Thursday, January 6, 2011, Chicago, Illinois

The meeting was called to order at 4:07 p.m. by Teri Einfeldt, chair.

Members present: Sue Baer, Ellen Berry, Dan Browning, Teri Einfeldt, Chair, Mark George, Chair-Elect, Marilyn Kesler, Sarah Montzka, Patricia Purcell, MaryLou Roberts, Marilyn O’Boyle, Betsy Stuen-Walker, secretary, and Pam Brasch, ex officio.

Motion #1 To accept the minutes as corrected.
M Ellen Berry S Sue Baer Carried

Parents as Partners Online – good registration so far.

Consensus statement: The board supports an aggressive inquiry into preparing a feature at the 40th Anniversary Conference that is suitable for marketing purposes to raise awareness of Suzuki education.

Discussion about Connection/ownership statements in accordance with Policy 4.3.3 (“The board will seek to facilitate understanding of the vision and work of the SAA”) took place. A suggestion was made to create a “Board’s Corner” in the newsletter where these statements and videos could be made available to the membership.

Teri Einfeldt, chair, dismissed the meeting at 6:55 p.m.

Friday morning, January 7, 2011

Teri Einfeldt, chair, called the meeting to order at 8:45 a.m.

The meeting began with a few moments of silence in honor of John Kendall’s passing.

The Chair shared a statement of five things nonprofits must have to succeed from Carol Larson, president and CEO of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation: a relentless focus on mission; an embrace of a culture of inquiry and learning; openness to innovative solutions all the time; willingness to take risks; and willingness to engage in new levels of collaboration.

The Board received, read and discussed the monitoring reports. Topics discussed included finances, investment strategy and a management contingency plan.

Consensus statement: The board requests that the CEO present options regarding key person insurance policies for the April meeting.

Betsy reported for the Honorary Board committee. The committee drafted a letter to be sent to the Honorary Board, informing them of the activities of the SAA in 2010. A personal note will be added.

Motion #2 That the Honorary Board committee in conjunction with the Development Committee will seek the endorsement of an Honorary Board member for the appeal letter for the 2011 Annual Fund.
M Marilyn O’Boyle S Mark George Carried

A discussion about the Governance Process policies 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.6, and 4.7 took place.

Motion #3 Move that we amend 4.1 to read: The board will ensure that the operational approach and activities of the SAA are aligned with the Suzuki philosophy.
M Sue Baer S Marilyn Kesler Carried

Motion #4 Move that we amend 4.2.1 to read: The board, in its hiring and other activities, will not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, national origin, religion, age, handicap, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital, parental or military status. The board’s activities, with the exception of personnel matters, shall be open and accessible to scrutiny by its “owners,” sponsors and supporters. The board may go to executive session for confidential matters.
M Sue Baer S Dan Browning Carried

Motion #5 Move that we switch the order of 4.3.1 C. with 4.3.1 D.
M Marilyn O’Boyle S Sarah Montzka Carried

Motion #6 Move that we amend 4.6.2C to read: Board members must not use their positions to obtain SAA employment for themselves, family members or close associates. Should a board member seek SAA employment, he or she must first resign.
M Dan Browning S Marilyn O’Boyle Carried

Motion #7 Move that we amend 4.7.6, 4.7.7, 4.7.8, to begin each sentence with: “each board member is expected and required to … ”
M Marilyn O’Boyle S MaryLou Roberts Carried

A discussion took place regarding qualities needed for board chair.

Sarah Montzka reported for the Development Committee. She shared a video she is preparing for possible inclusion in the 2011-12 Annual Fund Appeal.

The Chair charged the Education Committee to come up with an idea for each meeting to include board education.

Teri Einfeldt, chair, dismissed the meeting at 5:18 p.m.

Saturday morning, January 8, 2010

Teri Einfeldt, chair, called the meeting to order at 8:44 a.m.

Upcoming meetings:

April meeting: Friday April 8th 9:00 a.m.—noon Sunday the 10th. Plan to arrive on Thursday, April 7th. Meeting will be in Boulder.

September meeting: Friday Sept. 16th – Sunday the 18th

Sue Baer gave a Development Committee update: she shared a website www.foundationcenter.org to locate possible foundations in our local areas that might be interested in donating to the SAA. “Power of Community” was suggested as a possible theme for next year’s annual fund campaign.

Motion #8 to set up an ad hoc Leadership Development committee to explore creation of an entity that enables volunteerism and involvement in Suzuki education.
M Mark George S Sarah Montzka Not carried

Mark George presented a nominating committee report, recommending a slate of candidates and officer recommendations.

The board moved to approve the slate:
M Patty Purcell S Sarah Montzka Carried

The board approved the officer recommendations as follows: Chair-elect Marilyn Kesler and Secretary Marilyn O’Boyle.

As part of Board Education for this meeting, discussion of Caroline Oliver’s article, “What focusing on outcomes should mean” took place.

Pam Brasch spoke about the Ends policies 1.1.1 and 1.1.2. There was a discussion about keeping information about Suzuki accurate in the public domain, given the challenges of monitoring information found throughout the worldwide web.

Pam Brasch shared insights from John Carver on Board Leadership on how a board should conduct self-evaluation. The board should compare itself to Carver policies at every meeting. She shared handouts to use as resources. The board is charged to do the Exploratory Worksheet for Board Members for the April meeting. A discussion of Carver policies followed; re-defining Ends and Means.

A discussion of summer focus groups and brainstorming ideas for 2011 took place. Summer Institute Focus Group ad hoc committee was renamed Ownership Connection Committee. The OC committee will prepare some ideas for the summer focus groups for the April meeting.

The Board voted on submissions naming the online newsletter. Suzuki E-News was the winning choice.

Teri Einfeldt, chair, adjourned the meeting at 1:31 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Betsy Stuen-Walker, Board Secretary