JANUARY 28, 1994 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

5

New Center board seated

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tion to propose their own candidates from the floor and gain control of the board. Center Executive Director Judy Rainbrook arranged for a controlled voting procedure, permitting absentee voting and issuing official ballots with space to enter floor-nominated candidates-only to paid up Center members. The procedures were more stringent than in the past, when board elections typically meant automatic approval of nominees by the membership.

However, when it came time to nominate from the floor, only one name was proposed which then had to be withdrawn. The board had decided that all candidates needed to answer several questions, but the suggested individual was not present at the meeting to respond. All of the Nominating Committee's choices had answered in the affirmative to the questions about fundraising commitment, being out, legal responsibility, combatting discrimination and resolving conflict.

During the next hour, members posed questions to the seven nominees present. (Geslin had a commitment and did not arrive until later that evening.) Three of the candidates, Balcerzak, Brigid and Robertson, self-identified as members of the feminist group SOAR (Stopping Oppression and Racism). People of color included Foote, Lowery, Stokes and Williams. The total slate consisted of four women and four men.

Throughout the evening, their most frequent comments were about how the Center has the potential to serve the entire community, but that it needs more focus on and representation from the women's and people of color communities. All reiterated their commitment to overcome the obstacles of a diverse decision making group and respect each other's viewpoints.

When members asked questions about the candidates' fundraising and volunteering experience, the answers varied from heavy involvement to novice. Perhaps the most interesting responses were to the question of what knowledge and involvement the male candidates had with the women's community, and what the women knew of the men's. Foote, Lowery and Stokes admitted that they have had little to no involvement but want to. Foote also said he knows "a lot" about women's issues. Robertson, who was the Center's executive director for more than two years, learned about the men's community then. Williams said it was her personal choice not to know about the men's community before, but now wanted to grow in a different way. Balcerzak said "99 percent" of what she learned has been since the September 1993

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After the discussion period ended, votes were cast. Members could vote yes or no to each of the eight names. The acting board secretary, Al Cowger, had determined that a quorum existed and that 31 votes constituted the majority necessary for election. There were four absentee ballots included in the voting. Announcements were made while the votes were tallied and president pro tem Organ then announced that all eight candidates had been elected.

They joined the existing trustees: Organ, Cowger, Scott Bibbs, Peggi Cella, Thomas Isabel, Bill Potoczak, and Bill Tregoning, to raise the number to 15. Currently the bylaws permit a maximum of 19 board positions.

The following Tuesday, January 18, the board held its regular monthly meeting and elected its officers. Organ was chosen as president, Isabel as first vice president, Cella as second vice president, Potoczak as treasurer, and Cowger as secretary. All of the votes were unanimous.

Much of the board meeting was devoted to organizational issues: naming board members to chair committees, discussing the format and date of a day-long retreat, and scheduling future board meetings. During the retreat, trustees plan to discuss and recommend changes to the bylaws. The board also voted to provide up to $1,000 for Cella to attend the National Black Gay and Lesbian Conference in New Jersey, February 17-21. In closed executive session, the board discussed its fiscal agent arrangement with Stonewall 25-Ohio, and then voted to rescind it. Trustees who are also members of SOAR requested from the board a testimonial letter of support that would be submitted with SOAR's grant application to the Women's Community Federation. With these members abstaining, the remaining board members approved the request.

The standard term for board members is three years. With the marked increase in the number of trustees, and the requirement that one-third of the board be elected each year, the new members had to decide whether their terms would expire in 1994, 1995 or 1996. Robertson and Stokes chose October 1994; Foote's term ends in 1995; Balcerzak, Brigid, Geslin, Lowery, and Williams have terms which last until 1996. For the veteran board members, the terms of Bibbs, Cella, and Isabel end in October of this year. In 1995 the terms of Cowger, Organ, Potoczak, and Tregoning expire.

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