WAUKESHA COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

Monday, March 14, 2016

12:00 p.m.

Board Members In Attendance: Sarah Ponath, Bob Dehring, Ron Sonderhouse, Eric Love, Tom Hofbauer, Amy Freiman, Jean LaTour

Also in Attendance: Sharron Stolpa, Jesse Blocher

Absent and Missed: Ryan Harrington, Linda Coyle

Call to Order: The meeting was duly called to order by President Sarah Ponath at 12:06 p.m.

Minutes of the January & February, 2016, Board of Directors Meeting: A motion was made by Ron Sonderhouse to adopt and approve the Minutes. The motion was seconded by Tom Hofbauer. The motion was passed with unanimous approval.

Board of Governors Update: Kim Haines and Tim Kay will run unopposed. Nothing else to report at this time.

Treasurer’s and Membership Report: The Treasurer’s and Membership Report were reviewed. There are 450 total applications received to date. The accounts total of $48,993.06.

Budget: Bob presented a draft of the 2016-17 Budget. A few entries need to be updated. The Board will review and vote at the next meeting.

Old Business and Committee Reports:

  1. Debit Card Update: Sarah, Ron, and Bob have received their debit cards.
  2. WCBA Treasurer Proposal: No negative feedback thus far regarding the proposal to separate the duties/positions of Secretary and Treasurer. However the WCBA bylaws would have to be amended in order to do this. A motion was made by Bob Dehring to draft language to amend the bylaws to be presented to the membership. The motion was seconded by Ron Sonderhouse. The motion was passed with unanimous approval. Sarah will draft the language.
  3. Fridays at Four: D’Angelo & Jones hosted on 3/4/16. The event was well-catered but not particularly well-attended. In the future the court will consider changes that may lead to better attendance.
  4. Cabinet Committee: The cabinet has been updated with a calendar of upcoming events.
  5. Website/Social Media: Jesse will launch a Facebook page and will create/launch a Twitter page this week. Jesse and Sarah will act as administrators for now.
  6. Spring CLE: Amy provided an update regarding speakers. A good lineup of speakers is slated. Outlines are due back to Amy in a couple of weeks. Amy will pay the deposit for the venue.
  7. Annual Meeting:
  8. Award Nominations: No nominations for awards have been received from the membership. The Board discussed possible nominations for Distinguished Member and Community Service. The Board discussed the possibility of not awarding the Lifetime Achievement award this year because two such awards were given last year.
  9. Board of Directors – Open Spots / re-elections: Jean will continue to serve on the Board. The Board has learned that Lucas Bennewitz wishes to run for an open position. Due to work commitments, Eric will no longer be able to serve on the Board effective immediately. As president, Sarah nominates Jesse Blocher to replace Eric for the remainder of his term. Amy made a motion to approve the appointment. The motion was seconded by Ron. The motion was passed with unanimous approval.
  10. Officer Positions: Ryan will serve as Secretary in 2016-17.

New Business:

  1. Charity Drive / Event: Tom provided an update. A proposal for an event will be made at the April meeting. Jean Crahan will be in attendance to make a presentation to the Board.
  2. Judicial Poll: Amy sent it out. It looks good. The big improvement with this poll is that a member cannot vote more than once.

Adjournment: A motion to adjourn was made by Sarah Ponath, seconded byJean LaTour. The meeting was adjourned at 12:40 p.m.

Next Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 11, 2016, at 12:00 p.m. in Room AC G55, Waukesha County Courthouse.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert Dehring Jr., Secretary/Treasurer