Greetings NOWA members, NOWA continues to be strong and growing.
A month after our 2019 conference and the positive feelings continue to grow. Now NOWA is working on the 2020 conference. The tentative dates are April 30 through May 3. The location is the Shilo Inn in The Dalles, Oregon. In addition, NOWA members are looking for a 2021 conference site in Idaho.
Officers and Board Members
Our president, Ron Kerr, is undergoing chemo for the next few weeks, so send positive thoughts and prayers his way.
Bert Gildart was left off the list of new board members in my last report. He is filling John McFarland’s position until the term is complete in 2020.
Joe Warren was elected to fill a vacant position for a three-year term, ending in 2022.
Committees
EIC contests
Risa Wyatt and Dennis Dauble are reviewing the EIC rules and regulations. They will make recommendations for changes. Then, Dave Vedder and Alan Liere will conduct the EIC contests.
Constitution and Bylaws
Bob Mottram is the chair of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. His committee of Janie Gildart, Dennis Clay, Dave Kilhefner and Bert Gildart have met two times in teleconferences.
A new page will be placed on the website with the proposed changes for review. Members will be encouraged to discuss the changes, most likely on a group teleconference as this venue has worked very well in the past. Feel free to contact me by e-mail about the proposed changes. We can then arrange a one-on-one telephone call or the teleconference if needed. The membership will be able to vote on the changes in a few months.
Membership
Dennis Dauble is the chair of the membership committee. He is guiding Janie Gildart and me in an effort to call every member listed in the current directory about continuing or rejoining membership in NOWA.
Website, directory and newsletter
The NOWA website is destined to become our information hub.
This website will provide the information previously distributed in our monthly newsletter, containing this report, other committee reports, craft improvement articles and member news will also appear on the website.
Dave Kilhefner maintains this site and is working on the membership directory.
Finance
Dave also is the chairman of the finance committee. Other members of this committee include Ron Kerr, Peter Schroeder and Jeremy Johnson. Look for his report on the website.
Conference site selection
Dennis Dauble, chairman of the 2020 conference site selection committee, secured The Dalles, Oregon for our 2020 conference site.
We are looking for appropriate conference sites in Idaho for our 2021 conference.
The ultimate goal is for NOWA to receive requests from throughout our coverage area to hold our conference in certain communities. Perhaps this goal is beginning to come true. Look what arrived in my inbox on May 31:
Hello from sunny Yakima!
I wanted to inquire about hosting your 2022, or future, NOWA Conferences. The Yakima Valley has so much to do, see and experience outdoors and I believe your attendees would have an amazing time here.
Kelly Darbyson, Convention Account Manager, Yakima Valley Tourism
Here is my reply:
Greetings Kelly,
Great to hear from you. Your inquiry about the NOWA conference in the Yakima Valley is welcomed and will certainly be considered. Let’s look at our state rotation: The year: 2019, Washington; 2020, Oregon (The Dalles); 2021, Idaho; 2022, Montana; 2023, Washington.
Consider joining NOWA as a supporting member now and attending the conferences until Washington is available again. As a supporting member you will be able to contact our members and provide press releases for our website.
Anxious to visit with you about the conference possibility.
Best, Dennis NOWA Vice President
Kelly indicated she would become a supporting member. Will guide her in this direction and attending our future conferences.
Board meetings
The board of directors held a teleconference meeting on Thursday, June 6, from 6 to 7 p.m. Bob Mottram was the acting chairman pro tem. Instead of going into detail here, the minutes will be produced on this website for all to see.
We will schedule and hold a board meeting every month. The meetings will be short, an hour or less.
Electronic voting
OWAA uses electronic voting. This avenue is being pursued as a way to save NOWA money, as mailing ballots will not be necessary. Basically, each member’s e-mail address gets one vote. The program allows only one vote be cast from the address.
Qualifications
OWAA also has simplified qualifications for the various categories for membership. They also don’t use a committee to approve the qualifications for membership. NOWA is also exploring these possibilities. More later.
Questions/comments?
The board is open to any and all questions and comments. Open dialogue is encouraged, as are e-mails and telephone calls between members.
What did I forget? Let me know.
Dennis
NOWA vice president