Board Meeting, Minutes - May 31st, 2015

Chippewa Valley Civil Liberties Union

Board Meeting Minutes for May 31, 2015

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

Present: Myron Buchholz, Ann Heywood (recording), Marni Kaiser, Mildred Larson, David Rice, Dr. Mahmoud Taman, Stephanie Turner (presiding), Paul Wagner

Absent: Sara Thielen

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

2. The minutes of the March 15, 2015, meeting were approved as emailed.

3. David distributed a copy of the annual report for fiscal year April 2014-March 2015 showing a year end balance of $616.50 in checking and $5.01 in savings. Our expenses for the year were $1017.68 and income was $280. The report was approved.

4. Ann emailed the state board report before the meeting, and Stephanie distributed copies. We discussed a few points, including the recent Bill of Rights Celebration in Madison and a B of R celebration that Mildred attended in Massachusetts.

5. Everyone was very satisfied with Paul Wagner’s presentation on Privacy/Security/Technology at The Local Store on April 24. The staff there were very helpful with the set up, and the publicity, We had an audience of over 40 (even though there was a university forum the same evening). Good audience questions and comments contributed to a lively discussion. We don’t know if any new memberships developed from the event. The room rental was $44. Paul would be happy to give the presentation again and will contact the Chippewa Valley Learning in Retirement about a spring presentation since he will be in New Zealand in the fall. He is willing to do other presentations if opportunity develops.

6. Stephanie and Mildred attended a recent roundtable discussion on criminal justice reform organized by JONAH. They would welcome our participation and support. We discussed whether we may want to partner with JONAH for a fall program. We noted that Eau Claire County has national recognition for our alternatives to incarceration courts.

7. Dr. Taman brought in a clipping of a drone incident in Chippewa County involving the retrieval of a drone downed on a frac sand company property. Our CVCLU has not yet met with the Chippewa County sheriff about the department’s drone ; David, Dr. Taman, and Myron are still interested in doing this. It was thought best to start with a written request for the law enforcement policy.

8. Myron reported that he had heard Memorial’s Day of Silence in support of LGBTQ youth was successful. Jamie Utphal is the is the advisor of the gay/straight alliance. Neither Myron nor Marni were at Memorial on the day to give a first hand report.

9 Pridefest is coming up June 13. Stephanie will be able to staff a table for part of the day and she will contact other people who may help. Mildred has already asked state to send materials for the table. David will check for the banner and reserve a table.

10. We discussed fundraising since our treasury is down significantly since last year. One of the best ways for us to raise funds is to recruit new members, so we reminded ourselves about that goal. Also we discussed having an annual membership drive before the fall meeting in which we contact lapsed members. We can obtain a list of those people from state and make phone calls for membership along with an invitation to our fall program.

11. We brainstormed ideas for our annual meeting. The most timely topics right now seem to be issues of racial disparity, over-incarceration, and sentencing. Steph will contact a JONAH member to explore the possibility of a coalition program.

12. We wondered who exactly is on the list to receive the excellent ACLU publication Stand. Not everyone on the board does receive it.

13. The meeting adjourned at 7:45p.m.