A meeting of the Steering Committee of the Menotomy Bird Club was held at the home of Marj. Rines at 7:00 on April 10, 2007. In attendance were: Alan Ankers, Stephen Baker, Janet Crystal, Debora Diggins, Karsten Hartel, Oakes Plimpton, Marj Rines, and Eric Smith. Marj Rines chaired the meeting.

Club Organization

Stephen suggested that we should consider a more formal organization. After discussion, it was agreed that it was not necessary at this point.

Stephen also expressed concern that since the Steering Committee is a self-appointed body there was no mechanism for other people to become involved. After discussion it was agreed that an announcement would be made on ArlingtonBirds saying that the Steering Committee had met and were interested in taking suggestions from the members on the direction of the club.

Marj had suggested we evaluate whether we should organize as a non-profit, but after the discussion about organization it was clear this was not necessary and the subject was dropped.

New Member Steering Committee 

Debora Diggins had announced she would retire at the end of this season, and the Steering Committee expressed gratitude for her work over the past few years.

There was a proposal for a new member of the Steering Committee , but it was agreed to wait a week or so to allow members to propose other candidates, and a vote will be taken on the Listserv.

Breeding Bird Atlas

It was agreed that members would be encouraged to participate at the next meeting.

Domain Name

It was agreed that having our own domain name would be valuable and we agreed to take MenotomyBirdClub.Org. Eric said that it was very inexpensive to have a domain that would redirect to the current location at Mrines.com/Menotomy, so Stephen said he would spearhead getting this done.

Party/Anniversary

The Program Committee suggested having an end of the year party sometime in June. The Committee agreed enthusiastically, and several venues were discussed. It was agreed that people would investigate these suggestions and we will discuss further on the listserv. The subject of the Anniversary was shelved for the time being.

Funds

At a previous meeting it was agreed that Stephen and Oakes would look into possible ways to use extra treasury funds to give back to the community. The subject of what constitutes “extra” funds was discussed again, with some members disagreeing with the concept of donating funds outside the organization, and others expressing concern that $1,000 was not enough. Possible future expenses included having a paid speaker or replacing the digital projector. It was agreed that any dispersal of funds would be postponed until after the members’ party. It was agreed that at the Members Slides night we will not have a donation basket, and an announcement will be made to the club to thank them for their support.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00PM.

Submitted by Marj. Rines