Juneau World Affairs Council Board Meeting
Monday, October 30, 2006

Board Members present: Bruce Botelho, Elfrida Nord, Bob Storer, Jocelyn Clark, Alan McCabe, Tom Lane, Bob Schroeder, Linda Kruger, Doug Mertz, Dave Sturdevant. Bruce chaired the meeting and Tom Lane took minutes. Dave Moe and Tom and Hildegard Regale also attended. Members approved the agenda. Minutes for the August board meeting were not available; minutes of the September 25 Committee of the Whole meeting were provided to board members.

Treasurer's Report: Bob Storer reported that the bank balance was $6,826.07, but Tom Lane and Bruce Botelho needed to be reimbursed for speaker travel expenses. No new memberships were received.

Committee Reports
Program: Doug Mertz passed out a speaker status report. Committed speakers include Peter Gishuru (Importance of Africa, Nov. 8); Farah Killidar (Iraq, at JWAC annual meeting); Melinda Kimble (UN Foundation, Nov. 29); Desmond Dinan (European Union, Dec. 13); William Hansen (World Peace via World Law, March 7); Greg Bowles (Sustainable Harvest International, March 18); Jim Nafziger (International Law, April 18); John Kenneth Knaus (Tibet struggle for Survival, April 25); Jill Robinson (Torture of Asian Bile Bears, May 10). Other possible speakers: new Sudanese ambassador (Note: now set for Dec. 6); speaker on North Korea (per Jocelyn Clark); human rights issues (per Bruce); Israeli-Palestine relations (per Bob Schroeder); Paul Barker, Steve Pomeranz and others. Doug said that goal was to have one or two good speakers a month.

Special Events: Bruce said that the JWAC WorldQuest 2007 would be held Friday January 19, 2007 at Centennial Hall, with catering by The Twisted Fish/Hangar. Bob Storer will take the lead finding donations for the fundraiser. Elfrida will assist with ticket sales. Diane Tschingi could help prepare quiz questions, but can’t take the lead; Dave volunteered to work on them.

Outreach: Bruce said that a woman had expressed interest in assisting the JWAC webmaster for $15/hr. A motion was approved to authorize her to do so. Elfrida said that she had been e-mailing event notifications to members. Leslie Longenbaugh has been taking care of PSAs. Dave produces the posters for speaker events and Bob Storer has been distributing them.

Tuesday Night Travelogue: Nov. 14--Mary Miller on Honduras and Guatemala; Dec. 5—Carpeneti’s on Khabarovsk, Russia; Cathy Palmer on Turkey (date unknown).

Unfinished and New Business
The annual meeting is set for noon, Sat. Nov. 18 at the Baranof Hotel. Farah Killidar, Alaska World Affairs Council Executive Director, will speak on Iraq, her native country, where she worked for some time after the invasion. Alan McCabe, Sally Willson, and Jim Powell will be leaving the board. Leslie Longenbaugh and Bob Schroeder would like to renew their terms, as would Fred Gaffney, but not as Vice President. The board concurred with Bruce’s recommendation of David Moe, Renee Gayhart, and Tom Regale as possible new board members. Recommended officers are: Bruce Botelho (President), Leslie Longenbaugh (Vice President), Tom Lane (Secretary), Bob Storer (Treasurer).

The Juneau World Affairs Forum will be focused on Latin America and will take place May 11-12, 2007 at the Baranof Hotel. Bruce recommended participation at the national World Affairs Councils of America conference. The board authorized payment for airfare, hotel and registration fees for Bruce and Leslie to attend the conference.

Several individuals recommended the purchase of a projector and laptop for JWAC programs. Bob Storer said that he could store the equipment. Estimated costs of the projector were $750-800; Jocelyn Clark had some concerns about cost and recommended checking with “TechSoup” which supplies electronics to non-profits. There was general assent to purchase the equipment; Bob Schroeder and Doug Mertz agreed to review and recommend equipment.

Linda Kruger said that she had attended a meeting for the “old” Pacific Rim Forum. This year’s focus would be on culture, community, and environment. Jocelyn felt that the group was starting from scratch and not drawing on previous experience. There was no international focus and a lack of clarity about what they wanted to do. She recommended against JWAC participation.

Next Meeting: A brief board meeting is scheduled immediately following the annual meeting.

Current Board Members (Prior to Annual Meeting)

*Member does not wish another term or is resigning