Board of Directors

Regular Meeting -- January 22, 2012

The Board of Directors held its regular monthly meeting at 2007 Bert Avenue, Austin, TX 78704, starting at 2:30 pm. The following directors (constituting a quorum of the full board) were present at the meeting: President and Treasurer Kathy Lee, Vice President Tamara Vogt, Secretary Pam Chambers, Laine Morales and Ann Carson (by phone). The following directors were absent: Penny Chambers. Robert McGarey (Executive Director) and Fritz Vogt were also present at the meeting.

Reading of Mission Statement and Approval of Minutes

The Mission Statement was read aloud at the beginning of the meeting. Minutes from the previous meeting were read and approved as read.

Executive Director's Report

Fundraising. The fundraiser using Christmas cards brought in $1,300, giving us a net profit of $1,000. If we do this more often, people will associate the Center with giving money.

Cleaning. The center is looking better. Pam and Bob have been keeping up with the daily mess. They made a deal to clean the place every day before 12 noon. Since this has started, it seems that the money has been rolling in at a regular pace with new clients and wheelchair sales increasing.

Mortgage Refinancing. Bob has been looking into life and disability insurance as a way of providing reassurance for potential co-signers. He is getting quotes from 3 companies. Fritz recommended that he check to see what qualifies as disability and how many months one must be disabled for the insurance to kick in.

Bingo. Bingo distributed $2,000 this month for the fourth quarter of last year.

Finances. The financial situation has become much brighter during the last couple of months, due largely to a new client for Personal Growth Sessions. Bob has been using the money to lower our monthly expenses. We paid off about $3,500 in high-interest credit cards, paid many un-paid bills, and are current on all ongoing expenses like utility bills. Laine asks if Bob is planning to hold money back for an emergency fund, and Bob says that he is working on using that money to increase income and reduce expenses first.

We are also planning to get the car repaired and get the first level of weatherization performed on the main building, which will cost $300. However, we have about $5K in the bank right now, and Bob asked for ideas about the best way to spend it.

Tamara suggests that Bob advertise in a magazine to promote Personal Growth Sessions. Laine suggests Austin All Natural and Natural Awakenings.

Bob asks that everyone think about anyone they may know who could volunteer to put up drywall in the Art Barn. If we could get that place climate friendly then we may be able to get some additional income from that space.

We also need someone who could do little odd job improvements around the place, like making sure that the faucets don't leak. We also need an electrician, and Fritz and Tamara say they know a good one.

Fritz says he has some 8 foot sheetrock in his garage that we could have if we can haul it off.

Laine suggests that there might be students at the university that might work for less. Tamara says there's an association where we can hire a student from UT, called Hire A Longhorn.

Fritz suggests that we could advertise on Craigslist for sheetrock and insulation, saying we are a 501(c)(3) and could give them a tax-deductible receipt for the donation.

Laine suggested putting up fliers.

Since there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at around 4:27 pm.