Minutes 11/15/16

OHIO NOW EDUCATION AND LEGAL FUND

Board of Trustees’ Meeting

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Conference Call

Present: Diane Dodge, Janet Stewart, Kathy Helmbock, Kathy McClelland, and Phyllis Carlson-Riehm.

DD recorded the Minutes until JS joined the call at 7:50 PM.

LEADERSHIP REPORTS:

Ohio NOW Report – KH mentioned the Ohio Now Times and the upcoming Ohio NOW Conference. As far as running for office of Ohio NOW, Anita is not running for re-election. KH said that Anna Trotner is running for President in addition to potentially one other person (Carolyn). KH is running for Treasurer again. KH said that Lynn Peters is chairing the Election Committee. KH said she does not know whether the other offices other than President will be contested.

Bylaws –  PC said that the Bylaws are not problematic, however, she mentioned a few issues. PC mentioned Page One, the Statement of Purposes, #4 of the Bylaws. PC said that she thought it was interesting that that provision was in the Bylaws, even though Ohio NOW ELF has not recruited members. PC also mentioned the Article concerning amendment of the Bylaws. PC said that, per that section, we are supposed to have a notice of that amendment 20 days in advance. PC mentioned that this amendment language does not limit us to amending at the annual meeting. PC also mentioned the section of the Bylaws concerning records. PC said that it might make sense to amend the Bylaws to include a clause about submitting the records of Ohio NOW ELF to the Ohio Historical Society in order to preserve them. PC said that she will follow up with the Ohio Historical Society and advise the Board. DD said that her only suggestion was that we should include in the amendment a time period  until which we should keep the records, after which we should send them to the Ohio Historical Society. Other than that, PC said that she is not recommending any changes at this time.

OLD BUSINESS:

Annual Meeting – 35th Anniversary — DD said that the Annual Meeting will be on Saturday, December 3, 2016. DD has reserved the event space at the Clintonville, Ohio Panera Bread from 12:00 PM until 4:00 PM. DD said that she is trying to get a speaker from Progress Ohio, as they are doing more outreach with Ohio groups. DD said that she will put the information on the website. KM said that she will determine who contributed to Ohio NOW ELF and see if we have their contact information so that they can be invited as well.

Ohio NOW Times Ad –  KH suggested that DD e-mail Susan Bader and discuss the pricing, especially considering that some of the copy was lost and that Ohio NOW ELF paid for 1/3 of a page.

Brochures –  DD sent out the updated brochures shortly before the meeting. DD asked that everyone take a look at the brochure and advise her if there are any additional changes so that the brochures can be printed.

NEW BUSINESS:

Webinar Action –  PC said that she thought it would be a good idea to invite Ohio NOW ELF to co-sponsor webinars about topics that are relevant for the group. PC currently has one planned for 2017 concerning subsidized housing. PC said that that might help generate “service related” activities for the group. KM said that it might help. PC also said that she is going to pursue potentially developing some resources for DV victims to assist them in engaging attorneys during a time of divorce, custody, CPO cases, etc. These materials would provide information about “what to expect from an attorney.” KH suggested bringing back the attorney recommendation/referral program. PC said that we likely would not have enough connections in order to cover the entire state in order to fully implement the attorney recommendation/referral program. DD suggested that it might be difficult to implement the attorney recommendation/referral program because many of the requests for referral were coming from small towns in Ohio. KH agreed that that could pose an issue to full implementation. PC said that she will keep the group apprised with respect to the webinar in 2017. DD and KH both agreed that this was a good idea.

ELF Board Election –  PC, DD, KH and MS are up for reelection to the Board this term. DD said that these individuals’ reelection will be voted on at the annual meeting. DD said that, if anyone knows another person who might like to join the Board, then please let DD know.

National Election Result –  DD asked if anyone from the group had a reaction. KH said “Down with the Electoral College” and mentioned that Sen. Barbara Boxer has introduced a bill in the Senate which would eliminate the Electoral College. KH mentioned that there would clearly be Constitutional barriers to full implementation, even if this bill were to pass. DD said that she believes that we should keep the Electoral College but that the delegates should be assigned proportionally vs. winner-take-all. KH also mentioned that there have been 13 state legislatures that have instructed their delegates to vote for the winner of the popular vote. PC said that, what struck her about the election was, it was clear that sexism and sex discrimination is still alive and well in the United States. PC said that, one example is the Ohio state legislature. PC said that, as a result, she believes that the feminist movement needs to rise again. KH said that she heard there is going to be a One Million Woman March in Washington DC in January. It is unclear what groups are behind this march or if NOW is involved or endorses participating. JS said that she is shocked and deeply saddened by the election results and that a number of the millenials that she    follows on social media appear to share her feelings on this issue. However, JS said that a number of the millenials that she follows on social media appear to be willing to fight back to protect those at risk of Donald Trump’s potential policies and speak out against Donald Trump and his administration.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The next meeting will be the annual meeting on Saturday, December 3, 2016 from 12:00 PM until 4:00 PM.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:46 pm

Submitted by: Janet Stewart