Present: Dick Berndt, Lisa Dalgleish, Emily Hecht, Dorothy Long, David Sarra, Janice Zerfas, Jim McConnell, Amy Eklund

Minutes from December meeting: Dick moved that the minutes be approved as submitted, Lisa seconded, approved by unanimous vote.

Bob Milne: Dick will call the piano tuner and see if he can get it done before the concert. Dick will make sure that the parking lot is plowed. He will work to make sure that the driveway is salted and sanded. Janice will come and set up on the afternoon before the concert. Mike will provide daycare if needed. Emily will put up flyers downtown Benton Harbor and St. Joseph. Janice will talk with the music department at LMC and has already put up some flyers there. Members will be asked to contribute refreshments as last year. Gretchen is setting up a paypal button on the BUUF website for credit card payments. Publicity is out to newspapers and radio stations. Members will be encouraged to spread word of mouth as well.

Jim McConnell: Would like to be on the newsletter list. He should also be added to the announcement list and the board plus email list. Next Sunday professor Peter Walshe will be speaking. He asked about getting this in the newspaper. Dave will put the title on the website and then the HP should pick it up. He would also like to make sure the speaker for the following Sunday is in the paper. He would like to make next Sunday an intergenerational one. Jim will check with Dr. Walsh and see if he feels his presentation will be inclusive of them and will email Dave with the answer.

Treasurer’s Report: Dick presented two different versions of a balance sheet and a profit/loss statement. Dorothy attended and is interested in taking over the treasurer’s position and Dick provided a summary of how the division of labor is working between him and Gretchen right now. Dick is willing to stay on the board through the end of the year. Amy moved that Dorothy Long be appointed to the board to fill the vacancy, Janice seconded; motion passed unanimously. She and Dick and Gretchen will work on getting ready for the transition and it is expected to happen next month. Amy moved that the treasurer’s report be accepted as presented, Emily seconded; motion passed unanimously. The contribution letters will go out this week showing where people are in meeting their pledges and what their dollar contribution has been this calendar year.

Dick stated he has received a recommendation to buy a refurbished commercial vacuum cleaner from Muday’s. He thinks somewhere around $300 is what we need to spend. Janice will check into this. The stereo system to accompany a projection media system was discussed and Dick said he would make a firm proposal in a week or so. He thinks he can get something that will plug into our existing system.

Membership—Upcoming events are 2/20 Cabaret, 3/27 Auction, 4/24 Pledge Dinner Lisa will take charge of the cabaret and Amy and Emily will work with her on it. Emily volunteered to be the emcee for the cabaret. Dick will take charge of the auction. Lisa will take charge of the pledge dinner. She and Julie Williams have been working on the BUUF visitor brochure which was last revised in 2004. She has been collecting information from other fellowships on a new member class which would be a nice thing to offer potential new members that would explain what it means to be a member, expectations, etc. Board photos need to be updated. Amy will take these after the meeting.

Safe congregations: Janice and Lisa have looked at the Westminster church’s policy and feel it could easily be adapted for the fellowship. One of the questions that had been raised was who it would apply to… there was a statement that it would apply to all those who were involved in childcare or education. There is a form for a limited access agreement if they meet the criteria for that. The number of people who have a limited access agreement would be reported to the congregation as part of the annual report. There would be a safe congregation committee. The cost for background check is $10 at the hospital which covers the local area. ICHAT does the state of Michigan check which looks at the criminal justice system for another $10. It was suggested that a privacy agreement for the safe congregation committee be a part of the policy. Janice moved that a safe congregation committee be formed to draft a policy: the minister, the board president, the membership chair, the RE director, and whoever else would like to volunteer. Lisa will work on making the policy BUUF specific and will contact Westminster U to see if they will share the form. The motion was seconded by Amy; motion passed unanimously.

Dave is working with Gretchen on updating the membership list. There are 5 people who have not signed pledges that are regulars or have previously pledged. It was suggested that they be approached during the next week to see if they would like to sign a pledge so they can receive the UU world. Janice volunteered to call them. It was agreed that the Olympics after the service next month would be a good idea.

Emily moved to adjourn, Amy seconded; motion passed unanimously.