Centerville-Washington Diversity Council
Leadership Team Meeting
August 9th 2011
Attendees: Norm Plair, Carol Kennard, Jackie Curl, Georgia Mergler, Jerry Huffman, Jenni Roer, Joe
Lambright, Bob Yux
Meeting called to order at 12:40 p.m.
Chair Report
Americana booth went great. 17 new people signed up for information about the council.
Liability Insurance – Quote was obtained from Uhl Insurance for $275 annually for liability insurance
through Cincinnati Insurance Company. Additional information was requested from council about
whether the council holds fundraisers or public events where a fee is charged. The quote was
subsequently revised to $425, which is higher than the $400 maximum amount approved by the
Leadership Team in June.
Carol Kennard moved to obtain liability insurance at a price not to exceed $425. Norm Plair seconded.
Motion Carried.
Visioning for council’s future – it’s been two years since we did long-range planning and identified three
major goals. Action steps to support each goal were assigned in June 2010 to various committees. Jackie
would like the committees to report at the October Leadership Team meeting on their
successes/challenges in accomplishing the strategies and action steps assigned to their committees.
Approval of Minutes:
Jackie asked for a motion of June 14th Leadership Team Meeting. Norm moved to approve. Carol
Kennard seconded. Motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report
No financial report other than to report the current balance of two accounts is $22,894.05. Summary
report will be sent via email for approval.
Fiscal year expenses have been taken to accountant to do taxes. Must file by the 15th of November. Mr.
Swartz predicts he will have the taxes done by mid September.
Norman explained that 501c3 status, obtained in 2005, must be renewed every five years with the state
of Ohio. Renewal took placed in 2010. The federal government does not have a renewal requirement for
501c3 status.
Committee Reports:
MLK Breakfast: Jackie reported for Jan Harry. MLK speaker has been obtained & contract signed.
Planning is well underway.
Community Projects: Jackie report for Helene Anagho-Beny. Americana booth resulted in 17 new
people signing up for information, including at least 4 interested in volunteering. One prospective
volunteer has a background in finance. Jenni Roer will follow up with these interested parties.
The committee is in the very early stages of talking about an art contest with local students.
If anyone is interested in participating in forming a book group, please contact Helene or Jackie.
Programs & Education: Jackie reported for Amy Russell.
Cultural Day - The theme is A Day in Lebanon (10/1/11 from 11 AM – 2 PM ). Anyone who is able to
volunteer that day, please contact Jackie. The Lebanese group we are working with is very well
organized, but we could still use your help.
Voices & Stories - Planning is going well (11/10/11 from 7-8:30 PM). Director Chris Shay is back on board
again and is very helpful in taking raw stories and staging them for performance. This month we are
interviewing interested performers. Some interviewees include a woman with two adopted children
(one from US, one from China), one man who was orphaned in a very high profile murder case and who
now assists other orphans, a lesbian couple, a businessman whose father is involved in politics in a
foreign country, and possibly some exchange students.
Traces of the Trade – The committee has previewed the movie and had really good reviews. We as a
Leadership Team should proceed with clarity about what our goals are in taking on this project so we
aren’t taken by surprise. Possibly partner with schools (upperclassmen social studies classes). Slated for
Spring 2012. We should be prepared that this could raise additional questions and what are our
responsibilities as a council afterwards (ongoing support from other organizations, etc.).
Fundraising: Looking to seek funding for Traces of the Trade without cannibalizing MLK support. Jackie
and Joe will coordinate efforts. Jackie will set up meeting with Ginny Strausburg of DP&L to generate a
potential list of donors to call upon with this opportunity.
It’s time to submit grant requests to Centerville/Washington Foundation. Georgia will submit a grant
request to fund a portion of Traces of the Trade project.
Membership Development: Jenni Roer reported.
New member social event has tentatively been rescheduled for September 22, 5-7 PM. If we proceed,
the event needs to be outdoors in order to use Centerville Landscaping property. Bad weather plan
could be a large room at the church.
Publicity: Carol Kennard reported.
Carol asks all Leadership Team members to “subscribe” to the new website at www.cwtdiversity.org .
So far, member names have been input as “users,” but apparently they must also be signed up as
“subscribers” in order to receive messages. Carol is checking into options for sending email from the
website.
CWDC Facebook now has 33 members. Photos from Americana are posted there.
Announcements
The Library is one of 200 sites over five years to get a Lincoln Exhibit grant from the American Library
Association. The exhibit will run for a 6-week period sometime in 2013.
Adjournment at 2:16 PM
Prepared by: Georgia Mergler, vice chair
Addendum
Norman Plair subsequently circulated the financial report for fiscal year ending June 30, 2011 via email.
Leadership Team members approved the report.