These minutes were copied, by Matt Strait, out of four clean PDFs in 2020. The text should be exactly as it is in the PDFs, up to minor formatting tweaks to make it look nice in plain text, and Matt looked it over just in case. Full lines of dashes signify page breaks in the original. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Minn-Stf Board Meeting Minutes for the Meeting of 21 August 1997 at the home of Eileen Lufkin Where Burning Sappho Loved And Sang And Stroked the Wine-Dark Sea in the Temple by the Moonlight Wah Dae Doo Dah... Attending: Dean Gahlon, Polly Peterson, Martin Schafer, and Geri Sullivan (The Minn-Stf Board Members Five Minus One); Fred A. Levy Haskell (Official Happy Deadwood & Recording Secretary); James M. Young (Minn-Stf Floundering Father, Minicon Chairman Emeritus, Feelthy Pro, and Fan About Town); and Karen Cooper, David Dyer-Bennet, Beth Friedman, Susan Levy Haskell, and Lydia Nickerson (Interested Parties). Eileen Lufkin (Our Gracious Hostess) was in and out, as usual. Not Attending: Margo Bratton (The Other Minn-Stf Board Member) wasn't there (no one knows why). Hey, we caused the meeting to Come to Order around 7:30 PM again. Huzzah! Agenda - Recording Secretary Report. - By-Laws. - Board Minutes in RUNE. - Finances/Taxes. - Update on Minicon 32 Financials. - Survey. - RUNE Press. - Update on The High-Resolution Minicon 34 Proposal. Business 1) Recording Secretary Report. Fred: Sorry the Minutes for the last few meetings are real, real late. I'll have them out Real Soon Now. It's been such a long exposition.... 2) By-Laws. Martin: Sorry, I don't have the rewritten By-Law changes. I'll have them for our next meeting. Dean: Please have the By-Laws rewrites done by the next Board meeting, Martin--we need to act on this now. I know you're going to be a bit busy in the coming month, but I don't want it put off for another year, and I don't want to pull the rules change on people at the last minute. 3) Board Minutes in RUNE. The Board Expresses A Preference: [hand pointing right] Tom, please put recent minutes in RUNE instead of ancient minutes. This is especially important since there's a lot going on right now. The older minutes can be put on the Minn-Stf Web Page; and, after the recent minutes are allotted space in RUNE, as many of the older minutes as will fit may be printed or summarized.... Minn-Stf Board Minutes--Page 33 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4) Finances/Taxes. Geri: Taxes were filed on the 15th--the deadline. We have a bill from Judy Gallas; it would be a Good Thing if we could pay it before the end of the month. Really. Please pay it quickly, since Minn-Stf has a history of paying her late. I'm serious about this. We need to pay her soon. Judy gave us three copies of the tax forms and her Recommendations for Accounting Procedures; one copy went to Julie (Minn-Stf Treasurer), one to the Minn-Stf Archives, and one to Fred (OHD&RC). The Recommendations will be shown in Attachment 970821a to these Minutes; the tax form copy Fred received will be passed on to the Minn-stf Archives. 5) Update on Minicon 2 Financials. Geri: We need to do an update on the financial status of Minicon 2. Jim Young: The books are now closed on Minicon 2. We made about $23. Geri: Oh! Did I say "2"? All: Yes! Geri: Sorry. I meant to say "32"! 6) Update on Minicon 32 Financials. Geri: It seems that bills are still coming in--we recently received bills from the Sofitel and from Jeff Berry. (One of things on Jeff's bill is $26 for an unopened copy FileMaker Pro. This seems curious for a number of reasons.) The total loss now looks like $4,500-$5,000. But who knows where it will all end? When will the books be closed on Minicon 29, by the way? Polly: All other accounts are now closed. I have the records for Minicon 29, but they're not formally closed out yet. Lydia: Any idea why Minicon 32 lost money? And so much money, at that? Martin: No single reason-- - There seems to be less registration income than we might have expected. - $4,500 or $4,000 for Jump Start. - $2,000 for Ops for CPR. - NASA double airline tickets - Nickel and dime. Geri: Here's an example of the problems with the Minicon 32 accounting--Mark doesn't report the approximately $1,000 reimbursement he paid in cash for supplies for the Minneapolis in '73 Suite. He has the pink slip, so there's some documentation, but rather than showing the "cash flow in" from various receipts and the "cash flow out" to the Minneapolis in '73 Suite supplies on the summary report, he simply reduced the "cash flow in" line item by the amount paid out for supplies. Also, the $1,000 out as "seed money" for cash registers seems to have been looked at as "income" by departments. You know, we're looking at the basic truth of the records--anything other than a casual inspection raises unanswerable questions. Minn-Stf Board Minutes--Page 34 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Remember, though: we're all human. And there was no proofreading and no oversight. So let's not beat up on Mark. Also, it looks like there was wholesale handing out of memberships at the door, which wasn't his fault.. 7) Survey Geri: We've received about 40 back out of about 400 people on the Einblatt mailing list. That's about 10%. Geri hands out printed copy of most web responses, but doesn't have any of the written responses in reproducible form yet. Martin: Maybe we could have a reminder in Einblatt. Or two weeks after Einblatt comes out, we could contact people. Geri: And we need to come up with the Einblatt mailing list, and compare it against the people submitting surveys. I'm not sure everyone who's replied electronically is on the Einblatt list or can be considered to be club members. We may need to consider how we treat those responses. And we need to see who's on the list who hasn't yet responded. Martin: I suggest the list of names go to Board. Maybe we should consider input from people not on the mailing list as "also heard from" or something. Geri: I'd like us to do phone call reminders, to ensure the widest possible response. Martin: Who's going to do the calling? Lydia: I'll do some calling. Beth: I can call a short list. Karen: I can call a short list, too. 8) RUNE Press Karen: I picked up Jump Start at Minicon. It said "Timberwolf Press." Shouldn't anything that Minn-Stf or Minicon pays for or publishes carry the "RUNE Press" imprint? Also, the Diversicon program book had an ad for TotU which gave the Diversicon P.O. Box for contact information. The ad didn't say it was a publication of Minn-Stf and didn't mention Minn-Stf in any other way; there was, however, a very small "RUNE Press" slug. It pretty much looked like SF Minnesota was the sponsoring organization of TotU. Polly: I'll talk to Eric and tell him to be more careful to mention Minn-Stf in TotU and ads for it. Karen: I think there should be an official policy that everything Minn-Stf publishes and pays for should say "RUNE Press" and mention Minn-Stf. The Board Rules: [hand pointing right] Karen's right about this, damnit. Dean: Jump Start was announced as being intended for multi-year distribution. Did they print up more copies than they distributed this year? If so, where are they? Martin: And where are the plates? Answer: No one at the meeting knows.... Geri: Remember that subsequent runs could be smaller, since it only has to be distributed to people who didn't get them this year. Minn-Stf Board Minutes--Page 35 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9) Update on The High-Resolution Minicon 34 Proposal. Geri: What we've done so far: We were going to talk to specific set of people. We started doing that, and started getting back responses. Then somebody mentioned it on Minicon-L, so lots of people now know about it. People are talking. We're a bit surprised by the number of early responses that seem to be very much in favor of the proposal, although there are a few negative responses as well. Let me read one of each--from Andy Murphy and from Patrick Nielsen Hayden. (She does so. They are shown in Attachment 980821b to these Minutes.) NOTE: Anne K. Gay also sent a message to the Board about Minicon, completely unsolicited, on 23 July 1997. This message is shown in Attachment 980821c to these Minutes. --falh Lydia: We talked with Don Blyly just before coming over. He had quickly pulled together a written response of about four pages so we could bring it along to the Board meeting. We haven't had time to completely digest it, but one thing we noticed is it seems he is concerned that we're attacking media fans, and doesn't think this is good. Board: When is the Exec Selection Committee meeting again? Martin: Monday. Board: When can we expect a recommendation? Martin: I expect a decision before the next Board meeting. We will inform Board members of the decision before the meeting. The Board may want to put off the actual decision until October. Tentative Agenda Items: - By-Laws! - Further consideration of Minicon proposals--need discussion, also recommendation. - Other. ...dissolve to discussion at 9:00 PM... Submitted by, Fred A. Levy Haskell Official Happy Deadwood & Recording Secretary, Minn=Stf Minn-Stf Board Minutes--Page 36 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Attachment 970821a To The Minn-Stf Board Meeting Minutes (from the Meeting of 21 August 1997) The following is the accounting recommendations given to the Board by our Accountant: Judy Gallas. --falh MINNESOTA SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY, INC. ACCOUNTING/PROCEDURE RECOMMENDATIONS GENERAL-- Inventory Records must be maintained showing: Purchased items--quantity & cost by item Sales--quantity & income by item Ending inventory--total count by item A request for payment should be submitted before payments are issued. A two-part carbonless form would allow the Department Head to have a record (help maintain their budget info) & the Treasurer to have a record (audit trail). Request will contain: requested by what invoice is for payable to whom how to pay (mail, pick-up, COD, etc.) pay by date As invoices are paid they should be marked paid with the date and check number and filed. Does someone other than the check writer approve bills for payment? Does someone other than the check writer sign checks? Bank Reconciliation must be prepared monthly, hard copy generated and kept on file. All transfers between accounts should flow though a transfer in or transfer out account. Each department (MINICON-odd, MINICON-even, REINCON, MINN-STF-general operating) keep their own accounting records but use same Chart of Accounts. All income must be kept separate by category. (Continued On Next Page) Attachments to Minn-Stf Board Minutes--Page 15 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MINNESOTA SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY, INC. ACCOUNTING/PROCEDURE RECOMMENDATIONS Page 2 MINICON-- All requests for payment must be turned in by May 31st. Close current year's accounts by October 31st. Print financial statements and all related reports monthly and give copies to Department Heads, Budget Manager, and Minn-Stf Treasurer--this will assist in reviewing budget status. Final report at end of year should be given to Department Heads, Budget Manager, Minn-Stf Treasurer, and Board of Directors. REINCON-- Print financial statements and all related report annually--December 31st--and give copies to Budget Manager, Minn-Stf Treasurer, and Board of Directors. MINN-STF-- Print financial statements and all related reports bi-annually--June 30th and December 31st--and give copies to Budget Manager and Board of Directors. Attachments to Minn-Stf Board Minutes--Page 16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MINNESOTA SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY, INC. Legal/Accounting/Non-Profit QUESTIONS/FOLLOW-UP Form 1099 filing requirements: If an individual is paid $600 or more in one calendar year for services rendered, you are required to issue Form 1099. This is required to be filed with both Internal Revenue Service and Minnesota Department of Revenue and a copy given to the recipient. In reviewing the General Ledger, the following categories are potentials for Form 1099 filing requirements: Art Show Artists' payments Child Care Guest of Honor Life Support Operations Extravaganza Implement new Chart of Accounts and procedures 1/1/97 retroactively upon completion of assigned account numbers or does Board want to continue with named accounts only? Or new implementation 1/1/98? Continue use of Year End Checklist 12/31/96. Attachments to Minn-Stf Board Minutes--Page 17 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MINNESOTA SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY, INC. YEAR END CHECKLIST Bank reconciliation & bank statement--December 31--current year--January 31--new year MINICON--current year MINICON--future year REINCON MINN-STF OTHER List of all bank accounts (investment/checking/other) reflecting institution & account number. Any Form 1099's received.. Interest income verified by financial institution. Any other investment income verified by financial institution. Asset Value verified by financial institution. All bank account statements--December 31st--even if no activity. End of Year Reports: Financial Statement (Category Summary Report) Budget Report General Ledger (Category Detail Report) Cash Receipts/Cash Disbursements Register sorted by check number (Transaction Detail Report) MINICON--current year MINICON--future year REINCON MINN-STF OTHER Inventory Report for the year. Any loan information. Attendance Information: list of number of attendees at convention by: number/amount per person--pre-paid (current year). number/amount per person--at the door (current year). number/amount per person--pre-paid (future year). Name and phone number of each Treasurer & Budget Manager. List of Officers, Directors, Trustees, & Key Employees including: title, hours, compensation, benefits, and expense account. Name, address, and phone number of Treasurer of Minn-Stf for year being filed. Blank tax forms. Attachments to Minn-Stf Board Minutes--Page 18 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Attachment 970821b To The Minn-Stf Board Meeting Minutes (from the Meeting of 21 August 1997) Following are two of the messages commenting on The High-Resolution Minicon 34 Proposal which were sent to the sponsors. They were read to the Board by Geri Sullivan at the meeting of 21 August 1997. --falh From: "Murphy, Andy" Subject: High-Resolution Minicon Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997 13:06:00 -0500 I just read the Executive summary of your proposal to radically change Minicon 34. As a member of Minicon, and (almost) a member of Min-STF, I would like to give my first impressions of this proposal. I have not yet read the entire proposal, so there be more suggestions forthcoming I am a person with professional project management experience, and know of a dozen other professional managers and project leaders that attend Minicon annually. All of them that have gotten involved with the Con have run professional, efficient departments, that have gotten NO response from the Executive Committee. If they come in under budget, their budgets for the next year are slashed, and then cut again to cover for those departments that need help. See this years Art Show budget as an example. I have volunteered as a subhead for a department for the past several years. During this time, my head & I have managed to run our department with minimal support from the Exec, Ops, or Hotel (which is where we are attached). Last year, the head of Hotels appeared in our area ONCE during the entire Con, to ream us out over a SNAFU that occurred. There was no thank -yous extended to anyone in the department by the Con or the Exec. Since I saw none of the con, other than my department, I felt that I should at least get paid to be there, to make up for the amount of work, annoyance and abuse I received. That being said, I feel that your proposal leaves a great deal to be desired. I am a SF reader, however I do not write SF, nor am I a fanatic about it. I do watch SF on TV, in movies, and play RPG's. If you were to cut out those portions of the Con, I would not attend, and neither would my wife (a former department head), her best friend (also a former department head), my current department head, the future department head, or group of friends that attend with me. You would not offer anything that would interest us. There are those elements of the Minicon population that may not meet the standards of the rest of us. That is going to occur, and short of alienating most of the Congoers, you will not get rid of them. As far as burnout goes, you have a huge convention being run by volunteers. Burnout is going to occur as long as there is no backup from the exec and division heads. On most projects this size, there are a small cadre of heads that make this their primary focus, and are dedicated to carrying it out, working professionally together. The rivalry and backstabbing that occurs at Minicon shocks and appalls me. If some of the tactics that I have witnessed at Con were to occur at my work, I would turn in my resignation immediately, as would most of my co-workers. This is the major reason why I hide as a subhead in a relatively small department rather than volunteering as a head of a division. I know I can do the job, but I will not work (for fun) in the abusive power-grabbing environment that Minicon projects. MN-STF should perhaps look at bringing in several professional project managers, not to run the Con, but to help the Exec realize how their leadership, or lack thereof, affects the running of the Con. They have already signed a multi-year contract with a professional person to run the TV and cameras at Minicon, why leave professionalism to this one small section of the Con? From: Patrick Nielsen Hayden Subject: Re: Minicon 34 Proposal -- http://www.ddb.com/change-minicon Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 21:14:05 -0400 Well, I think it's well-thought-through and well-written. As Joel says, the devil is in the details -- but frankly there's no group of Minneapolis fans I would trust more than you guys. I'm particularly struck by your points about using up people. As an annual attendee from out of town I kind of enjoy the "alternate culture festival" aspects of Minicon, but I don't have to pay the price in exhaustion and heartbreak. Reading the list these last few months has been an eye- opener. Moreover, while I enjoy that stuff, I would do more than enjoy a 2000-person Minicon focused on sf and fantasy and featuring a first-rate program. I would stump for it, work for it, offer to work on it, and provide all the moral and professional and financial support I could manage. An opportunity to fix Minicon? Involving this crowd? Where do I sign? You can quote anything I say on this subject, to anyone. -p. Attachments to Minn-Stf Board Minutes--Page 19 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Attachment 970821c To The Minn-Stf Board Meeting Minutes (from the Meeting of 21 August 1997) The following message was sent to the "board bounce" email address. Since it was offered as input to the board, I felt it would be most appropriate to pass it along as an attachment to the minutes. --falh From: netmouse@summit1.com (Anne K. Gay) Subject: The Future of Minicon Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 09:06:39 -0500 Greetings. I've been reading the Minicon-L for a few months now and thought I'd make a quick comment: I attended Minicon 29 and Minicon 32. The main difference between them insofar as panel discussions seemed to be that in 29 the panelists were interested and competent to stand forth on their subject, while in 32 the panelists were all delivered of the right name plates for the table (and on time!) Basically, this is just one indication to me that on the great rolling, billowy mechanical dragon that is Minicon, the caretakers have gotten more concerned with keeping the gears turning than with the great beauty and majesty of it all. Discussion on the board has indicated that this is an issue of number and character of attendees, but I would suggest (and strongly) that unless we focus more on the beauty and majesty of it all, the number of attendees may certainly fall but doubtful the character improve. Therefore, my suggestions are these: a) Publish a schedule in advance. This was done for 29, it can be done again. b) Confirm registration. People get VERY ansy when they've gotten no confirmation that their company is expected or their check received. Also, people who've forgotten they registered won't come. (All confirmations sent, so far as have been reported to me, arrived the day of, or after the day of, the con.) And even those who come will already be concerned for the future and management of their dear old Con. c) Procure able and interested panelists, none of them drunk. I couldn't believe the disgust I heard, from those who recommended the con to me in the first place, on hearing people announce to the room that they had in fact not expected to be on this panel, having replied to Programming that they were unqualified. Then there was another where the whole panel was drunk. I was also surprised at the response of my fellow panelist when I asked him how he got on the panel--"they asked me and I didn't say no"--not that he wasn't qualified, he was, indeed so, but I was startled to find he couldn't recall the topic and wonder if our panels might not be improved if the person who thought them up were to be informed of who's on it and given the chance therefore to contact them beforehand and get them thinking about the subject and perhaps the plan for the discussion. I mean, I've seen panels which improvised very well, but I've also seen ones which didn't or were carried by one clever or charismatic person only. d) Get qualified people to volunteer in positions which take advantage of their skills and energy. Provide a good guide to volunteering at Minicon, motivate volunteers on the basis of being involved and meeting the old cadre (including GOHs)--and not on prizes. I'm working on one of these for the web, but I need more input. I sent email to Theresa, but got no response. If you could move this forward, I'd appreciate it. And finally (also along the thought paths of Minicon-L), relax. Post silly rules and suggestions all over the halls. Invite people to treat Minicon as their responsibility too. I hereby offer to lead a panel discussion: "Minicon: Utopia or Dystopia?" If there's anything else I can do, let me know. Yours truly, --Anne K. Gay netmouse@summit1.com netmouse@cyberspace.org www.summit1.com/netmouse Attachments to Minn-Stf Board Minutes--Page 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------