Soroptimist International of Benicia

P.O.Box 282

Benicia, CA 94510

Meeting Minutes of the Planning Meeting

July 18, 2013, 6:30 pm

Dona Benicia Room of the Benicia Public Library

ATTENDEES:

Kathy Griffith / Bobbi Enderlin / Bonnie Silveria
Debbie Gee / Helaine Bowles / Karen Hubbard
Irma Ward / Kim Duchane / Patty Small
Mary Anne Branch / Lisa McVeigh / Suzie Harper
Carla Gallagher / Maria Teresa Matthews / Dona Bovey
Nancy Lewis-Paniagua / Julie Vucurevich / Joyce Reinhart
  1. The spaghetti dinner provided by the Board began at 6:30 pm and ended at 07:00 pm.
  1. President Julie Vucurevich presented the Soroptimist International of Benicia Mission Statement, the President’s vision, and the four principles of her president’s vision:

a)Be Nice – treat others the way you want to be treated.

b)Value Relationships – they are more important than any challenges we face.

c)Be Responsible – follow through on what you say you will do.

d)HaveFun – enjoy what you are doing, don’t make it a chore or burden.

  1. The group discussed several ideas for fundraising efforts. Karen Hubbard led this discussion, offering several suggestions for fundraising, such as a miniature golf tournament or a fashion show where men modeled women’s clothes. The group thought that a raffle contest with a prize of a $1,000 gift card to Raley’s or Safeway would be the simplest, and probably most efficient fund raiser, for several reasons:

a)A $10 raffle ticket could win a $1,000 grocery store gift card. This is much more affordable for many people than the $25 or $40 tickets required at other events.

b)Raffle tickets could be sold throughout the fall, with the final prize awarded in early December. Tickets could be sold at Farmer’s Market, at the Christmas festival, and at any other event where SI-B already has a presence.

c)If enough tickets were sold, SI-B could earn the year’s requirement of $10,000 in funds with this one event.

d)The gift cards could be used for anything the grocery store sells: flowers, greeting cards, seasonal items, liquor, etc. Store rules would apply, for example liquor or cigarettes would not be sold to minors.

  1. Several miscellaneous points were discussed about fundraising in general:

a)All participants agreed that a fundraising event should occur only once or twice during the year. Too many events occurred last year where members were continually being asked to sell tickets to all the different events.

b)SI-B would like to participate in an event with the Rotarians this year, but not necessarily the Casino Night. Duane Olivera is the Rotary president this year. For the year 2014-2015 Rotary Club is sponsoring a Golf Tournament that SI-B might want to co-sponsor.

c)Maria Teresa Matthews informed the group that the ice cream cart is ready to go, and that the Cart Committee needed some seed money to be able to load it for use at Relay for Life. Kathy Griffith as Treasurer said that the $250 needed for cart supplies can be provided from current SI-B funds.

d)If the Fashion Show and Talent Show are to occur this year, several changes have been suggested.

  • The timing of the events could be changed, so that they don’t occur when other organizations are presenting their own shows. These events should occur after SI-B’s primary fundraiser (the grocery store raffle) is completed in December, 2013.
  • If the Fashion Show is held, the Clocktower is too large a venue. If Benicia firemen/women and police men/women in uniform could walk the runways with the models, literally “passing their hats/helmets” to collect donations, additional funds would be generated.
  • The Talent Show could charge entrance fees for each talent, to offset the costs of the event.
  1. The location of this year’s meetings was discussed. The group recommends keeping the First Baptist Church for Thursday luncheons, and also recommended usingSprankle’s Village Deli for the monthly business meetings and for the Wednesday night meetings. Julie will talk to Chantelle of Sprankle’s to be sure that Chantelle is okay if members attend the Wednesday night meeting but do not purchase food. It is illegal for anyone to bring their own food into the restaurant, but members could choose to eat before they arrive at the restaurant. The Church and Sprankle’s were chosen for several reasons:

a)The Church is free, it is quiet, members can bring their own food or order via Sprankle’s, and there is available parking.

b)Sprankle’s will accept lunch orders through Thursday morning at 10:30, so last-minute orders can be accepted.

  1. Attracting and maintaining new members was discussed. Helaine will ensure that the weekly meetings begin appearing in the Benicia Herald again. Our new long-term goal of a Women’s Resource Center here in Benicia is a great incentive to attract new members.

The past presidents who are responsible for new membership and membership retention will ask for committees to be formed, to help with these important goals.

  1. The first Board meeting for the 2013-2014 year will be held on the 2nd Monday of August, 2013 at the Benicia Public Library.
  1. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Joyce Reinhart

July 29, 2013

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