The meeting was called to order by President Michele Martin. Also attending were Nancy Domaille, Ann Farnell, John Hunziker, Frank Iossi, Bill Kullback, Ann Larson, Veena Nayar, Joanne Swenson, and Dennis Wong.
Absent: Cynthia Daube, Ed Haskell, Phil Henoch, Paul Horgen, Leigh Johnson, Bill Jonason, Jean Michaels, Dave Nelson, and Cecelia Szurszewski.
Staff Present: Audrey Betcher, Acting Library Director; Kathy Olson, Administrative Assistant.
John Hunziker moved, Ann Larson second to approve the meeting minutes from July 26, 2000. Motion approved.
Audrey will be starting a monthly column in the Library News Bulletin titled Library's Change Lives. Staff are recruiting stories and we'll see how it goes.
The preliminary report from the consultant on the organizational study should be available in September.
Michele distributed packets of information on the event which is scheduled for Tuesday, October 10, at 3:00 p.m.
She has met with Peg Madke and Dave Nelson to finalize details of the event. A press release has been sent to the Mayo Source for October publication. In order to be published in the Source, we have to offer a discount to Mayo employees, which will be $2. We also will be allowed to place copies of the posters at the cancer center at Mayo.
Michele and Audrey met with Tim Burchill and, among other things, discussed this event. Wells Fargo has purchased 200 books and donated them to the Foundation for this event. Tim advised not charging more than the price of the book which is how we arrived at a ticket price of $20. Dave Nelson will introduce Hamilton Jordan. Mr. Jordan will speak for about 10-15 minutes and then will take time to sign books and converse with guests.
In the discussions with Tim, he made the comment that the Foundation should never provide a free event. The library provides many free events and programs; that is not the Foundation's purpose; its objective is as a fundraiser.
One idea discussed was to partner with cancer organizations and people could purchase a ticket to send someone from Ronald McDonald, Transplant House, Hope Lodge, American Cancer Society, etc. Michele will follow up on this; Bill will follow up with Hope Lodge. As we contact organizations about participating in donating tickets, Michele will contact Board members with information.
Nancy suggested that information be provided to the Chamber of Commerce and she will follow up on that.
Other suggestions for publicity included sending a poster to Olmsted Medical Center; try to get on schedule of morning radio programs; Channel 10, Mayo Civic Center billboard, Fairgrounds billboard; Simonize Car Wash billboard. The purpose is not only to sell tickets but also to get publicity for the Foundation. Ann Larson will make a contact about getting on the Fairgrounds billboard, and also contact Steve Skogen, KROC, and Bob Hughes, KNXR. Audrey will contact the Post Bulletin about getting an article. Ann Farnell indicated she would help distribute posters.
Each Board member was given 10 tickets. As Board members sell tickets, they should update Kathy weekly so that we know how many tickets have been sold, since we will also be selling tickets at the library. Bring money from tickets to next Board meeting or mail to Kathy. Our intent is that as people present their ticket at the event, they will get a copy of the book. If people are unable to attend the event, they can bring their ticket to the library administrative office to get their copy of the book.
John Hunziker and Michele will be meeting with the City Attorney to discuss turning these funds over to the Foundation.
We have drafted a letter requesting the opportunity to present a request for a permanent book fund; it will be mailed in early September.
In asking for a large gift from Mayo and the possibility of the bequest money currently managed by the City being turned over to the Foundation, the Foundation could potentially be managing a large sum of money. Michele has discussed with the Rochester Area Foundation the possibility of them managing the funds for us. If we were to do this, the funds become part of Rochester Area Foundation. The advantage to working with an agency like this is they work with professional money managers and negotiate a very affordable fee. The current managers are Resource Trust and investments are placed primarily through Wells Fargo and US Bank. It provides a foundation, structure, and discipline for investing.
There are pros and cons to this approach. It is one alternative for investing our funds. It's not the only alternative, but we should be aware of possibilities. If the Foundation were to do its own investing, we would need someone with the time and expertise to do so.
The Board indicated an interest in hearing a presentation from the Rochester Area Foundation at the next meeting.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Olson
Secretary Pro Tem