I. CALL TO ORDER

The first quarter meeting of the Dalmatian Club of America Foundation Board of Directors was called to order at 8:00 PM CST on Saturday, February 28, 2009, at the O'Hare Hilton Hotel, Chicago, IL, by President James W Smith. DCAF Directors present in addition to President Smith were Mrs. Norma Baley, Mrs. Sharon Boyd, Mr. John Cramer, Dr. J. Charles Garvin, Mrs. Meg Ispas-Hennessey, Mr. Rob Lawson, Mrs. Diana Skibinski, and Mrs. Sheila Wymore.

II. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

Minutes of the November 1, 2008 Foundation Meeting in Chicago, Illinois were distributed by e-mail and regular mail. No corrections were received. There being no further additions or corrections, the minutes stand as approved electronically by the board.

III. ELECTION OF DCAF DIRECTORS

President Smith led a discussion of the current list of Foundation Directors and recent resignations from same. A discussion of potential directors ensued. Mr. Lawson made a motion that Laura Lightholder, Mary Miller, and Connie Wagner be appointed to fill recent vacancies. Seconded by Mr. Cramer, the motion passed. Current Foundation Directors are now: Mrs. Norma Baley, Mrs. Sharon Boyd, Mr. John Cramer, Mrs. Margie Doane, Mr. C.E. Flock Jr., Dr. J. Charles Garvin, Mrs. Meg Ispas-Hennessey, Dr. Mary-Lynn Jensen, Mr. Robert Lawson, Ms. Laura Lightholder, Ms. Mary Miller, Ms Georgiann Rudder, Mr. Hal Shorr, Mrs. Diana Skibinski, Mr. James W. Smith, Ms. Julia Soukup, Ms Kathy Szomoru, Ms. Connie Wagner, and Mrs. Sheila Wymore.

IV. ELECTION OF DCAF OFFICERS

At this point in the meeting, President Smith relinquished the chair to Vice President Hennessey for the election of a president for 2009. Mrs. Hennessey opened the floor for nominations for the office of president. Mr. Lawson nominated Mr. James Smith, seconded by Mr. John Cramer. There being no further nominations, Mrs. Wymore made a motion to close the nominations and direct the secretary to cast a unanimous ballot for Mr. Smith as President. Seconded by Mrs. Boyd the motion passed.

Mrs. Hennessey then turned the chair back over to Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith opened the floor to nominations for the office of Vice President. Mrs. Boyd placed the name of Mrs. Meg Hennessey in nomination for the office of Vice President, seconded by Mr. Cramer. There being no further nominations, President Smith declared the nominations closed and suggested there be a ballot to unanimously elect Mrs. Hennessey as Vice President. Approved.

Mr. Smith opened the floor to nominations for the office of Secretary. Mrs. Hennessey placed the name of Mrs. Sheila Wymore in nomination for the office of Secretary, seconded by Mrs. Boyd. There being no further nominations, President Smith declared the nominations closed and suggested there be a ballot to unanimously elect Mrs. Wymore as Secretary. Approved.

Mr. Smith opened the floor to nominations for the office of Treasurer. Mrs. Wymore placed the name of Mr. Rob Lawson in nomination for the office of Treasurer, seconded by Mrs. Baley. There being no further nominations, President Smith declared the nominations closed and suggested there be a ballot to unanimously elect Mr. Lawson as Treasurer. Approved.

V. REPORTS FROM THE OFFICERS

A. President - Mr. Jim Smith.
Mr. Smith expressed his appreciation for the vote of confidence and stated that he hopes this will be his second and final year in office. It is his intent to have a program in place outlining our future direction and he hopes that next year’s election will bring a new president who can move us forward in achieving that goal.

B. Vice President - Meg Hennessey - No report.

C. Secretary's Report - Sheila Wymore -

The report details the activities of the DCAF secretary between 11/1/08 and 2/15/09.

Correspondence sent

• November meeting minutes compiled from audio files and emailed to the board members
  
• Approved November minutes sent to Julia Soukup for web site and Debbie Zink for Spotter inclusion
  
• February meeting notice sent to the Officers and Board of Directors by e-mail or regular mail
  
• Letters to Eva Berg and Ken Berg accepting their resignations and expressing our regret over their decision and thanking them for their years of service to the Foundation

Correspondence received

• Emails from board members acknowledging receipt of minutes with approval or corrections
  
• Letters of resignation from board members Eva Berg and Ken Berg
  
• Emails from the treasurer with information input for the donor lists as now maintained by the secretary

Other

• Began set up of the database for the new Standing Rules file
  
• Discussed with the Treasurer a method for relieving that office of some of the more tedious portions of receiving and recording donations. A plan was devised that would apprise the secretary of donors and donor amounts as well as directed donations, i.e., memorials, etc. Secretary will track these and forward information quarterly for inclusion in the Spotter. A method will also be devised to inform the secretary when a donor has reached the $100 level so secretary can mail out a Foundation pin.

D. Treasurer's Report - Rob Lawson -

Mr. Lawson submitted a written report to the Board with a Balance Sheet from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008 showing Assets/Liabilities of $334,251.32. The Income/Expense detail for the period January 1 through December 31, 2008 showed an excess of $19,404.09 income over expense.

Mr. Lawson submitted a second report with a Balance Sheet from January 1, 2009 through February 24, 2009 showing Assets/Liabilities of $332,898.83. The Income/Expense detail for the same period showed an excess of $1,352.49 of expense over income. This was due in part to a donation of $2,500 to the AKC-CHF in the first quarter of 2009.

In addition, Mr. Lawson summarized the investment portfolio, which has been adversely affected by an investment loss of $23,746.78. The Vanguard Money Account is yielding 2.75% interest, the Evans Bank CD is at 3.5%, and the Schwab account is declining parallel to the stock market.

IV. DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE REPORT - Julia Soukup

Ms. Soukup reported that the 2008 Gala Photo Gallery is up live and has been announced, with another reminder to RSVP for the 2009 event.

DCAF Gala Pre Top Twenty Party (Norma Baley/Rob Lawson)
Mr. Lawson reported that ticket sales are progressing, though at a somewhat slower pace than last year. Two e-blasts and two reminders on the e-lists are planned prior to the show to encourage participation. He did expect slower sales with the current economic situation, but reported that costs have also been reduced somewhat this year. The auction will take place at the Top Twenty intermission. Event is scheduled to start at 5:30 PM. Envelopes with name tags and drink tickets will be used to control entrance to the event.

DCAF Christmas Cards:
Summary to date:   Total sets of cards sold (116)- $2925.00; Artwork silent auction at National - $390.00; Artwork on Online Auction - $315.00; TOTAL INCOME: $3630.00 Startup - $3006.02; Postage - $275.65; Total Expenses - $3281.67
The good news is that we are past the break even point on this project and are in the black by $348.33. Anything we sell from now on will be pure profit minus the postage cost. We have approximately 383 sets left to sell. If we can get eBay set up for our non-profit status soon that would be great to target another market of Dal lovers. We will also offer for sale to the DCA membership as we get closer to Christmas again.

DCAF Online Auction:
The auction activities continue under the direction of Cinda Haff.

1. On-Line Auction Report - Cinda Haff
   Over the course of 2008 we received a number of nice donations items that were utilized in our auctions and remaining items were added to the future auction inventory. In Nov and Dec we ran multiple auctions in preparation for the gift giving season. All auctions were well received and bidding interest was good. In 2008 we received $865 in sales through the online auction facilities. Total sales were comparable to those received in 2007, which was a positive note based upon current economic considerations. We are planning new auctions in the near future and looking forward to 2009 online activities.

2. eBay Auction:
   Ms. Soukup reported that we still need to obtain non-profit status with eBay before we can start selling in that venue. We also need a credit card or bank account set up with eBay. Requirements have been given to the treasurer and hopefully we will be set up shortly to begin offering items for auction.

VII. GRANTS COMMITTEE REPORT - David Doane.

No action required at this time.

VIII. FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT - Rob Lawson

Any investment program the Foundation has at this point is on hold, riding out the storm in the marketplace. No action will be taken until such time as the market indicates it is on a permanent rebound

IX. OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS

1. Website - Julia Soukup
   Ms. Soukup reported on the following activities since the last meeting:
   Additions/updates since last report:
   • Add more keywords to Christmas Card page
     
   • Make PayPal buttons for Christmas Cards
     
   • PayPal button for General donations on contributions page
     
   • PayPal button for 2009 Gala
     
   • November Meeting Minutes, update Meeting menu page
     
   • New Online Auction Round /Online Auction Winners
     
   • Online Auction for Framed Christmas Artwork
     
   • Format Christmas Card html page for e-blast
     
   • Remove Betty Garvin free DVD banner and link
     
   • New DCAF logo on all pages
     
   • Auction Admin
     
   • New Auction Round/Post Winners
     
   • Put up new Gala 2009 Page, PDF’s,
     
   • Create Paypal button code for online donations
     
   • Gala 2009 banner and link
     
   • Update Board page
     
   • Update Committees
     
   • Update Pin Donor level banner and information
     
   • Re-index site for search feature
     
   • 2008 Gala Photo Galley & Information page
     
   • 2008 Photo Gallery banner and link on main page
     
   • Auction Admin emails
     
   • New Online Auction Round

   Projects in Progress:

   Redesign web site – in process, to be completed prior to this meeting date

VIII. OLD BUSINESS

1. Liskin Fund.

   The Liskin Foundation had contributed $5000 to DCAF, restricted to funding any projects pertaining to the LUA Dalmatians. With the recent turn of events, the Liskins have requested a refund of the monies remaining in the restricted account. Dr. Garvin made a motion to return the balance of those funds, $4200, to the Liskin Foundation. Seconded by Mrs. Skibinski. Discussion ensued and then a vote was taken. Motion passed unanimously.

2. Standing Rules

   Mrs. Wymore had reported earlier that the format has been developed and she is in the process of entering motions in the proper categories.

XI. NEW BUSINESS

1. A. Grant Request, DCA Health Clinics

   A thyroid committee comprised of Kelly Flannigan, Ginger Iwaoka, and Ann Smith was appointed at the last meeting. The committee is working diligently to establish protocols for a possible blood draw at the next specialty, to further the thyroid database for our breed.

XI. ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, Mrs. Hennessey made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 PM CST. Seconded by Mrs. Baley, the motion was approved

Respectfully Submitted,

Sheila Wymore
DCAF Secretary