EXECUTIVE BOARD MINUTES (Executive Council) DECEMBER 12, 2020 by Amanda Ryan-Fear, Secretary ATTENDING (ZOOM): Joe Eberhardt, President; Aimee Filimoehala, Vice President; Rick Amodeo, Treasurer; Amanda Ryan-Fear, Secretary; Jesse Applegate, Reena Clements, Lori Coyner, Judith Baker, Bob Breivogel, Sarah Bradham, Acting Executive Director; Mathew Brock, Library and Historical Collections Manager; Lynny Brown, Guest. WELCOME & CALL TO ORDER ■ The meeting was called to order at 4:02 p.m. by President Joe Eberhardt. Joe noted a quorum was present. REVIEW & APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES Joe Eberhardt asked for approval of October meeting minutes. Minutes were approved by consensus of the board. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT ■ Sarah opened her report with a review of the budget. She echoed Rick’s assessment that both revenue and expenses are down overall. Sarah noted that membership is currently the top concern. Renewals for October and November were on par with previous years, but once the $10 late fee went into effect, the number of renewals dropped off. She let the board know that in an effort to get people to renew, the $10 fee would be dropped for five days. Fifteen people had thus far taken advantage of the amnesty window. ■ Another cause of low revenue has been low activity numbers. The two-week pause put in place by the State of Oregon in early November effectively froze the few hikes and activities on the schedule. ■ On the upside, individual donations are up over previous years. Overall the Mazamas needs to raise $102,000 in individual donations for the fiscal year. Sarah and Laura Burger, Development Coordinator, are working on several donation campaigns. Noting the success of the Yeti tumbler donor gifts, they are looking for additional gifts. ■ Sales of the Rab jackets have been good. Sarah noted that the jackets are a better 28 MAZAMAS
revenue generator for the organization than lower priced items, such as t-shirts. ■ The Equity Statement has been published and thus far, while some members have taken issue with the use of the term white supremacy, the majority of feedback has been positive. ■ An issue with a climb leader and the spring BCEP program has been worked out. Sarah asked the board that if a member or committee comes to the board with an issue, they need to make sure to let her know so that she is aware of the issue and can take proactive steps to resolve the issue. ■ Sarah remarked that there is an issue with BCEP every year. It is a large program, with lots of volunteers and moving parts. In the past aggressive behavior on the part of climb leaders and some volunteers has resulted in some members and volunteers walking away. ■ Sarah shared her belief that most of the issues surrounding BCEP involve communication. She stated that the organization needs to lead with positive reinforcement instead of negative reinforcement. EDUCATION PRICING ■ Sarah presented on Education Programs Pricing. ■ The Mazamas must evaluate tuition for our educational programs. ■ To the best of our knowledge, there has never been a comprehensive pricing plan or structure, and past increases have not been tied to actual costs or inflation. ■ The Mazamas consistently undervalues its programming and tends to focus more on the amenity of the class rather than the outcomes. ■ Sarah remarked that raising prices has been an ongoing item of discussion for a number of years, but no structure has been implemented for evaluating tuition of current programs and new programs. She stressed that we have an opportunity to rethink all aspects of our educational programs and need the board to be actively involved in that discussion and process.
■ Discussion: ■ Aimee noted that ICS is a barrier to growth. It’s a high involvement, low return program. ■ Sarah noted that the three community surveys over the past twenty years have consistently shown that the Mazamas are not meeting the needs or desires of the members or community. ■ Jesse asked if we’ve ever done a post-class survey to understand why members don’t take classes. ■ Judith remarked that there are segments of the community (women, single parents, workers who have unpredictable schedules) who simply can’t take a class like ICS because they cannot commit to the ninemonth time frame. She advocated for breaking up ICS into smaller components. ■ Bob recommended that the Mazamas consider an approach more like college classes, where we offer individual classes and members mix and match the classes to earn “degree” with similar outcomes to ICS, AR, etc. MELANATED MAZAMAS Melanated Mazamas Update, Lynny Brown ■ Overall the group is off to a good start, with 51 members in their Facebook group. They have written one article for the Bulletin. Roughly twenty people have attended their three Zoom meetings. They have created four goals for the group going forward: ■ Build community through events ■ Increase the number of BIPOC members, leader, and mentors. ■ Create opportunities for BIPOC to join the Mazamas and stay. ■ Influence the culture of the Mazamas to be more open, equitable, and diverse. ■ Discussion ■ Joe noted that the board needs their input to help drive cultural change within the organization. ELEARNING UPDATE ■ Claire Nelson gave an overview of the current efforts to use eLearning tools within the Mazamas.
