Executive Meeting (April 2024)

Minutes

In attendance- Bill Cavers, Heather Welsford, Mary Quayle, Don Lambert, Cathy Totten, Cindy Parker, Bill Hadden, Mark Polle, Bill Fosdick, Christina Klimaschka
Regrets- Amanda Johnson

Meeting start 7:04pm

1. Record Keeping: Vulnerability of CRBA financial records if only on spreadsheets; no audit trail, easy to modify names, dates, numbers and easy to work from wrong version. Passwords can be added for protection. Minutes for Exec and AGM are stored on a memory stick that secretary has and President has an email copy. Werner gets a copy to post on the website as well.
   TO DO: circulate all minutes, financial statement, and AGM minutes to all exec members to then be stored by each member’s hard drive. Any email voting will be brought forward to the next exec meeting to be voted on.
2. Amanda has offered to use her daughter’s Microsoft Account as the club laptop does not have Microsoft on it and can not do power point presentations without difficulty.
   Motion: Bill C moved that we buy MicroSoft 365 for about $122 per year
   Second: Mary
   Approved
3. Payment of Annual Subscriptions
   Bill Cavers indicated that there has been some confusion in the past about which member paid for which renewing subscription, leading to some near-misses in having those subscriptions cancelled. These include the Zoom account, our NetTalk CONNECT phone line, and others. He indicated that it would be more coordinated if the President became responsible for renewing those accounts then seeking reimbursement from the club as that would clearly identify lines of responsibility, and would make it clear when the responsibilities are being transferred when the president changes.
   Moved: That the President become the payor of annual subscriptions
   Seconded in many places, carried
4. Sterigenics Trip
   1. Expenses: Motion: to affirm that Exec provided email approval prior to reimbursing some members for itemized costs incurred personally for the Sterigenics trip.
      • Bill Cavers: $824.78: Truck rental and ferry reservation
      • Don Lambert: $100 Honorarium and misc travel expenses
      • Bill Hadden: $572.19 Truck rental & additional ferry costs as commercial vehicle
      • Alanna Morbin: $213.72 Gas and misc itemized costs
   2. Sterigenics subsidy:
      1. We are receiving $231.93 refund from Sterigenics; to go to general revenue
      2. Residual costs are $963.15 over and above the subsidy from the Investment Agriculture Foundation’s BC Bee Program and expenses already covered by the club; these costs will be covered by the member participants on a prorated basis.
5. Audiovisual for Zoom presenters’ recap from Thursday: Need another run-through, difficult audiovisual from Thursday’s meeting.
   TO DO: Amanda will work with Bill (hall manager) to try to remedy the issues with Bill C. If further devices are needed, then they will connect with Don. Don has an additional external microphone and speaker that he can bring next time.
6. Roles that need filling:
   1. Exec member to act as Communications person; ensuring we have brochures, business cards, stickers, table signs etc. for events like Quadra Village Days, Seedy Saturday, Saanich Fair, etc. Suggestion made: to create another exec member position. Past promotional items are in Don L possession or in a storage locker out at Saanich Fair ground, otherwise unknown.
   2. Saanich Fair Coordinator; Victoria to stay on to train, new member position needed.
   3. Out yard Coordinator trainee, new member position needed.

   TO DO: job descriptions needed to “sell” the positions (Bill F to do communications position, Cathy to do out yards position, and Victoria to do Saanich Fair position), and to ask at the next club meeting to see if anyone steps forward to volunteer.

7. Do we change membership renewal website questions to include sharing of apiary location with members as an “opt” out option. Werner says that it is an easy fix: we would need three lists:
   1. full membership list,
   2. willing members to share and
   3. third for members that only want to share their location with the swarm committee (full apiary location not just home address).

   Rational: to allow for neighboring beekeepers to connect to each other or small groups specific to locations can help remedy and allowing to make connections (Mark P has offered to help organize the list)
   TO DO: Bill C will work with Werner to add the “opt out” option on the website when members renew memberships.

8. Preparing for next year’s hive survival survey (Shirley’s last year 2024). Change the survey to a web base approach and to be done during the membership sign up (adding a question).
9. May Agenda: Andrew Moyer has volunteered to outline collecting Bumblebees and Don to talk about swarms New Beginners Corner: Don topic TBD (downstairs) Intermediate Corner: Bill F topic TBD (in back coffee area)
10. Options for hot drinks at meetings: make less regular coffee, have decaf instant Starbucks coffee, regular tea, and herbal teas.
11. Other Business: Swarm Line phone number to be reposted back onto CRBA front page.
    TO DO: ask Werner to repost it back onto the home page.
12. Quadra Village Days: Greg and Joanne Davidson

Meeting adjourned 8:08 pm