March 26, 2015 at 1:13 pm

Rural Women’s Studies Association Triennial Conference 2015

Rural Women’s Studies Association Triennial Conference

February 12 – 14, 2015, San Marcos, TX, USA

Meeting Minutes

February 14, 2015

I. Welcome and Approval of Minutes from AHS meeting in Provo

Katherine Jellison, Co-Chair, welcomed everyone to the business meeting.

Minutes from the AHS meeting in Provo, written by Cindy Prescott and Linda Ambrose, were approved.

II. Treasurer’s Report/Finances

Co-treasurers, Deb Reid and Jenny Barker-Devine provided information on the work they must complete for the IRS.

They also reported that there was little recent activity as last year was not a conference year.

Jensen-Neth Fund – five grants were awarded this year (2015) for graduate students to participate in the conference. There was a discussion regarding the current amount of funds in the RWSA account. Margreet van der Burg proposed putting money into the Jensen-Neth Fund if there is extra.

Membership dues – 3 year dues $30 per year for full-time faculty; $10 per year for graduate students and community members.

A follow up question led to a discussion of whether the meetings (triennial conferences) are paying their own way. If so, is it safe to move money?

Cindy Prescott reported that money raised by the Raffle and Silent Auction are put in the Jensen-Neth Fund.

Jenny Barker-Devine noted that $1800 is set as a buffer for the conference costs. This is based on registration. There is enough money to cover the expenses.

Linda Ambrose requested that at each Triennial Conference we receive a financial document from the previous conference.

Pam Riney-Kehrberg noted that the AHS assigns $5000 to the planning committee to use for deposits and suggested we keep the same amount in a General Account. Margreet van der Burg said this should be a minimum because international participants drop out if we cannot fund them. Any funds above $5000 could go to the Jensen-Neth Fund. Elyssa Ford asked if $5000 is used, how do we replace it? Dues? It is easier to keep that amount of money since the dues have been raised. The general fund also contains money/grants provided by the host institution that is sponsoring the conference. Kathy Jellison commented that she expects to get some funds from OU for the next triennial conference.

Cindy Prescott made a motion to keep $5000 in the General Fund. Additional monies should go to the Jensen-Neth Fund. Pam seconded. Vote in favor.

III. Report on RWSA’s Non-Profit Status

Non-profit status – 501 3© – noted on the website.

Deb Reid noted that RWSA was incorporated as a non-profit in 2004 in Indiana. There is an annual fee of $7.00 along with evidence of continuous operation required to maintain this status. A registered officer located in Indiana is not required. Paperwork has to be submitted. RWSA has to register with the Indiana Department of State.

Linda Ambrose nominated Deb Reid to be the officer and Katherine Jellison seconded. Vote in favor.

IV. Fundraising

Cindy Prescott gave an overview of fundraising. We get income from:

Membership dues

Grants from host institutions and the local chair

Silent Auction (typically $500 – $1000)

A discussion about money continued. It would be nice to have more money to use and the knowledge to find funds. Cindy stated that she is happy to continue running the Silent Auction. Catharine Wilson asked how much money it takes to run the conference. Deb Reid noted that the expenses were $2400 above expected. Should we have a separate conference budget? Should we raise registration costs? We only want to break even. We do not want to make a profit. However, more money is helpful to sustain the organization.
Rebecca Montgomery stated that she did all the work herself to solicit funds for the 2015 conference. Nothing came to her from the last conference.
Registration fees are set before conference costs are known. It was generally agreed that registration costs were low for the conference, in part to attract participants as we are a small organization, struggling to be visible. Expensive registration dues are not the best way to go. The 2015 conference cost $15,000. Rebecca raised $10,000 from Texas State. It was also noted that we have had a successful conference every three years.
Linda Ambrose suggested having more documents online about the costs. A base number for the conference expenses would be helpful to the next host who could track donations, solicit free conference facilities, a free shuttle and so on.
Joan Jensen added that several of the earliest conferences brought in local farm women. Grants are necessary to bring in rural women’s groups. It is important to have them be part of the conference. If the host university has a grants department (implied that all universities have these), these should be explored to help solicit funds. Local groups and funding should also be explored.
Katherine Jellison serves on a grant committee at OU – it is for research/scholarly activity. As she knows the head of this committee, she can work to get funds for 2018.
Kellogg funds grants for rural women – mostly for domestic travel/events – the women funded should be on panels and share their experiences at sessions.
Rebecca Montgomery noted that fund raising for the conference and doing all the logistical work is too much for one person. We need a separate committee for local/grassroots outreach. In North America, Vivianne Holmes serves on our Grassroots Committee and wants to stay involved. Maize Hough and Olubunmi Ashimolowo are also currently on the Grassroots Committee. Elyssa Ford said that the Program Committee only works in the third year leading up to the conference. She asked if this committee can work in the years leading up to the next conference to raise funds. Kelly Sartorius suggested having outreach during this time to other conferences. People at other organizations that run conferences think strategically about conversation with others and reach out and grow.
Elyssa Ford noted that she emailed people from the Berkshire Conference. From this Maggie Andrews and Kelly Sartorius joined us. Johnanna Ganz suggested more interdisciplinary work, such as women from rural sociology – less focus on history – might help expand the organization.
Business cards for RWSA officers were suggested so we can give them out at other conferences and meetings (an idea proposed at the Provo meeting). A flier or brochure was also suggested. We should make better use of the talent we have in the organization.
Margreet suggested that we need outreach between scholars. Keep history but broaden our scope. Look for more grants for people to travel.
Jenny Barker-Devine commented that the National Women’s Studies Association covers multiple disciplines. How can we reach out and make connections with that group? Cornelia Flora asked if the head of NWSA and the NWSA staff would help RWSA. She was willing to facilitate a conversation with them.
Teresa Konechne proposed moving away from panels and reading papers. These work for historians, but may not work for other disciplines. We need rounder spaces and more relationship building, more discussion and more community building. Cindy added that we need to start now, not after the call for proposals goes out. Katherine agreed and added that what we need most is follow-up. If you make a commitment, do it or decline.

V. Networking between meetings/Mailing list

We need an up-to-date email list to send out reminders and the newsletter. A sign-up sheet was circulated for those attending the conference.
We need more networking. Anne Moore had an idea at Provo for the Facebook page which has been set up. We need to use FB for networking and also to post archival collections. Also the website (hosted by OU) has been upgraded. Katherine can update Announcements but cannot alter other documents. Her IT department needs to do it and they must be Word documents. Pam suggested listing work published by rural women – provide links. Johnanna Ganz looked for conference updates on FB but did not find any. It needs to have a current, live link.
RWSA#201 – Twitter account created by Teresa Konechne.
Pam suggested having a media advisor.

VI. 2018 Conference

The next RWSA conference is at Ohio University. It will be in May/June 2018 so we can use dorm rooms for cheaper housing. There is also a hotel, OU Inn, if people want to stay there.
The nearest airport is in Columbus, OH which has a Go-Bus Shuttle to campus. It takes about 90 minutes and costs $10 round trip.
The Baker Student Center will be used for conference sessions.
Elyssa Ford asked that the Program Committee do more work before the conference and suggested adding new people and keeping some who served before. They need to be planning early. Those who signed up to serve on the Program Committee for the 2018 conference are Debra Reid, Anne Moore, Cherisse Jones-Branch, Olubunmi Ashimolowo, Rebecca Montgomery, and Amy McKinney. Elyssa Ford and Cindy Precott (members of the 2015 Program Committee) volunteered to serve as advisors to the 2018 committee.

VII. Prospects for 2021 Conference

There are two prospects for 2021. Glenda Bonifacio from Lethbridge, Alberta and Catharine Wilson from Guelph, Ontario proposed their universities as conference sites. (In post-conference conversation between Glenda and Catharine, they agreed that Catharine’s institution, the University of Guelph, will host the 2021 conference).

VIII. Nomination/Election of Officers for 2012-2015