Learning Unlimited Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
October 18, 2016

Present: Gerry Keating, John Bonsall, Loretta Fines, John MacMillan, Audra Hudek, Ann McElhinney, John Page, Roger Weaver, Shirley Hartt
Regrets: Glenn Yaffee

1. Called to order by Gerry Keating at 12:25 pm

2. Approval of minutes of last Meeting:
The minutes of the March 22, 2016 meeting were not available and will be followed up at the next meeting
3. Business arising from the minutes:
None
4. Correspondence:
None
5: B.O.D. Meeting Schedule for the 2016-2017 year
On the 2nd Tuesday of each month
The date of the AGM is to be announced

6. Treasurer’s Report:

Oct 2016 Financial Report

– Financial Statement as of September 30, 2016 – Attached
– The Budget will be available for the November meeting
– The treasurer requested ideas for possible improvements to the program as funds were available.

There was a Discussion and the following suggestions were made:
– that a sound technician be consulted regarding the feedback that is

being experienced with the sound system on the stage.
– that the capacity of the lectures might be increased by the use of a

video link to another room. This will be investigated

– John Page expressed thanks to Roger Weaver for passing on the information about the insurance that is available through TAN. LU is now enrolled in their D&O coverage and will compare their plan with our present Liability insurance which is due January 1, 2017.

7. Committee Reports:

7.1 Audio Visual

– John MacMillan advised that all A/V volunteers are returning for another year. In late September, we tested all our equipment, and all is working. We do not

anticipate major purchases in the coming year: just routine expenses, such as batteries.
– There was the suggestion that it might be useful to acquire some expertise on internet downloads

– The possibility of enhancing the WiFi availability in the building was discussed 7.2 Curriculum – Report Attached

7.3 Registration – Report Attached
– There were 55 new members in the recent registration. This represents 10% of the membership
– Pre-registrants now register themselves
– See recommendations in the report. A motion on the registration parameters will be prepared for the next meeting.

7.4 Social

– One time circumstances caused a delay in the refreshment this morning. This has been remedied.
– It was decided to purchase an additional coffee percolator.
– Some volunteer positions still need to be filled.

7.5 Third Age Network – Report Attached
Moved that the LU Board authorize paying for up to five members of the board to attend the TAN Symposium at Ryerson University on May 17, 2017.
Moved by Roger Weaver
Seconded by Loretta Fines
Motion passed.

7.6 Nominations Committee

– The board will vote on the composition of the committee at the next meeting.

8. New Business:

– “Housekeeping” Announcements have been moved to after the lectures to change the timing which would allow the refreshment ladies to hear more of the lecture.
– In the case of the speaker finishing early it was decided to invite the members to remain in their seat and chat until the refreshments are ready

– It was decided that job descriptions should be for produced for all board positions and Committee members and that a consistent format be used so that this information could be put on the website. Discussion of these job descriptions should be held with board members to record any overlap in duties from one committee to another.

John Bonsall suggested that the contact list on the website be reduced to perhaps two and that those contacts be maintained either by forwarding or monitoring the mail box.

Proposed By-law Revisions

• –  Roger thanked the other members of the By-law committee (John Bonsall and Glen Yaffee) for the amount of work done on the revision.
• –  John outlined the process that was used and a suggestion was made that a footer be added to each page of the by-laws identifying the document and the date along with the page number.
• –  It was suggested that the possibility of an email vote might be an addition to the constitution
• –  Those present reviewed clause 1 through 8
• –  It was suggested that a parliamentary authority be added to clause 7fhowever it was decided to leave the clause as written.
• –  Two issues to be looked into further are the process for changing the name ofthe organization and the use of the word “audit” in reference to the financial oversight in place.9. Next Meeting: November 8, 2016
  10. Meeting Adjourned by Gerry Keating at 2:05 pmApprovedon …November8,2016…………….Secretary ….AnnMcElhinney………… President ….GerryKeating…….

  REPORTS:
  Curriculum Committee Report
  The Committee met on Sept. 15, 2016.
  The Chair reported that Sybil Finlay’s resignation from the Committee had been accepted and Sybil was thanked for her years of service.
  A policy was adopted that 3 consecutive absences without extenuating circumstances of a member at Committee meetings constitutes a resignation. This policy affected Committee member Al Graham and he was informed of the change.
  The Committee recommended advertising for new Committee members on the website. Applicants would be requested to submit a brief resume and be prepared to suggest and pursue topics for series.

  Winter 2017 Courses
  History of the Blues Dr. Rob Bowman
  Places of Blue: Moments of Humanity in a Turbulent Century Bob Douglas Making a Name for Ourselves Tim Nau and David Clandfield

  Fall 2017
  The Soviet Experiment

Great Concertos Art and Politics

Submitted by Shirley Hartt, Chair

Registrar’s Report October 2016

The fall 2016 registration was a success. The website performed without a hitch and the small number of emails to the Registrar and Webmaster concerned issues connected to individual account and PayPal information not problems with the website. All the Tuesday spaces were taken before 10:30 on the first regular registration day on Friday September 23. Registration for the Wednesday and Thursday courses was much slower and even though the second registration day on September 30 was kept open until Thursday October 6 we still have 18 spaces available on Wednesday and 38 spaces on Thursday.

In an attempt to fill these spaces all existing registrants were emailed on Friday October 14 to let them know that registration will be reopened on Monday October 17 until Friday October 21. Lecture promotion from the stage before each lecture is also planned.
This was the first time that registration was opened for a specific pre-registration period so that rather than the previous labour intensive process, eligible members were able to pre-register themselves. The process worked well and as a result I propose that the Board consider extending pre-registration eligibility as follows:
1. Replace the rigid age 90 criteria for preregistration with an extension of pre- registration to all members who have attended LU for 25 years or longer plus those that we know are 90 or more but who have attended for less than 25 years. We often don’t know when a member attains the age of 90 but we do know how long they have attended LU. There are 14 members who fall into this category, many of whom we know are also over 90.

2. Extend the pre-registration privilege to all volunteers not just the social volunteers. This would add 8 people to the 18 social volunteers.
If these changes are made, it would automatically extend the pre-registration privilege to the spouses and partners of all volunteers including board members and the 25 year plus members. Based on the experience over the past 2 or three years the best estimate of how many people this would add is no more than about 20, especially as we insist that these spouses and partners, who are physically capable, must be prepared to arrive by 9:30 to act as door monitors. In total, these changes would probably increase the number of pre-registrants from the 19 in the latest registration to no more than about 50 or about 9% of all registrants.

Third Age Network October 18, 2016

Three members of LU attended a TAN “lunch and learn” at the North York YMCA in May. We learned that there are now 28 member groups with two of them being new start-up groups, Markham and Thornhill.

Of particular benefit to our group is the opportunity to participate in a group insurance plan. John Page is following up on this.

I have received two requests for assistance from new groups regarding speakers and lecture topics.

TAN is holding a Symposium at Ryerson University May 17, 2017. The keynote speaker is Dr. Andree-Ann Cyr. who will discuss new research which we may use to enhance the learning programs we provide to our members. Dr. Cyr conducts research on the effects of normal aging on learning and memory.

The keynote address will be followed by workshops. Topics include Enticing Communication (websites,newsletters,video conferencing), Board Development (rules and regulations, attracting, recruiting and training board members) and Beyond the Classroom (marketing, keeping members involved, trips,tours, social events).

I would ask that the board authorize paying for up to 5 members of the board to attend this symposium.
Submitted
Roger Weaver