VENTURA COUNTY PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S NETWORK
Post Office Box 6329 Q Oxnard, CA 93031 Q (866) 275-4134 Q www.VCPWN.org
Minutes
VENTURA COUNTY PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S NETWORK
LEADERSHIP TEAM MEETING
October 16, 2014
IN ATTENDANCE: Sue Osborn, Darian
Taylor, Sheila Lowe, Micki Rickard, Celia
Cortez, Mary Gabriels, Linda Wall,
password, both for the protection of
VCPWN, and so that no single board member
is saddled with the responsibility.
ABSENT: Jim Nicoll, Ferne Ross, Lynn
Ryder, Jann Huling, Anna Kittleson
Medical leave: Shirley Jones Snyder
Immediate Past President – Darian Taylor
Nothing to report.
Pres Elect/Programs – Lynn Ryder
In her absence, Lynn sent a report that the
January speaker will be Joan Stuart, talking
about the Grand Jury. MaryAnn Zinn will be
the sponsor. The February speaker will be
Suzy Prudden. No sponsor as yet.
President Sue called the meeting to order at
6:15 pm. Darian moved that minutes of the
September meeting be approved, Linda 2nd.
The minutes were approved as submitted.
DIRECTORS REPORTS:
Finance – Linda Wall
• The Expo was a financial success thanks to
not spending money on bags or a grand
prize.
• Linda clarified some items in the September
financial report. Sue indicated that we need
a statement of insurance and she will
contact our insurance broker.
• In trying to locate our old Quick Books
online files, Linda will contact Intuit to see
if our information can be retrieved from our
former account. Darian will check with Paul
Scott, who loaded the Finance laptop, as he
may have copied the information to a flash
drive.
• Forms need to be filed with the Franchise
Tax board to safeguard our exempt status
with the state. Linda will file fiscal years
ending 2013-2014.
President - Sue Osborn
• As board members, our chief responsibility
is to properly manage the finances of
VCPWN. This should never be left to just
one person. In the future, all board members
should consider themselves part of Linda’s
committee. All tax filings should be noted in
our minutes.
• Linda mentioned that she collected a large
amount of cash at the Expo. A board member
should be present while she counts money.
There should also be a minimum of two
people who are cross-trained at the
registration table.
• It was agreed that the president should
maintain all VCPWN passwords in case of
emergency. Sue recommended that more than
one person should always be able to access
and update everything that requires a
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Networking- Anna Kittleson
Absent, no report.
• Linda created a reimbursement form that
must be signed by a board member other
than the requesting member for payment.
• There was discussion regarding whether two
signatures should be required on every
check as standard practice. Darian made a
motion that we adopt this practice. Celia 2nd.
The Motion carried.
• An email was received from Onebox,
requesting current payment information.
Since Ferne is doing the voicemail messages,
she has the password. This issue needs to be
resolved ASAP when Ferne returns from
vacation.
• Linda will give copies of the expo sign-in
sheets to Jann for follow-up, and to Ferne,
who will add these interested people to the
newsletter list.
• Darian will order a new Square dongle, as
the present one does not work consistently.
She and Linda will exchange user
information to allow them to work together.
• Categories of free dinners: early registration
and board member-sponsored dinner for
prospective members. In each case, a
certificate must be presented on-site at the
registration desk.
Hospitality – Micki Rickard
The large black tote bags left over from last
year’s expo will be used at the Silent Auction.
Any leftover bags have been promised to
Shirley Jones.
Special Events – Celia Cortez
• Expo: Despite some glitches, the event was
deemed a big success. Vendors were excited.
Approximately 81 people attended.
• It was suggested that a checklist be
developed for the next Expo chair. Mary
indicated that such a checklist had been
created in the past. Darian will try to locate it.
• In the future, it will be made clearer to
vendors that any extra personnel they bring
are expected to pay the $5 entry fee. Sue
suggested that next year, committee members
follow up with each vendor by phone to
ensure they understand setup, payment, extra
table help, and to answer any questions.
• Board members present had not seen any
advertising other than Facebook. Sue
mentioned that Ferne had engaged the help of
Gloria Miele and Teri Domier to advertise in
some publications, but didn't remember
which ones, except the Breeze. We do know
that we were in the VC Star in the book
section, where Sheila and Jim Gray’s press
release was published.
• Silent Auction: We are in good shape for
donations. Celia suggested that we offer a
special surprise discount on 5 baskets. These
will be 10%, 15%, 20% 25%, 50%, via
random drawings.
• Sue will send a press release to the VC Star
for the November Silent Auction/Progressive
Networking Dinner.
Secretary/Web Manager –Sheila Lowe
Nothing to report.
Membership – Jann Huling
• No report. However, it was noted that the
membership committee met last week and
discussed contacting lapsed members. We are
still trying to determine which members are
due or overdue for renewal.
• Mary Gabriels and Sheila Lowe are due for
presentation of their 10-year pins in
November. These will be awarded at the
January meeting.
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Bank signatures are now done, with 4
signers: Darian, Mary, Linda, Lynn.
Gmail: Everyone now has a VCPWN
dedicated gmail address except Darian, who
doesn’t need one, and Jann, who currently
doesn’t have a computer.
Website: Elaine O’Malia, who was expected
at the board meeting, did not attend, due to
miscommunication. A separate meeting has
been scheduled for October 22nd at 5:30 at
Sue’s office, assuming both prospective
website vendors can attend. At least seven
board members need to be present to
establish a quorum. After a webmaster is
selected, a committee will be convened. Linda
mentioned that she had spoken with someone
who was willing to offer free advice on SEO,
etc.
• Sue distributed instruction sheets and an
evaluation form for the progressive dinner
(see attachment), and explained how it would
all work.
• The hostess will remain at the same table of
6 or 7, while everyone else moves around to
other tables. This will provide 3 opportunities
for attendees to tell their story to a new
group. Each table introduction will be timed.
• Darian and Sue will meet with the
Wedgewood next week to discuss the menu,
which will be “heavy” hors d’oeuvres. Regular
registration fees apply.
• Sue will let the Navigators know that their
dinner price has increased, and that effective
immediately, all members will pay the same
price for dinner.
• The Auction Fluff party is scheduled for
November 1 and is tentatively scheduled at
Celia’s office: 2401 Eastman, Suite 36, Oxnard
(not Ventura!) .
New Business –
• The Women’s Legacy Fund luncheon
passed without our attendance. As we are
founding members, we should plan in
advance for some board members to attend
next year.
• Sheila raised the issue of members being
able to send a substitute when they are unable
to attend. Mary concurred that this was
decided at a board meeting some time ago (on
a previous board) and it was reiterated that
this is a good idea. The substitute would pay
the member rate.
• A thank-you note for our $100 donation
was received from the Amala Foundation.
• We need to give back more to the
community. Mary and Darian described the
highly successful DreamMakers program we
sponsored several years ago, and indicated
willingness to do it again.
When Sue met with Natalie Bradley to talk
about attracting young professionals to
VCPWN, Natalie pointed out that Gen X,
Communications - Ferne Ross
Absent, no report.
Member at Large – Jim Nicoll
Absent, no report.
Member at Large – Mary Gabriels
Nothing to report.
Old Business –
Corporation: Sue and Lynn are scheduled to
meet with Julie Saltoun on October 29th to
discuss whether VCPWN should incorporate.
Since we have operated without incorporation
for 33 years, it may not be necessary. Linda
pointed out that our liability insurance covers
what incorporating would do. The board will
make a decision after Sue and Lynn report at
the November meeting.
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Gen Y, and Millenials are cause-driven. Sue
suggested that we consider adopting a cause
each year. This will have to wait until January,
but we can discuss some ideas at our
December holiday board party.
Meeting adjourned 8:15 pm
Meeting follow-up:
With regard to our Onebox payment, Linda
learned from Onebox that the login/password
combination used to update the voice mail
outgoing message is not the same as the one
used to access our account, and she needed
help with what email might be the correct
one. Sheila offered the most likely candidates:
Denise Lawrence and Carrie Sharpshair, who
both worked as executive secretaries for
VCPWN in the past. Denise Lawrence was
correct and Linda was able to obtain a new
password to make our payment. We are now
current.
Respectfully submitted by. Sheila Lowe
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