Author: SixtyOne_Admin

General Membership Meeting – August 27, 2023

At the most recent HSPA general membership meeting on April 2, 2023, the board experienced considerable disruption from a minority group within the membership. This disruption prevented the orderly progression of the meeting, resulting in the board’s decision to vacate the premises for their safety.

This group’s behavior has deeply affected the board, necessitating a period of reflection and evaluation of the organization’s goals. This situation has been detrimental to the health of the organization and recovery may take time.

The previous board unanimously accepted the resignation of Trevor Lewin as President. Those board members wishing to go on record have made their resignation letters available on our website. This upheaval has impacted our ability to organize events such as the annual Picnic at Arc Isle and the recent Pride Walk in June.

Erin Holliday is recognized for her efforts in the securing the necessary permits and conducting outreach for organizing the Pride Walk.

Considering the circumstances, the board has decided to distance itself from the disruptive group to safeguard the organization and maintain its credibility in the Hot Springs community. I will remain in my position to ensure transparency and continuity. In addition, I will stand firm against any damaging statements about the board and possibly seek legal recourse if necessary.

A general membership meeting is scheduled at Emergent Arts on Sunday, August 27 at 3:00 PM. The AGENDA includes discussing the organization’s next steps, potentially including dissolution of the non-profit with the Secretary of State. As per our bylaws, this notice is being provided at least ten days in advance on the website, but due to outside obstruction we are unable to access the HSPA Facebook page. Also in adherence to the bylaws, only current paid members** are eligible to vote.

Membership details can be found out our website.

**To ensure an accurate roster for the meeting on August 27, membership joining and renewals will cease on Thursday, August 24.

Scot Key
Vice President

 

 

 

 

Open post

HSPA PRIDE MONTH MESSAGE

Hello Alliance members and friends. Happy Pride Month and we want to thank Emergent Arts and Erin Holliday for securing the city permit and organizing the Pride Walk this year, for always supporting the LGBTQIA+ community and for always supporting the Hot Springs Pride Alliance. We encourage everyone to support Emergent Arts and Central Theatre for the Pride Celebration on Saturday June 10 starting at 4:00PM at Grateful Head Pizza (where the parade started last year) and ending at Central Theatre, 1008 Central Avenue. Be sure to check out Central Theatre’s website for all of the weekend’s activities.

For those of you who were not present at the last Alliance general membership meeting at Emergent Arts on April 2, there were conversations regarding the Alliance and our board which have given the board pause to re evaluate what the Alliance’s role looks like going forward. We have accepted Trevor Lewin’s resignation as president.

For these reasons we stepped back from our cosponsorship of the Pride Walk and will not be hosting the annual Picnic at Arc Isle this year. We are grateful and thrilled that Emergent Arts and Central Theatre have stepped forward to create Pride month walk and activities – so please go out and support and show your PRIDE!

We wish thank all our supporters, donors and those of you who have reassured us publicly and privately that we were doing good in and on the right track for the community.

Happy Pride Month and we hope we can all unite and celebrate our diversity!

HSPA General Membership Meeting Agenda

Sunday, April 2, 2023, 2:PM

Emergent Arts Gallery

  1. Call to order: Trevor
  2. Treasurer’s report: Tod
  3. Social report: Scot
  4. Member moment: John Smid
  5. Amendments discussion: Board/membership
  6. Voting on proposed Bylaw revisions:
  7. Board position nominations:
  8. Voting for Board members:
  9. Upcoming events announcement:
    • Pre-Pride party at Superior
    • Pride Walk/Parade
    • Pride Picnic
    • Halloween fundraiser
    • Splash Thursdays
  10. Adjournment

PROPOSITIONS:

There are 6 propositions to amend the bylaws to be ratified:

Proposition 1: General Membership Elections
General Membership Elections will be determined by a simple majority vote.

Proposition 2: Article of Termination
A board member may be removed from their position by a Two-Thirds vote of the board for any one of the following reasons: A board member fails to attend three consecutive meetings without excuse. A board member is involved in dishonest conduct. A board member knowingly and purposely violates the bylaws. A board member is unable to adequately fulfill the duties for which they were elected. A board member is deemed hostile to the board or its objectives.

Proposition 3: Article of Board Member-at-Large
The Outreach position shall be combined with the Social position and the Education position shall be combined with the Service position. Two new Board Member-at-Large positions shall be created to replace the ones that were combined. These two new positions shall be filled and treated in accordance with the Bylaws concerning any other board member position.

Proposition 4: Article to Clarify Office Terms
Term of Office – The term of office for members of the Board of Directors, shall be two-year staggered terms, with half being elected at each Annual General Meeting in December. Board members are limited to two, two-year consecutive terms. If there is no opposition for their position at the end of said term, then they may be elected to continue in the position for another term. A board member may run for another position on the board at the end of their term if there is no opposition for the position at that election. A board member is eligible to again run for a position on the board after they have remained off the board for at least one year.

Proposition 5: Article to Fill Board Positions
New board members may be nominated by current board members or general members (including themselves) for a vacant position by informing the President of their interest in the position no later than 7 days before the next board meeting. Any board nominee must be vetted by the board and approved for a General Membership meeting election. Nominees are encouraged to attend board meeting to observe and deliberate, without a voting status. The approved candidate will be confirmed by the general membership at the next General Membership meeting.

Proposition 6: Notification from the President
Notifications including the agenda will be posted on the Webpage.

HSPA February Board Meeting 2023

February 26, 2023

  1. Welcome: Trevor
  2. Treasurer’s report: Tod
  3. Secretary’s report: Bernie – Approval of Minutes from 1/11/23 Board Meeting.
  4. Old Business:
    • a. Letterhead and Business cards
    • b. Brad: Grant writing
    • c. Heather: 2023 Calendar
    • d. Bob: LGBTQ+ Network
    • e. Shawn: Estate Planning and Wills
    • f. Sandy: Update Resource Directory
  5. New Business
    1. Bylaws:
      • a. Review the bylaws revision
      • b. Companion Policies and procedures document
    2. Define Board positions
      • a. President shall post the board agenda on the website and Facebook
        • i. Post meeting agenda a week in advance on our social media pages
      • b. Vice President basically has no job
        • i. Make the Vice President the “personal manager”
          • 1. Assist committees
          • 2. Follow up on assignments
      • c. Secretary shall facilitate communications within the Alliance.
        • i. Board only or for all membership
        • ii. Email correspondence to membership
        • iii. Reminders of meetings
      • d. Should the Treasurer should have some responsibility for financial reporting
        • i. Report to and keep up with the 501(c)
      • e. Social director keeps track of social events
        • i. Lauren Denton is willing to keep track of events
        • ii. Wider variety of events for all social groups
        • iii. Maintain event calendar on the website
      • f. How can we best Service our community
      • g. How many Educational events should we have in a year
      • h. Outreach
        • i. How can we add to the Resource/Professional directory on the webpage
      • i. Ally
    3. Committees
      • a. Each ‘action’ board position should have an assigned committee member
        • i. Assist in projects
        • ii. Hold the committee member accountable to their tasks
    4. Board member positions are currently set for 2 years per term
      • a. Half the board positions are up for election each December
      • b. We missed elections this past year
      • c. Criteria for selecting board members:
        • i. Board members should reflect our diversity
        • ii. Video: Building a board for a successful future
    5. 5. Membership
      • a. Benefits of membership
    6. 6. Reflection:
      • a. Are we fulfilling our mission statement?
      • b. How are we serving our community?
      • c. What are the strong points?
      • d. What are our weak points?
    7. 7. Goals:
      • a. Create volunteer roster and utilize it
      • b. How can we better serve the LHBTQ community?
        • i. What services should we be providing?
        • ii. Add Pat as a chaplain
      • c. How can we attract and keep more members?
      • d. How can we attract regular donors?
        • i. A donor needs a cause
        • ii. Why would someone give to us instead of to the Tuggle clinic directly
    8. 8. Events:
      • a. Requirement or guidelines for us to promote Events
        • i. Official Pride event
        • ii. Unofficial pride event
      • b. Pre-Pride party
      • c. PRIDE month activities
        • i. Gallery Walk
        • ii. Pride Walk/Parade
        • iii. Picnic
        • iv. After walk party
      • d. Halloween fundraiser
      • e. Christmas party
      • f. Splash Thursdays
      • g. Other social events
        • i. Diner Club
        • ii. Art and Wine
        • iii. OWLS
        • iv. Car club
        • v. Other events…
        • 1. Pickleball, hiking, camping, knitting, book club, choir…
      • h. Create a master calendar of events on website and Facebook
        • i. Liability insurance for meetings/parties
        • i. Injury
        • ii. Alcohol
    9. 9. Social Media:
      • a. Vic Miller is willing to take the job
      • b. Should we cut the Open Facebook page?
      • c. Newsfeed on the website for current/relevant/political news
    10. 10. General:
      • a. Bob Loos gave us a year’s subscription to Lgbtcenters.org (Center link)
      • b. Should we reply to the State legislature concerning all the new anti-gay issues
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GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
AUGUST 27, 2023 | 3:00PM

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