OMD Annual Meeting Minutes
April, 2005

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These are the official minutes of the 2005 District Annual Meeting, Held April 2, 2005. Written reports can be found in the Annual Report for 2005. If you have questions about any of the items mentioned, please contact a board member. Please note that items voted on are led by ***

Meeting called order at 9:47 am by President Lawrence Anderson-Huang, who also welcomed the assembly and shared a reading and the lighting of the chalice.

Appointment of tellers: Current board members and nominating committee members were appointed as tellers for the meeting. 

Roll Call was done by secretary Beth Casebolt. APF, District Dues and UUSC awards were presenting during the roll call and members of the congregations present shared proud moments.

Approval of the minutes: Glenn Solomon moved and seconded from the floor that the minutes be approved as printed. Motion passed.

Rev. Diane Dowgiert from the Marietta church presented a thank you to the congregations of the district who donated $2849.39 to assist with flood repairs after the flood in September.

President’s Report (see written report)

• Highlighted special attentions provided to congregational presidents by both the UUA at GA and the District at our Annual Meeting.
• Highlighted the work and negotiations around the contract proposal for the RE Consultant with the Saint Lawrence District and the UUA.
• Discussed the District’s financial situation, highlighting the need for fair share payments to both the UUA and the District.
• Extended thanks to the UUC of Akron for hosting the Annual Meeting and the individuals of the congregation who have worked to make the meeting possible.
• Extended thanks to Beth Casebolt for the slide show and her work on the website and to Donald Zeilman for organizing the meeting and the program.

APF Report (see written report)

• Introduced the new APF chair, Gerry Blomgren from West Shore UU Church.

President’s Visibility Award: There was a tie. The awards went to Bill Avery of the First Unitarian Church of Cleveland, Shaker Heights, OH and Ginger Hill UU Congregation in Slippery Rock, PA. Both were present to accept their awards.

District Staff Reports

District Consultant Report (see written report)

• Read by Karen Lapidus in Rod Thompson's absence due to illness. In addition to the written report, he highlighted our accomplishments in the areas of improved office efficiency, communication with congregations and opportunities for gathering and learning together.
• Rod also emphasized the new consultant program we have and the committee changes we’ve had in the past seven years.
• The UUA District Services office isn’t happy with the progress this district has made and we are currently preparing to enter a year of reevaluation and examination to determine what we need to do to make changes in the district’s mission and vision.

Religious Education Consultant Report (see written report)

• Karen presented her written report and some additional comments.

Youth Programs Consultant Report (see written report)

• Mary presented her written report with some additional comments.
• She encouraged congregations to take advantage of the opportunities for youth.

 Introduction of the Ministerial Settlement Representative – Rev. Daniel Budd

 An energy break was presented by Celise Roberts from the Akron church.

 Glenn Solomon recognized the Fair Compensation Societies.

• Allegheny Church from Pittsburgh is now a participating congregation.
• Three other congregations in the district are participating or working towards full participation at this time.

UUA Trustee’s Report (see written report)

• Pat highlighted the Ginger Hill Congregation who became affiliated with the UUA this past October.
• She highlighted the emphasis on Congregations Presidents at GA and the congregational president’s networking lunch at the district meeting.
• Highlighted the new public policy statements from the UUA to present the UUA’s stand on various issues.
• The UUA Board is working with youth to revise continental services.
• Highlighted the UUA’s monthly packets that are coming out from Boston.
• Introduced Jim Casebolt, a member of the UUA’s Commission on Appraisal and commented on the study report that is due out at GA this year titled, Engaging our Theological Diversity.
• The UUA’s fair share dues will go up to $53 in fiscal year 06 and $54 in fiscal year 07.
• Emphasized the final paragraph of her written report on collaboration and cluster work among our congregations.

Unsung Hero Award was presented to Marion and Elmer Hoffman of the Akron Church, who were present to accept the award.

Financial Report and Budget Presentation (see the written treasurer’s report)

• The bottom line is that we failed to meet our revenue goals and the board has spent much time this year working to figure out where we go from here.
• For the first time in five years, we have gone backwards – fewer congregations were fair share and we dropped from 85% to 79% in giving.
• In five years, 89% of the growth has come from our 40 smallest congregations. For the first time in five years, our numbers dropped, including 4 of the 6 biggest congregations.
• Mary stated that the district needs to continue to support our small congregations, who make a big difference in their communities.
• A pledge card, asking congregations to pay their fair share to the UUA and OMD was presented to delegates to take home.

Budget Discussion And Approval

• Glenn Solomon moved to accept the budget, seconded by Jim Casebolt.
• We had been making progress to get back to the 5.5% of the portfolio support, however, this year we went backwards.
• What is the endowment money for? This is question we must answer.

***The assembly voted in favor of adopting the budget, with 4 opposed and 5 abstentions.

Faith in Action Award was presented to the First Unitarian Church of Toledo for Shirley’s Soaps and Such. This new award is for an innovative social action program. The award was accepted by Mimi Leo who is the head of the program.

***Vote to Endorse the Program Consultant Contract. Moved by Rev. Nicole Kirk and seconded from the floor. The motion passed unanimously.

Nominating Committee Report.

• The Committee nominates Secretary, Beth Casebolt of Ohio Valley; Treasurer, Mary Livengood of First Unitarian Church Pittsburgh; 1 year Trustee, Erin Riffle of UU Church of Akron; 2 yr Trustee, Brad Taylor of UU Congregation of Greater Canton; 3 year Trustees: Linda Coulter of UU Society of Cleveland and Beth Houseknecht of UU Church of Morgantown.
• For the Nominating Committee 2 year terms, Jane Dirks of Allegheny and Edith Swede of West Shore.
• There were no nominations from the floor.

***It was moved that nominations be closed and the secretary be instructed to cast a unanimous ballot for the slate of candidates. Seconded and passed unanimously. The Secretary has cast a unanimous ballot electing those named by the Nominating Committee.

UUA Trustee Election

• Pat Solomon is the only candidate running for the office. Nominations must be received in the fall.

***Pat was elected unanimously.

The Departing Officers and Trustees were thanked for their service to the district.

The New Officers and Trustees for the Board were installed. 

Meeting adjourned at 12:19 pm with a reading and the extinguishing of the chalice.

Respectfully Submitted,
Beth Casebolt, Interim Secretary for the OMD Board