The December meeting of the Garrett County Commission for Women was called to order at 5:08 P.M. by Chair Lisa Thayer Welch. Due to COVID-19, teleconference through Google Meet utilized. Also present were Sadie Liller, Erin-Ruth Natividad, Linda Carr, Caroline Blizzard, and Juliet Sanders, and Maureen Sheaffer. Members not present were Pam Trickett, Melita Friend, Kristal Huber, Rachel Bruch, Rose Gordy, and Amanda Mattingly.
A moment of silence was recognized, and the Pledge of Allegiance had been recited.
Secretary’s Report: No report other than the presentation of Minutes from the October 6, 2020 Meeting as prepared by Erin-Ruth Natividad.
Treasurer’s Report: Linda Carr reported a beginning balance of $3,257.24. Annual stipend of $4,000 from the Garrett County Commissioners was deposited. A donation of $2,000 was issued to the Dove Center for a sponsorship of an adult room in the Dove Center Housing Unit, and $500 was issued to WKHJ for a 2020 Voting Campaign. A final balance was reported of $4,757.24. At the October 6, 2020 meeting, Linda reported that we had been utilizing the county’s tax-exempt number, and it was brough to her attention this was not favorable. Lisa Thayer Welch said she had not yet been able to address this issue, and she plans to speak with individuals at the state level and see how they handle this issue.
Committee Reports:
1. Hall of Fame- Hall of Fame Committee Head is open as Cheryl Deberry is no longer a member of the Commission. Caroline Blizzard said her only concern is that she typically has a research project that weekend, and Lisa said the date is flexible. Caroline said she would assume duties and Sadie Liller said she would help. Erin-Ruth Natividad said she would forward the link to the shared document to Caroline and Sadie. Erin-Ruth suggested that the entire sheet be copied into a new shared document as the initial owner of the original is Cheryl Deberry and content will be lost should she ever delete it. Lisa will forward any press release information she gathers for the papers to Erin-Ruth for Social Media regarding HOF. We have not yet been able to meet with the other inductees for presentation.
2. Scholarship- Lisa Thayer Welch will forward bio information for the scholarship winners to Erin-Ruth Natividad for public relations and Social Media.
3. Legislation- The MLAW Conference was November 14, Linda Carr made notes on each of the 14 initiatives. Each of the initiatives were discussed at length. Erin-Ruth Natividad will create a Google Form, and the top 3 from each person will be requested. Linda said she needed the responses by Dec 11.
4. Public Relations- Erin-Ruth Natividad advised she had reached out to Cheryl Deberry for access to website and other admin content, and she has not received access as of yet. Erin-Ruth said she had been sharing County Commissioner meetings and was concerned that, while it is a public meeting for public comment, the live stream comments have not been recognized in past meetings. Lisa Thayer Welch said she would appropriately inquire about this issue. Erin Ruth asks members send her events and opportunities be sent to her regularly. She also requested content ideas as she can make any graphic. Erin-Ruth Natividad advised that there aren’t many women related holidays or awareness weeks for December, so, she requested additional ideas this month.
5. Membership- Lisa Thayer Welch said she was going to sit with Carol Riley Alexander to compare membership. Rachel Bruch has not been in meeting attendance since February. Maureen Sheaffer will reach out to her. Linda Carr said Michelle Harmon is interested in rejoining. Erin-Ruth said she also has a membership interest with the guest from the last meeting.
6. Historian- Rose Gordy was not in attendance.
7. By-Laws- Maureen Sheaffer claimed no change as last meeting approved Bylaws changes.
8. Community Projects- Kristal Huber was not in attendance. Since last meeting, a donation to the Dove Center was made, as long as a voting radio message was executed. Erin-Ruth Natividad said she would go through the last year of Minutes and make a master list of incomplete projects that were not executed due to Covid-19 so the projects and ideas don’t get lost. It is suggested we table the projects until community involvement is safer. Lisa Thayer Welch will send ER list of needs for the Dove Center so a graphic can be made. Lisa spoke about the Career Day and that she spoke with Paul Edwards, and it will be added to the after Covid-19 Tabled Project List.
Strategic Plan Guiding Principles:
- Promotion of Services/Issues/Activities-This will be achieved through our Public Relations and Community Projects this month and next.
- Political Participation/Leadership Roles- Linda Carr sent the information for Emerge Maryland, although it was just for Democratic Women. Lisa Thayer Welch said there is a program in the works for Republican Women.
- Pressing Issues effecting GC Women. Linda Carr said women are affected by COVID-19 more than men and suggested we could do posts on this topic. The members discussed that mostly women are the persons staying at home with children and quitting jobs, etc forcing them to take said jobs. Erin-Ruth Natividad discussed MLM Marketing and its downfalls, and she suggested we investigate alternatives to entrepreneurship to advocate.
- Hall of Fame- Discussed Above.
- Higher Education/Scholarship-Discussed Above.
Old Business:
- Hall of Fame changes due to Covid-19-
- Hall of Fame awardees and Scholarship Recognition- See Committee Report 1 and 2
- Hall of Fame Plaque-This is an ongoing topic due to Covid-19, will continue to work on this project.
- Potential Commission Vacancies- See Committee Report 5
New Business:
1. New Member Welcome- Amanda Mattingly. She was not in attendance. Lisa Thayer Welch will provide contact information to Erin-Ruth Natividad for record keeping. Lisa will reach out to Amanda and ask why she had missed her first two meetings. Erin-Ruth Natividad identified Amanda had been included on all of the recent meeting reminders, etc.
2. MLAW Initiatives- See Committee Report 3.
3. Letters to the Editor- Linda Carr suggested what the Commission can do a letter this time to o help what’s effecting women with the pandemic.
4. Agenda Items for Next Meeting- Lisa Thayer Welch requested members send any items to Erin-Ruth Natividad.
Erin-Ruth motioned to adjourn the meeting, and Linda Carr seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 6:38 P.M. The next meeting is Tuesday, February 2, 2021 from 5 to 6:30 P.M.
Submitted by,
Erin-Ruth Natividad
Secretary