Minutes of The Sigma Phi Delta Fraternity
Supreme Council Meeting
May 21, 2001
CALL TO ORDER: GP Lindner called the Supreme Council to order at 6:10 PM PDT on May 21, 2001 via on-line chat. Eight members of the Supreme Council were present, and thus a quorum was present.
MINUTES ACCEPTED: GP Lindner called for a motion to accept the minutes of the April 6-8 Supreme Council meeting in Schaumberg, IL. It was seconded by GVP Hileman and passed unanimously.
OFFICER REPORTS:
Grand President Lindner reported that he had appointed two new officers and new committees. (These are discussed in more detail under new business.) He also reported that, as a result of his trip to the East Coast, he was encouraged about the status of East Coast chapters Omega and Psi and the new colony at Virginia Commonwealth (VCU).
Grand Vice-President Hileman
reported that Convention planning is going well, and
that details would be provided later in the meeting. The colonization at VCU is
coming along nicely, he reported, and the colony should hopefully achieve
chapter status sometime after classes begin in the fall 2001. Additionally, he reported that Epsilon and
Kappa active chapters would be donating $150 each to cover the jewelry for new
VCU members. Treasurer Hurst noted that in the case of VCU the Supreme Council
will need to waive the fraternity’s requirement that engineering schools where
chapters are located be ABET accredited
Executive Secretary Troy reported that Convention Reports from active and alumni chapters and from officers are due to him on 1 June; this is an additional month from the May 1 deadline announced in the most recent Star. He further reported that he’d compile the reports during the first week of June and distribute them. He finally reported that Chi active chapter has not reported its delegates.
Treasurer Hurst reported he was ready to submit the payroll application to Paychex for the new Executive Director.
Western Province Councillor Oldknow reported that Alpha is
still delinquent in dues payments for fall 2000 and spring 2001. He will, he stated, contact the Chief
Engineer of the chapters via phone to determine the current status. (He stated
that he hadn't been getting much in the way of communications from the chapters
and was hoping the situation will improve soon.) He reported that Theta forgot
to include their province dues in their Spring 2001 payment, but other than
that they're OK. As regards the General Convention: Theta and Alpha active, and
Vancouver and Los Angeles Alumni submitted their LOC's, he reported, but he did
not have the statuses of their convention reports (except for Vancouver
Alumni).
Central Province Councillor Stelzner reported that he has been following up on reports of delinquent dues and bad paperwork filings and finds that the Chapters should have things in order shortly and be ready for convention.
Eastern Province Councillor Votaw was absent; however, ES Troy reported that Chi had not submitted credentials. GP Lindner reported that he and EPC Votaw had discussed the situation at Chi and that it was grave.
Communications Director Wagner reported that publication of the Castle has been delayed per the last SC
meeting in Chicago. Chapter and Officer submissions will be preserved for the
post-convention issue, he reported; alternatively, chapters and officers may
resubmit at their discretion. GP Lindner
asked whether the bulk permit information had been given to ED Featheringham to allow mailing from
Toms River, NJ. CD Wagner sated that his travel schedule
for work had hampered his efforts to get the new permit established. However, he
was attempting to get the information and planned on
calling the Business Mail Entry unit of the Chicago USPS on 5/22/01. Hopefully, that unit could provide the last
piece of needed information over the phone, he reported. CD
Wagner continued by stating that his preference was to still have
Chicago as the main distribution point for two reasons:
First, it is centrally located and will knock 7-10 days off of delivery time to
the west coast. Second, the printer is located in Chicago, and it saves freight
that otherwise sending bundles to NJ for posting would require.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Expansion: ED Featheringham is working
on the reactivation of Lambda at Indiana Institute of Technology and will visit
there while in Indiana for the convention, GVP
Hileman reported.
Pledge Manual Publication: Treasurer
Hurst reported that he hoped to finish up the history section
the weekend of 5/27-28 2001, but he was awaiting input from GVP Hileman (and/or EPC Votaw). GP Lindner stated that
Hurst has asked to have one of the interns work on a new province map and that
he still had not followed up on that. GVP Hileman stated that he has the map;
Dan ?????? worked on it and sent it in last Thursday 5/17/01. ES Troy stated that the manual will be
printed on an as-needed basis and distributed in 3-ring binders and will also
be available in PDF form on the website. The aim, he stated, is to finish by
June 1 and to get them printed in enough quantity for the convention.
Convention:
· Time-Line. GVP Hileman distributed a draft Agenda/Timeline for the convention and asked
for comments, especially whether more time for any one activity was required.
There ensued a long discussion on the merits of activities planned
for each day, and it was decided by GP
Lindner to take the discussion off line and to resubmit a time line to
the Supreme Council by e-mail.
· Delinquent Chapters. Treasurer Hurst reported that in addition to Alpha and
Chi (fall and spring), he had nothing for Delta and Psi for spring. CPC
Stelzner stated that Delta had informed that the check went out; Hurst asked if it may have been sent to
an old address; and Stelzner stated
he I would reconfirm where it was sent and when. Vancouver is the only delinquent
Alumni chapter, and Chapter Secretary Gin is working on that, Hurst reported.
· Budget:
· Treasurer Hurst reported that the convention fund balance
is $11,875.25.
· For
meals, GVP Hileman reported that delegate banquet and snacks during meeting are budgeted; banquet guests will
be charged $20.00; and Kappa active chapter is covering the cost of the pig
roast. The caterer needs a firm headcount
three days before the event, he stated, and he will e-mail all delegates to
get a head count.
· For
travel, ES Troy reminded all that
the planned maximum reimbursement for travel was set at $300 per chapter with
$50.00 deductible. The deductible
increased by $25.00 per week that reports are late. However, all chapters must submit travel plans, and final reimbursement
rates will be determined from that. Generally, if a chapter elects to fly, GP Lindner stated, then reimbursement is for one advance purchase
ticket. WPC Oldknow reported that
he had just booked a flight from Vancouver at $433.00 (US). GP Lindner
stated that reimbursement should be determined on a per chapter basis, and
that $433 minus the $50.00 deductible would be $383.00, the maximum reimbursement
rate for delegates travelling from the Vancouver area..
· With
regard to travel for the Colony at VCU, GVP
Hileman motioned and WPC Oldknow
seconded that the Fraternity cover $125.00 of travel plus one banquet attendee
for the VCU Colony; the motion carried unanimously. He also requested that the Fraternity absorb the cost of $15.00
per night for the VCU attendees’ lodging, but no action was taken on this.
OLD BUSINESS:
Relationship with AOE: There was much discussion of the nature
of the relationship. GP Lindner recalled that at the pinning
of the VSU colony, the relationship between SPD and AOE was discussed with
respect to answering the question: Where we are going in the future? There were five National officers there, and
they did not feel that AOE is a real partner with us; we are helping them start
chapters, but that have not once helped us.
He concluded that it's been very disappointing and discouraging from his
end to sell them when they don't wish to cooperate. ES Troy stated that The National Office of AOE does not have
positive attitude toward SPD anymore and gave some personal background of the
political situation at AOE. He opined
that SPD should not be helping them other then providing a phone number if
somebody asks, but we should not create an adversarial relation with them,
though. Accordingly, GP Lindner stated that he is appointing
a new committee under New Business called the Women in Engineering Partnership
Committee with GVP Hileman, ED
Featheringham, and GP Lindner on
it. The committee’s purpose is to make our own plans, have the SC review it,
and present it at the convention.
Budget Rental Issue: GVP Hileman stated that he has an attorney
currently working the issue. The
attorney is preparing correspondence to Budget with the attitude of not paying
anything because of their not informing Hileman of the insurance issues he
might be facing or re-offering him insurance upon the upgrade. The attorney
will draft up the Fraternity letter as well to make it all legal. GP Lindner encouraged GVP Hileman to keep
the Fraternity informed on the status and agreed to send out letters from the
Fraternity, if requested.
On-Line Forms Project: Treasurer Hurst stated that this is on hold until
after the Pledge Manual project is complete.
Rip Off Trophy: CPC Stelzner asked for a status report. ES Troy stated that guidelines had been
sent to active chapters. GVP Hileman
stated that Kappa will present the Rip-off master trophy at the convention;
it's already in the process of being produced.
New Business:
Appointment of New Officers: ES Troy moved and CPC Stelzner seconded a motion to appoint new officers as follows:
Richard Taylor to the position of Canadian Expansion Chairman and Andrew
Hoshock to the position Expansion Assistant to the Grand V. P. T he motion
carried unanimously. Treasurer Hurst stated he would update
the National Officer listing on the web site after June 1.
New Committees: GP Lindner indicated that he is establishing two
new committees: As discussed earlier, The Women in Engineering Partnership
committee is going to look into our partnering with engineering sororities and
make a proposal to the convention about that. A second committee called the
Leadership Committee will look into some big picture issues, i.e. National
Alumni Dues, revisions to eliminate redundancies in the constitution and
Statutory code, etc. and make recommendations on how we should proceed and
prioritize these items. The committee,
made up of EPC Voltaw, WPC Oldknow, ED
Featheringham, and GP Lindner, will report back to the SC at the SC meeting
at the convention. ES Troy stated that a number of other issues need to be addressed
and he will compile the list for presentation at the SC. For example one issue tabled from the most
recent convention was the raising of Alumni chapter dues.
Salute to ES Troy: CD Wagner proposed a toast to ES Troy on the
imminent arrival of his new baby; all concurred.
Next Meeting: The next meeting was set for Monday,
June 25 at 6pm PDT.
Adjourn:
There being no other business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at
7:53 PM PDT.
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