(2/24/03) NW/P CC Representative Bill Oliver presented the following motion:

"I move that the AB instruct the NC that before we entertain any request for the removal of any State Coordinator that we finish due process a set forth by the NC, to wit: the SC finishes his statements, that his counsel be given the opportunity to speak, the AB gets to ask questions, and finally decide if there is cause. And, further, that such a motion here be asked for only if the AB finally determines if there is cause."

The motion was numbered 03-04. Discussion ensued.

The motion failed with 5 "yes" votes, 6 "no" votes, no abstentions, and 1 member not voting. (3/5/03)

Those voting YES: Jan Cortez, Bill Oliver, Karen Mitchell, Tim Stowell, Phyllis Rippee

Those voting NO: Vicki Shaffer, Tina Vickery, Robert Bremer, Jimmy Epperson, Larry Flesher, Jana Black

Those abstaining: none

Those not voting: Teresa Lindquist

Additional Comments:

NC Harrison ruled the motion out of order. Mr. Oliver appealed the ruling, which was subsequently overturned. Those voting to sustain the NC's ruling were T. Vickery, J. Black, V. Shaffer and J. Epperson. Those voting to overturn the ruling were J. Cortez, K. Mitchell, T. Stowell, L. Flesher and P. Rippee.

(3/6/03) SW/SC CC Representative Jana Black presented the following motion:

"I move that the AB direct the Elections Committee to conduct a special election to determine the will of the GAGenWeb Project members regarding the removal of the GAGenWeb State Coordinator."

The motion was numbered 03-05. Discussion ensued.

The motion failed with 5 "yes" votes, 0 "no" votes, 0 abstentions, and 7 members not voting. (3/12/03)

Those voting YES: Vicki Shaffer, Tina Vickery, Jimmy Epperson, Larry Flesher, Jana Black

Those voting NO: none

Those abstaining: none

Those not voting: Teresa Lindquist, Robert Bremer, Jan Cortez, Bill Oliver, Karen Mitchell, Tim Stowell, Phyllis Rippee

Additional Comments:

The motion failed for lack of a quorum.

(3/15/03) NW/P CC Representative Bill Oliver presented the following motion:

"I move that the EC be directed to poll the CCs of the SE/MA region offering the names of these volunteers as those that the members of that region may choose from at the earliest date possible following approval of this motion. The results be forwarded to the AB and the AB to confirm the people's candidate of choice or select a candidate of their own choosing."

The motion was numbered 03-06. Discussion ensued.

The motion passed with 8 "yes" votes, 3 "no" votes, no abstentions, and 1 members not voting. (3/19/03)

Those voting YES: Tina Vickery, Robert Bremer, Jan Cortez, Bill Oliver, Karen Mitchell, Tim Stowell, Larry Flesher, Phyllis Rippee

Those voting NO: Vicki Shaffer, Jimmy Epperson, Jana Black

Those abstaining: none

Those not voting: Teresa Lindquist

Additional Comments:

The NC, Mr. Harrison, has instructed the Election Committee to conduct the poll as soon as possible.

(3/20/03) NW/P CC Representative Bill Oliver presented the following motion:

"I move that the EC be directed to poll the NW/Plains region for candidates for the open position of SC Rep., poll eligible voters for their choice of candidates, in order that the AB may receive the names of those that the members of that region may choose from at the earliest date possible following approval of this motion. The results to be forwarded to the AB and the AB to confirm the people's candidate of choice or select a candidate of their own choosing."

The motion was numbered 03-07.

The motion passed with 8 "yes" votes, no "no" votes, 2 abstentions, and 3 members not voting. (3/24/03)

Those voting YES: Tina Vickery, Robert Bremer, Jan Cortez, Bill Oliver, Karen Mitchell, Tim Stowell, Larry Flesher, Phyllis Rippee

Those voting NO: none

Those abstaining: Vicki Shaffer, Jana Black

Those not voting: Teresa Lindquist, Jimmy Epperson

Additional Comments:

None.

(3/1/03) NC Harrison announced:

Seven qualified members responded to the request for volunteers to fill the vacancy for the balance to the SEMA CC Representative:

Kelly Blizzard
Margie Daniels
Heather DeGeorge
Noel C. Matthews
Tom Parker
Angie Rayfield
Bettie Wood

Additionally, one not qualified member responded:

Diane Kelly, who is not in good standing in NCGWP where she previously served as a CC.

(3/1/03)

The Grievance Procedures Special Committee was established on November 24, 2002, by National Coordinator Richard Harrison, and charged "... with developing a set of procedures for the AB to use to resolve grievances, including evaluation of and changes to the current mediation procedures." The committee members appointed were: Jimmy Epperson, temporary chair, Ron Eason, Larry Flesher, Joe Miller, Tina Vickery, Richard Harrison, ex officio member and Roger Swafford, consultant member. On December 12, 2002, Ron Eason was selected Chair by the Grievance Procedures Special Committee.

Due to the resignation of Ron Eason from the USGenWeb Project Advisory Board, Richard Harrison, National Coordinator, appointed Tina Vickery as the temporary chair of the Grievance Procedures Committee on February 17, 2003. Tina was subsequently selected chair of the Committee. On February 21, Joe Miller resigned his position on the USGenWeb Project Advisory Board. Richard Harrison has solicited additional Advisory Board members to serve on this committee and to date none have been appointed.

Discussion to date has focused on existing references within the USGenWeb Project for resolving grievances and mediation procedures. Existing references include: The USGenWeb Project Bylaws, http://www.usgenweb.org/official/bylaws.html; and the Mediation Process http://www.usgenweb.org/mediation/mediation.html.

At the request of the committee chair and subsequent approval of the Committee, Ellen Pack was invited to participate in the committee's discussions and questions pertaining to the Mediation Process. Ellen was instrumental in drafting this process, and was welcomed by the committee on February 26, 2003.

As the USGenWeb Project is also governed by Parliamentary Procedure, the committee has also been presented Grievance and Appeal Procedure http://home.mchsi.com/~sagitta56/GaP.htm to aid in our discussions. The work and the discussions of the committee continues, and it is our hope that with the above references in mind, to facilitate a thoughtful discussion and preparation of our charge to develop a set of procedures for the Advisory Board to use to resolve grievances.

Respectfully submitted,

Tina Vickery, Chair
Grievance Procedures Special Committee

(3/3/03)

Mr. NC and AB Colleagues:

The Procedures Committee was formed to develop Standing Procedures to be followed by the Advisory Board as it conducts Project business.

Bill Oliver was named Chair of the committee.

Several suggestions for items to consider have been presented by member Phyllis Rippee. These are still under consideration at this time.

Two items that have been agreed upon by the committee are:

A. A restatement of the accepted parliamentary authority being the 4th Edition of "The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure" by Alice Sturgis.

It is believed by the majority of the committee that the rules of procedure adopted by the AB should be posted together. This is the reason for the repeat.

B. AB meetings will be held as regular session from 12:01 AM Monday, CST through 11:59 PM Saturday, CST. Persons desiring to vote or post on Sundays are free to do so, however, no votes shall end or be declared as passed or failed on Sunday.

This second proposed rule will be presented to the AB for approval/disapproval at the appropriate time.

Currently, our Chairman is temporarily "out of order" and has asked that I serve until he is ready to resume his position.

Respectfully submitted by

Phyllis Rippee
Temporary Chair Procedures Committee

(3/12/03) NC Harrison posted the following:

Recently, I proposed a procedure for dealing with the SEMA CC Representative vacancy and when there was no response at all from the AB, put the procedure into effect.

I put out a call for volunteers and got seven qualified volunteers. I posted their letters to this list and announced I would call for a vote. It was only then that AB members started complaining they didn't like my proposal.

Following is the opinion of the Parliamentarian regarding the use of polls conducted by the EC to fill vacant Advisory Board seats:

"The bylaws are very specific for special elections to fill a vacancy for NC. A later section assigns the duty to fill other vacancies by AB appointment to fill the remainder of a term. If the intent of the bylaws was to permit special elections for all vacancies why are there two sections? Interpretive rules of parliamentary procedure (not in Sturgis, but worthy of consideration) prohibit use of special elections for other vacancies because the bylaws limit the process to filling a NC vacancy. The old argument that a 'poll' is not a special election is flimsy at best. Polls have been conducted using *exactly* the same processes as an election. The AB has never appointed anyone not the poll winner, further supporting the contention the poll is actually a special election."

As the Advisory Board is not willing to accept the procedure I recommended, I am apologizing to the SEMA members who expressed their interest by volunteering for this vacant position and will leave it up to the Advisory Board to determine how to fill the vacancy.

(3/12/03) Jana Black rose to a point of order and asked that a roll call be taken to determine a quorum. The following 9 members responded to the roll call, therefore establishing a quorum: L. Flesher, T. Vickery, V. Shaffer, R. Bremer, J. Epperson, J. Black, P. Rippee, B. Oliver, J. Cortez.

(3/15/03) It was announced that the GAGenWeb CCs who petitioned for removal of the GAGenWeb State Coordinator have withdrawn their petition.

(3/24/03) NC Richard Harrison forwarded the following correspondence to the AB from the Elections Committee, asking for discussion regarding it:

After giving this some thought, I think we're going to have to postpone the SEMA poll. We cannot run the SEMA poll and the GA Recall at the same time, because of inconsistencies in the "frozen" voter list, with what would be a contemporary updated list.

The current "frozen" GA voter list is several months old. I'm not sure exactly, but I believe it was last updated in the early to mid-fall. I had requested updates, but they were never forthcoming.

The age of the list will present some obvious problems, such as changed email addresses, those no longer with the state, and those who joined the state after the list was last updated. Some have joined very recently. I noted that the petition is signed by some former CCs.

With those thoughts in mind, the EC would appreciate advice as to how you would like us to proceed, relative to the voter list.

Thanks, Ellen