The April meeting of the Garrett County Commission for Women was called to order at 5:33 P.M. by Chair Lisa Thayer Welch. Due to COVID-19, this meeting was conducted via the Zoom Meeting platform. Also present were Sadie Liller, Erin-Ruth Natividad, Linda Carr, Pam Trickett, Maureen Sheaffer, and Melita Friend.
Secretary’s Report: No report other than the presentation of Minutes from the February 4, 2020 Meeting as prepared by Erin-Ruth Natividad.
Treasurer’s Report: Linda Carr reported a beginning balance of $6,182.20. Nametags were purchased in the amount of $105.96. The account balance is $6,076.24.
Old Business:
1. Hall of Fame Plaque- Maureen Sheaffer is going to draft an idea of the new plaque as she has extra time right now, and Lisa Welch is awaiting to get into the courthouse to measure dimensions. The old plaque is still projected to be utilized for the Woman of Tomorrow Plaque.
2. Bank Account Signatory- Per minutes dated 2/4/2020, it has been unanimously voted Erin-Ruth Natividad will serve as the secondary signatory on the account at BB&T. Due to COVID-19, the lobby remains closed. It is advised to wait until state non-essential business is able to be conducted. This is not an urgent matter.
Committee Reports:
1. Hall of Fame- Items discussed for this category are listed under “New Business”.
2. Scholarship- Lisa Welch has been in touch with individuals to the college/universities to get more people to apply for the Maureen Sharps Scholarship.
3. Legislation- Linda Carr emailed the final MLAW session as they ended early due to COVID-19. A few items were shelved until next year.
4. Public Relations- Hall of Fame has been updated. Algorithm and interaction posts have been shared, and these actions will continue. Erin-Ruth Natividad reported Facebook is showing growth of interaction on our page.
5. Membership- All members have been approved by the Commissioners, and each will be publicized.
6. Historian- It was identified Kitty had the archived items per Linda Carr. Once more movement is allowed, these items will be collected once COVID-19
7. By-Laws- Maureen Sheaffer identified she read the Strategic Planning notes and will work on incorporating and drafting documents for editing. Language should be added for the electronic meeting platform as a contingency.
8. Community Service- Nothing new was added.
New Business:
1. Hall of Fame and Scholarship changes due to COVID-19- The Hall of Fame is being rescheduled due to large crowd restrictions in the state. Sadie Liller suggested to call Dutch’s to hold several dates. Linda Carr identified a breakfast/brunch would be better to not conflict with summer traffic. Our potential dates will need to be compared to community events. Lisa Welch said some mail had been received and she will open to review if it applies to the HOF or scholarships. It is suggested to extend the nomination period to at least April 30, 2020. Erin-Ruth Natividad will post a reminder of the nominee period extension.
2. Strategic Planning Summarization- Notes of the Strategic Planning Meeting was sent to each member on 4/6/2020. No one had anything to add to the notes.
3. 100th anniversary celebration of ratification of 19th Amendment- Due to COVID-19, nothing further has been planned due to community uncertainty.
4. New Member Announcements- The four new members need to be announced to the community via the FB page and the newspaper. Each member will send Erin-Ruth Natividad a bio and picture to be posted on the FB group. All of the bios will be merged for a newspaper article.
5. Volunteerism- The Commission is looking for projects to do together in the Fall. Pam Trickett suggested we participate in an event surrounding the new Dove Center facility. Pam Trickett will reach out to Heather Hanline to see how the Commission can support.
6. Timeline- Maureen Sheaffer was looking for a timeline of Commission actions. Lisa Welch said she had sent something outlining the items the Commission annually. Lisa will forward the budget request letter to all members.
7. Pam Trickett asked there be a special way to memorialize Susan Athey due to helping to found the Commission. Members will brainstorm and revisit this idea.
Sadie Liller motioned to adjourn the meeting, and Linda Carr seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 6:35 P.M. The next meeting is Tuesday, June 2, 2020 from 5 to 6:30 P.M.
Submitted by,
Erin-Ruth Natividad