2018-2019-030 NOTE: These minutes were approved as read at the March 16, 2019 Board of Directors meeting held in Sherman, Texas. GRAND CHAPTER OF TEXAS ORDER OF THE EASTERN STAR BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 16, 2019 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 Carlotta Fairchild. The Chairman welcomed the Past Grands, all others present and shared a humorous quote. Board Members present were: Chairman, Carlotta Fairchild, District Five; Vice Chairman, Bob Royall, District Four; James Parker, District One; Tom Brisko, District One; Cindy Echols, District Two; Tamela Henington, District Two; Darrell Albrecht, District Three; Debi Fincher, District Four and Phyllis Wilson, District Five. Board member absent: Secretary, Barbara Martin, District Three was absent due to illness. Others present for the meeting were: Grand Secretary, Dr. Ellen Pickrell; Grand Treasurer, Greta Spradling; Past Grand Matron, Jimmie Lee McMahon; Past Grand Matron Bess Caldwell; Past Grand Matron, Melissa Hudman; Past Grand Patron Bill Wyatt; Bill Prague, Sharon Prague, James Walker, Marlene Scholari, Sue, Phares, Randy Martin and Susan Martin. James Parker presented a Valentine s Day Devotional by John Phillips. Jr. A prayer was presented by James Parker at the end of the devotional. The Chairman presented the following Housekeeping Rules for the 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. The 2017-2018 Grand Chapter Session Report was presented by Past Grand Matron, Melissa Hudman, and Bill Prague, Executive Chairman. Copies of the Grand Chapter Session Audit report were distributed to Board Members. Information from the audit report included: There were 1146 people registered and in attendance. Money turned in to Grand Chapter for the Rob Morris Auction was $6,640.00. Money due to Grand Chapter from 136 th Session bank account was $117.48 Money received from City of Irving Session Refund was $7,602.00 Total money turned into Grand Chapter from the 136 th Session: $7,719.48. Bob Royall moved to accept the Audit Report for the 2017-2018 136 th Grand Chapter Session. The motion was seconded by Debi Fincher and adopted. Past Grand Matron, Melissa Hudman, thanked the Board for their assistance and cooperation during her year. She also asked for everyone s thoughts and prayers for the health issues she is experiencing.
2018-2019-031 Marlene Scholari stated the 136 th Session Bank account was closed on February 15 th and a formal letter will be sent stating the closure of the account. Birthdays and Anniversaries: There were no birthdays recognized. There were no anniversaries to be recognized. Minutes: The minutes of the January 12, 2019 Board of Directors Regular Meeting at the Scottish Rite Center in Houston, TX were presented. Debi Fincher moved that the minutes of the January 12, 2019 Board of Directors Regular Meeting be approved as corrected. The motion was seconded by Darrell Albrecht and adopted. Email Vote Ratification: There were no email votes to be ratified. Correspondence: Two letters were received from the Associate Grand Matron, Linda Winn-Christenson requesting: 1. Approval of designated drivers for the Grand Chapter Van for 2019-2020 2. Permission to drive the Grand Chapter Van out of state: Multi-State Exchange, Oklahoma Grand Chapter, Louisiana Grand Chapter, Arkansas Grand Chapter. 3. The AGM would also like to continue the joint meetings of the Corporate Board and the Board of Directors for 2019-2020 4. She also requested to present the 2019-2020 Purposes and Policies at the March 16, 2019 Board of Directors Meeting Darrell Albrecht moved to approve the requests as presented in the Associate Grand Matron s letter and to include potential travel to El Paso through New Mexico while traveling from schools in north Texas. The motion was seconded by Phyllis Wilson and adopted. Cards sent by the Secretary included: 5 Birthday Cards, 2 Anniversary Cards, 2 Thinking of You Cards, 3 Sympathy Cards and 3 Get Well Cards. Grand Secretary s Report Grand Secretary, Dr. Ellen Pickrell, reported that Oscar Hairell, Executive Chair for the 2019-2020 Grand Chapter Session, has requested $20,000.00 seed money from the Grand Chapter. The money has been dispersed and a written copy has been requested. Grand Treasurer s Report: Grand Treasurer, Greta Spradling, reported on the following items: Board has been provided with electronic financial reports for the OES Home and Grand Chapter accounts. Unfinished Business: Information on Audit Report was presented by James Parker. The Audit Report was approved in the Executive Session.
2018-2019-032 Information on ENABLE Labs was presented by Grand Secretary, Dr. Ellen Pickrell. No new information available. Information on the Restricted Funds Project was presented by Past Grand Patron Bill Wyatt and James Parker. James Parker reviewed the research that has been compiled over the last 4 to 5 years on the Restricted Funds Project to determine which funds are Donor restricted and which funds are Grand Chapter restricted. A spreadsheet was provided to the Board by James Parker to support the research done. This project was requested by the Bankers for Grand Chapter during Cheryl Albrecht s year as Worthy Grand Matron. Board members and others have participated in the research reviewing information from the 1920 s to present to determine the restricted funds. Other Masonic entities were consulted to see if they experienced problems with undocumented restricted funds: Tommy Griffin and the late David Dibrell, Grand Lodge of Texas Larry Tucker, York Rite International Order of Rainbow Girls All had experienced similar difficulties. Some restricted fund accounts have been identified, however, funds of $8,772,850 have not. Brothers Wyatt and Parker have been unable to determine the exact amounts regarding some of the restricted funds. Information about $109,000.00 of restricted funds was found in the 1930 Grand Chapter Proceedings. In 1928 a Restricted Endowment was created for Grand Chapter in the original amount of $100,000.00. An additional $9,000.00 was added to the fund by Grand Chapter in 1930 which represents interest in two years. Computing compounded interest over the past 90 years at 5% interest a per year the estimated amount of this restricted fund would be approximately $8,073,036.00 today. This leaves an estimated amount of $699,814.00 as restricted by Donor Restricted. Restricted Funds information will now become part of the annual Grand Chapter Audit. The information reported to the Board by Brothers Wyatt and Parker concerning restricted funds will be presented to the membership at the Grand Chapter Session. No money from restricted funds is being released to be spent. Grand Chapter restricted funds can be unrestricted by a vote of Grand Chapter members. Donor restricted funds can only be unrestricted by the donor or the donor s family. A suggestion was made to make this information available on the Grand Chapter website and create an amortization table of the Grand Chapter Restricted Funds. This suggestion will be presented to the Worthy Grand Matron at the next meeting of the Corporate Board and the Board of Directors. Cindy Echols moved that the Board accept the estimated amounts of $8,073,036.00 as Grand Chapter Restricted Funds and $699,814.00 as Donor Restricted Funds. The motion was seconded by Phyllis Wilson. The Past Grands in attendance were asked to participate in the discussion of the motion. The motion was adopted. The Restricted Funds spreadsheet/report will be updated to incorporate this information. It was recommended that a Grand Chapter have a Restricted Funds Committee to update this information annually.
2018-2019-033 Questions on 501(c)3 for the Ladies Is this the same investment fund as the restricted funds. The 501 (c) 3 is a different restricted fund. New Business: Board Contracts Committee presented information on a new Hotel Contract for the 2018-2019 Grand Chapter Session. Ownership of the Country Inn and Suites has changed to La Quinta Inn in Tyler. Therefore, a new contract has been submitted for the hotel for the 2018-2019 Grand Chapter Session. Tom Brisko moved to accept the contract for the La Quinta Inn as the secondary hotel for the Grand Chapter Session. The motion was seconded by Debi Fincher and adopted. Committee Reports: Benevolent Aid: Phyllis Wilson reported on Benevolent Aid for January 2019 and February 2019. January 2019 Long Term Aid was paid to the following Chapters in January: Kerrville #24 Winnie #160 Everman #624 Alamo Heights #734 South Fort Worth #835 Duncanville #1014 Whitewright #939 Liberty-Dayton #634 Amarillo #787 Winnie #160 Emergency Aid was paid to the following Chapter in January (Check written in December): Carpenters Chapter #183 The totals for Benevolent Aid in January were: Long Term Aid $ 5,000.00 Emergency Aid $ 1,500.00 Temporary Aid $ 0.00 Total $ 6,500.00 February 2019 Long Term Aid was paid to the following Chapters in February: Kerrville #24 Winnie #160 Everman #624 Alamo Heights #734 South Fort Worth #835 Duncanville #1014 Whitewright #939 Liberty-Dayton #634 Amarillo #787 Winnie #160 The totals for Benevolent Aid in February were: Long Term Aid $ 5,000.00 Emergency Aid $ 0.00 Temporary Aid $ 0.00 Total $ 5,000.00 There were two Emergency Aid applications and one Temporary Aid application approved. There is one Temporary Aid application pending. Museum: Darrell Albrecht reported on the Museum. No new information available. Titles, Deeds, & Properties: Cindy Echols reported on the Titles, Deeds and Properties. No new information available.
2018-2019-034 TMRC (Our Precious Ladies): Carlotta Fairchild presented the following information in Barbara Martin s absence. We have 2 Ladies in the Independent Living area and 2 in the Clinic. The Board will visit TMRC and have lunch with our OES Ladies following the Board meeting. The tickets for lunch are $5.00 per person. Worthy Grand Matron s Special Projects: Tamela Henington reported on the Worthy Grand Matron s Special Projects. A few of the projects are not showing a profit. Budget: Bob Royall reported on status of the Grand Chapter Budget. Grand Chapter is staying within the budget. Legislation: Bob Royall reported on Legislation. The Legislation workshop will be held on April 26 th in Midland at 1:00pm. Any Board proposed legislation has to be submitted to Bob Royall by April 1 st. Any proposed legislation should stay within the responsibilities of the Board of Directors. There will be possible proposed legislation to update the forms in the Constitution and Code of Laws. Miscellaneous: The next Board Meeting is March 16, 2019 at Travis Masonic Lodge, 2817 N. Travis St. in Sherman, TX. The Bankers will attend the meeting attire is day suits. Tom Brisko will present the devotional at the March meeting. The Corporate Board and Board of Directors will meet following the School of Instruction. District Reports: District 1: James Parker and Tom Brisko reported on the following happenings: District 1 Schools of Instruction will be starting in March. Tom Brisko and Barbara Martin attended the Chapter meeting at TMRC on January 28th, in which a member received her 75 th year certificate and pin. March 10, 2019 will be the Hanging for Billy Clabaugh in Carthage Past Grand Patron Ed Warner s daughter passed away. District 2: Cindy Echols and Tamela Henington reported on the following happenings: Prayers for Ms. Gelica A member has passed away. District 3: Darrell Albrecht reported on the following happenings: Prayers for Barbara Martin as she is ill. Thoughts and prayers for a member who has cancer. In March there will be a fund raiser for the Past Matrons and Past Patrons. District 4: Debi Fincher and Bob Royall reported on the following happenings: Schools of Instruction are in progress. District 4 Section 3 School of Instruction in Crockett is February 22 nd and 23 rd. District 4 Section 4 School of Instruction in Cleveland is March 1 st and 2 nd. The Worthy Grand Patron is recovering from respiratory infection. Grand Marshal Doris Jones is improving following some illnesses. Thoughts and prayers for Bob Royall s mother who had a bad fall last week.
2018-2019-035 District 5: Carlotta Fairchild and Phyllis Wilson reported on the following happenings: Past Grand Patron Kenneth Gregory s wife, Juanita, is in rehab and is doing better. Hill City Lodge held an Eastern Star Family Night for 5 Chapters. The Lodge has asked the OES Chapters to participate in their upcoming Awards Night. The Chairman reported on items discussed in the Executive Session. There being no further business, the Mizpah Benediction was repeated in unison. The meeting was adjourned at 11:00am. Respectfully submitted, Janet Travers Recording Secretary