2008 June

Board Notes - June 2008

Compiled by Janet Yelle from minutes by Rachel Langley. These notes cover some of the highlights of the OrigamiUSA Board meeting of June 12, 2008.

President's report: Retiring board members were thanked. It was noted that nearly 50 individuals have served on the board. Also noted, since the president is retiring, Vice President Marc Kirschenbaum will be acting president between the convention and the election of officers which will take place at the July board meeting.

Board Retreat: The Board retreat took place on May 31-June 1.

Treasury Report: Tony was thanked for his service as President. The audit of the 2007 financials took place on June 3rd and we were granted a passing status.

Election: Proxy ballots were mailed at the end of May. Jean and Tony are stepping down from the election committee after the convention.

Membership: As of the June Board meeting there are 1659 members. Last month there were 1,641 members, and the previous year there were 1,630 members.

Membership Policy: The On-line survey is complete. Compiled data will be posted to the website shortly. It was recommended that a short article appear in the Paper listing the results.

Convention: Convention work is in full swing. Wendy reported on many threads of activity:

  • In comparison with the same time last year, the 2008 convention numbers are down slightly from last year, though a higher percentage signed up for classes.
  • Tony mentioned last year there were 230 classes. This year there are 190.
  • T-shirt sales are down. This could be due to the image not being available at the time of the mailing.
  • David Shall and Judith Starks will do Model Menu, as deg farrelly will not be attending this year. deg will provide advice prior to Convention.
  • A logistics meeting for area heads is organized for Saturday, June 14th.
  • The Paper Collating Party is on Sunday, June 15th.
  • We have been approached by NBC Weekend Today, to have someone appear on the show the weekend of convention. (This was later cancelled by NBC.)
  • When asked for a volunteer, Margaret volunteered to act as Head of Public Access.
  • Everything has been ordered, pens, pins and t-shirts.
  • A Fundraising table will be set up in the Goldmine. Shrikant Iyer will make arrangements for volunteers to staff it during Convention.
  • June mentioned that Mr. Yamaguchi is bringing us a banner that is 11.5’ tall and 7’ wide. It will be hung in the Hospitality room (Great Hall) during Convention.

Volunteer Pin: Volunteer Pins were mailed last Wednesday. The discussion included that there were no nominations for the Michael Shall award, but this was actually a ruse so that Robert Lang wouldn't find out he was going to receive the award.

PCOC Committee: The final books for PCOC 2007 show a profit. PCOC 2009 will be in San Francisco.

Library Committee: We now have 1700 titles. The book list will be made by author and title. Periodicals have been revamped and rechecked. Waiting for two new library cabinets.

The Paper: Issue #98 went out on June 2nd. Issue #99 will be the convention issue.

Local Area Groups/Conventions: A workshop will be held on Monday at convention on what it takes to start a local area group.

Exhibition Committee: Marcio and Ros will co-chair.

Origami by Children:

  • 52 winners. Ages 4-17, 20 states and 6 foreign countries.
  • Letters were sent to winners.
  • Photos of models and names should appear in The Paper.
  • OBC committee to look for a different free exhibition space since Donnell Library is closing.

Publications: Proof copy of the convention book has arrived in office. 700 copies were ordered. Filling of future orders after that can happen electronically on a book by book basis.

Fund Raising: DVDs have been delivered to the home office.

On-Line Presence: Convention registration through the new website is live and going extremely well. The committee met to discuss numerous topics and narrowed them down to four top priorities:

  • Redesign and reimplement the Source.
  • Finalize the gallery creation infrastructure for art galleries, convention galleries, etc.
  • Create an infrastructure for directly building Special Sessions on the site.
  • Redesign the convention forms with improved functionality.

A close next is: Implementation of members only online content.

Funds and Awards: The plaque for Florence Temko Award has been ordered. The V’Ann Cornelius Award will be announced at the convention.

Special Folding Fun Sessions: Fall session being planned.

External Project Support:

  • National Arts Club is hosting Robert Lang’s lecture June 26.
  • Second Stage play “Animals Out of Paper”. Prop master came to meet with Tony. They have 11 specific models that are needed for the play. The 11 pieces will “look” like origami. They need volunteer help. Rehearsals start July 4th. Runs through late August.

Holiday Tree/Annual Gift: Co-designers are Delrosa Marshall and Ros Joyce. The theme is “traditional”. The annual gift will be the Saar Star.

No one was appointed to take Board Notes for July. A person will be assigned at the beginning of the July meeting.