Minutes of the Annual Meeting Tucson Community Meditation Center

April 26, 2008   1:00 pm at the TCMC Center

Board Members Present:  Blake Ashley, Chuong Tran, Steve Villaescusa, Debra Raeber, Terry Magee, Frank Tomizuka, Blake Barton

The meeting began with a short silent sit. 

Blake Ashley opened the meeting with a talk about the highlights of the past year.  (See attachment)  TCMC now offers many classes as well as non-residential and residential retreats.  There has been steady improvement in every area.  Blake mentioned Ying's contribution to the center as Facilities Manager.  The center is in excellent physical shape both inside and out due to Ying organizing work days and contributing many hours to improving the center.  Blake also expressed thanks to the library committee for organizing and helping our selection of books and CDs grow.  He also mentioned that our website has matured and has become even more useful as an outreach tool due to the talented members who have worked on it. 

Financial Report:  Steve Villaescusa, our treasurer, gave us a financial report for the past year.  Our income before expenses was up significantly this year, around 90%.  The biggest increase was from donations from members received during the classes and programs TCMC offers.  Our net income this year was $5,221.02, compared to last year where we were at a breakeven point.  TCMC has been able to meet our expenses. Steve thanked everyone who has worked so hard to make the center a success.    See attached Financial Report.

Blake Ashley mentioned that when the board decided to move the center we didn't really know if we could make it financially.  It has turned out to be a marvelous success because of the support members have given.

A special tribute was made to Mary McWhorter who attended the meeting.  Mary is one of the original founders of TCMC nearly 25 years ago and was very much key to everything that TCMC made available to its members for many many years.  We presented Mary with a bouquet of flowers and Mary spoke to us about some of the past retreats and remembrances that she has about TCMC.  Mary also told us that she will be moving to Logan, Utah on May 18^th, but she promises to come back and visit us.

Della Estrada and Terry Magee will not be continuing on the board and the members paid them both a special tribute and a big thank you.  They were presented with cards and gifts from the members and bouquets of flowers.  Lhasha Tizer also will not be continuing on the board but she was not present at the meeting.  We will present her with a gift and card from the members at a later date.

A special thank you was given to Hisayo Suzuki for all of the work she has given to the center.  Wanda presented her with a bouquet of flowers.

Environmental Arts Committee:  Pam Ballingham asked if it would be okay to call the new committee we tentatively named Decorating Committee the Environmental Arts Committee instead.  She is working with Linda Bacon on the interior space of the center and has asked anyone who is interested to let her know.  They would like more members to be involved in coming up with ideas for the meditation hall to bring to the board. 

Bruce Latta complimented the board on all the work they have done over the past year. 

A member asked about leaving donations at the center.  She explained that at a Culadasa class she was unsure whether to write a check directly to Culadasa or to TCMC and wondered how the funds are distributed.  Blake Barton explained that the donations TCMC receives are divided between the center and the teacher, with the center receiving 40% and the teacher 60% of the donation after TCMC pays the teacher expenses such as gasoline.

Culadasa asked us to mention that he is available every Friday morning at the center for sits at 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30am.  These are 45 minute sits with 15 minutes of walking meditation in between.  Culadasa is available in between for interviews.

Voting for board members:  Wanda Poindexter who headed the Nominations Committee explained that over the past few months she and Sheryl Norris have been working on gathering nominations for the board and refining the process by which board members are elected.  One thing the committee learned was that it is difficult to get members to agree to run for the board. 

Wanda handed out ballets and members voted for 8 board members.  There are actually 9 seats available, but there were only 8 members who agreed to be nominated.  When the votes were counted those 8 members were elected, or re elected to the board as follows:  Blake Ashley, Blake Barton, Linda Bacon, Ying Lin, Debra Raeber, Frank Tomizuka, Chuong Tran, Steve Villaescusa

Wanda also encouraged members to volunteer for committees at TCMC and to think about serving on the board in the future. 

Wanda also raised the idea of TCMC finding an intern from the U of A to help us organize past papers and help create an archive for us.

Blake Ashley recognized Rita Rosenberg, a long time TCMC member and the leader of our Sunday morning sits at the center as well as a sit at her home on Monday evenings. 

Pam Ballingham thanked Bruce Latta for setting up the hospitality center in the kitchen which is always well stocked with tea and snacks. 

The meeting was adjourned at 2:00.  Linda Bacon wasn't able to attend the meeting but sent us a delicious carrot cake which was served with tea and lemonade.