Minutes of the August Meeting GREATER OKLAHOMA CITY CHAPTER UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(UNA-USA/OKC) MEETING OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS 5:30pm, Monday, August 10, 2009 In Attendance: Lowell Adams, DeEtta Cravens, Patsy Drab, Bill Dudley, Larry Eberhardt, Bob Elliott, Marie Hooper, Ruth Males, Zach Messitte, Nancy Musselman. Absent: Joann Bell, Bob Cox, Mohamed Daadaoui, Ruth Gnagi, Eric Heinze, Eunyoung Kim, Murod Mamatov (OKC Community College), Firouz Mollaian, Arlette Srouji, Ken Tillett, Harley Venters.1 Guests: Brett Billbe, Megan Bird, Bill Bryant, Jennifer Grover, Melissa Megginson. (1) Opening of Meeting. We convened in our usual meeting space at the Disciples Center, 301 NW 36th, OKC. Lowell Adams presided, calling the meeting to order at about 5:30pm. Lowell offered a Welcome Back to each director following our summer hiatus. He made a couple of announcements: (i) Jalal Daneshfar has resigned from the board of directors; and (ii) There is a vacancy in the office of Secretary. These topics will be addressed in more detail in the New Business portion of the meeting. (2) Business Reports. A. Review of Minutes of May Meeting. The minutes of the May meeting were reviewed. Bob Elliott moved to approve the minutes as presented, and Marie Hooper offered a second. VOTE: All Aye; motion carried. B. Financial Report. Although he was absent from the meeting, Firouz Mollaian prepared a treasurers report, and it was presented by Bill Bryant. Copies of the 1-page report were distributed. The report, summarizing financial transactions that have been made since our last meeting, showed the following information: Previous balance on 5-11-09 Income Expense Closing Balance on 5-11-09 $ 3,243.25 20.95 $ 3,222.20 -0-

The only expenditure was for an order of checks. A motion to accept the report was made, and it was seconded. VOTE: All Aye; motion carried.
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Prior to the meeting, messages of Regret were received from Bob Cox, Mohamed Daadaoui, Ruth Gnagi, Eric Heinze, Eunyoung Kim, and Firouz Mollaian.

(3) Committee Reports. Several chapter activities were reviewed in this portion of the meeting. A. Educational Programs / Fall Event. The attention of the meeting turned to preparations for our annual commemoration of United Nations Day. Ruth Males was recognized, and she reported that the location of the luncheon in OKC will be the Faculty House. Our keynote speaker (to be confirmed) will be Secretary of State Susan Savage. On a related topic, Ruth noted that we need to make sure that our chapter signs up to have a table at the Global Oklahoma festival at Rose State College. There will be more discussion of plans for UN Day at our next meeting in September. At this point in the meeting, Patsy Drab arrived, and she was introduced. Ms. Drab worked for a time at UN headquarters in New York City as a translator of documents. B. Advocacy Report. No report.

C. Membership. Nancy Musselman was recognized, and she gave a short report on membership in our chapter. She handed out copies of a report showing that membership has slipped over the last several years, currently standing at 48 members / 44 units. In terms of outreach efforts, Nancy reported: She has received an order of 500 membership brochures from our national office; She has placed an order for the popular orange Trick-or-Treat for Unicef boxes; and She signed up to participate in the Student Involvement Fair to be held at Oklahoma City University on August 24th. She suggested that DeEtta Cravens might be persuaded to coordinate an information table at the event for our chapter.

Lowell commented that the United Nations enjoys many friends in Oklahoma, and we ought to make a strong effort to convert them to members of our association. At this point in the meeting, Zach Messitte arrived. Lowell invited everyone present at the meeting to introduce themselves directors as well as guests. D. Nominations Committee. Bill Dudley was recognized, and he reported that he has identified a community leader who has expressed an interest in joining the board of directors. Diane Coady is deeply involved in the arts community, especially in the Paseo District. Bill Bryant noted that Joan Korenblit has also expressed a willingness to serve as a director. Action on these two prospects was deferred until the next meeting. E. Public Relations. Zach was recognized, and he reported that several news articles were published as a result of the High School Essay competition.

There was a brief discussion about Plan B speaker for UN Day (in the event that Secretary of State Savage is not available). No conclusions were reached. Lowell noted that Ruth Gnagi may be able to contribute to our chapters efforts to publicize the good work of the United Nations. F. Adopt-A-Minefield. The report was deferred until later in the meeting.

(4) Chapter Coordination. Lowell asked the board to consider how we will coordinate our UN Day activities with those of the Model UN club at the University of Oklahoma. He recognized Megan Bird, Melissa Megginson, and Brett Billbe. Melissa gave a short report on the Model UN conference that club members attended in New York City. On behalf of the club, she expressed thanks to the UNA-OKC chapter for support of their participation in the conference. At about this time, DeEtta Cravens entered the meeting. Regarding plans for UN Day, Megan expressed the desire of the Model UN club to help plan a public observance on the Norman campus of OU. It was suggested that OU will host our keynote speaker on Friday, October 23rd. Marie volunteered to help with the production (design, layout) of a brochure to publicize the events on October 23rd and 24th. It was noted that Jennifer Grover has already volunteered to help with the planning and promotion of an OU Day event in Norman. She agreed to work with the Model UN club on this project. (5) (6) Unfinished Business. No items of unfinished business were identified. New Business. Two items of new business were addressed. A. Election of Secretary. Bob Elliott volunteered to serve as the chapters secretary. It was noted that Bill Bryant has offered to assist the secretary, and he is willing to maintain the chapters website. Marie Hooper moved to elect Bob Elliott as the Secretary of the chapter; seconded by Bill Dudley. VOTE: All Aye. Motion carried. Thank you, Rev. Elliott! B. High School Essay Contest. Lowell reported that the 2010 National High School Essay Contest has been announced on the UNA-USAs website. All applications must be submitted online by January 5, 2010. Lowell reviewed the topic and features of the contest. He noted that we need to identify a High School Essay Contest Coordinator. Zach volunteered for the job. He offered to work with the Model UN club to publicize the contest and encourage high school students to participate. Nancy suggested that we ought to consider re-reviewing our award structure for the essay contest. She speculated that we might be able to attract more participation by offering prizes for second- and third-place winners.

Bill Dudley encouraged the creation of an Essay Contest flyer that could be handed out at the Global Oklahoma festival. Zach said he will pull together some items for our next meeting. (7) Other Business. Three items of Other Business were taken up. A. Adopt-A-Minefield. DeEtta Cravens was recognized, and she said she was committed to a fund-raiser at OCU to benefit the Adopt-A-Minefield program. She will aim for a T-Shirt Sale. She invited ideas for a t-shirt design. Another idea for a fund-raiser may involve international food. It would be similar to the Night of 1,000 Dinners though not as organized. The idea would be to find a restaurant that would donate 10% of its proceeds for a day. As a side note, Lowell commented that congratulations are in order for DeEtta, who won the competition for Miss Black OCU and came in first runner-up in the Miss Black Oklahoma contest. Were proud of you, DeEtta! B. Model UN Conferences. Brett Billbe was recognized, and he announced that the University of Oklahoma will host two Model UN conferences during this school year. A conference for middle school students will take place in November. One for high school students will occur later in the calendar. UNA-OKC members are invited to observe. C. International Day of Peace. Bill Bryant was recognized, and he encouraged everyone to plan to attend the Pinwheels for Peace event that is scheduled for Sunday, September 20th, at Will Rogers Park in Oklahoma City. The event featuring dancers, music, and speakers will kick off the observance of the International Day of Peace (Everywhere, September 21st). Marie moved to direct a $50 contribution from our treasury for this purpose. Bill noted that our chapter is supporting the event by providing general liability insurance coverage through our national office. Nancy offered a second to Maries motion. VOTE: All Aye; motion carried. (8) Adjournment. Our next meeting will be on the second Monday in September: Monday, September 14th 5:30pm Disciples Center 301 NW 36th Street Oklahoma City, OK Without objection, the meeting adjourned at about 6:40pm. Prepared by Bill Bryant August 14, 2009