[Cabs-talk] more explanations

[Deepa Goraya]

Sorry, I forgot to add a couple of things to my last explanations email. I just want to address the issues of the board meeting times and the retreat.

I would not have minded making the board meetings later to accommodate Terra because I knew she regularly attended church on Sunday evenings. However, a later time or a different day did not suit the majority of the board, and I had to do what was good for the majority. As far as canceling meetings sometimes, I only canceled if the majority of the board could not attend. I never canceled for just one person.

As far as spending money on a board retreat, we only have one retreat per term. Both times, I had the retreat at my house, so we did not have to pay for a hotel or food. We only spent money on air fair, which was for BJ and Miguel this year. We only spent about $300 on their air fair this year. I agree with BJ that board retreats are vital for CABS' success. We cannot have a united membership and succeed without first having a united board. At our retreat, the board gets a chance to bond and to get to know one another in person, and leaves the retreat feeling much more unified and with a common purpose. As BJ explained, we use our retreats to establish goals for the year, get organized, come up with fundraising and membership building ideas, etc. We followed NABS' example. NABS has a board retreat once a year as well, and it always turns out to be money well spent, which was our case both times as well.

Throughout the year, we have various fundraisers to raise money for membership recruiting and membership building activities. At the last state convention, we raised over $700 at our coffee mixer and we only spent $300 on our board retreat, which was less than half. I think this was very reasonable, and it helped us tremendously.

I'd be happy to address any more concerns/questions either on or off list if anyone has any more.

Thank you,

Deepa