Minutes of SETI League 2015Annual Membership Meeting

Membership Services Department

Minutes of the Twenty-First Annual Membership Meeting
19 April 2015, Eventide Inc. (adjacent to SETI League Headquarters), Little Ferry, NJ

Call to Order
The meeting was convened at 13:00 hours EDT at Eventide Inc. (adjacent to SETI League Headquarters) in Little Ferry NJ, by Executive Director Emeritus Dr. H. Paul Shuch (in attendance via teleconference). Three SETI League members in good standing present. The SETI League currently has 131 members in good standing. Our Bylaws requiring one percent of the current membership to be in attendance for the conduct of SETI League business, the attendees represent a quorum.
Minutes of 2014 Membership Meeting
The Minutes of the 2014 Membership Meeting having been previously posted to The SETI League's World Wide Web site, a motion was passed to accept the minutes as posted.
Treasurer's Report
Developed jointly by Dr. Shuch and Secretary/Treasurer Heather Wood, covering the calendar year 2014 (as e-filed).
1. Revenues: Dues and Contributions $15,998; Interest Income $1; Total $15,999.
2. Expenses: Educational/Scientific Programs $11,578; Management/General $1,547; Fundraising $1,453; Total $14,579.
3. Revenues minus Expenses: $1,421.
4. End of 2014, SETI League account balances equalled $6,147. 2014 beginning net assets $4,725.
5. 2015 Budget: Projected Revenues $15,000; Program Expenses $11,500; Management/General Expenses $1,600; Fundraising Expenses $1,500; Total Expenses $14,600; Projected excess $400; Projected Ending Balance $6,547.
6. This report was accepted by those present.
Executive Director's Report
During 2014, the Executive Director:
1. published four issues of SearchLites, the quarterly newsletter of The SETI League, Inc.
2. gave SETI public presentations in Toronto ON, Green Bank WV, Oak Ridge TN, and Hunt Valley MD
3. performed 52 weekly updates of The SETI League website
4. posted 57 photos and 50 links and comments to The SETI League Facebook page
5. conducted several press interviews
6. served as co-chair and webmaster for the IAA SETI Permanent Committee
7. responded to several dozen email and telephone inquiries from members and prospective members.
Committee Reports
EME Committee
Report by SETI League president and station trustee Richard Factor. The EME beacon remains off the air following Mr. Factor's relocation to Arizona. He now has an antenna tower installed, and has retained a roofing contractor to confirm the structural integrity of his roof, as a future mounting location for an EME antenna. Thus, Mr. Factor has "started to begin contemplating whether to think about maybe considering" EME from his new location.
Awards Committee
Awards Committee chairman David Ocame being absent, report provided by Dr. Shuch. There were no Giordano Bruno Awards or Orville N. Greene Awards presented during 2014. Twelve websites have been given the SETI SuperStar award this year. More nominations are requested from the members. Paul will note this in the next issue of SearchLites.
Old Business
1. Very Small Array
  Dr. Shuch reports that the project remains on hold, due to lack of funding, with no progress to report since last year.
2. Mid-Year Renewal Letter
  Last May, Ms. Wood emailed a mid-year appeal to lapsed members, with hardcopies to be distributed to members for whom we have no current email address. This letter generated three or four reinstatements of lapsed members. The November renewal letter generated six more renewals of lapsed members. Sending of these letters will continue for 2015.
3. Annual Report
  Publication of The SETI League's 2014 Annual Report was delayed pending receipt by the Executive Director of 2014 financial information, and adoption of the 2015 annual budget. It will be made available to members via the website, in Portable Document Format (PDF), later this month. Ms. Wood will distribute hard-copies of this report to our major donors.
4. Web Server
  Mr. Factor reports that new servers continue to operate with outstanding reliability, and the website remains online and working properly. Weekly web updates are still being performed manually. Though our email list server remains offline, we continue to use commercial email service for official SETI League communications.
New Business
- Next Meeting
  The next Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday 17 April 2016. The date has been verified as not in conflict with Easter, Passover, or US tax season. The meeting will be at Eventide, Inc. at 1300 hours EDT, to be followed immediately by the Board of Trustees meeting. The date and time will be announced to the membership via the website and newsletter. Arrangements for telepresence will be considered at a later date.
Good and Welfare
- The SETI League's Facebook page www.facebook.com/setileague has now generated 674 "likes", numerous member posts, and considerable discussion among members.
- Ms. Wood has upgraded The SETI League's applications software on her new Windows 8 laptop computer.
- Mr. Factor reported on the planned sales of his New Jersey properties, and Dr. Shuch reported on the successful sale of his late parents' California home.
Adjournment
The Annual Membership Meeting was adjourned by the Executive Director Emeritus at 13:22 hours EDT on 19 April 2015. A Regular Board of Trustees meeting followed.
Business Transacted by Board of Trustees:
1. Quorum Call
  Trustees and Officers present: A. Heather Wood, Richard Factor, H. Paul Shuch
  Trustees and Officers absent: Martin Schreiber
  A quorum is present.
2. Election of Officers
  The following slate of officers was retained for an additional one-year term:
  President - Richard Factor, serving without compensation.
  Secretary/Treasurer - A. Heather Wood
  Executive Director Emeritus - H. Paul Shuch, serving on a volunteer basis.
3. Personnel matters
  - No executive session was convened nor Personnel reviews conducted, as all persons involved expressed satisfaction with present performance and arrangements.
  - The Executive Director Emeritus reviewed with the Board of Trustees the previously adopted terms for cost-sharing of his health insurance premiums, as a program expense, which will continue at last year's level, pending availability of funds and subject to periodic review.
4. Annual Budget
  The draft 2015 Budget presented during the Membership Meeting was adopted.
5. Advisory Board
  The Executive Director Emeritus will draft an annual letter to our Advisory Board members, thanking them for their continued service to The SETI League.
6. Bank Fees
  The Secretary/Treasurer has an appointment pending with a business account manager at Bank of America, which will lead to termination of the bank account currently being used to process credit card payments. Arrangements are being made to accept credit cards through Square.
7. Registered Agent
  The New Jersey Division of Revenue requires that we designate a Registered Agent to execute certain state documents. Mr. Factor was previously appointed to this post, but is no longer a New Jersey resident. The Secretary/Treasurer will request that one of our New Jersey resident members take on this duty.
8. Press List
9. As the press corps has proved resistant to using Facebook as a means of disseminating SETI League information, the President will investigate reestablishing a SETI League press email distribution list.
10. Adjournment
  The Board of Trustees meeting was adjourned at 13:36 EDT.

email the
Webmaster

Top of Page