Results of the
Business Meeting
By Kathy Meyer
Nine people (including only one man -- where is our male leadership?) attended our business meeting on February 2. (Maybe the guys were all underground with Punxsutawney Phil.) Nobody volunteered to take the role of president for the next school year, but there were lots of suggestions. (If you don't come to these things, you might be volunteered!).
Seriously, though, so many people offered to take on parts of the president's job that it may not be necessary to have one person in this role. We may end up having leadership by committee. This is a viable option; a few homeschool support groups across the state and nation have no identified leader. However, the group may be stronger if it does, because the possibility always exists for wrangling among factions of different persuasions, and a leader can make final decisions, unpopular though they may be. For this reason, and because one leader can perhaps more effectively represent us to the public, it is to be hoped that God may yet move someone to step forward into the role.
- Carrie Pippins
offered to take on the job of answering the phone, fielding inquiries from new prospects and others. This has become the single most time-consuming duty the president has had. There is no reason that any seasoned homeschool parent couldn't do it just as well. Maybe some of you others would like to make her job easier by adding your names to the list of contact people?
- Chris and Tammy White
, who already handle the directory and mailing list, will take on the related duties of circulation (folding, stapling, and mailing of the newsletter) and the treasury, a logical addition, as printing and postage are our two biggest expenses. Maybe some of you could assist them with the mailings as needed.
- Teri Emerson
plans to continue her already excellent job as newsletter editor. With such a capable person at the helm, what can go wrong?
- Sharon Ward
has already taken on the job of proofreader and is doing a great job.
- Cathy Winkelman
is interested in taking over the job of calendar keeper, and also suggested an answering machine service whereby the week's events could be recorded for others to dial into, plus any cancellations or other late-breaking news. This would ease the phone burden as people call for directions or check whether threatening weather has changed plans, and also could be used as a hotline to keep people up to date on FHE families' illnesses, surgeries, or other prayer needs.
- Phyllis Babcock, Byron Emerson,
Ruben Morales, and Betty Parkes wish to help, but as yet, in unspecified ways (they already are doing a lot behind the scenes).
Sounds like we have a staff!
Frank Meyer may not be able to handle the printing after this spring. Tammy White and Betty Parkes both mentioned knowing commercial printers who seem eager for the work. We have been enjoying an artificially low copying rate from Frank's employer. Getting the printing done elsewhere will inevitably cost more and may unfortunately necessitate a raise in the subscription rate. It has been $15/year for as long as anyone can remember, while the length of the newsletter has increased from 4-6 pages to 16-22 pages and postal rates go nowhere but up.
Briefly discussed was the possibility of splitting our growing group into four or more small groups, geographically, but this idea was tabled for the time being. It was felt to be too much to tackle at a time when we are already undergoing leadership change. Also, if it's hard to come up with enough people to take on responsible roles for one group, how would it improve the situation to create four groups?
Like most business meetings, this one was adjourned with the plan to hold another meeting. No date was set, but it will probably be in May, either just before or soon after the NCHE conference (May 14-16).
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