2016-2017-61 NOTE: These minutes were approved as read at the May 21, 2017 Board of Directors meeting in Arlington, Texas. GRAND CHAPTER OF TEXAS ORDER OF THE EASTERN STAR BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR MEETING APRIL 15, 2017 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 and presented a Snowflake poem. 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; Debi Fincher, District Four and Phyllis Wilson, District Five. Others present for all or part of the meeting were: Grand Secretary, Dr. Ellen Pickrell; Past Grand Matron, Bess Caldwell; District Deputy Grand Matron, District Four, Cheryl Royall; Linda Hargis, Darrell Albrecht and Janet Travers. 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. Debi Fincher presented the devotional based on a story by Debbi McDaniel and Psalm 91. A prayer was presented by Debi Fincher at the end of the devotional. Birthdays: The May birthdays of Phyllis Wilson and Cheryl Royall were recognized. There were no anniversaries to be recognized. Minutes: The minutes of the March 18, 2017 Board of Directors Regular Meeting in Arlington, Texas were presented. Jean Hobbs moved that the minutes of the March 18, 2017 Board of Directors Regular Meeting be approved as presented. The motion was seconded by Debi Fincher and adopted. Email Vote Ratification: There were no email votes to be ratified. Correspondence: Round-up flyer for Cheryl Albrecht and George Gwaltney was shared. Cards sent by the Secretary included: 7 Birthday cards, 1 Anniversary card, 2 Thinking of You cards, 1 Sympathy Card and 9 Easter Cards to the TMRC Ladies.
2016-2017-62 Grand Secretary s Report: The Grand Secretary, Dr. Ellen Pickrell, reported on the following items: Amazon Smiles The next funds will be received in May. Bulletin Advertising Progress: Three vendors have advertised in the Bulletin at this time. Paul s Trophy s Shop: The invoice for 2015-2016 has not been received or paid. Reconciliation Issues in QuickBooks: The Grand Secretary has been working with Mandy Bankston There are some problems with totals on a few accounts Mandy Bankston wants to include the Grand Chapter Supplies Inventory in QuickBooks. Safety Deposit Box: Items have not been moved from the Safety Deposit Box. Grand Treasurer s Report: The Grand Treasurer, Lorrie Owens, was absent. Financial reports were sent to the Board prior to the Board Meeting and were available for discussion if needed. The Grand Treasurer received a copy of the check for $53,389.44 sent to TMRC for the TMRC Settlement Rate Audit. Unfinished Business Information on an Extended Warranty for the Grand Chapter Van was presented by Carlotta Fairchild and Bob Royall. The Grand Chapter Van mileage is approximately 26,000 miles. Carlotta Fairchild presented information on the extended warranty quote from Center Motor Company. The extended warranty quote was $3,395.00 and starts when the mileage reaches 36,000. Carlotta Fairchild moved that the Extended Warranty in the amount of $3,395.00 be purchased from Center Motor Company for the Grand Chapter Van. The motion was seconded by Debi Fincher and adopted. Carlotta Fairchild will notify Center Motor Company of the Board s decision to purchase the Extended Warranty. Information on GLMMS was presented by Ray Hargis and Grand Secretary, Dr. Ellen Pickrell. No additional information on retrievable data from the previous database has been received. Grand Chapter has not received an invoice form GLMMS for the past two months. Information on the Investment Bankers was presented by James Parker and Phyllis Wilson. James Parker is working on a Request for Proposal (RFP) to be sent to three investment bankers: J.P. Morgan/Chase Goldman/Sachs Raymond James An initial response has been received from all three asking additional questions.
2016-2017-63 Deadline for electronic document responses is April 24, 2017. Hard copies of responses will follow. The committee for investments will meet to review the responses. A report will be presented at the May Board meeting. Information on Record Retention and Schedule was presented by Phyllis Wilson. Guidelines have been approved by the Worthy Grand Matron s Purposes and Policies Committee. The Records Retention Plan and Schedule is now in place. New Business: The creation of a Rubber Stamp Signature Log to record usage was recommended by Ratliff and Associates. The Constitution and Code of Laws states: Page 69 F. Grand Treasurer **Article 75. Moneys, Receipts and Disbursements. b. The Grand Treasurer shall approve of payments of voucher checks drawn upon such funds, as provided by the Ritual, Constitution and Laws; all voucher checks shall be signed by any two of the following: Worthy Grand Matron, Grand Secretary, or Grand Treasurer." In the event of an emergency the Grand Treasurer's Signature Stamp is used. As each check from Grand Chapter requires at least two signatures Normally the Grand Secretary and Grand Treasurer are the daily check signers. Debi Fincher moved that the Grand Chapter Office create and maintain a Rubber Stamp Signature Log to record the usage of the Signature Stamp. The motion was seconded by Phyllis Wilson and adopted. The Log will be created by the Grand Chapter Office in MS Word or MS Excel. Committee Reports: Benevolent Aid: Jean Hobbs reported on Benevolent Aid. Long Term Aid was paid to the following Chapters: Kerrville #24, Springtown #498, Everman #624, Alamo Heights #734 and South Fort Worth #835. Emergency Aid was paid to Hillsboro Chapter #769. Temporary Aid was paid to Duncanville Chapter #1014 and Winnie Chapter #160. The totals for Benevolent Aid in February were: Long Term Aid $2,750.00 Emergency Aid $1,500.00 Temporary Aid $1,000.00 Total $5,250.00 Benevolent Aid forms have been posted on the Grand Chapter Website as of March 29, 2017. Benevolent Aid report is two months behind when printed in the Bulletin. In the June Bulletin, the reports for May and June will be printed, bringing the reports up-to-date. Jean Hobbs will email the reports to the Grand Secretary.
2016-2017-64 Board Retirement Party: Phyllis Wilson reported on the Board Retirement Party. The retirement party will be July 14, 2017 and be held at Southside-Polytechnic Lodge. Tickets are $25.00 and will be on sale during May and June. Information on the party will be in the May Bulletin. Phyllis Wilson will track the ticket sales. Budget: Carlotta Fairchild reported on the Budget. The Budget Workshop will be on May 22 nd at the Grand Chapter Office starting at 8:00am. Preliminary financial information for the workshop will not be available until May 1 st. Legislation: Bob Royall reported on Legislation for Grand Chapter Session from the Board. The deadline for legislation to the Jurisprudence Committee is May 9, 2017. Possible legislation to be submitted would be to extend the period of time members serve on the Titles, Deeds and Properties committee to five (5) years with a member rotating off each year. Museum: Bob Royall reported on the Museum. Bob Royall gave a summary of a report submitted by Sharon Hill Adams on the work she has accomplished on the Museum. Sharon Hill Adams provided a list of items that can be de-accessioned (de-commissioned) from the Museum. It was suggested that the items could be sold at the Grand Chapter Session. A recommendation was made by Sharon Hill Adams to have a Traveling Museum Exhibit named Boaz s Corner. An article could be put in the Bulletin on the Museum s Status and an ad for the sale of items. A letter will be sent to the Worthy Grand Matron along with Sharon Hill Adams report and the suggestion to sell items that could be de-accessioned. Titles, Deeds, & Properties: Debi Fincher reported on the Titles, Deeds and Properties. Updated Titles, Deeds, & Properties Guidelines were presented to the Board by Debi Fincher. Board members have been asked to review the guidelines and provide feedback. TMRC (Our Precious Ladies): Barbara Martin reported on our OES Ladies at TMRC. All of the OES Ladies are doing well. Barbara Martin will be visiting the OES Ladies today and giving them some Easter items. The OES Ladies have expressed their appreciation for Barbara Martin. Worthy Grand Matron s Special Projects: Deborah Land reported on the Worthy Grand Matron s Special Projects. All projects are doing well and are in the black. The Worthy Grand Matron has submitted $69,351.72 to Grand Chapter this year from her projects. The Eastern Star License Plates will not be available until possibly July. Miscellaneous Jean Hobbs will present the Devotional for May. JP Morgan Chase will be at the May meeting, which will be held on May 21, 2017. Grand Chapter Office Location: Information on the Grand Chapter Office location was presented by Bob Royall. A comparative analysis report has been sent to the Grand Chapter Office Location Committee. District Reports: District 1: Ray Hargis and James Parker had nothing to report. District 2: Audri Rowell and Deborah Land reported on the following happenings in District 2:
Fraternal Visits will be happening in April and May. 2016-2017-65 District 3: Barbara Martin and Jean Hobbs reported on the following happenings in District 3: April 23 rd - TMRC Easter Party April 30 th - Hanging for Cheryl Albrecht May 6 th Mr. X Banquet, Lee Lockwood Library in Waco May 7 th - Ice Cream Social honoring the Associate Grand Conductress by the Past Matrons and Past Patrons in Temple at Knott Creek Lodge from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. May 13 th MayFest at TMRC, in Arlington Fraternal Visits will be happening for Everman #624 and Castleberry #1028 Barbara Martin s niece will have brain surgery on April 20th Jean Hobbs will have foot surgery on April 28 th. District 4: Bob Royall and Debi Fincher on the following happenings in District 4: Fraternal Visits will be happening. May 8 th Huffman #1112 Debi Fincher s son has been deployed to Iraq. District 5: Carlotta Fairchild and Phyllis Wilson reported on the following happenings in District 5. Jim Fairchild will have a knee replacement on April 18 th. April 21 st April 22 nd - Associate Grand Conductress Roundup will be in Gonzales, TX. Reports of several initiations in the sections will be happening soon. The Chairman reported on the Bank Access for Board Members, Benevolent Aid and Quick Books Reconciliation. The next regular meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on May 21 st at 4:00pm. There being no further business, the Mizpah Benediction was repeated in unison. The meeting was adjourned at 10:25am. Respectfully submitted, Janet Travers Acting Recording Secretary