GRAND CHAPTER OF TEXAS ORDER OF THE EASTERN STAR BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 17, 2016 ARLINGTON, TEXAS

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1 NOTE: These Minutes were approved as corrected at the October 15, 2016 Board of Directors meeting in Arlington, Texas. The corrections are shown in Red and highlighted in Yellow. GRAND CHAPTER OF TEXAS ORDER OF THE EASTERN STAR BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 17, 2016 ARLINGTON, TEXAS The regular meeting of the Board of Directors was called to order at 9:00am in the Conference Room of the Grand Chapter Office by Chairman Audri Rowell. The Chairman welcomed all present. Board Members present were: Chairman, Audri Rowell, District Two; Vice Chairman, Carlotta Fairchild District Five; Secretary, Barbara Martin, District Three; Ray Hargis, District One; James Parker, District One, Deborah Land, District Two; Jean Hobbs, District Three; Bob Royall, District Four and Phyllis Wilson, District Five. Board Members absent were: Debi Fincher, District Four Others present for all or part of the meeting were: Grand Secretary, Dr. Ellen Pickrell; Grand Treasurer, Lorrie Owens; Past Grand Matron, Bess Caldwell; Past Grand Matron, Jimmie McMahon, Past Grand Patron, Bill Wyatt, Grand Examiner District Three Donna Noe, Linda Hargis, Konnie Harrell, Carol Melton, Jerry Owens and Janet Travers. The Chairman presented the following Housekeeping Rules for meeting: Only Board Members speak during discussions If a guest has a question, the guest should present the question to a Board Member so it may be brought before the Board Make eye contact with members in the room during the Mizpah Benediction Audri Rowell presented the devotional, exploring the subject of strengths and assets of Olympians and how we can use their strategies. Reflections on Romans 15:5 were presented and a prayer was given by her. The Birthdays for August and September were recognized. October birthdays of Mike Fincher and Bob Royall were recognized. There were no Anniversaries recognized for the month of September. Minutes: The minutes of the August 20, 2016 Board of Directors Regular Meeting in Arlington, Texas were presented. Jean Hobbs moved that the minutes of the August 20, 2016 Board of Directors Regular Meeting be approved as printed. The motion was seconded by Bob Royall and adopted. Vote Ratification: The next item of business was ratification of votes conducted in August and September.

2 August 22 nd Vote to withdraw Amendment #2 from consideration by the membership at this Grand Chapter Session. The motion was made by Carlotta Fairchild to ratify the vote. The motion was seconded by Jean Hobbs and adopted. August 23rd Vote to allow the Associate Grand Matron, Sharon Mosmeyer, to sell the Travel Books for $7.50 per book. The motion was made by Barbara Martin to ratify the vote. The motion was seconded by Bob Royall and adopted. August 26 th A Vote to adopt the proposed Emergency Legislation #1 at the 2016 Grand Chapter Session. The motion was made by Bob Royall to ratify the vote. The motion was seconded by Jean Hobbs and adopted. August 26 th B Vote to adopt the proposed Emergency Legislation #2 at the 2016 Grand Chapter Session. The motion was made by Bob Royall to ratify the vote. The motion was seconded by Ray Hargis and adopted. August 31 st Vote that the revised version of Emergency Legislation #1 be adopted by the Board of Directors. The motion was made by Bob Royall to ratify the vote. The motion was seconded by Jean Hobbs and adopted. September 2 nd Vote to allow the Associate Grand Matron to purchase more supplies for her Special Projects. The motion was made by Barbara Martin to ratify the vote. The motion was seconded by Deborah Land and adopted. September 7 th Vote to accept the lease submitted by Tri-C Resources, LLC. The motion was made by Deborah Land to ratify the vote. The motion was seconded by Jean Hobbs and adopted. September 9 th Vote to transfer $45, from the Eastern Star Home Fund (9007) to the Eastern Star Checking (6812) for the purpose of paying the TMRC invoice for August The motion was made by Barbara Martin to ratify the vote. The motion was seconded by Deborah Land and adopted. Correspondence: Cards sent by the Secretary included: two (2) Get Well, one (1) Birthday, three (3) Thinking of You and one (1) Sympathy card. Grand Secretary s Report The Grand Secretary, Dr. Ellen Pickrell reported on the following items: The Panic Bar for the Back Door of the building has been repaired. The repair was done at no cost by a Mason in District 3.

3 The oil and gas lease is with Tri-C Resources, LLC. The lease has been drawn up, reviewed, signed, notarized and mailed. Grand Chapter Office has filed information for four (4) Texas unclaimed property claims. No response has been received for the claims that were filed. The Grand Secretary presented information from the Will of Carl Starkey. Mr. Starkey left $10, to the OES Ladies Fund. The amount on $5, was left to Mr. Starkey s OES Chapter. Since the Chapter has demised the money will be donated to the Grand Chapter and deposited in the General Fund. Grand Treasurer s Report The Grand Treasurer, Lorrie Owens, reported on the following items: The amount of $272, was transferred to the OES Home Account from the Endowment Fund 501c8. The amount of $94, was transferred to the General Fund. The amount in the Per Capita Fund is $286, Donations in the 1619 General Grand Chapter Fund have been moved to the proper account. Account (4185) which is labeled Founders Day Fund contains $ Barbara Martin moved to allocate the money from the Founders Day account (4185) to the General Fund. The motion was seconded by Deborah Land and adopted. Unfinished Business Information on the Amazon Smiles Program was presented by Audri Rowell. Deborah Land moved to remove from the table the topic of the Amazon Smiles Program. The motion was seconded by Jean Hobbs and adopted. Non-Profit 501c3 holders can receive 5% cash back for members of organizations using the program. This has been setup for the Grand Chapter of Texas. Information on the program needs to be sent out to members. A banner could be displayed on the website to promote the program. s to members another way to advertise. Program can be promoted on the Secretary s Interface. Information cannot be published in the Bulletin. The point of contact for the program needs to be the Grand Secretary Deborah Land moved that Grand Chapter of Texas participate in the Amazon Smiles Program. The motion was seconded by Bob Royall and adopted. Barbara Martin moved that the funds generated from the Amazon Smiles Program be allocated to the General Fund. The motion was seconded by Deborah Land and adopted. The suggestion was made that the Amazon Smiles Program could be promoted at the Schools of Instruction. A generous member will create business cards with information about the program. Audri Rowell will talk with the Worthy Grand Matron concerning the program. Information on the Grand Chapter Website Items for Sale project and U-Haul Storage Unit was presented by Barbara Martin and Carlotta Fairchild. The items still in the Storage Unit will be advertised in the October Bulletin. Members may submit bids from October 1 st to October 31 st, Barbara Martin and Carlotta Fairchild have already worked with Jack York to post the information on the Grand Chapter Website.

4 A report on the Grand Chapter Van was presented by Carlotta Fairchild. The Grand Chapter received a check for $5, for the trade-in value of the old van plus, $ down payment that was made. The money should be allocated to the Brokerage Fund. Ray Hargis moved that the trade-in check be returned to the Brokerage Fund for the Auto Acquisition Fund. The motion was seconded by Jean Hobbs and adopted. Information on the Safety Deposit Box was presented by Barbara Martin. On Thursday September 21, 2016 the Grand Secretary s name will be added to the Safety Deposit Box. At that time the Grand Chapter Officers badges will be placed in the box. The bank is still charging the Grand Chapter Office for the Safety Deposit Box. New Business: Information on the Dues Card Bar Code was presented by Ray Hargis. The current OES Dues Cards are printed by General Grand Chapter and cannot be altered in any way. Ray Hargis talked with Alma Bane (General Grand Chapter Secretary ) at the Grand Chapter Session asking where would be an appropriate spot to put a barcode on the Dues Card. GLMMS (Secretary s Interface) has the ability to print the Dues Cards and a barcode on the card. Approval is needed to print the Dues Cards from the Secretary s Interface, information to print on the Dues Cards and if the Grand Chapter Office will do the printing. Deborah Land moved that GLMMS be contacted by Ray Hargis to find out what procedure would be used to print the Dues Cards. The motion was seconded by James Parker and adopted. Information on GLMMS was presented by Ray Hargis. A list of items that do not work in the Secretary s Interface has been presented by Gerry Sturtz to the Board. The list was reviewed. Items that are Enhancements to the Secretary s Interface have a cost involved which is the charge for the programming time to make changes. Items that do not work are already in the program. The cost of those items are covered by the maintenance agreement with GLMMS. Jean Hobbs moved to allow Ray Hargis to contact GLMMS and talk about items that needed to be fixed under the maintenance agreement and items that would have a cost as an Enhancement. The motion was seconded by Deborah Land and adopted. Information on the Board of Directors Minutes being posted on the Grand Chapter Website was presented by Audri Rowell. Gerry Sturtz has requested in a letter to the Board of Directors that the Unapproved Minutes of the Board as well as the Approved Minutes of the Board be posted on the Grand Chapter Website. Discussion followed as to the effectiveness in posting the minutes twice and the notice to members that a set of the minutes were not yet approved. Bob Royall moved that the minutes of the May and November Board of Directors Meetings be ratified by vote in June and December so the Approved Minutes for those two months could be posted timely to the Grand Chapter Website. The motion was seconded by James Parker and adopted.

5 Committee Reports: The following committee reports were presented. Audit for Grand Chapter year: The Grand Secretary reported that the Letters of Engagement had been signed and sent to the Auditors. No dates have been designated for the Audit. Benevolent Aid: Jean Hobbs reported on Benevolent Aid. The total paid for Long Term Aid in September was $2,250. There was no Emergency Aid in September. For September Long Term Aid was paid to the following Chapters: Kerrville #24, Springtown #498, Everman #624, Alamo Heights #734 and South Fort Worth #835. The totals for Benevolent Aid in August were: Long Term Aid $2, Emergency Aid $ 0.00 Temporary Aid $1, Total $3, Facilities/Museum: Barbara Martin reported on the Facilities and Museum. There was a metal box found in the Storage Unit. The box has been opened and documents from the OES Home were found dated The items found in the box were passed around to Board Members to see and will be placed in the Museum area. Legislation: Bob Royall reported on Legislation presented at the Grand Chapter Session. Unfinished Business Amendment #1 Delete information pertaining to accepting new OES Ladies to TMRC from the Code of Laws. This amendment was adopted. Vote to ratify amendment to Code of Laws to change how the Officers for the Board of Directors are elected. The ratification was adopted. Amendment #2 To change wording pertaining to Contingency Funds in the Code of Laws. This amendment was withdrawn. Amendment #3 To strike out the wording to Call Off in the Parliamentary section of the Code of Laws pertaining to undebatable motions. This amendment was adopted. Amendment #4 To strike out the words next preceding the 30 th day of April from the section of the Code of Laws pertaining to Elections in Subordinate Chapters and insert during the month of April. The amendment was adopted. Amendment #5 To amend the wording pertaining to Special Meeting notifications by striking out published on the date for such a meeting in a newspaper published within the Jurisdiction of the Chapter, or a card or letter.mailed to each resident at least three days before the date of such meeting shall constitute due notice and insert each resident by either verbal, written, or electronic means of communication at least three days before the date of the meeting. The amendment was adopted. Amendment #6 To amend the wording pertaining to Disposition of Property by striking first preference shall be given to the Texas Masonic Retirement Center (TMRC).

6 This amendment was amended by inserting the words by the vote of the membership at a Grand Chapter Session between the words Order of the Eastern Star and shall and inserting the words under the recommendations of the Board of Directors between the words charitable organizations and shall. The amendment to the amendment was adopted. The amendment as amended was adopted. Amendment #7 To amend the cost of registration for a Grand Chapter Session by striking ten dollars ($10.00) and inserting: The word and between the words Most Worthy Grand Matron or Most Worthy Grand Patron The words pre-registration fee of fifteen dollars ($15.00) or an onsite between the words collect a and registration fee The words twenty dollars ($20.00) after the words registration fee of This amendment was amended by inserting the words who are wards of the Grand Chapter of Texas between the words Texas Masonic Retirement Center and collect The amendment was adopted. An additional amendment was made to strike the word and to insert the word or between the words dollars ($15.00) and an on-site The amendment was adopted. The amendment as amended was adopted. Amendment #8 To amend the wording pertaining to voting at Grand Chapter Sessions by inserting the words or an electronic voting device pre-programmed with said ballots between the words prescribed by Grand Chapter and provided. The amendment was adopted. Amendment #9 To change the wording pertaining to the employment of assistants in the Grand Chapter Office. This amendment was withdrawn. Amendment #10 To add a qualification requirement to the candidate requirements to run for Associate Grand Conductress. This amendment was withdrawn. Emergency Legislation #1 To change the wording pertaining to the location of the Grand Chapter Office by striking the words Arlington, TX and inserting the words the Grand Chapter of Texas Office shall be located in an economically viable location. The amendment was adopted. Second reading of Legislation will be at the Grand Chapter Session. Emergency Legislation #2 A resolution that a committee be formed with members from the Corporate Board and the Board of Directors to work with the lease for the current Grand Chapter Office. The amendment was adopted. Finance (General Fund): Becky Austin reported on the Finance Reports. The reports are current as of July 31, There was a glitch in Payroll information presented; however, this has been corrected in the report for the Grand Chapter Session. Jean Hobbs will send an amended report to the Interim Grand Secretary. TMRC (Our Precious Ladies): Barbara Martin reported on our OES Ladies at TMRC.

7 All of the OES Ladies are doing well. Two of the OES Ladies went to the Grand Chapter Session. The suggestion was made that the Board as a group have lunch or dinner with the OES Ladies. Past Grand Matron Jimmie Lee McMahon commended Barbara Martin on her work with the OES Ladies. Titles, Deeds, & Properties: Audri Rowell reported on the Titles, Deeds, & Properties. The Titles, Deeds and Properties committee will be meeting on October 11 th and 12 th, 2016 to work on properties and wills found. The suggestion was made that a Board member be present to work with the committee. Worthy Grand Matron s Special Projects: Carlotta Fairchild reported on the Worthy Grand Matron s Special Projects for Jerre Lucas. A report with the details of the special projects was distributed to the Board Members. Carlotta Fairchild has been working with Jane Pyle on the final reports. Board Meeting Committees for : Audri Rowell distributed the committee assignments for the year. Pat Garcia s check number 9672 in the amount of $ was returned to him for his bid on the grandfather clock, which was not the winning bid. Upcoming Board Meetings: The October Board meeting will be October 15th. The Bankers will be coming to the November, February, May and August Board Meetings. The January Board Meeting may have to be moved as the Grand Lodge of Texas Session is being held that weekend. The May Board Meeting may have to be moved as the Worthy Grand Matron s Cruise will be that weekend. District Reports: District 1: Ray Hargis and James Parker reported that the District 1 Schools of Instruction will be starting soon. The District 1 Past Matrons and Past Patrons will be having a banquet in Quitman. District 2: Audri Rowell and Deborah Land reported that the District 2 Schools will start in October. The Line Officers Club will be having a meeting on September 18 th. District 3: Barbara Martin and Jean Hobbs reported that Laura Geyer, Grand Chaplain, has had surgery. There will be a meeting honoring Past Grand Matron Yvonne Brownfield at TMRC on September 26 th. North Ft. Worth #684 will have a Fraternal Visit on October 4, District 4: Bob Royall reported that the Fraternal Visit honoring Worthy Grand Patron, Tom Murphy, will be September 24th in Crockett. Texas Masonic Family Day will be held at TMRC on October 8 th. On October 23 rd the Grand Lodge of Texas will have Open House at Lodges in Texas. District 5: Carlotta Fairchild and Phyllis Wilson reported a reception will be held honoring David Ouellette at Canyon Lake. The 100 th Anniversary of Creedmoor #607 will be held October 9th The 100 th Anniversary of Lott #594 will be held on October 2 nd.

8 The Chairman reported from the Executive Board Session that Benevolent Aid and the Gas and Oil Lease were discussed The next regular meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on October 15, 2016 in Arlington, TX. There being no further business, the Mizpah Benediction was repeated in unison. The meeting was adjourned at 11:30am. Respectfully submitted, Janet Travers Acting Recording Secretary