Board Meeting, Minutes - December 8th, 2013

Chippewa Valley Civil Liberties Union

Board Meeting Minutes for December 8, 2013

Herrick and Hart Law Office, 116 Grand Ave., Eau Claire

Present: Myron Buchholz, Mildred Larson, Alida Markgraf, David Rice, Sara Theilen, Stephanie Turner (presiding), Paul Wagner (recording)

Absent: Shu-Chuan Cheng, Ann Heywood, Anna Lane

1. Stephanie called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m.

2. Dave reported that we had net income of $57 from the annual meeting, and also added four new members at that event. The checking account balance currently stands at $1403.63, but will drop to $1354.18 once one outstanding check is cashed.

3. The board discussed whether the chapter monthly treasurer’s report should reflect cumulative (year-to-date) income and expenses, as apparently recommended by ACLU of Wisconsin and indicated on a template form they have provided, as well as stating the income and expenses from the current month. The group agreed that our report should track cumulative income and expenses as well as the regular monthly items on each report.

4. A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the August 18th, 2013, meeting, and this motion was approved unanimously.

5. Stephanie is willing to continue as president. Mildred moved to reappoint the four current officers (Stephanie – President; Myron – Vice President; Dave – Treasurer; Ann – Secretary) for another year; motion approved unanimously. Mildred pointed out that proposed state policy suggests that officers be appointed for two-year terms, with a maximum of two terms for any given person in any given office. It was proposed to submit and vote on this change at our next Chippewa Valley chapter general meeting.

6. The board had significant discussion in regard to the annual meeting.

a. All agreed that good use was made of Chris Ahmuty’s time in Eau Claire, meeting with the Treatment Courts, Leader-Telegram, Chris Jorgenson at UWEC, and the Hmong Mutual Association.

b. Mildred suggested:

i. Wider involvement in making the schedule and activities for the guest speaker; this likely requires having a board meeting shortly before the annual meeting

ii. More involvement in planning and publicizing the annual meeting and any related activities. Sara T. is interested in being on the publicity committee for next year’s annual meeting.

c. Mildred reminded us that the chapter should follow Robert’s Rules of Order at the annual meeting, especially regarding reports and nominations, to ensure that all voices are heard.

d. The group discussed possible actions to address issues raised at the annual meeting or by Chris Ahmuty’s various discussions:

i. To attempt to gain better understanding of and protection for LGBTQ students in the Chippewa Valley, Myron suggested encouragement for and development of a Bill of Rights for students at the Eau Claire and Altoona public schools. A suggested path is to talk to the superintendents and/or board members, with the goal of getting proposals to the school boards.

ii. Mildred suggested sending a notice to the ACLU-Chippewa Valley email list for the upcoming Fire Ball drag show/fundraiser this spring (February 28 and March 1, 2014) at UW-Eau Claire.

iii. Myron suggested publicizing WHYS radio’s broadcasting of “This Way Out” (national and local versions) at 8:00 and 8:30 PM (respectively) on Saturdays.

iv. To better understand possible affirmative action issues in city government, especially in regard to possible under-representation of Hmong officers on the local police force, Dave will invite John Manydeeds and Virginia Wolfe from the Eau Claire city Affirmative Action committee to our next ACLU-CV meeting.

v. Sara will talk to Cheryl Theide re: possible actions to assist students, particular at North High where more conflict may be occurring with LGBTQ students.

vi. It was suggested that when we replace Alida and Anna on the board, we should strive to replace them with one student from Memorial High School and one student from North High School. Stephanie noted that this may provide an opportunity to provide linkage and cross-support between Memorial and North students.

vii. UW-Eau Claire will have several student interns available in spring (through Chris Jorgenson’s LGBTQ office at UW-Eau Claire) for high school outreach. Stephanie will talk to Chris about the interns and other possible support action.

7. The board discussed Ann’s State ACLU Board Report

a. Stephanie thinks she did send in the governance survey, contrary to the report from state; she will double-check on this.

b. The Wisconsin Voter ID case is getting significant attention from the national ACLU; we should maintain awareness on this issue.

c. Sara mentioned the new Texas Voter ID law that requires that all voters have ID with a name that matches their birth certificate, which is discriminatory against married women who have changed their name and do not have original documentation of their marriage. This issue will also be watched in case it is raised in Wisconsin.

8. Old Business

a. Stephanie followed up with the Eau Claire City Council on the drone issue, but it appears dead given little council member interest in action at this point.

9. New Business

a. The board discussed other possible relevant issues for action, including school vouchers and how they affect public schools, and surveillance of citizens by the NSA. Vouchers, while having local affect, may be more of a state issue, and we need to review ACLU-Wisconsin commentary on this issue. Mildred and Paul will educate themselves more on the NSA surveillance issue, with the goal of contacting Representative Ron Kind’s office in early 2014.

10. The next board meeting is scheduled for Sunday, February 2nd, 2014, at 6:30 PM at the Herrick and Hart law office on Grand Avenue.