May 6th monthly GIAC meeting

1. Neil presented a brief web master report starting with membership. We lost 3 members due to non payment of monthly dues. When Neil stepped down he broke up the duties so a number of people could handle the job. Cathleen Cooney will be the Accounts manager for GIAC. Other tasks will be delegated to the ISP committee

2.  Director vacancy: We were short a director for the month until the annual elections so Ed James volunteered to step in and fill the position until then. An example the whole membership can follow.

3.  Presentation by CommWare Technologies our voice mail provider: Kathy Eckhardt fielded questions about the capabilities of our new voice mail system. This system was warranted by the increase of trouble calls to the president at late hours by calls that should have gone to the tech support we pay SigmaNet for. The system is TTY compatible and CommWare is willing to do the relay part of the system for those who need it.

4. Nomination Committee: Email and phone calls have been used to canvas the membership about our upcoming vacant Board of Director seats in the Annual election. We urge you to take part in the operational process of your CO-OP. If nobody comes forward and takes the time than nobody will benefit and we all lose a good thing that has been GIAC.

5. Audit Committee: The books have been closed out by our treasurer Chris Morris and a member volunteer Norma Van Allen has agreed to participate in the end of year audit.

6. Annual Report: The Board of Directors has been charged by the president to present their year end reports so the Annual report can be presented to the membership. Mailing of the billing coupons, member account statement and notification of the Annual Meeting should be done by May 15th. This will be a postal mailing. At this time every member should check their account to see if they have any discrepancy before the books are closed and you lose the opportunity for an adjustment. Notify us if you think your account is in error after you receive your statement.

7. ISP Committee: With all our current outages and technical hang-ups, the ISP committee has looked into fixing our problem. We should have this cleared up by the end of May. GIAC will also make a hard copy of documentation of procedures in all the positions so that anyone can fill a position comfortably and with the help of others, help the CO-OP. The ISP committee is also looking for people to give member support in the area of their expertise, be it Windows 3.1, Windows95 or 98 and especially Mac. Call us. Sometimes the new members and even the current members need help from time to time. It counts as VIP credit.

8. Answering Service: If you have a need to leave a message when E-mail won't do or you need the number for tech support call the GIAC voice mail at 301-614-8545. At times we will leave announcements for special occasions like holiday events or get togethers.

9. Classes: May's class will be on Internet Basics taught by Doug Love. We have been handicapped by the absence of a computer projector and lack of volunteers for new class topics. June's class will be a brainstorming session on what you as the membership and community would like to see presented. We need to ask the library if they have a computer projector in the system that is available. Also with regard to the projector, Bill Dupree is following up on vendors that Doug Love contacted at the F.O.S.E.show.

10. Backlog Items - Leadership: Webpage upkeep belongs to those individuals whose duties are associated with them. If you get the current information submit it for update.           The Secretary needs to send out meeting notices, minutes and have available forms and     reports. He or she needs to work closely with the president, account manager and webmaster to keep an accurate flow of communication. The Treasurer monitors the accounts so that service can be correct and corporation responsibilities take place. The Vice President does the class planning, class notices, volunteer coordination and at years end the audit report. This is why he or she needs volunteers to chop up the tasks. The President sets the agenda. He or she has the responsibility of making sure the jobs and role get performed. Not by doing them but by delegation.

11. Treasurer's Report: The Board has asked that the operating money be held out and the remainder put into an interest bearing certificate so as to help the build up toward equiptment such as a projector or needed items of operation. We sold our last shirt in stock at the meeting. We are paying our fees on time and our membership equity has increased. We are healthy financially but need volunteers to run the operation and stay that way.

12. Board Procedures: The Board voted formally to allow email voting. The board set up guidelines and actually used them on a trial vote before formally adopting them in this meeting. An override and transfer to a formal meeting can be done by the President if the subject matter warrants. The Board was asked that a Director be allowed the task of "Social Director" as it seems we need to get in touch with our members. A question arose wether this required a bylaw change but after review it was determined that the major officers had distributed the tasks amongst the Directors and this would be no different.The VIP Committee actions were tabled until after the election due to the upcoming election activities.We need to have a volunteer attend one of the Labor Day Festival  meetings posted in the news Review to see what we (GIAC) need to do. Also, we the Board want to especially thank members Nancy Allen for the wonderful effort she has done on the Membership packets and Laura O'Neil for writing the articles and announcements in the News Review.

            Respectfully submitted Bill Dupree Secretary Greenbelt Internet Access Cooperative

            Any errors or ommissions contact me at wtdupree@greenbelt.com