UW‐Green Bay Retiree Association
Board of Directors’ Meeting
MINUTES
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Attendance
Jim Wiersma (president), Betty Baer, Mark Brunette, Ken Fleurant, Sally Mancoske, Mike Murphy, Pat
Przybelski, Lee Schwartz
Excused: Barb McClure Lukens, Chuck Rhyner, Marge Weidner
The meeting was called to order at 9 a.m.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of June 14, 2011, were approved as submitted.
Oral History Project
Betty Baer handed out minutes of the June 8, 2011, Oral History Committee meeting. Jane Rank indicated
she would be willing to take over leadership on the committee. Other members are Lynn Walters, Joan
Thron, Thea Sager and Debra Anderson (ex officio). Debra has a strong interest in the Committee
continuing, noting the University will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in a few years.
This year’s project was curriculum. Faculty are most interested in this subject and should be the main focus.
Some assignments were not completed. Paul Davis kept a daily journal during his years at the University,
which is now kept in the library archives. This can be a great resource.
It was suggested that we separate the Service Committee from the Oral History Committee. The name
“Campus History Committee’ was suggested to make clearer the meaning of what the committee’s work is
about. This would help the Service Committee become more focused on other things. It was suggested to
move the Oral History Committee from a subcommittee to a standing committee. Our by-laws, however,
indicate that we have four standing committees: Service, Program, Communication, and Membership. Any
change to add another standing committee must be approved. We will bring this up at the Annual Dinner
for discussion. Betty will be stepping down as chair of the Oral History Committee and the Board
appreciates the vision, hard work, and important contributions she has made.
The Service Committee should be service to members and the University. We need something to stimulate
the committee to get active again: campus noon bag luncheons, mentoring students, etc. We need to
document who is doing what. What is being done now? What is needed? What opportunities are out there?
Who to ask? We need an interest finder. Jim will prepare a signup sheet for people to indicate their
interests. We should send a survey to campus retirees asking how the Retiree Association can be of
assistance and what the Service Committee should be focused on.
Mark Brunette Update
— The August 26 Retiree Association Benefit Golf Outing is starting out slow. Six people to date have
signed up. The announcement was in the LOG and sent via e-mail to the listserve. It is on our RA website
also.
— The Annual dinner is set for October 18. Mark handed out a copy of last year’s registration form for
review. Mark suggested that we add a box to check if someone needs a ride. Jim is working on
entertainment; Paula Fleurant on the menu. Mark suggested that we contact Neil Diboll, a UW-Green Bay
graduate who is nationally known for his work with native prairie plants and seeds and president of Prairie
Nursery, to make a presentation at the dinner. Mark will check into his availability.
— We do have a recipient for our RA scholarship who will be invited to attend our annual dinner.
Nominating Committee
Three elections are needed this year: Vice President, Treasurer, and Member at-large. Jim will call Ann
O’Hearn to see what she did last year to solicit names. It was suggested we send out a note to the listserve
asking for volunteers to serve on the Nominating Committee. An electronic version of openings and names
must be sent 30 days prior to the election. Notice will also be put on our website.
Retiree Association Banquet
Dinner menu prices have gone up this year, but we will be able to keep the price at $20. Usually we have
some carry over at the end of the year. Last year several people registered and paid but did not show up for
various reasons. We also reserved a few extra seats for people that had indicated they were going to register
but that never did. This year we will give the dining service the exact number of people that paid for the
event by the requested RSVP date. The dining service always sets up for 10% more than the number given,
so if a few additional people attend that did not register there will be enough food available.
Jim distributed a draft of an interest survey that will be distributed at the banquet. The survey will ask
individuals to rate their interest on items such as a one-day bus tour, working on various retiree projects,
serving on the Board or on one of its committees, interest in presenting at a brown bag luncheon, etc. We
will continue to work on this at our next meeting.
New Business
— Sally Mancoske gave a Treasurer’s report. We have $233 in our account at the end of June 2011. Mark
will check that this money gets rolled over to the 2011-12 year.
— Pat Przybelski read a paragraph that the Retiree Association could include in the e-mail that the Human
Resources Office sends to new retirees. We would tell the retiree about our association and ask him/her to
forward a preferred e-mail to the membership committee so their name could be added to the listserve to
receive information about retiree events and activities. We will continue this discussion at the next meeting.
— Continuation from last meeting: We need to discuss committees and chairs. Should the committee chair
become a member of the Board? Also, Ken is on the Board as past president. How long does his term
continue? Does he remain on the Board for two years until the current president’s term expires?
The meeting adjourned at 10:27 a.m.
Our next meeting will be held September 13, 2011, at 9 a.m. in the Lambeau Cottage.
Pat Przybelski, Secretary