the forums when it is completed to close this item out completely.
A Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
Motion to table WM tax filing status passes.

III. Westmarch PO Box keys
David still does not have a key, but two keys have been distributed to Collin and Kalevra. Euric still has one key, which might be able to be passed to David at Darkshore. A statement provided by Collin “I and Bryan Wheeler have a PO box key, and I have checked the mail twice, and will be mailing the contents to David prior to the meeting on the 23rd. I have scanned all contents and sent that for now; will check the PO Box once more before the meeting”.
Motion to table the issue of key distribution
A Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
Motion to table key distribution passes.

IV. BOD Audit of Mistyvale financials
BOD Treasurer Baylis was requested to do a financial audit of Mistyvale, as their current PM Lady Tamara had found some issues with the financials left by the previous 2-3 PM and possibly Monarch. Summary of findings and all data were shared in the forums and is public. In general, the ledgers do not match up well. The proper ledger, detailed by Lady T, back calculates an ending balance for 2015 that does not match the audit and is a higher significantly based on a box total handoff that happened in November. In November, expenses of the Monarchy well exceeded the possible 20% combined amount allowable for PM/Monarch spending. There was no althing confirmed by discussion with Lady T at Flurbtastic. Also in November, there were two charges for coronation feast that appear to have been reimbursed by MV, $8.72 and $35.93, purchased with EBT account which is possibly a legal issue for MV and that party. Exchanging food stamps for cash is illegal. If they had been donated and not reimbursed there would not be this issue. The second half of 2015 audit showed a $27.35 item missing. Mera Jade’s item in ledger showed a line item of $27 average in June for water. A full transcript and link to records is in the forum.
The information has been turned over to Kalevra, the Kingdom Monarch, and he takes it from there. This has occurred, both in person to Kalevra, as well as electronically.
Motion to close this item:
A Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y

V. LAND CONTRACTS
Bremen’s Fortress: Baylis and David still to sign, then Collin.
Skyfire Bay: We got signatures from their PM and Sherriff, and should be in the mail. Ian got a message from their current PM. We provided confirmation on our POB number so the contract will be sent soon. The Farguard was an individual thing that one gentleman wanted play tested, and not something the park was doing so it is not a concern. The land is playing Amtgard.
Belial Peaks: They will be filling out their form soon. Not as urgent as their deadline date is a way out, since they only recently became a land.
Valley of the Fallen: Haven’t heard back, but they’re working on it.
Motion to table and revisit at next meeting:
A Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
Motion passed.

NEW BUSINESS
None. Motion to close meeting:
A Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y

Meeting adjourned.
ravenb
 
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Re: 2016 BOD Minutes & Officers

Postby ravenb » Sat Jun 18, 2016 7:47 pm

Westmarch BOD Meeting Notes May 21, 2016
This fifth meeting of the 2016 Westmarch Board of Directors was called to order at 715 pm.
Roll call:
David Zucker (Azus) WM PM
Ian Crawford (Fiks) WM BOD President
Jodi Begley (Raven Skullsmasher) WM BOD Secretary
Marcus Bergman (Collin MacAbee) WM BOD VP
Mark James (Waterhammer) WM alternate
Reading of previous meeting minutes from April 23,2016 http://caamtgard.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8619
Copy of minutes will be posted BOD meetings and officers thread once approved.
Vote to accept:
David Y
Ian Y
Jodi Y
Marcus Y
Mark Y
Minutes of April 23 meeting approved as read and will be archived.
OLD BUSINESS
I. Authorization of Aureus Saltus petition to use EIN# for Farmers Market
They have filled out the form, but Victoria needed to get it scanned and sent back. Motion to table until next meeting.
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
M Y
Motion to table to next meeting passed.
II. WM tax filing status
There were mistakes in the WM PO Box number on the forms. Copies of the three forms as submitted were posted in Tax Receipts for 2015 thread. There were mistakes on forms: missing a 9 in POB #. Therefore, corrections are needed on SI100 and FTB199N. We received reminder card to submit (not a confirmation of receipt) which Collin copied and posted. We can accept them as filed with mistakes, and then have Baylis post confirmation of corrections. Motion to accept the forms as filed with mistakes, with update on corrections made and confirmation from Baylis to be posted online. Will then accept the forms and close the matter.
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
M Y
Motion to accept forms as filed with updates to be made and posted passed. Item closed.
III. WM POB keys
We still don’t have key #3. Post office would not give Euric a replacement, so Euric was going to see if he could get copy made. Therefore there are two keys, the third is missing. Whoever is on the mailbox will need to show ID, and if someone else is added they will have to have Euric accompany them to be added. Are we OK with the WM PM not having a key, and then having the next PM work on getting a third key? Collin feels that there are enough MV and TR people locally that will be involved in Monarchy/BOD, and that they should be able work with a more geographically remote PM and adequately take care of getting to the mailbox and expediting materials to the PM. Currently Kalevra and Collin both have keys. Collin feels these two local people have been working well so far in monitoring the WM PO box. The last time Collin checked the PO Box was before Darkshore.
Collin motions to get a third key.
D N
I N
J N
M N
M N
Motion to get a third key fails. Therefore, we will only have two keys (Brian Wheeler and Marcus Bergman have the two keys).
Motion to close item.
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
M Y
Motion passes. Item of WM keys closed.
IV. Land Contracts
Skyfire Bay. Collin signed 5/1/2016. David mailed to Baylis to sign. Angel and Baylis need to sign Skyfire, and then give to Ian.
Belial Peaks; no contract yet.
Valley of the Fallen: Have not filed a contract yet but they are working on it. Lothar (founder) thought they had submitted a contract. Collin will check the mailbox and the liaison will follow up. We have made a contact but no contract.
Bremen’s Fortress. Collin signed- needs Baylis’ signature; Mailed to Baylis to sign. Only signature needed is Baylis.
Scans of BF and SFB made with signatures so far.
Valley of the Seers: messaged Baylis at the start of this meeting, asking as to how to go about joining Westmarch. Orlean is the VOTS contact, Alexander is the Sherriff. Kalevra, David and Ian have been the contacts from WM, possibly the liaison Angel will be added in the discussion with VOTS. We will consider Stryker also, as he is the founder of the VOTS park.
Two in process (SFB, BF), two not submitted (BP, VOTF), one interest in joining WM (VOTS).
Motion to table contracts.
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
M Y
Motion to table land contracts until next meeting passed.
NO NEW BUSINESS
BOD discussion
Question about can’t serve on two monarchy positions at the same time, but can you serve on two BOD positions. Monarchy relates to the Officers, Corpora section III. BOD is outside of that structure, so there are currently no rules about that, executive committee/Amtgard BOD as well. Corpora Committee is the place for that discussion-Article III/IV/X.
There is one restriction in the Corpora between Monarchy and BOD. Monarch and PM cannot hold a position on the BOD so the question came up in TR when you have a voted in BOD member, but then is also voted in as PM. What we did here last year with this BOD was that Collin assumed treasurer position, swapping with liaison member David, so David was both BOD member and PM but only got one vote. The extra vote went to the alternate. Technically that’s not how the Corpora is written. So as PM, he would not be able to perform the liaison duties on paper. But he could as a voted in member of the BOD. If anything, something needs to be added to the Corpora about what happens when an elected member of BOD takes over as Monarch or PM. Ideally the alternate member, if available, takes over the position vacated when a BOD member is elected as PM or Monarch. You would either have someone fill in or position goes vacant. This is definitely an item for Corpora committee to look at.
Victoria (from Aureus Saltus) messaged Baylis the EIN # request form during the meeting, so we will revisit now. Two pages were just submitted (via Google drive) during the meeting. Review of the information: could be cleaned up a bit, but really needs a specific address and contact info for the organization. Most of the information is provided through the Farmers Market website which has been previously provided by AS. Azus asked if there is any precedent. There has been no previous BOD which has had to approve use of the WM EIN#, therefore no precedent as to how to handle this. It was discussed previously a couple of years ago when TR did the Santa Parade. Should we ask for AS to add the contact information and resubmit, or accept as submitted?
David motions to copy the contact info from the website and accept the form.
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
M Y
Motion to accept IEN# request form with additional contact added information added, passes.
Item closed.
Clarification on vote about Aureus Saltus EIN# form approval. Signature requirement is that both BOD president and treasurer need to sign. As the President is present for this vote, that part of the requirement is met. The treasurer is not present, but form will be routed to Baylis for his signature. AS does not have the authorized form and EIN# yet pending the signatures.
Motion to close meeting.
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
M Y
Meeting adjourned at 8:06 pm.
ravenb
 
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Re: 2016 BOD Minutes & Officers

Postby ravenb » Mon Jul 11, 2016 11:33 am

WESTMARCH BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING JUNE 18, 2016 (amended)
Meeting was called to order 7:00 pm
In attendance: Angel Traub BOD liaison
Baylis Weaver BOD treasurer
Ian Crawford BOD president
Jodi Begley BOD secretary
Marcus Bergman BOD VP
Mark James BOD alternate
Absent: Brian Wheeler WM Monarch
David Zucker WM PM

Meeting notes for the May 21, 2016 meeting http://caamtgard.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8632 were read.
For clarification, abbreviations for Aureus Saltus should be AUS, and for Ashen Spire AS to avoid confusion and be consistent with past abbreviation.
Motion to accept.
A Y
B Y
I Y
J Y
MB Y
MJ Y
Minutes approved as read and will be posted in the BOD meetings and officers thread.

NEW BUSINESS
I. LAND CONTRACTS

BREMEN’S FORTRESS: Baylis has mailed the contract to Ian, Ian had signed it and initialed it as complete, and sent it on to Bacchus. BF should thus have their contract back to them by Monday of next week. A scan of the contract has been uploaded to the WM Google drive, with a link in the forum post for this meeting (completed BF contract link). This item is complete.
SKYFIRE BAY: There are two copies: SFB wanted an original copy to be held by WM, and an original for themselves. We will keep “contract copy” and send that back. Koran Munafo was messaged last Tuesday for their mailing address, and we are still waiting for their address to return their completed contract. Ian will reach out again to get their mailing address, initial appropriately, scan, send back to SFB, and mail “copy copy” to Azus for WM files.
VALLEY OF THE FALLEN: we do not have yet. Collin has collected his, Jodi’s and David’s signatures and is trying to get the contract to Kalevra Bryan Wheeler to sign. Collin will either take to Bryan’s house or give to him at TR tomorrow with pick up of sign ins. As soon as Kalevra signs it, it will be routed to Angel and Baylis, and then to Ian for a final signature.
BELIAL PEAKS: Angel has tried contacting them, but has not gotten a definitive answer. Past sheriff said the PM and Regent would be responsible, but that was last term and this Sheriff is no longer in office. Angel will reach out to them again to get someone to commit to submit a contract.
VALLEY OF THE SEERS: still in the petitioning WM phase and hasn’t yet submitted a contract.
Collin last checked the WM POB Tuesday 6/14/2016. Ian requested that Collin make sure to check and fill out the “date received by WM” line on the contracts when he gets them as a couple have lacked this information.
Motion to table the land contracts until next meeting.
A Y
B Y
I Y
J Y
MB Y
MJ Y
Land contracts item tabled until July meeting.

NEW BUSINESS
I. Request for EIN# by BF. Azus was contacted via Facebook by Kelsey, who had been contacted by Crixus at BF, requesting to use the WM EIN# to get a cheaper permit cost for a BF park event. He needed it by June 14 but didn’t submit a form. As this doesn’t have any kind of form, we will consider this as recorded and no further discussion at this time.

II. Schedule next two WM BOD meetings:
First, schedule August meeting as this is the land audit meeting, to give Azus and BOD time to prepare. Azus posted on BOD chat; once audit schedule is set he is happy to put out the calendar unless we decide someone else will announce it. June 30 is the last day of the audit period. Tentative audit due date is July 31. This gives lands time (a full month) from June 30 to July 31 to get audits turned in. Typically, we give the PM two to three weeks to collect and process the audit submissions, and last audit period we held the land audit BOD meeting 2 weeks and 5 days after the audit due date. This provided a reasonable amount of time to reply to lands who needed communication and corrections. So to be consistent this audit period, that would make it August 20. Discussion was made to start earlier or consider another night. Originally August 20 was the same day as Dunes Day, but Dunes Day has been rescheduled to September 10 (needs to be changed on the WM calendar). That means there is not this conflict if we hold our meeting on August 20. We will start the meeting earlier (6 pm) as it is a long meeting, the last one was at least 3 hours long.

A Y
B Y
I Y
J Y
MB Y
MJ Y
Motion passes. The WM BOD land audit meeting is officially scheduled for August 20 at 6 pm.
AMENDMENT: As it has been discovered that the date for Dunes Day is in fact August 20 (was not changed from this date), the August WM BOD meeting will be scheduled for Saturday August 13 starting at 6 pm.

Second, schedule for July meeting: The third Saturday is July 16, but there are five Saturdays in July. Clan is the weekend of July 23, and Kalevra, Collin and Waterhammer will be unavailable July 23. Raven may be in southern California Saturday July 16. Collin made an argument that it might be better to have the meeting earlier in July (July 9) as opposed to later (July 30), in case anything comes up concerning the land audits. It would be better to have more time before the deadline to clarify items, and give lands time to make adjustments, before the audit deadline.
Motion was made to schedule the July BOD meeting for Saturday July 9 at 7 pm.
A Y
B Y
I Y
J Y
MB Y
MJ Y
Motion passes. The July WM BOD meeting will be Saturday July 9 at 7 pm.

OPEN DISCUSSION
Will the land audits officially close July 31 at midnight? We will contact Azus to establish a concrete date and time. Discussion of who can make the official announcement was made. Angel and David will communicate and decide who will make the official announcement.

Motion to close the meeting.
A Y
B Y
I Y
J Y
MB Y
MJ Y
Meeting adjourned at 735 pm
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Re: 2016 BOD Minutes & Officers

Postby ravenb » Mon Aug 15, 2016 6:49 am

WM BOD Meeting notes July 9, 2016
Meeting was called to order 700 pm
Roll call:
Angel Traub BOD liaison
Baylis Weaver BOD Treasurer
David Zucker WM PM
Ian Crawford BOD President
Jodi Begley BOD Secretary
Marcus Bergman BOD VP
In absentia:
Mark James BOD alternate
Bryan Wheeler WM Monarch
Minutes of the June 21, 2016 BOD meeting were read. Ian made a motion that the minutes be amended to show we had a vote to reschedule the BOD land audit meeting to August 13, due to a conflict with Dunes Day on August 20.
Vote was made to add the amendment:
Angel Y
Baylis Y
David Y
Ian Y
Jodi Y
Marcus Y
Vote was taken to approve the amended minutes.
A Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
Minutes were accepted with amendment and will be posted to the BOD minutes and officers thread.
OLD BUSINESS
I. LAND CONTRACTS
Skyfire Bay: Ian heard back from Koran, got the address, sent out July 6 and also sent a copy to Azus, who confirmed he received it. Status: Completed.
Belial Peaks: Angel has reached out twice to new Sheriff; June 19 and poked again today. She still hasn’t heard anything back yet. Angel had a question as to who is normally responsible- should be the Sherriff? - so she will wait to make sure she proceeds according to protocol. Since the contracts specify Monarch and PM, she will see if she can contact their PM (Serenity Collin) for a response. Status: Still open.
Valley of the Fallen: The contract was to go to Kalevra the next day after the June WMBOD meeting (6/19). Collin wasn’t at TR to hand the contract off in person, so the contract went to Tiberian to give to Kalevra, but Tiberian gave it to Effani instead since Kalevra was not at TR either. Kalevra cannot be reached currently as he is travelling and phone battery exhausted, so Collin will check with Kalevra to find out if he got the contract to sign. Status: In process with Kalevra as of June 19.
No new contracts. Mailbox last checked by Collin Wednesday July 6.
Motion to table land contracts
A Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
NEW BUSINESS
I. LAND AUDIT PREPARATIONS
As the next meeting will be land audits, we will have a discussion now in order to clarify what we will expect on some of the items that were difficult last audit, specifically proof of advertising and what exactly is a financial record.
A. Proof of Advertising
Cards and flyers are nice, but they need to be displayed or distributed, actually shown being used for advertising. Historically we have not required proof of its being used, just a current copy of flyer or card. If you can show a current flyer or card that’s nice, it’s proof, but if you show it is being used that is unassailably accurate. That’s the degree- minimal proof or demonstration of definite advertising and recruiting. Can you get an excellent for just having cards or a flyer, or does that require more definite proof of active distribution and use? What is the line between “That’s enough” (pass), and “Hey they are actively advertising and recruiting” (excellent)? Our conclusion last audit was that proof of advertising materials does not equal proof of advertising. Not everyone will interpret the Corpora that same way, as it is not clear.
“Article IX. SPONSORED CHAPTERS. Section 2. Audits, 2.a. ii. Proof of advertising their chapter, such as a flyer for a demo.”
Reviewing notes from the last meeting showed a note saying we were going to poke the next Monarchy about how they felt about this issue, but that hasn’t been done yet, and the Corpora Committee has not reached this section yet. Azus did start the discussion on FB, with multiple types of advertising, local advertising, more as an unofficial PM thing saying here’s what we had, rather than this is what the BOD is looking for. An official attempt was previously made to identify what the BOD wants specifically and turned down.
Advertising material per se is not proof of advertising. One is an action verb; one is a noun. Yes, you have the material, but did you use it? Tell us how you used it. Stuff without action is not proof.
So if we say, give us the copy of the card/flyer but also tell us what you did with it. Physical proof plus their word of their actions will qualify. However, if they say “Hey we handed out business card” but do not supply proof of having a card it will not qualify. So with this information, as the audit period ended 9 days ago, the lands should be able to go back and describe what they did with the advertising materials to meet this requirement if they have not already done so in their original submission.
As an example: Unassailable - TR picture of Alelia handing out business cards after River Cats game plus River Cats demo ditching pictures plus copy of tickets.
Material plus action of distributing it is required for meeting the requirement for advertising 100%.
Material only => not an excellent, but not a fail in itself, only in combination with two other areas that are insufficient. If there are two other “grey” areas, this would not make it fail, but definitely not an excellent.
Also, just having a FB group is not enough, there has to be some action, such as paying to promote page, or spreading via flyers or cards, that would be considered proof. Demo has to show up on Con schedule or photos of demo performance at the event.
Screenshots of websites: must be dedicated to a specific group; name, time, place, call to action to encourage people and provide information. Meetups are excellent. Craig’s list needs to show account history, recent payment to keep current, or a ledger that shows even a couple weeks to meet the minimum requirement even for an excellent.
B. Financial Records
Corpora Article IX. SPONSORED CHAPTERS
Section 2. Audits. 2.a.iii. Copies of financial records and ledger for the past six (6) months.
Section 2. Audits. 2.a. iv. Copies of bank statements, if applicable.
Last land audit meeting we interpreted that to mean not only did they have to have the ledger portion of the audit form filled out, but they had to show proof that there was a paper or electronic copy of a ledger that they were using. The audit form they fill out is IN ADDITION TO scanned paper ledger, pdf excel form and receipts to show they are keeping records. Ledger in audit form is enough for the ledger portion, but they still have to show they are keeping records, e.g. copies of receipts, e.g. dues and supplies, printed copy of ledger, screenshot of electronic ledger. WM does not consistently issue receipts for tithes.
When is the due date 30th or 31st at midnight? July 30 was due date previously posted by Azus, audit period Jan 1 to Jun 30, 2016. Discussion of whether to extend due date to MIDNIGHT JULY 31 was held, as it will give lands an extra day. Ian has offered post and help any lands with their audit submissions.
Motion to accept land audit preps as competed.
A Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
Accepted prep as completed.
Azus will make the announcement.
AUS, MV, CW and WS are already available for review in Google drive, and Ian requested that links be posted in land audit meeting thread as they become available.
Open floor: no items.
Motion to adjourn
A Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
Meeting adjourned at 743 pm
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ravenb
 
Posts: 170
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Re: 2016 BOD Minutes & Officers

Postby ravenb » Tue Oct 04, 2016 8:54 am

WESTMARCH BOD LAND AUDIT MEETING AUGUST 13, 2016
Meeting was called to order 1846 pm.
In attendance: Angel Traub BOD liaison
Baylis Weaver BOD treasurer
Ian Crawford BOD President
Jodi Begley BOD secretary
Marcus Bergman BOD vice president
In absentia: David Zucker WM PM
Bryan Wheeler WM Monarch
Minutes of the July 9, 2016 BOD meeting were read. A motion was made to accept the minutes accurate as read.
Angel Y
Baylis Y
Ian Y
Jodi Y
Marcus Y
Minutes were approved.
Ian noted that two items from the meeting had not been done. A) Ian had not posted to offer help to lands requesting assistance with their audits, and b) audits were not posted in the meeting threads.
OLD BUSINESS
I. Land Contracts
Belial Peaks
Angel has contacted them, but has no official update. Angel will be going to Belial Peaks Sunday August 14 and will personally bring a contract for them to sign. They were accepted by althing into Westmarch November 1, 2015, thus it is getting close to the one-year period where we have to get the contract started. Therefore, the contract needs to be signed definitely before the rollover of officers, as information does not get transferred well between monarchy terms.
Motion was made to table until the next meeting.
A Y
B Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
Motion to table BP land contract passed.
Valley of the Fallen
Current status: Kalevra has the VOTF contract. Collin gave it to Kalevra through his wife Effani. He has it in his “inbox” but has not confirmed that he physically has it. Can we impose VOTF turning in an audit if we don’t have a signed contract? Typically, previous BOD have used the althing date as entry into WM, but legally they are not a part of WM until they have signed a contract. Since they are “in limbo” regarding their contract waiting for us to respond, Collin suggested we do not assign an automatic fail for not submitting. A no joy this time, and not count as a fail. Since VOTF has not even submitted an audit, that is a prerequisite fail. We will review this further in the audit section of this meeting.
The althing date for VOTF to join was November 1, 2015. June 9, 2016 was the date of the first signature that went onto the contract, with the last update on the 19th; no movement for almost 2 months. Belial Peaks and VOTF were both approved by althing November 1, 2015. The difference was that BP had a signed contract which was lost (unable to get from previous King), and thus we are trying to get a replacement done. Monarch/regent/champion vote was in the same althing as the BP/VOTF vote, with only one week between monarchy change. Thus Euric had the contract as he was the current Monarch at the time of the althing.
Confirmation that BP contract was lost: Angel reached out to Euric and he had misplaced it.
We will discuss this further in the land audit portion of the meeting.
Motion to table land contracts.
A Y
B Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
Motion passed.
NEW BUSINESS
LAND AUDITS
1. Policy review: e.g. proof of advertising, financial records. Last meeting discussion is satisfactory.
2. Exemption and contract status. Strictly speaking, we do not have an exemption period, but we have been extending one as a courtesy.
http://caamtgard.com/docs/docs/wmk_corp ... -04-18.pdf
Article IX Sponsored Chapters
Section 2. AUDITS
1. The Kingdom may audit any sponsored chapter at any time to ensure the smooth operation of the sponsored chapter.
2. The Kingdom Board of Directors shall conduct regular audits of all lands every six (6) months.
a. All chapters must provide the following requirements:
i. Copies of attendance sheets for the past six (6) months.
ii. Proof of advertising their chapter, such as a flyer for a demo.
iii. Copies of financial records and ledger for the past six (6) months.
iv. Copies of bank statements, if applicable.
v. Meet attendance requirements.
b. Principalities, Duchies and Baronies must submit:
i. A list of current officers.
ii. A list of current dues-paid members.
iii. The results of most recent crown qualifications.
iv. The most recent crown election results.
3. Audits will be given ratings by the Board of Directors.
a. A land submitting all required items will earn an “excellent” rating.
b. A land missing one (1) required item but provides everything else earns a “pass” rating.
c. A land missing more than one (1) required item will earn a “failed” rating.
d. If the Kingdom Board of Directors fails to post the results of the audit within one (1) month of the deadline all lands automatically receive “excellent” ratings.
e. If a chapter’s audit is not received by the date set forth by the WM-BoD it will be considered an automatic rating of “fail”.
4. All groups must maintain minimum attendance requirements equal to 75% of the numbers they needed to become their current size.
5. Promotion and demotion themselves are not automatic, but require approval of the Kingdom Althing and Kingdom Monarch.
a. If a sponsored chapter passes two (2) consecutive regular audits with “excellent” ratings as well as meets the requirements for the proposed status promotion, they will automatically be brought to the Westmarch Althing vote for promotion consideration.
b. If a sponsored group fails two (2) consecutive regular audits they will be automatically brought before the Westmarch Althing vote for demotion consideration.
Section 3. SHIRE
1. A Shire must have the following:
a. Maintain an average monthly unique member attendance of five (5) members
b. Have signed a contract on file with Westmarch
c. Have a contract on file with Amtgard, Inc, and
d. Meet at least once every other week
e. Have held elections every six (6) months, per this corpora
f. Have the offices of Monarch and Prime Minister filled, at minimum
2. The Monarch of a Shire is called a Sheriff.
a. A Sheriff may award first and second levels of any order.
b. A Sheriff may not award any titles, knighthoods, or masterhoods.
Section 4. BARONY
1. A Barony must have the following:
a. Maintain an average monthly unique member attendance of twenty (20) members
b. Have signed a contract on file with Westmarch, for at least one (1) year
c. Have a contract on file with Amtgard, Inc.
d. Meet at least once a week
e. Have held elections every six (6) months, as per this corpora
f. Must have the offices of Monarch, Prime Minister, and Champion, at minimum.
2. The Monarch of a Barony is called a Baron.
a. A Baron may award first through fifth levels of any order.
b. A Baron may not award any titles, knighthoods or masterhoods.
Section 5. DUCHY
1. A Duchy must have the following:
a. Maintain an average monthly unique member attendance of forty (40) members
b. Have signed a contract on file with Westmarch, for at least two (2) years
c. Have a contract on file with Amtgard, Inc.
d. Have been a Barony for at least two (2) years
e. Have held elections every six (6) months, as per this corpora
f. Meet at least once a week.
g. Must have the offices of Monarch, Regent , Prime Minister, and Champion filled, at minimum.
2. The Monarch of a Duchy is called a Duke.
a. A Duke may award first through eighth levels of any order.
b. A Duke may award the title of Lord or Lady once per reign.
c. A Duke may award masterhood in the fighting classes.
d. A Duke may not award any other titles or masterhoods.
e. A Duke may not award knighthood.
Thus, there is nothing about if the land hasn’t joined the Kingdom within a specific time they’re given an exemption, so we have been extending exemptions as it makes no sense to judge a land who has only been in WM for a partial audit period. Does this apply to BP and VOTF? Is there a place in the Corpora where both a contract and althing approval are required to be considered a WM land?
ARTICLE XIII: CONTRACT
Section 1. GENERAL INFORMATION 1. Any Amtgard chapter wishing to join the Kingdom of Westmarch, must complete the Westmarch contract and then be voted in with a 2/3 majority during a Kingdom Althing.
Terms of this Agreement
The Sponsored Chapter agrees to: 1. Sign and send by Registered Mail to Amtgard Kingdom of Westmarch the original contract, with a copy of the signed contract with Amtgard Inc. Pending approval by 2/3 of the current dues paid members of the Kingdom of Westmarch, the Board of Directors agrees to sign and return this contract to the Sponsored within 30 days of receipt.
2. Operate as a not-for-profit group.
a. Governmental recognition of non-profit status recommended, but not required except where chapter size mandates.
3. Abide by the current edition of the rule book published by Amtgard Inc.
4. Abide by the Corpora and Bylaws of the Kingdom of Westmarch.
5. Abide by all laws; local, state and federal.
6. Maintain a positive relationship with authorities, the public and other Amtgard chapters.
7. Educate the Amtgard membership and the community through demonstrations and instruction of but not limited to combat, arts, and sciences.
8. Sponsored will not copy for distribution any copyrighted material without the express written permission of said copyright.
9. Hold regularly scheduled Amtgard activities at least twice a month.
10. Hold Crown qualifications per the current Corpora of Westmarch before each election of a new Monarch, Regent and Champion.
11. Maintain records of attendance of all members, a membership roster, accurate financial records and a ledger format, and records of awards and honors received by that chapter's members.
12. Treat all members and joining members fairly, according to the Equal Opportunity Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
It doesn’t say whether the contract or althing is the “official” one. In the Corpora, it looks like the althing happens first and then the contract, so we have actually been doing this in the reverse order. Usually we have had the althing, then pushing for the contract to happen. Maybe they should sign the contract, and then WM signs off on the contract after the althing vote has been completed.
Article IX seems to only require an althing? Ian will make a note for the Corpora Committee to discuss. No mention of contracts in this section.
Review of ARTICLE V GOVERNMENT:
Section 3. THE ALTHING
1. The Althing is a public meeting open to all members of the Kingdom (or local land in the case of regular local Althings) in which issues are discussed and voted upon.
2. All votes of the Althing, require a quorum of at least 51% of all voting members.
3. Types of issues discussed and voted on by voting members include:
a. Revising and updating the Corpora with a 2/3 majority
b. Expenditures of the treasury, other than the 10% per month allowed to the Monarch and Prime Minister, with a simple majority. c. Vote on approving the adoption and promotion of sponsored chapters with a simple majority
d. Vote to change the status of a sponsored land with a 2/3 majority
e. Vote on restoring the membership status of a terminated member with a 2/3 majority
4. Abstentions never count towards a vote outcome except to meet quorum.
5. An Althing shall be scheduled and held (“called”) at least once a month on the first weekend of the month, but may be canceled by the Monarch.
a. The Althing may not be canceled if a petition for impeachment is being presented.
b. The Althing can be rescheduled if it falls on a special event or holiday.
6. The Monarch shall preside over and call all Althings.
a. If the Monarch cannot attend, the Regent may preside over an Althing with the permission of the Monarch.
b. If a petition to impeach the Monarch is being presented, another member of the Monarchy shall preside over the Althing according to the Order of Precedence.
7. Anyone may attend and take part in discussions, but only voting members may vote.
8. Althing rules of order may be set down by the Monarch.
9. Althing votes shall be held as an election.
10. Althing items must be scheduled at least four (4) weeks in advance, including, but not limited to changes of the Corpora.
a. If the four (4) week minimum cannot be met, items may still be added to an Althing agenda, provided an option for moving that item to a later date is given along with a yes or no option.
Again, there is no mention of contract, and no mention whether contract date or althing date is the official entry date into WM. Interpretation of the Corpora is thus: a contract needs to be submitted (Article V and XIII), and then the land is approved entry into WM by an althing (Articles IX and V). A land should have a contract submitted before the althing date. That would make the date of the althing later than the contract date. So Ian suggested using the althing date for determination of whether audits need to have been submitted for SFB, BP and VOTF. Baylis agreed.
Ian asked for a motion and vote to use the althing date to determine whether a land has been a WM land for the full audit period and needs to submit an audit this period. Since both BP and VOTF have an althing date of November 1, 2015, they would be required to submit an audit for this period as they have been a land for the full 6-month audit period. Skyfire Bay would be exempt as they have not yet been a member for a full audit period (joined the beginning of January).
BP submitted this time and last time. Was VOTF aware they needed to submit an audit? They might have submitted an audit if knew if they knew it was necessary and they were official. Any land who wishes to join a Kingdom needs to make themselves very familiar with the Kingdom’s Corpora. There are several mentions of, and entire section devoted to, audits. Azus contacted VOTF and followed up with lands who had not submitted audits. Collin has spoken with Lothar personally, and Lothar who is “working on it”. He knows it will be a failing audit but would be a fail the way it is. They will go through the motions and submit an audit late. Azus is not present to update us but has kept us current in the WM BOD FB thread before the meeting.
Communication to Azus from River Gale at Fal Dare. “Sorry for the delay! It's been a hard year for Fal Dare without a proper Regent and I was told that people didn't have the money to spend on qual items. I had a plan in place to help people with qualling (convincing them that it doesn't need to cost a lot to quall and helping them with cost effective ideas), but we didn't have anyone who was willing to run until the day of elections. Next term, Baron, Regent, and Champion WILL be properly qualled. As soon as my term as PM closes, I'm switching over to fill our empty Regent position. Please let me know if this doesn't make sense. My internet is out and typing on my phone us not one of my best skills grin emoticon River
In addition, no updates have been received from BF re advertising, Aegir’s Hall re more detailed ledger, still nothing from VOTF. Collin has talked with Lothar directly, knows its late, knows it’s a fail. He is not PM, he is the founder, the guy who gets things done. So nothing official has been received from VOTF yet.
A unanimous agreement was made to evaluate BP/VOTF as having a full audit period and grade accordingly, and to grant an extension to SFB.
AEGIR’S HALL
Shire: warmaster, quals results and election votes are not required.
Financial: Nonexistent. Fail.
Attendance: missing sign-in sheets. Incomplete, Fail.
Advertising: Insufficient. They have a card, but they did not show proof of using it. This would, by itself, downgrade to a pass if other items are passing (downgrade from excellent to pass), but in this instance since other items are failing advertising does not really apply for determination of a failing grade.
Previous rating was a fail (with a chance to correct which they did not take), so this is the second consecutive fail. Do we recommend removal of core status? Not BOD business, not automatic. This will be passed along to the King, and potentially discussed for land opinions, for any action.
A F
B F
I F
J F
M F
Unanimous fail for Aegir’s Hall. Fail was based on no financial records, missing sign in sheets and insufficient advertising. Copies of ledgers and statements and receipts need to be submitted. All attendance sheets for all park days must be submitted. For advertising, please show how you are using your card or flyer to promote your park, e.g photo of a flyer being posted, or a business card being handed out.
Let it be noted that at 1930 pm David Zucker WM PM joined the meeting.
ASHEN SPIRE
Nothing was submitted. Note failed this term, which is the fifth consecutive fail. No tithes are recorded.
Fail for Ashen Spire. No vote required.
Both AH and AS have failed the same number of times. However, AH has been submitting audits, though. Neither have given tithes.
AUREUS SALTUS
Receipts were off from the ledger by $0.02. Not following the corpora regarding tithes: collecting $5 instead of $6. Note for the record that they using e-sign ins. Advertising was really good, weekly meetup with date and address.
A E
B E
D E
I E
J E
M E
AUS receives unanimous excellent.
Notes: Due collection amounts may be using the wrong corpora. Needs to get current and collect $6 dues/6 months as they are a sponsored land. We will pass this along to the King Kalevra to discuss with AUS.
Advertising was awesome!
BELIAL PEAKS
Sign-in sheets: Collin would like to comment on the need to provide details for a “placeholder” sheet for missing sign-in sheets, explaining dark and for what reason. We have requested a “weather report” for rain outs in other instances. Maybe we should detail this out to them in future directions. As they are a Shire, they are only required to meet every other week. May 1 and May 8 were dark consecutively, but 5/8 was Darkshore so it doesn’t count against them. Any time a park is dark for a Kingdom event or visiting another land is not counted against them, to encourage visits and attendance at other parks and Kingdom events. So BP was only technically dark for one week, but OK due to Darkshore and only required to meet every other week as a Shire. We have not voted to require a placeholder sheet for this audit.
Maybe we could add into the audit instructions to provide a placeholder page for “dark days”, and include attendance sheets in chronological order. Who would do that? Person who was writing up best practices, so we will suggest it to the next PM.
No warmaster results? Azus emailed Jordan and no results as of August 4, but not required for a Shire
A E
B E
D E and has warmaster results which Belias won.
I E
J E
M E
BP receives unanimous excellent. You did a great job. It would make reading your attendance sheets easier if there were placeholder sheets for days you did not meet due to things like inclement weather or Kingdom events, invasions, etc. Great job for your first official audit!
BREMEN’S FORTRESS
Shire
No financial transactions before April 28. Lumped dues entries. No advertising
Ledger is extremely poor and confusing. The pencil ledger showed some of the breakdown, but it is not a running ledger. It just shows totals and is awkward. Confusion about expenditure amounts, 6 entries, which end with one amount, then next starting entry amount is totally different from the last ending amount.
Thus, missing one item (advertising), one grey item (financials, poor confusing ledger but is present).
A P
B P
D P
I P
J P
M F
Bremen’s Fortress receives a pass this audit (excellent last audit period). This was a difficult vote, due to 1 fail item (advertising) and borderline financials due to poor quality of ledger (1 ½ items). We really had a difficult time interpreting your financial records. If you could consolidate everything into one ledger that would make it much more clear. Also, an important part of the audit is advertising. Handing out business cards, posting flyers, performance at demos, meetup, are all simple ways to get a pass in this portion of the audit so next time you’ll get an excellent!
CRIMSONWOOD
Excellent audit submission. Serious attendance levels (Kingdom level!). Turned in early.
A E
B E
D E
I E
J E
M E
Crimsonwood receives a unanimous excellent.
This could be an excellent example to provide to other lands as an example of what an audit should be. An asset was that everything included in audit package, however some people prefer to have some sections separate for ease of viewing (really only a formatting thing).
FAL DARE
Fal Dare is a Barony. Has no regent and has many explanations as to why not. However, having a regent is not an audit requirement.
Has no Crown Quals results or warmaster (one item), this is a requirement. A note from River Gale explaining that there was no Quals because members did not have enough money for Quals items was provided and previously read.
Incomplete officers and no crown quals therefore fail on this one item. Financial and advertising good.
A P
B P
D P
I P
J P
M P
Fal Dare receives a unanimous pass for this audit. Fail on one item: Crown Quals. We will be looking forward to seeing Crown Quals and Warmaster results in the next audit.
MISTYVALE
Lady T won the contest with Ka’a for the first audit submission by two hours! MV was a shire at the beginning of this audit period and their last election, therefore having a Regent was not a requirement at that time, and it is still not needed for a Barony. MV submitted their audit on the Barony form as they became a Barony a month after last election through the audit period. Had a bank account for a while but it has been closed. Had Barony attendance numbers but this wasn’t required this period-very impressive. Excellent advertising, nice to see Craig’s List screenshot but would have been better to see what was inside Craig’s list post (the content).
A E
B E
D E
I E
J E
M E
Mistyvale receives a unanimous excellent. Good job on attendance- met Barony levels even though it wasn’t required. A small point- rotate pictures?
SEVEN SLEEPING DRAGONS
Advertising: Image of flyer (master pdf), not shown posted, no proof of use. Images used were taken from park days. In their letter, they had two demos, 5/14/16 and 1/30/16, with sign-in sheets which reflect that. (note in the sheets, they have both a date line and the date totals were updated). January 30 was PolyCon demo (3 pages), May 14 was another demo which they said in the letter they had lost the sign in sheets. Also they included images of fighter practice/A and S sheets which are confusing. This was done previously by TR and we requested then that FP sheets not be included, as they do not really count towards park attendance and muddy the interpretation of park attendance sheets. Credits for FP is up to Monarch discretion.
A E
B E
D E
I E
J P (pdf only of advertising images)
M P (demo sign in sheet)
SSD received an excellent rating 4E/2P.
They did have a sign in for the 1/30 demo which was explained in their letter. Instructions are if you can’t show recruitment please explain it in the letter. Collin requests his vote be changed to E based on this. This year they have sign in and copy of flyer-two ½ make a whole therefore his vote is changed to E.
SSD received a grade of excellent 5E/1P. The image of the flyer would be 100% for the advertising portion if you had shown it actually being displayed or distributed. The photos were great! If you could leave out the photos of fighter practices for audit purpose it would streamline that portion of your submission.
They have had several excellent ratings in a row- would they consider elevation to Duchy?
SIAR GEATA
SG has previously had a bank account. Please do not use real names for officers-use persona names.
And also it would be more clear if they could combine cash and bank account into one ledger for clarity. Bank account balance remained unchanged throughout the audit period. Unusual bank statements, possibly due to bank or quiet activity (noted last time too). Blog article written about SG was awesome!
A E
B E
D E
I E
J E
M E
Siar Geata receives a unanimous excellent.
Just a suggestion for next time: Please use persona names, and combine cash and into one ledger to make it more simple to read. Great job!
SKYFIRE BAY
Exempt this audit period
SUNFIRE VALLEY
No submission. Exempt? No. automatic fail
THOR’S REFUGE
Only issue is lack of votes for previous reign? Votes for current PM missing from the audit sheet; there were no numbers entered in audit form. Per current PM, there was a tie which was broken by their Monarch. GMR at the time stated there was a tie and passed it to the Monarch for a tie breaker but did not give us a count. The TR audit form says: aye “tied with”, nay says “other candidate”, abstain says “monarch broke tie”. This explanation should have been included in the letter, with the actual numbers (9 to 9) entered on the form. Ian’s comment: Below their office and name, detail the results of their election. If the election was contested, count vote for other candidates under the name of the category. So the numbers 9 to 9 should have been entered on the form. The letter would explain the results, i.e. tie break was needed. Regardless, this will not be counted against them.
TR does have a bank account. Financials sufficient.
Regarding the two missing sign-in sheets-they were replaced and inserted based on meticulous collecting signatures back onto a reproduced sign in sheet based on ORK entries at the time the original sign-in sheets existed. This is outlined here for transparency. We collected all signatures possible.
Super smart-maybe this could be used as an example so other parks know this can be done to avoid missing sign ins if this is acceptable to fill in missing sign in sheets. This should not be standard practice. It was done here since this was what the previous PM handed off, the previous TR audit was failed, and TR wanted to avoid another fail due to missing sign-in sheets.
A E
B E
D E
I E
J E
M E
Thor’s refuge receives a unanimous excellent. Credit for creative recreation of missing sign in sheets. Although this should not be standard practice, it showed conviction to provide a complete audit. Make sure to use numbers in the election portion, with any explanation in your audit letter.
VALLEY OF THE FALLEN
No submission
Prerequisite fail
WAVEHAVEN
Held Warmaster but their Warmaster format did not fit Corpora Warmaster criteria: no open weapon, no 5-3-1-point structure. They held a bear pit style warmaster due to time constraints (people had to get to work) and determined the winner based on streaks. They could have figured first, second, third in each category, but are still missing one required category. The format is not specified. it could be ironman, bear pit format, it just specifies categories, and they need to have first second third place based on 5,3,1-point assignment.
Section 6. FIGHTING EVENTS
1. The Fighting Events (“Warmaster”) are held as part of the Crown Qualifications process and shall consist of five (5) events, as follows:
a. Single short sword
b. Double short swords
c. Short sword and shield
d. Great weapon, or any weapon over five feet in length
e. Open weapon
2. All events shall be held on the same day as the Crown Qualifications Cultural Events.
3. All combatants must be signed in within the time constraints set forth by the autocrat of Crown Qualifications.
4. The overall winner of the Fighting Events shall be the Warmaster. The Warmaster is determined by giving five (5) points for first place in an event, three (3) points for second, one (1) point for third, and half a point (.5) for each individual win in the case of a tie, with the Warmaster determined as the combatant with the most points.
So: missing one category, with first, second, third not based on 5,3,1-point assignment. Is that enough to knock them out of excellent? Up to vote. Maybe just note a reminder that these are the requirements for these things and please try to work within that.
It doesn’t actually say that anyone needs to enter warmaster so if they had just written open weapon and no one entered would that be sufficient?
WH does have a bank account. Financials sufficient.
A E
B E
D E
I E
J E
M E
Wavehaven receives a unanimous excellent. Warmaster format was within the Corpora, but make sure to include all five categories.
WYVERN’S SPUR
Letter presentation was adorable. Excellent presentation. Need to be a Barony for at least two years before application for Duchy status. WS has a bank account. Financials sufficient.
A E
B E
D E
I E
J E
M E
Wyvern’s Spur receives unanimous excellent.
This completes the Land Audit portion of the meeting.
OPEN FLOOR
No items.
DISCUSSION
Clear notes for each? Will we have feedback for the lands? Everything will be into the minute transcripts. Minutes will be posted and available to the lands by tomorrow. At least, when we announce
the results we need to include why they got the votes they did. Even for the lands that got an excellent, include that these are things they could do to be even better and still work on.
Make sure these things are just notes, they are not binding in any way, put them in the context of in the context of “this is how we feel you could be even better”
Motion to close meeting
A Y
B Y
D Y
I Y
J Y
M Y
Meeting adjourned at 2036.
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ravenb
 
Posts: 170
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:14 pm

Re: 2016 BOD Minutes & Officers

Postby ravenb » Sat Nov 05, 2016 8:20 am

Westmarch BOD meeting notes September 17, 2016
Meeting was called to order at 637 pm.

In attendance:
Ian Crawford Fiks BOD president
Jodi Begley Raven Skullsmasher BOD secretary
Marcus Bergman Collin MacAbee BOD Vice President
Robbie Starks Laoric WM PM
In absentia:
Angel Traub Vidya BOD Liaison
Baylis Weaver Ubrik BOD Treasurer
Bryan Wheeler WM Monarch
Mark James Waterhammer BOD alternate

Minutes from the August BOD meeting were read and motion made to approve as read.
I Y
J Y
M Y
R Y
Minutes approved as read and will be posted in the BOD officers thread.

OLD BUSINESS
LAND CONTRACTS
1. Belial Peaks
Contract was signed by BP, and Angel and Baylis on 14 April. It was postmarked 9/8/2016. Collin taken from mailbox and signed it 9/14/2016. Sent to Jodi 9/17/2016 and she signed. Jodi currently has the contract, and it will be transferred to Kalevra at AH Sept 18. Mark on contract thread and BOD forums.
After Kalevra has signed it, it will be mailed directly to Ian.
Motion to table
I Y
J Y
M Y
R Y
Table BP contract until the next meeting.

Valley of the Fallen
Ian got the contract from Kalevra, and then Ian who mailed it to Angel and Baylis. We do not know if they have mailed it, so since they are not here, it’s status is unknown but probably still in Berkeley. Azus has already signed it, so Robbie will not need to.
Motion to table
I Y
J Y
M Y
R Y

NEW BUSINESS

New prime minister. Ian has asked the new PM and treasurer to present the status of WM bank accounts and PM handoff. Since treasurer is absent, Robbie will present.
Currently the Wells Fargo business checking account sits at $3090.95, which is $349.50 less than last reported ledger as Robbie just withdrew $349.50 to give to Guyvas for FOM expenses at Kalevra’s request (September Monarch draw 10%).
$1082.14 Darkshore account balance
$428.21 FOM account balance
$50.11 unsure which account this is as labels fell off, but Robbie suspects it is WMW and he is waiting for funds from that event to come in.
Total for all WM accounts = $5411.41
Guyvas should have received a total just shy of $800 already from the FOM account, and he has requested the remainder $428.21 as soon as possible to pay for event costs.
Robbie has the official PM transfer/handoff which was notarized at bank, official paperwork transferring things over from Azus to Robbie, Ian’s letter and Azus’ breakdown how to set up for new PM.
Azus’ breakdown as of Aug 19 showed the petty cash balance was approx. $50 (confirmed), the checking account balance was approximately $3491, which varies slightly due to auto transfers to avoid bank fees. Auto-transfers had to be reset at change of PM. Robbie has set up $50 transfers from checking into each individual savings account and back ($150 total). Ian asked if that is enough-does it need to be $100/month per account vs total $ transferred? Robbie will check later.
WMW savings balance of $0. Robbie just transferred $50 into it (auto transfer) which will go back into checking account in 2 days. After WMW event replenishes, verify that Porkins approves an additional $200 deposit for future events. Then deposit $800 assuming there’s a profit. If he doesn’t approve, deposit $600. Discuss with Kalevra althing to deposit more funds for faster fund growth based on profit. Robbie is waiting to hear from the person who ran WMW to give him a summary of how the event went.
FOM balance listed as approximately $360. Actually it is $428 assumed due to auto transfers. No money has come in from prepays so they are probably going directly to Guyvas.
Darkshore savings account $1842. Bid coming up soon and Darkshore costs over $3000 to run, so crats need to plan ahead for an althing to use WM funds.
WM does not currently have a PayPal account. Robbie would like to submit a motion to BOD create a PayPal account based off Amtgard/WM Gmail account and link it to WM checking account, so he doesn’t have to make physical withdrawals from WM checking through his personal checking and transfer to his PayPal account to send. Business checking accounts are not capable of Wells Fargo Sure Pay to other banks or other checking accounts.
Motion made to discuss possibility of setting up a WM PayPal account.

I Y
J Y
M Y
R Y
Approved and will add to end of new business.

This should conclude breakdown of current WM fund state as of last audit meeting according to Azus, which was done as a part of the audit meeting? This was not done at the last meeting.
Collin commented that maybe there should be a policy of having a WM audit of our own funds the meeting before the land audit meeting. Land audits typically happen before PM changeover. Per Robbie, maybe a full audit would actually be better after the “changeover”, unless we have an independent person do the audit. As an example, if I audit myself and it’s ok, and I hide something, the new PM may not see it. Audit should be done by treasurer or after the changeover so the new PM a clean slate. This time, Azus and Robbie did a comprehensive handoff and Ubrik monitored it. We used a complete checklist/breakdown, so on paper everything looked good, but there is no oversight other than the treasurer. There should be a more specific system for it, especially with the amount of money at stake.
Collin commented that at regime changes there should be a full audit, with moneys in/out verified. Robbie suggested that Ian take this to the Corpora Committee, and make a recommendation from the BOD to write an amendment or addition to the Corpora to clarify what needs to be done, with advice from BOD. If BOD makes a policy itself, it would only apply for less than a year.
Another new business item by Robbie: case of files handed over from Azus have financial files dated back to 2007. He requested permission to research with the IRS how long we need to keep records, and then dispose of by shredding old documents.
Robbie would like permission from the BOD to research the amount of time we, as a non-profit, need to keep records. Corpora says three (Article III, Section 4, 7e. Records must be maintained for a minimum of three (3) years.
Section 4. PRIME MINISTER
1. The Prime Minister is the third highest ranking official in the Kingdom, the secretary treasurer
of the
Kingdom, and the Chief Financial Officer.
2. The Prime Minister shall be elected one (1) week before midreign.
a. Any person wishing to run for Prime Minister must declare their intentions publicly and in writing to
the Guildmaster of Reeves at least two (2) weeks prior to the elections.
b. Any person wishing to run for Prime Minister must have passed the most recent Corpora Test.
3. The Prime Minister must have regular and reliable access to a computer and the Internet.
4. They must establish and make public a reliable means of contact, such as a forum topic at a Westmarch
sponsored site, or an email address.
5. All elections shall be conducted by the Prime Minister except:
a. The Prime Minister election,
b. Any election in which the Prime Minister is a candidate.
i. These elections shall be conducted by the Guildmaster of Reeves.
6. The local Prime Minister is responsible for maintaining accurate and current records of all members of their
land, physically and on the Amtgard ORK.
a. Each member’s records shall include their
i. Credits,
ii. Duespaid
status,
iii. Orders, Masterhoods, Titles and Knighthoods,
iv. Waiver information,
v. Persona Name.
b. The records must be updated on a weekly basis
c. Waivers must be renewed every three years counting from the date when the waiver was signed.
Discarded expired waivers must be destroyed in a secure manner, ie: shredded, safely burned,
etc..
7. The Kingdom Prime Minister is responsible for maintaining the Kingdom treasury. Local Prime Ministers will
do the same for their chapters.
a. Records of the treasury shall include detailed information concerning
i. Kingdom income,
ii. Kingdom expenditures,
iii. Current Kingdom funds,
iv. Receipts for all expenditures and income.
b. An accurate and current financial report must be provided by the Prime Minister for publication
monthly.
c. The Prime Minister must provide an accurate and current quarterly report to the Treasurer of the
Board of Directors.
d. The financial records shall be maintained in a digital spreadsheet format, in addition to permanent
hardcopy.
e. Records must be maintained for a minimum of three (3) years.
8. The local land Prime Minister shall collect all dues and fees.
9. The Kingdom Prime Minister shall collect and record tithes from all Kingdom chapters.
10. The Prime Minister shall work with local Prime Ministers to ensure local chapter’s records are accurately
maintained.
11. The Prime Minister shall maintain accurate and current records of all contractual obligations.
12. The Prime Minister shall be responsible for providing members access to copies of the club’s publications,
including:
a. Rulebooks,
b. The Corpora of Bylaws,
c. Newsletters,
d. All supplements to the rulebook or Corpora,
e. Any other applicable publications. A fee may be charged for these publications to cover the cost of
their production.
13. The Kingdom Prime Minister shall hold an automatic seat on the Westmarch Board of Directors.
14. Upon being elected, the Prime Minister shall assume financial responsibility for the treasury by signing a
contract with the Kingdom or local chapter stating said responsibility. Should funds in the treasury go
missing and the Prime Minister is found to be responsible, then the Prime Minister will be required to make
amends for those funds and may be subject to legal action.
15. Should the position of Prime Minister become vacant, the Guildmaster of Reeves shall conduct a new
election to elect a protem
Prime Minister.
16. The Kingdom Prime Minister is allowed to spend up to 10% of the treasury each month in order to run the
Kingdom, as needed; receipts are required.14. Upon being elected, the Prime Minister shall assume financial responsibility for the treasury by signing a
contract with the Kingdom or local chapter stating said responsibility. Should funds in the treasury go
missing and the Prime Minister is found to be responsible, then the Prime Minister will be required to make
amends for those funds and may be subject to legal action.
So, Robbie will dispose of by shredding, records before 2013.

Article 10 BOD Section 2 Item 3: Concerning when audits are to be done.
Section 2. OFFICERS OF THE BOARD
1. The Board of Directors shall elect from their number a President who shall conduct all meetings of the
Board.
a. The President has the authority to break all ties, for votes of the WMBoD.
2. The Board of Directors shall elect from their number a Vice President who shall
a. Serve as President if the President is absent.
b. Become President if the position becomes empty.
3. The Board of Directors shall elect from their number a Treasurer who shall:
a. Work closely with the Prime Minister in monitoring Kingdom funds.
b. Perform unsolicited audits of the Kingdom financial records.
c. Audit all records at the end of each Prime Minister’s term of office before they are turned over to
the next Prime Minister, as well as the middle of the Prime Minister’s term.
d. If necessary, seize all records and finances with the approval of the President, the disposition of
which must be handled at the next Board meeting.
e. Shall maintain the Kingdom’s nonprofit
status.

This does not specify before or after the turnover of a reign. It would be a good idea for the Corpora committee to spell out a more specific procedure or guideline for the audit procedure. It can be really frustrating to be audited without a standard. Spelling out specifically what the treasurer will be auditing, what they will be looking at, with some sort of a scoring system based on records and record-keeping, would be helpful. Collin asked Robbie to write up what he would like to see to present to the CC. Robbie thinks it would be better if the Corpora Committee approached him, and using his report, worked on it in a collaborative manner with Robbie and maybe 2-3 other PMs. Ian will make the recommendation to the Corpora Committee (CC).
Motion made to accept presentation of financial handover as read.
I Y
J Y
M Y
R Y

2. New EIN# request form.
Ian made a new EIN# request form, with a link on BOD forum next to item on the agenda. He created based on his becoming quals coordinator at WH and needing the WM EIN# for the site reservation, modified from Azus’ original form.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwYxeA ... Q3SG8/view

During this process, modifications to the form included: date requested, date required, instructions at top and side similar to audit forms, section for requestors information (mundane, persona and land names), statement of purpose, donation income line for financial exchange or donations to list anticipated income (as we can only accept a certain amount of income to maintain non-profit status), list of organizations receiving EIN#, space for approval/decline, and place for appropriate signatures on the bottom. This form meets the standards of WM audit. Ian will also post on the “important documents” page of the WM website if approved.
Motion made to accept new EIN# request form.
I Y
J Y
M Y
R Y
Motion passed.

3. Crown Quals EIN request.
Completed form is linked, with a copy of the reservation application plus a fee that WH has agreed to pay, to rent a picnic area at Harvey West park which has many amenities suitable for Crown Quals. No alcohol will be served as there is an additional fee, and also has an extra alcohol deposit which is an additional expense. What if someone brings alcohol? If they bring alcohol as a Quals entry, they need to clarify it with and qualify it with the Quals coordinator the week before Quals. Ian has posted this already in the event description for FB and will continue to post reminders. There will be no extra fees if someone brings alcohol for Quals, no gazebos, no catering trucks, etc. (included in copy of application form- link copied below).
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz1BWD ... NqV1U/view
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz1BWD ... BIZUk/view

Motion made to vote to accept request
I Y
J Y
M Y
R Y

4. Land audits debrief
Do we think lands overall did better with advertising due to our discussions and posts of expectations? We only failed one land (AH), and dinged another for advertising (BF, and additionally for financial presentation/order). Fal Dare got a pass due to complete lack of Crown Quals. These were the only sub-par results we voted on. The only other non-excellent was a fail for AS.
There were more excellent ratings this time, and lands did a lot better overall. We were not less strict, but the lands were at the levels we wanted them to be at. Maybe it’s because they are tired of being reminded to follow Corpora guidelines about advertising?
Some lands have had fails for advertising in the past because they consistently did the minimum, they had several items but only gave us one of them. For example, range is MV is a land that submits everything (a lot), where other lands do a lot but their submission was minimal. For example, a photo of members at a convention doesn’t really prove advertising. Its more that we can’t prove that it was in the audit period, and some lands even had less, e.g. a copy of a waiver with no evidence that it was actually used. It falls back on what the Corpora says, “proof of advertising”, and then lands use an example of proof of advertising we don’t accept which is a demo flyer. This alone is inadequate.
2. The Kingdom Board of Directors shall conduct regular audits of all lands every six (6) months.
a. All chapters must provide the following requirements:
i. Copies of attendance sheets for the past six (6) months.
ii. Proof of advertising their chapter, such as a flyer for a demo.
iii. Copies of financial records and ledger for the past six (6) months.
iv. Copies of bank statements, if applicable.
v. Meet attendance requirements.
b. Principalities, Duchies and Baronies must submit:
i. A list of current officers.
ii. A list of current duespaid
members.
iii. The results of most recent crown qualifications.
iv. The most recent crown election results.
3. Audits will be given ratings by the Board of Directors.
a. A land submitting all required items will earn an “excellent” rating.
b. A land missing one (1) required item but provides everything else earns a “pass” rating.
c. A land missing more than one (1) required item will earn a “failed” rating.
d. If the Kingdom Board of Directors fails to post the results of the audit within one (1) month of the
deadline all lands automatically receive “excellent” ratings.
e. If a chapter’s audit is not received by the date set forth by the WMBoD
it will be considered an
automatic rating of “fail”.
Ian will make a note to the Corpora Committee to examine this section, to further define advertising as far as audits are concerned. A proposal by David and Collin before fell flat, so hopefully using the Corpora Committee will provide different results.
Land audits-financials. Land PM’s need to understand what we want as far as financial records are concerned. The bottom line is that they need to be understandable, and show money in, money out and where the money is. As far as audits are concerned, don’t need receipt copies or detailed proof of penny accuracy. Either a hand written or digital ledger they use on daily basis, a complete audit form, and any relevant financial institution records during that 6-month period are needed. Many lands include the filled out audit form, but don’t include the day to day ledger. This is something several lands have lost points for in the past.
Collin recommends that the land PMs start on their audits now, start checking boxes. We need to make sure incoming PMs know this now. This is the time, during the handoff, when things get lost, during transfer of information between outgoing and incoming PMs. So maybe BOD members, or KPM Robbie could reach out to local PM to start on their audits now, make sure their financials are in order, with “boxes checked” so the information transfer is complete. So as you move forward, all information is accounted for and complete. Is information missing? Better to know now than in January when they have to go back to July 1 and try to find something from six months prior or a prior reign.
Is there something missing? Take steps now. Kingdom PM has 14 lands that he is monitoring so regular monthly check ins with land PMs is a smart plan. KPM will reach out to each other PM once a month. Collin checked in more often with those falling behind, and offered as a suggestion.
Motion to accept this matter as discussed
I Y
J Y
M Y
R Y

5. WM PayPal
Robbie previously brought up the idea of having a WM PayPal account to use for events, tithes, etc., as WM currently does not have a functional method as a company to pay bills, short of withdrawing cash from the business accounts and physically handing it to the recipient, or alternatively cycling it through a personal bank account. His concern stems from, theoretically if PM between February to August, he could conceivably have moved upwards of $3-4K through his personal checking account to pay WM bills, by taking money out of business checking into his personal checking and then into PayPal. This is not only a huge liability moving around that much money, but if he is audited by the IRS personally, it’s a huge red flag moving that much money through his personal account and could potentially trigger money laundering laws.
Thus, WM needs a mechanism to move money from the Kingdom treasury to remote people. Using PayPal, is the most secure, functional way to do it. PayPal is the most functional way to do it, can pay for goods and services as needed, and we can send money to anyone with an account and has the security of a dedicated transaction history which says the money was sent and to whom. There are other options, for example Google wallet, but PayPal is ubiquitous, and is also accepted at retail locations on line.
Collin has used a credit card on line for Thor’s Refuge transactions, but WM needs to get a new card every time a new PM comes in every 6 months. We should be doing that any way, but this allows anyone with the authorization to quickly transmit WM funds. For example, if Guyvas needed $600 right away for event insurance, the PM could be transferred immediately without having to go to the bank and move the money around. Retail spending realistically less than 5% of total fund distribution. Most is sent reimbursing individuals for expenditures when present receipts, which right now requires a trip to the bank.
Another benefit is it that PayPal allows people to submit money back to the Kingdom easily. An example is WMW. The PM wouldn’t have to wait for someone to hand him cash, and then hold the $800 cash until he could get to the bank, they could just PayPal directly to Robbie.
Are there fees or convenience fees? This would need to be researched.
Collin has two issues with PayPal. The first is fees. There have been fees in the past, but Robbie just sent $349.50 out of his checking account to Guyvas and there were no fees as it was a money transfer. There is no fee if you are transferring money. If you pay for goods and services, the seller usually pays the fee. Robbie transferred money to Guyvas and there was no fee. Guyvas received the money and Guyvas did not indicate he had to pay any convenience fee. PayPal typically charges a fee for retail transactions or PayPal credit. Collin was a vendor, and has received money for sales as well as friends sending money. You need to send money as a gift to avoid fee. Businesses may not be able to send as a gift, but it may be different from a business to a personal account. We may also need to consider the EIN situation? As an example, Robbie received money for fantasy football and there was no fee on his end when they sent him money for the league fee. Robbie volunteers to research this for the next BOD meeting and find the parameters within which we need to operate as a business. Robbie feels PayPal is the easiest mechanism for getting money around in the Kingdom.
The second concern of Collin is security. Someone had gotten a hold of his PayPal account and because it was connected to his checking account, his checking account was drained within 27 minutes. As he had fraud protection, his money was recovered via Wells Fargo. Thus businesses do seem to have a mechanism in place to protect their customers. Collin had no money for two weeks because the PayPal connection is not as secure as Wells Fargo on its own, and it involved another vendor (Walmart) so they had to hold the funds for two weeks. His concern is that if something like this happened right before an event the account would be empty. The likelihood of this happening is low, but as there will be a lot of money transfers with prepays and such, we should have protection against this possibility. Collin recommends setting up a specific checking account at Wells Fargo to provide this layer of protection, and have this be the only account to house PayPal funds, and we use fund transfers between accounts to avoid fees. PayPal only links to a specified account, and we would make this a subaccount which we would specify. It would have no money ever until we transfer into the PayPal-associated checking account, and then when money comes in, it would be transferred from the PayPal linked account into the main WM main checking account. Although it is several steps, it eliminates the liability of an individual walking around with large amounts of cash. For example, WMW ended a month ago and no funds have been seen yet. Where is it? No idea where it is or who has it: no accountability. PayPal would prevent that.
How would we handle cash gate fees? At events we take cash, which still has to be gotten to PM someway. How does that happen? Does crat deposit into their account and transfer via PayPal to get to PM? Deposit to land account and then PayPal? Does crat give it to PM to deposit? How would that work? That would be something that crat team would need to negotiate and whoever approves bids. Who is that? Monarch and Regent. If they don’t want to use their personal account, they could physically hand it to PM or use land account. If a person has the account number, they can deposit cash into that account, but not checks or make withdrawals unless they are a signer on that account. For example, Guyvas could deposit FOM cash right then and there to the WM checking account. PayPal does not eliminate the step of getting to the bank with the cash. This not what PayPal is for. Its use would be to distribute funds from WM accounts to people who need it. Only electronic payments would eliminate that step.
Although we could get a square reader, it is incredibly helpful to have the cash on hand in case emergencies come up that you need cash for, e.g. a generator died, more attendance than planned for. If money was sitting in an account from electronic payments only, we would not have any way to get cash to an individual for, say, when a crat needs more food right away. Since they don’t have authorization to access account, no additional funds over the bid amount can be dispensed without an althing or a personal draw. If we use cash, emergencies can be paid for as long as people keep receipts. These types of things are part of how running an event goes and cash provides the flexibility where solely electronic transactions would not.
PayPal would not replace this. It would be used solely for getting money more efficiently from WM accounts to people who need to spend that money. If WM authorizes money to be spent, PayPal allows us to transfer that money instantly as opposed to having to wait. As an example, if Jodi requested money to make 200 WM tunics and needed money ahead of time for supplies, using PayPal to get her the money eliminates the waiting time to physically meet and hand over the cash or mailing a check. You would need to have a PayPal account. Do you need a PayPal credit card to set up a PayPal account? Robbie was able to set up a PayPal account, and did not need a PayPal credit card and only had to wait a day to verify with bank the accounts were valid. Jodi would need a way to get the money from her PayPal account and would likely need to have a PayPal credit card to get the money to the vendor. When the money comes through, you would need to wait 48 hours for money to be transferred to checking account or wait for credit card to come in the mail. So Collin doesn’t see PayPal as a great solution, would work in some cases but not a catch-all solution.
So let’s look at PayPal as a modern alternative in transferring funds and moving money. There a few issues:
• connection security, i.e. what can we put in place and what is in place in PayPal to insure both WM and third party money, either crat or vendor, is secure both directions. How do we and PayPal ensure money is safe?
• potential fees
• when do fees get assessed by PayPal and are they acceptable?
• procedures for transferring money in and out of accounts to allow access to PayPal and PayPal access to WM accounts
• how do we handle money coming into and going out of WM accounts?

Robbie will prepare a consideration whether to adopt PayPal, which will include the above things. He will do a full presentation on PayPal which we will discuss in October and vote.
Motion made to table until next meeting.
I Y
J Y
M Y
R Y

Open floor:
Is using an electronic format such as PayPal a way to transmit land contracts to make it more efficient? It might be possible, but as they are legal documents we will stick to paper. Robbie’s work does scan documents, but we will stick with the method we are using. Signatures would degrade with the number we need on the contracts.

Motion to close meeting
I Y
J Y
M Y
R Y
Meeting adjourned.

The next meeting date will be discussed on the forum, and posted on BOD thread to keep it as public record. In October, we will add scheduling the next meeting to open discussion set date next meeting.
809 pm
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ravenb
 
Posts: 170
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:14 pm

Re: 2016 BOD Minutes & Officers

Postby ravenb » Sat Nov 19, 2016 9:00 pm

Westmarch BOD meeting
October 22, 2016
Meeting was called to order
Angel Traub BOD liaison
Baylis Weaver BOD Treasurer
Ian Crawford BOD president
Marcus Bergman BOD VP
Mark James BOD alternate
Robbie Starks WM PM
In absentia:
Jodi Begley secretary
Bryan Wheeler WM Monarch
Last meetings minutes were read and a motion made to approve.
A
B
I
M
M
R
NEW BUSINESS
I. Land Contracts
Belial Peaks: Ian had it, signed it, marked as completed, scanned it and sent it off on the 10th. BP has not confirmed receipt of the contract. But from BOD perspective, so BP has contract and BOD has completed this item. Baylis and Angel will be at Joint Quals tomorrow so they can confirm BP received contract. Ian messaged Jordan as well to confirm. No response, so Angel and Baylis will confirm tomorrow at Joint Quals.
VOF: Angel signed it, scanned it, sent to Robbie and sent back to VOF. Still need scanned receipt of contract.
All land contracts have thus been completed and motion was made to close land contract item.
A Y
B Y
I Y
MB Y
MJ Y
R Y
Unanimous aye. Land contracts closed.
II. WM PayPal proposal
Collin: withdraws all complaints about PayPal.
Robbie is proposing opening a PayPal account and have it linked to a WM checking account (independent of main WM checking account), creating a stage of separation between where we keep the bulk of our funds and where these funds would go for transferring, since Wells Fargo (WF) allows transfer between accounts instantly. It won’t cause accessibility issues down the road, and it would create a layer of protection between a potential PayPal hack or loss of password. They would only able to access one account which would have minimum funds day to day. The account would not have a debit card or credit line linked to it at all, to avoid associated fees. The only money transferred through it would have to be money transferred out directly through the checking account (no fees for transferring money out). Ideally, we would want to establish that whoever received funds through it, e.g. money deposited from an event or fundraiser through PayPal, would send them as a money transfer and not as a payment to avoid fees. If we maintain a policy of always transferring to and from bank accounts, never using it as a vendor and not linked to any kind of credit line or debit account, no fees will be assessed. We would reevaluate this if PP changed their terms of service. Robbie could have the account set up this weekend to reimburse people promptly for FOM purchases. He can have everything set up in two days by Monday.
Do we have a scheme in place for opening another WF checking account without incurring fees? As a business entity, you can have multiple checking accounts without incurring fees if they are all linked together. Robbie’s concern is that it is better to have the bulk of our balance in a savings account. 1. A savings account is interest bearing, and 2. more importantly savings accounts are more insulated as we don’t distribute routing numbers and write no checks. Checking would only have a minimum amount.
Can we make sure we don’t overdraft protection on the PP-associated checking account so it does not pull from other accounts? OD protection is a standard mechanism, so would we need to make sure OD protection is not automatically set up? If someone does hack this PP account, they could potentially draw from our other accounts. Robbie provided this example: Let’s see we send Ian $150 through PP.
When the transfer is made, it does not “write a check”. It physically pings the WF checking account asking if there are sufficient funds. If there are not, transfer is not made. Since there is only one account linked to it, it is not connected to a second overdraft account. Money transfers act differently than debit transactions in this regard. It is not a concern unless it is linked to a debit account which we are not doing due to the fees. Is OD protection required for the account to stay free? Usually you need to have checking-saving linked to keep account free. Robbie will ask WF when he sets up another account, if there are issues with turning off OD protection, if not, turn off. If yes, leave on and revisit later.
Motion made to accept proposal and give Robbie permission to set up a PayPal account.
A Y
B Y
I Y
MB Y
MJ Y
R Y
Motion passes to have Robbie set up a PP account with a link to a WM checking account.
NEW BUSINESS
None
OPEN FLOOR
1. Concerning the two lands; AS has gone defunct, AH hasn’t submitted paperwork for a while, what kind of review have we done of their finances or accounts? Pretty much just what is in audits which has been almost nothing since nothing from AS for several audit periods, and AH was incomplete. At what point, do we want to have our treasurer investigate their financial status? We did get an audit from AH this last period, including a financial audit. In AS, Dizzy is still trying to reactivate that but Baylis can investigate if BOD would like. AS last audit was 2013 first half. We can go back and look for cash on hand at that point, dispersal and who has it. Ideally, when a land breaks apart, dues paid members should get their money back. Sums beyond that never belonged to Kingdom so it would go back to individuals playing in that land. We should check the WM corpora for guidance. In the original principality corpora and the WH Corpora, which is what the WM corpora is built off, it stated that when a land went defunct the money got divvied up between current members of the land, but that probably has not survived. If there is a cash box and no one wanting to claim it, and Kingdom doesn’t want to claim it, would we hold it somewhere in a trust? BOD Treasurer will consider this, and BOD can discuss later any corner cases that may pop up. Ian and Baylis will work on this further after this meeting. How much money was in last AH audit? Their last balance March 10, 2016 was $209. AH is still meeting, but just not great with their paperwork. Previously other lands that have gone defunct were so small they didn’t have significant financials. AS has been quiet for so long, it is likely not a big concern and maybe
more of a formality. This is a process we should do, forward to the Corpora Committee and have it formalized. AS audit shows $242. AS dues paid members listed: Skye, Tevis, Saladin, Ephriam, 2.0, Seath, Se Virux, Jareth. Jareth looks like the only active member from that group. So, let’s ask our treasurer to find AS funds, and if there are funds and they haven’t been dispersed, assuming there is no corpora guidance, or land contract from WM or Amtgard, we can discuss it at a later meeting.
Motion to audit AS
A Y
B Y
I Y
MB Y
MJ Y
R Y
Motion passes to have BOD treasurer audit AS finances.
2. In September notes, there was a minor conversation about using square-was that at events in addition to or instead of a cash box? PayPal has ability to take payments mobily (sp?). As an example, we had someone write an out of state check for $137 at gate at FOM, which was a large amount of money and a huge liability. So, if we had the ability to take cards at gate, that might be convenient for people. Having a PayPal account does give us the ability to do that, but it would be something that needs to be considered by crats when they were creating their bid. Any one of those companies, e.g. Square, Apple Pay, Google Wallet, charge a huge fee; 2.5% assessed per transaction, so the crat would need to include that in their budget either as money lost, or tell people there would be an additional 2.5% charge to cover the fee. It was just a thing we could do if we wanted. In the discussion last meeting, was there a concern that if we used cards only, there would not be enough cash on hand for emergencies? If it was discussed to have both, that concern is less. Some people prefer to use cards and don’t carry cash. For them, getting cash is an encumbrance, so opening the option to use credit cards could possibly boost attendance for those people who don’t have cash. Hi Allen- PayPal sends out 4 card readers when you open a business account. These could be held by PM. These readers are compatible with Android or iOS, and plug into the headphone jack. Or you can continue to use Dongles if you prefer.
3. There was a conversation about scanning contracts and passing them around. Is it possible we just make an editable pdf and send around for e-signatures? The options are there, if we integrate with something like BOX, which has unknown costs, but offers e-verification and e-signature processes. You can host a document up on their site, add digital signatures off their account through an encryption key, with a verified by date and time stamp. There are probably free sites like the Adobe version, or possibly more secure options. For the number of WM land contracts we process, they are few and far between so would this be worth a paid program for land contract signing? It is only because we had three lands join last year that it seemed like a lot, but that was unusual. However, if we factor in EIN# requests,
money requests, event bid forms, child releases and waivers, it might be worth it. But so far, for what we do, the paper option has been most feasible. Using electronic signatures would expedite this process. There was some discussion in the beginning of year about what was the actual appropriate timeline. Do they submit contract and then we know they want to be voted in and then after we sign it then we vote them in? It was all happening at different points. In addition, there are conflicts within the corpora regarding this process. If we were physically able sign a whole the contract within a week electronically, it might be easier to format a more realistic timeline. It is hard to gauge everyone’s availability and access, passing it around and driving it to different parks. Also, the form should be changed to require our signatures rather than just our names.
Are we talking about typing it in in a fillable form, or a signature? Robbie uses this at his work with Acrobat. He physically drops in a signature, dragged and dropped into signature field, Adobe tracks it as a time and date as when that signature was attached and authorizes it with his encryption key. This creates legally correct signatures. This generates a font by adding actual signature. For example, if you open a pdf with the latest version of reader, the first time you add a signature it asks you to set up an encryption key and generates a unique password for access, then anytime you use adobe on your computer to digitally sign, it alters the file you signed it with your encryption key based on the time and date, creating a legal signature. Would the average Amtgarder be able do this? Probably. Is it appropriate for the types of forms we use? Yes- it is appropriate for legal documents. We will look into this item further. If we implement it on EIN# request and payment forms- BOD jurisdiction. Event bids- not BOD. Waivers-who would approve that modification? Parental release of minors at events- signed ahead of time for children sent with other people-BOD? There is already a form out there so modifying the form more of an event coordinator or autocrat versus BOD. Maybe CAKE system once up and going would be the appropriate body.
Ian has a copy of the form that Azus and Yrduna have been using and distributing for “Westmarchification” and consistency of WM forms. Ian can add in a digital signature form to see how it works.
Square mobile readers: we will be getting readers.
Digital signatures: We will resolve to investigate the scanning of documents and electronic signing of documents and see if that’s something we want to pursue in the future.
Allan is watching the BOD meeting and has information to add about using PayPal at event gate: He will be added to the meeting. Meanwhile:
Motion made to investigate scanning and e-signatures of documents.
A Y
B Y
I Y
MB Y
MJ Y
Robbie willing to vote yes, but offered to present information on electronic signatures now as he is on Adobe website, but as the vote has already been started, we will need to wait.
R N
Motion passes 5Y:1N. Motion passes, and item tabled.
Allan Wong (Stereotype) joined the meeting.
Allan ran Darkshore this year. PP allows the crat access to funds they would not otherwise have. They do charge a 2% fee per pre-pay transaction since it’s a business account. Allan has a reader to hand over to the next Darkshore autocrat. There is a standard 2.7% fee per US swipe for reader on site, and they accept most credit card types. PP allowed people who didn’t have cash to pay. He told people to go to PP website on their phone, where he had he created an item (Darkshore). 5-10 people who did not have cash used this, and it allowed Allan not to have to follow them around to collect their money.
Allan did suggest that if we use PayPal for events that we need to implement a lot of checks and balances as there is the potential for abuse. You can send checks for free. He sent rest of money from PP account to Azus and took pictures. He also suggested that the WM treasurer and monarch also have access to account, maybe each month send a statement from PP for them to review for any unauthorized spending. It was very convenient, e.g. Allan could send the Feastocrat $500 to buy food early for discounts, and also handy as the King City site is now requiring earlier payment.
He suggests using early, and increase the gate fee to offset PP fee and increasing event costs. Maybe $35-40 now due to rising costs, and food storage costs need to be accounted for as well.
Thanks Allan!
4. Scheduling next BOD meeting: Saturday November 19 7 pm.
Motion to adjourn meeting:
A Y
B Y
I Y
MB Y
MJ Y
R N
5Y:1N. Meeting was adjourned.
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ravenb
 
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Re: 2016 BOD Minutes & Officers

Postby ravenb » Mon Dec 19, 2016 11:56 am

Westmarch BOD meeting notes Saturday November 19, 2016
SUMMARY
OLD BUSINESS
 October meeting notes read. Errors found and corrected. Item passes with corrections 4Y/0N
 PayPal (PP) update item tabled (PM absent. No information for review)
 Document scanning and digital item signing tabled (PM absent. No information for review)
 Ashen Spire financial disposition tabled (PM/Treasurer absent. No information for review)
NEW BUSINESS
 None
OPEN FLOOR
 Discussed reading of previous month’s minutes at start of meeting. Proposed new policy of condensing minutes as bullet statements or summary to shorten disproportionate time it takes to read minutes verbatim and posting as a summary at start of body of meeting notes.
 If there are errors in minutes posted in BOD meeting thread, other BOD members will add comments, which the secretary will review and change prior to the next meeting. If there are discordant comments, the president will review and clarify.
 Motion was made to present meeting minutes as a summary and allow corrections to minutes to be made by secretary/president, as BOD policy for future meetings. Motion passed 4Y/0N
 Collin will compile a document of items this BOD has discussed and implemented as policy, e.g. the policy just passed about meeting minutes, what we consider acceptable for advertising. He will create this document, which Ian will post in the “Important Documents” section of the website for future BOD review and reference. Motion made and passed 3Y/1N
Next BOD meeting scheduled for December 10 at 7 pm.
Meeting was called to order 1909
In attendance:
Ian Crawford BOD president
Jodi Begley BOD secretary
Justin Smith WM Monarch
Marcus Bergman BOD VP
In absentia: Angel Traub, Baylis Weaver, Robbie Starks, Mark P James
October 22 meeting notes read. Two errors found in financial discussion/audit of Ashen Spire.
Motion made to pass notes as read with corrections.
I Y
JB Y
JS Y
M Y
October notes will be corrected and posted.
OLD BUSINESS
1 PayPal update: Discussion on set up of WM PayPal account, readers, bank account setup. Robbie Starks is absent, so no information is available for discussion.
Motion made to table PayPal updates
I Y
JB Y
JS Y
M Y
Motion passed. PP item tabled to next meeting
II. Document scanning and digital signing. Ian/Robbie
Ian didn’t get a chance to play with the event guardian form and adding signature line. Robbie is absent so we have no information about digital form signing and scanning.
Motion was made to table digital form signing
I Y
JB Y
JS Y
M Y
Motion passed. Document scanning/digital signing tabled until next meeting.
Ashen Spire financial disposition. Baylis and Robbie are absent, so we have no information on this item. Motion was made to table to next meeting.
I Y
JB Y
JS Y
M Y
Ashen Spire financial review is tabled to next meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
None
OPEN FLOOR
A question was raised about, instead of reading the previous month’s meeting notes through, maybe we could post meeting notes and have members read before? When reading notes this time, Jodi realized that there were mistakes discovered by reading them. Would this be practical?
When Ian reviewed proper procedures for running a BOD, it emphasized you need a summary of the minutes to go over what happened, refresh it in everyone’ mind and put it on official record the minutes we are releasing to the people. It is a summary, not each individual line, e.g. cliff notes.
http://www.robertsrules.org/
Marcus gave an example of what a summary would sound like: “Meeting was called to order we had all in attendance except Jodi and Bryan. We approved previous month meeting. New business land contracts BP is a closed issue. VOTF, closed the land contract item. We had a vote, all were in favor unanimous. Item 2 of new business was WM PP proposal, motion made and was accepted to propose and give Robbie permission to set up a PayPal account all were in favor, new business….”
Read votes and subjects- is that acceptable? It needs to be that brief to avoid disproportionate time spent reading minutes versus actual discussion. This needs to be streamlined.
“Bullet points”- summarize any matter discussed, pros and cons, condense to essential essence- down to a sentence, maybe 10 words max per, votes and results of votes. For example, full detailed notes, cliff notes to read at next meeting (summary at top of actual minutes when posting for tldr version). Procedural recommendation for moving on from here, so we can set the procedure now for the next BOD.
Collin did point out the mistakes with AH/AS issue in the BOD meeting thread on November 6. Secretary can make corrections based on comments unless there are conflicting comments, at which time the president will make a final call? For example, in October minutes, Collin posted a reply advising check the AH/AS references. In the future, if the secretary sees someone making a suggestion, (s)he can verify and make the correction based on what they say, unless there is are conflicting comments, at which time the president will decide and clarify. We can always use the recording of the meeting for reference.
Motion to use this as a policy going forward
I Y
JB Y
JS Y
M Y
Motion passed to accept this as policy moving forward.
2. We keep putting in policies- does anyone write these down, or make as a collection of BOD policies, or “How to BOD book or pamphlet”. They are in the minutes. Something easier to read than Roberts Rules of order? For example, things like correcting issues in the minutes once posted, what we consider advertising, things we have discussed and agreed upon but we haven’t documented in a collection of “things”. It would definitely be a good idea to have a booklet the BOD has agreed to do policy-wise. If Collin wants to assemble a document on that, Ian will post in the website “important files” section and that way we will have it moving forward. Each year the BOD can review it in their January meeting, decide if they have any problems with previous BOD policies, discuss it, modify it, and vote to accept the policies and move forward from there. This would be a good efficient, streamlined and consistent way to do that.
Motion was made for Collin to compile a rules of order pamphlet for BOD going forward.
I Y
JB Y
JS Y
M N
3Y:1N Motion passes. Collin will create a rules of order document, pass it to Ian who will post it in the website to pass on the next BOD.
OPEN DISCUSSION closed.
Set date for December BOD meeting.
Proposed date: December 10 @ 7 pm. Alternative dates could be Tuesday 27th or Thursday 29th, as we need Robbie and/or Baylis present.
Motion made to schedule next meeting December 10 @ 7 pm,
I Y
JB Y
JS Y
M Y
Motion passed. Tentative meeting date set for December 10, 7 pm, pending communication with members not present.
Motion made to adjourn meeting.
I Y
JB Y
JS Y
M Y
Meeting adjourned 748 pm
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ravenb
 
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Re: 2016 BOD Minutes & Officers

Postby ravenb » Fri Jan 27, 2017 9:25 pm

Westmarch BOD meeting December 10, 2016
Meeting was called to order 706 pm
In attendance:
Angel Traub BOD Liaison
Baylis Weaver BOD Treasurer
Ian Crawford BOD President
Jodi Begley BOD Secretary
In absentia:
Mark James BOD alternate
Justin Smith WM Monarch
Robbie Starks WM PM
Marcus Bergman BOD VP
SUMMARY:
November meeting notes (summary) read and accepted as read.
Old Business:
Pay Pal update: The account has been set up, but further discussion was tabled due to absence of PM.
Document scanning and signing: No new information was available so item was tabled.
AS financial disposition: no information is available so matter was tabled. The Treasurer will compile a report to present to the 2017 BOD at their January meeting.
It would be nice in general to have the outgoing BOD have an in-person hand off for the new BOD to provide an orientation for incoming 2017 BOD members.
New Business:
Collin had presented a contract and flier from HR Block. Since it has nothing to do directly with the organization of WM/Amtgard, it is not a BOD issue unless a contract is signed. Since it is from an individual member, it should go to the King first, and then be presented to the BOD when it involves a contract. Motion to dismiss passed unanimously.
WM BOD Handbook: Collin started a document outlining policies and important items pertinent to the BOD. The first draft contains a lot of land audit items, general information on PO Box and keys, tax filing, and copies of Corpora sections on land audits, with sections describing parliamentary procedures. Ian volunteered to work with Collin to create a second draft. It was agreed that it was a good idea to have this document. A motion was made for Ian and Collin to refine this document, make it consistent with
other WM documents in format, and present it to the incoming BOD at the January BOD meeting as part of our handoff. Motion passed unanimously.
New lands:
Two potential new lands:
Clockwork Spires: submitted a contract for an Amtgard park only at this time
VOTS: messaged Chris (VOTS Champion). He wasn’t sure which contract they submitted.
Angel will contact them both.
Collin has checked the mailbox and there are no new contracts and said he’d check again next week.
Schedule for next meeting will be determined by the new BOD, so that’s it for us!!
Motion to close meeting *sheds tear* passed unanimously
Last meeting of the 2016WM BOD was adjourned at 741 pm.
OLD BUSINESS
1. PayPal update
This was tabled from last month since we needed the PM present. Unfortunately, Robbie was still unable to make the meeting tonight. Ian has seen emails in the WM Gmail account with information indicating that the WM PayPal account is up and operational, but we still need information from the Crown and PM as far as protocol. Since we cannot get that information now, a motion was made to table this item until January.
A Y
B Y
I Y
J Y
Motion to table PayPal discussion passed unanimously.
2. Document scanning and digital signing.
Since Ian did not get information on this, and Robbie did not get a statement ready for this meeting, a motion was made to table the document scanning/digital signing item until January.
A Y
B Y
I Y
J Y
Motion to table this item until January passed unanimously.
3. Ashen Spire financial disposition
The Treasurer had planned an investigation of this item, but has not been able to do it yet. He offered to continue this investigation January 21 (work break). A report on this item before the end of the year would be nice to present to the next BOD, so a suggestion was made that sometime after the New Year he compile a report and present to the next BOD, possibly in person at the January BOD meeting. A special guest, i.e. a celebrity!
Ian is also planning on being present (if not president) at the January (new) BOD meeting to provide a handoff and present the BOD policies document to the incoming BOD. Having a handoff and some sort of information transfer between BOD’s would be nice, as it was awkward for us in January to come in without any orientation.
Motion was made to table the Ashen Spire financial disposition, and have Baylis compile a report to present to the next BOD in January 2017.
A Y
B Y
I Y
J Y
Motion passed unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Our BOD VP presented a contract with and flier from a tax preparation company (HR Block). He thought that WM might be interested in partnering with them. It is a partnership program, where HR Block signs on with companies who then promote HR Block for their employees so the employees receive a discount on HR Block services. How much are HR Block services normally? The link Collin provided shows the discount at a retail store is $25; discounts for online and software were 35 and 20% respectively. HR Block prices tend to be higher so how much of a benefit this would be is uncertain. Regardless, this does not have anything to do with Amtgard, Amtgard in California or the BOD in any way so this topic is inappropriate for discussion here. The only way it affects the BOD is if it involves the signing of the contract. It would be more appropriate, since it comes from a single member of the populace, if it was presented to the Crown first, and then the Monarchy can discuss it, and pass to the BOD if it gets to a contract level. If Collin wants to pursue this, he should present it to the King, and perhaps put it an althing, both valid suggestions. Motion to dismiss.
A Y
B Y
I Y
J Y
Motion passed unanimously.
2. WM BOD Handbook and collection of interim decisions made by current at the time BOD. Whew. It is a collection of standing policies, several from past and several from Current BOD. This is a work in progress. It contains a large proportion of land audit items, a section for general information, e.g. PO Box and disposition of the keys, tax filings, a section that copies land audit corpora sections with notes how it specifically affects us, and then cliff notes from Roberts Rules of order. Roberts Rules of Order is a massive document written in parliamentary terms and is hard to use. It uses a lot of antiquated English and much of it does not apply to us. Even the cliff notes have a lot of outdated phrases, e.g. different ways you can vote (we only use one of the five different ways listed, by roll call). The most important part is at the end where it says “most importantly be courteous”.
This is a good start. It is a good idea to have a document like this that is a summary of what we’ve done. The next BOD can amend and add what they do, with basic procedures for the next BOD. It needs smoothing out, make it easier to read and eliminate the irrelevant Roberts Rules items. How much more should we do? Everything looks roughly good. We use a very informal version of parliamentary procedures so this needs the most editing.
For example, Item 3. Organizations using parliamentary procedure usually follow a fixed order of business. Below is a typical example:
1. Call to order. YES
2. Roll call of members present. YES
3. Reading of minutes of last meeting YES – but not verbatim per meeting 11/2016.
4. Officers reports. Only if part of old business or added to agenda
5. Committee reports. Only if part of old business or added to agenda
6. Special orders --- Important business previously designated for consideration at this
meeting. Only if part of old business or added to agenda
7. Unfinished business. Only if part of old business or added to agenda
8. New business. Yes
9. Announcements. We call it “open floor”
10. Adjournment. Yes – our favorite part
Each one has notes on how this BOD handles this. Then there is a list of what our procedural outline is:
1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Reading of the minutes (Cliff notes)
4. Old Business (this may cover 4-7 of above list)
5. New Business
6. Open Floor
7. Schedule Next Meeting
8. Meeting Adjournment
That and an outline of the informal procedures we hold our meetings is all we would need there. Ian was hoping to take some time to put this into design and spruce it up to be consistent with other WM documents. Ian will try to get together with Collin to do that. Everyone agrees it is a good start and a good idea. Do we agree that it’s a good start, but needs more work, and as far as the actual listing of policies we like what we see? There was a motion last meeting that this document was something we wanted and voted to have Collin put it together. Should we suggest to the January BOD to put into their old business or new business to discuss it? They would need to have a vote to accept our policies since none of this really is in the corpora (except for the copied excerpts). Also, it is not in a complete enough place to accept as reasonable policy. Motion was made to return it as needing more work and refinement, Collin and Ian do further refinements and make it compatible with other WM documents, and present at the next WM BOD meeting.
A Y
B Y
I Y
J Y
Motion passed unanimously.
3. New land contracts:
Clockwork Spires: has submitted a contract to be an Amtgard park, but so far has not submitted a WM contract
VOTS: Vidya has messaged Chris (current contact person), who said VOTS has submitted a contract but not sure which contract had been submitted. He will get back in touch with Vidya 12/11 with more information.
No current action is warranted now as likely no WM contracts have been submitted, Collin is checking WM mailbox regularly.
It will behoove the next BOD to circulate their audit procedure in January. It should definitely be a standard January procedure to let lands know “This is what we’re looking for” to prepare for the audits in February. There was an unofficial discussion to have BOD elections in December in anticipation of this, but that’s neither here nor there.
Open Floor
Justin Smith posted in the informal BOD Messenger thread: financial situation of AS should resolve, not sure amount of money rises to materiality. Handbook looks like a good start but could use some format improvements.
Schedule next meeting: no item since this is the last meeting of the 2016 WM BOD
Motion made to adjourn the meeting:
A Y
B Y
I Y
J Y
Meeting adjourned at 741pm.
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