2021 Annual Meeting minutes

2021 annual meeting minutes

The annual meeting of Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, Inc. was held virtually on Monday, March 15, 2021. Board Chair Vandana Kapur presided over the meeting.

Chief Executive Officer Danielle Shockey welcomed everyone to the meeting and acknowledged that this is the second annual meeting in a virtual space and thanked everyone for their understanding during the pandemic. Danielle continued by stating she is proud of the council’s resilience to continue to serve girls, families, and volunteers, while keeping everyone safe and through quarantines and isolation, we have learned that we can efficiently conduct council business in an online environment.

Danielle continued by walking through the evening’s meeting agenda and introduced Board Chair Vandana Kapur.

Vandana called the meeting to order at 6:39 p.m. and stated that her second year as Board Chair of Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, Inc. was certainly memorable and expressed gratitude to Danielle and her team as they continued their work during the pandemic, particularly how quickly they pivoted to provide virtual programming online for girls and troops including many badge earning activities.

Vandana continued by presenting the council strategic goals that included: recruit and retain more members throughout the communities we serve; transform the volunteer experience; build a relevant brand to communicate the importance of Girl Scouts throughout central Indiana; diversify revenue sources to reduce reliance on cookie sales; ensure the maximum level of resources are focused on delivering high-quality, girl led experience throughout the council; and become a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization, mirroring the communities we serve.

Vandana recognized Board Secretary Jo Lynn Garing who defined the voting members as stated in the council’s bylaws and presented the credential report. Jo Lynn announced that 52 voting members were in attendance, representing 37 counties and quorum was reached.

Motion:

The meeting continued with Vandana requesting a motion to approve the 2020 annual meeting minutes as presented. The motion was seconded. Vandana continued by directing the voting membership to say aye or nay when asked to do so. With the majority vote, the 2020 annual meeting minutes were approved.

Vandana recognized Board Treasurer Beth Forman who presented the council’s financial report. Beth announced the council had received a clean audit on its financial statements and that its net assets increased to $10.5 million, of which $8.6 million is being held for future purposes per the donor’s request and $1.8 will support operations. Beth highlighted impacts on the council in 2020 that included a $7.1 million endowment grant from Lilly Endowment and a council requested loan of $1.1 million pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program that, subsequent to the fiscal year end, the loan was forgiven and will therefore not need to be repaid.

The financial report continued with Beth announcing that Girl Scouts of the USA suggests each council maintain operating reserves equal to at least 6-9 months of operating expenses and as of September 30, 2020, the council’s operating reserves were approximately 11 months. Beth concluded the council’s financial report with the statement that the council continues to dedicate the largest portion of revenues to program expense and in 2020, 80% of expenses provided programs for the girls we serve and the volunteers that assist and copies of the audited financial statements for this year and years past are available on the council’s website for easy review.

Vandana recognized Board Development Committee Chair Mary Azar Callahan. In accordance with the bylaws, Mary presented the single slate for the Board of Directors, the Members-at-Large, and the Board Development Committee.

Board of Directors-Members-at-Large:

Nominated for a one-year term ending 2022 Arlissa Dumas

Board of Directors-Members-at-Large:

Nominated for a two-year term ending 2022 Lina Hamashuk Jamison Slusher

Board of Directors-Members-at-Large:

Nominated for a three-year term ending 2024 Dr. Stacy Atkinson Dr. Chantee Eldridge Jennifer Ping Mary Azar Callahan Olivia Hawbaker Taryn Stone Abel Contreras Dr. Kathleen Marrs Catrina Tate

Board Development Committee, Members-at-Large:

Nominated for a two-year term ending 2023 Dr. Kathleen Marrs Lise Pace

Board Development Committee, Members-at-Large:

Nominated for a three-year term ending 2024 Mary Azar Callahan Cynthia Hobbs Denisse Jensen

Motion:

Vandana moved to accept the slate of nominees for the Board of Directors and the Board Development Committee as presented. Since this motion comes from a committee, a second motion was not required. Vandana added that elections shall be by ballot in contested elections and may be by voice or other means in uncontested elections and a plurality of votes cast shall elect. Since this was an uncontested election, Vandana continued by directing the voting membership to say aye or nay when

asked to do so. With the majority vote, the slate was elected as presented.

With no further business before the council, the business meeting concluded with Vandana thanking the voting membership for their critical involvement in this business portion of the annual meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 6:51 p.m.

Closing announcements followed from Danielle that included the celebration of volunteers in April during volunteer appreciation month on a Facebook live event and that county representatives will be invited to information sharing meetings throughout the year as the council continues to prioritize quarterly opportunities for conversation.

Respectfully submitted, Jo Lynn Garing Board secretary