OSURA Board Meeting Minutes
June 7, 2013
Present: Sue Borden, Megan Deam, Kelly DiCristina, Carol Kronstad, Jim Krueger, Cheryl Lyons, Tom
McClintock, Barbara Moon, Gerry Olson (recorder), Helen Polensek, Tom Savage, (presiding), Terri Tower, Tony
Van Vliet Absent: Roy Arnold, David Chilcote, Jack Drexler, Gordon Reistad
Welcome to Megan Deam who is a new University Events coordinator. President Tom Savage asked board
members to introduce themselves to the new Board members, and he identified the officers. Tom also thanked
OSURA Past President Jim Krueger for his accomplishments. This next year, Tom will emphasize communications,
especially using e-mail for important announcements. He asked for feedback to his messages. Ideas for action
will be introduced at appropriate times during the year.
Approval of Minutes: Terri Tower moved that minutes of the May 3 Board meeting be approved as distributed.
Tony Van Vliet seconded the motion. Carried. Tony Van Vliet moved that the OSURA Annual Meeting minutes
of May 8, 2013 be approved as distributed. Terri Tower seconded the motion. Carried.
Treasurer’s Report: There were no changes reported in assets and expenditures from last month. Treasurer
Cheryl Lyons will check to see if the OSU Foundation has changed the fiscal year for OSURA to June 1-May 31.
Old Business
(1) Review of Annual Meeting/Social – Board members concurred that the format and room set-up worked well
for the Annual Meeting/Social. Items to work on include not ordering too much food, and keeping the student
presentations within their allotted time. One suggestion was to pose just 3 questions to the students to respond to, as
a way to keep them focused. The Hot Air Country Band ended the meeting on a high note! While the meeting
ended on time, Carol Kronstad reported that some members don’t come because of the length of time noted on the
announcement (2 ½ hours). One solution is to announce that the meeting will run from 3-4:30 PM, with time for
socializing before and after that time.
(2) Secretary position – Barbara Moon agreed to be the OSURA Board Secretary for the 2013-14 term. Jim
Krueger and Gerry Olson will serve as back-up.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Scholarship -- Tom Savage, Scholarship Chair, reported that all five recipients attended the annual meeting, and
were impressive in their presentations. The scholarship page and the OSURA web page been updated with their
photos. Publicity was achieved in the GT with an “at our best” article, the Honors College web page, and
LIFE@OSU, Faculty, Staff and Student Honors.
Program – Helen Polensek noted that 20 members attended the Native Long house program and it was excellent,
except for campus parking. Bard in the Quad, Comedy of Errors, is scheduled for Friday, August 16. A talk in
Milam suite will take place prior to the performance. Committee members plan to schedule a program planning
meeting for June. Helen requested notification if a collaboration with the Alumni Association is forthcoming.
Communications/Newsletter – Terri Tower asked whether the Fall Newsletter should be sent out prior to, or after
the Golf Activity. Carol Kronstad agreed that after the Golf event is okay, so photos could be included. Sue
Borden suggested late September as a good time for including volunteer activity information. This is a busy time
for University Events, so working with Kelly DiCristina is important. Kelly agreed that some items could be done
early to avoid a rush at the end.
Member Services –no report.
Volunteer -- Sue Borden announced the Friday, June 14 Campus Clean-up volunteer activity, with 13 signed up as
of 6/7. Priority areas for cleanup will be those used for commencement line-ups and the parking garage. Another
announcement will be coming. Sue will be working to up-date our web site when the information is available.
Golf -- Carol Kronstad announced Sept. 10 as the OSURAA Golf Kick-off activity date. The times are 2:00 PM
for preregistration and, 3:00 for golf. The OSURA President writes a letter about July 1st, announcing the “New
Year” for OSURA. A speaker is still being sought, with other plans under way. Several suggestions for speakers
were made. Last year’s meal was judged to be excellent, and the abbreviated format for the program, and fewer
prizes worked well.
History -- No report.
Membership –no report
Special Interest Group, Travelshare -- The last meeting was held May 3 with 20-22 attending. No meetings are
set at this time, but a discussion on organization is planned. The next meeting may be in early Fall.
Staff report – Kelly DiCristina handed out copies of the revised By-Laws, and a membership report. We are 2/3
toward a Budget goal of 300 members. In September a letter will be sent to those who have not renewed. Kelly
noted that she is happy for suggestions to up-date and add to the web-site, especially items such as photos, events,
etc., and summer is a good time to get the site “cleaned up.” Items to be added include a list of volunteers, as well
as the Volunteer of the Year Award Winners. Uses for the remainder of OSURA designated state funds were
discussed. Our supplies are okay; but the U.E. office has a wish list where funds could be allocated. Kelly will talk
with the University Events staff about what might be best uses. Terri will submit a request for reimbursement of
cartridges and photo paper. She also recommended that OSURA authorize funds for top priority U.E. items.
New Business
(1) OSURA Board and Committee Chairs Roster, 2013-14 -- Rosters for the 2013-14 Board were distributed
and corrections noted.
(2) Renewal of AROHE membership -- Tom Savage communicated with AROHE to determine benefits of
Membership. Jim Krueger moved we renew our membership. Tom McClintock seconded the motion. Carried.
(3) University Day / OSURA Booth -- Tom Savage announced September 19, 2013 as the date for University
Day. OSURA will have a booth which will need staffing, and about 8 volunteers will be needed to help as ushers
for the University Day program..
(4) NW Retirees Association meeting --September 19 &20 at PSU. This is a consortium of about 10 universities
in the region who attend. This meeting generally begins Thursday evening with get acquainted events. The full day
is Friday, Sept. 20, so it is important for us to be represented then. There are also some activities on Saturday AM.
Tom Savage will forward detailed information when it is received. Terri Tower asked about the exchange of
member newsletters, and this is probably something that needs to be checked.
(5) OSURA Baseball Style Caps -- Tom Savage reported that Bill Wilkins inquired about OSURA Baseball Caps.
We had them in the past, perhaps grey with black/orange print. Hats can be ordered from a company on a one to
one basis, but the logo needs to be updated with University approved fonts. U. E. regularly orders items, so
OSURA could work through them. Jim Krueger noted that OSURA can announce the availability of caps and
shirts if a reasonable price can be established. Terri Tower and Tony Van Vliet will investigate and report back.
(6) Pursue dialogue with OSU AA- Tom Savage is exploring this, along with Susan Poole.
(7) Conversation re: Collaboration with Center for Healthy Aging Research -- Tom Savage and Jim Krueger
met with Karen Hooker, to seek possibilities for collaboration. Ideas include being research subjects, serving on
boards, and working with the Gerontology club Karen is speaking at the Science Pub in June.
(8) Additional Interest Groups? – Ideas that have been suggested to Tom Savage include visiting OSURA
members in Assisted Living arrangements, and advising undergraduates. Some OSURA members are doing
visitations now. It was noted that the OSU Catalogue is now fully on line, with very few being printed.
(9) Other -- Gerry Olson moved that AROPE (Association for Retired OR Public Employees) be allowed to
announce meetings on the OSURA list serve. Terri Tower seconded the motion. The Board agreed that the next
AROPE meeting could be announced, with reconsideration after a Memorandum of Agreement signed by both
organizations is reviewed.
Board meetings: Fridays, 10:00 A.M, Cascade Hall: none Jul & Aug, Sept 13: Board. Retreat, Oct 4, Nov 1,
Dec 6, Jan 10, Feb 7, Mar 7, Apr 4, May 2; May 7 Ann. Mtg.