MICHIGAN STATE NUMISMATIC SOCIET

MICHIGAN STATE NUMISMATIC SOCIETY

Meeting of the Board

April 17, 2004, 4:00 p.m.

Holiday Inn South, Lansing, MI

The meeting was called to order at 4:08 p.m. by President Al Bobrofsky. Roll call was taken, and the following members were present: Kathy Freeland, Dan Freeland, Tom Matthews, Al Patterson, Dany Rothfeld, Bill Summerell, Andrew Parks, Kelly Finger and Stephen Marzelli (entered at 4:15). Absent was Steve Bieda. Joe LeBlanc, Secretary/Treasurer was also present.

Guests present were: Brian Malnar, Brian Bachus, Julianna Wostyn, James Buckley, Frank Passic, Anne Bobrofsky, Mary Gail Beneteau, Mike Dennany, Ray Dillard, Cliff Mishler, Mike Marotta, Pat Heller, and Bill Ewald.

Joe LeBlanc led us in the invocation. Following this, the minutes of the February 15, 2004 meeting were read, and with a motion by B. Summerell and a second by A. Patterson, they were approved.

Discussion of the agenda was then held, and with the additions of 1) Define Ray Dillard’s job and 2) Constitution and By-Laws under New Business, a motion by K. Finger and a second by D. Freeland to approve the agenda with the additions was approved.

Under Officer Reports, the following reports were delivered.

A. President Bobrofsky gave his report. It included the following:

1. Mishler Report – review of recommendations

2. Goals for MSNS – we need to look at the following factors:

a. Credibility – need to build

b. Balance – all records with backup materials in finances, also publish a financial report in the Mich-Matist once a year

c. Minutes in the hands of the board members no later than 20 days after the meeting

d. Consistency – treat each function of the society with consistency

e. Finances – all financial decisions made by the board of directors. All board members need to be notified if an executive board decision is made

f. Membership Numbers will be published in the Mich-Matist

g. Convention sites and contracts need to be signed for a minimum of 3 years

3. Removal of Business Manager position – changed to Secretary/Treasurer in a non-voting position

4. Committee Form for the board – adopted committees need to make sure they meet in a timely fashion and report back to the board at each board meeting

5. Board meetings – In addition to board meetings at both conventions, a September and February meeting will be in order to keep the board informed.

B. Vice-President Kelly Finger reported that the convention was going well.

C. Secretary-Treasurer Joe LeBlanc gave the following report:

a. Correspondence – A letter from the family of Ed Muszynski was read thanking the society for their condolences on behalf of Ed

b. A member complaint was discussed and referred to the executive board.

c. 2003 IRS form – A. Bobrofsky has the report/tax return. Jack Huggins was hired as an accountant and the forms were filed with the IRS. 1099 forms were sent to the appropriate people for filing.

d. Current Financials – The Life Member Fund and Bank Statements were presented.

e. Membership Report

472 Regular

19 Honorary Life

470 Life Members

32 Juniors

23 Clubs

f. Letter from Lansing regarding 20 gift memberships – for the board’s awareness

g. Discussion on lapsed memberships

h. Property Report

General report – There will be a complete report for the September board meeting. However, the following information was shared:

T. Klunzinger wants to buy the fax machine and the 4 year old computer. However, the society wants to examine it first and remove any files that belong to MSNS. Motion made by K. Finger to have these machines returned to review the information on the computer and then determine the value. Second by T. Matthews. S. Marzelli will serve as mediator between T. Klunzinger and J. LeBlanc. Motion carried.

1956 Coin Collection – T. Klunzinger has indicated an interest to purchase the collection. Motion made by S. Marzelli, seconded by B. Summerell to offer the collection to Tom for $5000 with a decision to be made by the September board meeting. Motion passed with 7 yes and 1 no vote. K. Finger will notify Craig Whitford (in possession of the collection at this time) and T. Klunzinger and following discussion send a letter to J. LeBlanc with a decision.

i. Audit Request – Executive committee has been doing this, but we will have a committee put together before the end of the year to officially audit all books.

Under Committee Reports, the following reports were given:

A. Convention Reports – Discussion was held concerning the need for a permanent place for the spring show at a specific time. We talked about CSNS dates and other spring dates, and came up with the last week in April or the first week in May. A. Bobrofsky asked for a motion to give the executive committee the ability to negotiate a contract for the next 3-5 years in Lansing. This motion was made by D. Rothfeld and seconded by T. Matthews. However, after some discussion, the motion was amended by K. Finger that after the executive committee has chosen a selected site or sites they will notify the board as to its intent. Motion as amended carried.

Also at this time, the question of the Fall 2003 convention came up. While Joe hasn’t been able to separate all the figures, it was discussed that $42,000 was deposited into the checking account without breakdown by Klunzinger.

B. Exhibit Committee – This report was given by Frank Passic, new exhibit coordinator beginning with the fall 2004 show. After a committee meeting with D. Freeland, D. Rothfeld, A. Parks and F. Passic, there were many changes made to the exhibitor rules and categories, which the board has in their possession. The only change made

to this document is that the Slate, Post & Earhardt awards are not exhibit awards but rather convention awards, so they will not be listed in our convention manual. A motion was made by D. Freeland, seconded by D. Rothfeld to accept the Exhibit Rules and Regs package which will be included in the Convention Manual. Motion carried.

C. Auction Committee – This committee met after the February board meeting to draft a letter to send to a variety of auction houses (11 total) asking for bids for both the fall and spring conventions. K. Freeland indicated that, although a great many replies came back, the only one received so far that will bid on the auction is Craig Whitford. He will send in a bid for the auction by June1, 2004. We will make a decision at that time.

D. Mich-Matist Committee – A. Parks gave a report concerning the Mich-Matist. His committee’s recommendations included the following:

· Change format to 8 ½ x 11 glossy format

· Change look of ads and make other changes as necessary

· He then introduced Mike Marotta, who is interested in the position. Mike gave a bio about himself and his work in the world of publishing and why he would be good for the job.

· A motion was then made by A. Parks, seconded by K. Finger that Mike be hired for the position of editor of the Mich-Matist at a rate of $750 per issue. Motion passed.

· Another motion was then made by S. Marzelli, seconded by K. Finger to accept the committee’s recommendations for the Mich-Matist with a new publisher. Motion passed. It was noted that any information can be e-mailed to A. Parks for the publication, and he will see that it gets sent on to Mike.

E. Past-President’s Committee – The recommendation from A. Bobrofsky is that this committee convene to pick the recipient of the George Hatie Award. All past presidents will be contacted for this award. This was met with agreement from the board.

Under Old Business, the following items were discussed:

A. Spring 2004 show – Mention was made of a complaint that was put before the board earlier today concerning being put in the annex which was explained by using the point system. This person was not penalized because he didn’t set up at last spring’s show. There was no financial report because the convention wasn’t over. Dany had a complaint concerning advertising for the show. This discussion was referred to the Convention Committee.

B. Bonding Quotes – this would cover financial malfeasance on a limited basis on the part of the secretary/treasurer and anybody else who handles money for the society at a cost of $250 a year. Motion made by A. Parks, seconded by T. Matthews to purchase this coverage. Motion passed.

C. Constitution/Bylaws – these will be broken down by article and section and only reflect those that need changes. In addition, anything that was changed from the revision will be included with the motion, etc.

Article II

Section 9 –Change: Annual dues – Regular, $10, Junior, $5, Foreign $25, Clubs, $30, Life, $350 unless 55 and older, then $300.

Section 10 – Strike this section about specialty groups
Section 12 – Members dropped for non-payment of dues, may be reinstated by the payment of the current year’s dues and all past year’s dues if they wish to be reinstated under old membership.

Article III

Section 1. Strike First from Vice President and Second Vice President. Add of the governing board to the sentence All members and officers must be Michigan residents. Add The governing board shall serve without compensation, except that the Secretary-Treasurer shall receive a monthly payment as defined by the governing board. The Secretary-Treasurer will be recommended for office by the President, and with approval of a majority of the board then voting shall take office. The Secretary-Treasurer may be removed from office only upon resignation of such office, or upon the vote to remove by greater than a 2/3 majority vote of the board.

Section 2. All Officers and Governors shall be elected by the membership for a period of two years, except the Secretary/Treasurer as previously defined.

At this time, a motion by K. Freeland, seconded by D. Freeland to suspend the meeting and reconvene after breakfast on Sunday morning, no later than 10:00 a.m. Motion passed and meeting was adjourned until Sunday morning..

Meeting reconvened at 9:55 a.m. on Sunday, April 18, 2004, with the following board members present: A. Bobrofsky, T. Matthews, D. Freeland, K. Freeland, B. Summerall, A. Parks, D. Rothfeld, and K. Finger. S. Marzelli joined us at 10:05 a.m. J. LeBlanc came in at about 10:10 a.m. Absent was S. Bieda.

Guests that day were: Mike Dennany, Les Rosik, Clifford Mishler, Ann Bobrofsky, Greg Gusoff, Brian Malnar and Eric Lorentzen.

A.Bobrofsky was willing to entertain a motion at this time to change the name of the Board of Governors to the Board of Directors. A. Patterson so moved, and B. Summerall seconded the motion. Motion passed. A. Patterson offered to pay for new name tags for officers if needed.

At this time, we went back to discussion of the constitution and by-laws.

Section 3. Instead of nominations from April 1 to May 15, this will be changed to read: All nominations shall be made in writing to the Secretary/Treasurer during the period from April 1 through May 1 of said election year.

Section 5. Add Beginning with the election in 2006, to be eligible to vote a member must have been a member in good standing for the election year, and the year prior. Each voting member shall insert their ballot in said numbered envelope and seal and mail to the committee chairperson, the same with postage prepaid by the member.

Also, In lieu of an election committee, the board may hire a Certified Public Accountant, to handle the functions of the election committee. The Committee Chairperson or Certified Public Accountant shall cause all ballots, all envelopes and a certified report of the votes cast for each candidate.

Also, with a motion by K. Finger and a second by A. Parks, the results of the election will be presented at the board meeting at the fall convention of the election year by the election chairperson or the CPA. Motion passed.

Section 6. Delete the following: For example, if a member votes for more than 12 candidates for Directors, none not more than 12 candidates for Directors, but votes for more than 2 candidates therefore residing in any one of his votes for Directors shall be counted, but if he votes. Also delete If a voter votes for more than 2 Governors in the same county.

Add Beginning with the election of 2004, only one immediate family member shall be allowed to hold any office or governor position on the MSNS board. If more than one from an immediate family should run for office, then only the higher vote shall be entitled to the office, providing that the highest vote for said family member is enough to qualify against other candidates. Immediate family is defined as spouse, child, or parent of the person running, including “step” relations.

Section 7 – Change except that they may be reimbursed for listed mileage and hotel expense as authorized by the governing board and cross out the President and the Case Chairman $500 per year.

Section 8 – Add not less than to All Officers and Directors must be individual members in good standing of the Michigan State Numismatic Society for…….. one (1) year.

Section 9 – Delete the next highest officer present shall preside in the order named in Article III, Section 1 – hereof. Add the Vice-President shall preside; if both the President and Vice-President are absent, a member of the Board of Directors shall preside. The board member so presiding shall be the board member receiving the highest number of votes in the last election that is present at the meeting. Change this last line to the following, with a motion by K. Finger and a second by D. Rothfeld, Chair shall be elected by the board to run the meeting.

Section 12 – Delete all with a motion by A. Parks and a second by D. Freeland. Motion passed.

Article IV

Section 2. Add at the end of the sentence with the consent of the board.

Section 4. Add this section. The President shall appoint, with board consent, a Convention Host, a Hospitality Chairperson, an Exhibit Chairperson, and a Convention Coordinator. Such chair people shall serve until they resign, or until removed by a majority vote of the governing board, except that the convention coordinator shall only serve for that convention so appointed. Also under discussion were the Convention Host and Convention Coordinator’s responsibilities, which will be detailed in the Convention Manual.

Article V

Section 1. Delete the phrase preferably April.

Section 2. Add the phrase and during the months of February and September.

Section 3. Delete the sentence Such time and place shall be determined on the basis of formal invitations of two Member Clubs to act as co-hosts to such Conventions.

Change six months to eighteen months.

Section 4. Change this section to read Host clubs will perform duties as described in the convention manual.

Section 5. Add The immediate past president and the Secretary-Treasurer while members of the board, shall not be allowed to make motions, nor vote on measures before the board.

Section 6. Delete the line #5 Reading and accepting of resignations.

Section 8. Add the phrase along with the directions of the convention coordinator.

Article VI: Exhibits and Awards

Section 2. Eliminate this section

Section 3. Eliminate this section

Article VIII: General Laws and Regulations

Section 1. Delete this sentence: may purchase and pay for stationery, postage, and supplies needed for the conduct of his or her office, and the Business Manager may incur and pay expenses for the official publications of the Society, such expenditures to be accounted for in a report to the Governing Board at each meeting.

Add this sentence: May incur debt and pay in advance for the daily operation of the organization. Any expenditure or debt over an amount of $500 must be approved by the board in advance. No board member shall sign a check, or a withdrawal of funds payable to his/herself without prior approval of the board.

At this point, a motion was made by S. Marzilli, seconded by C. Mishler to accept the changes and approve the new constitution and bylaws, with copies being sent to all members present. Motion passed.

Under New Business, the following items were discussed:

A. Foreign Dues – this is changed in the constitution to $25.

B. Fall 2004/Fall 2005 Co-host Swap – The Polish-American Club and Royal Oak will co-host Fall 2004 in honor of their 50^th anniversary. Then Birmingham/Bloomfield will co-host in Fall 2005. Motion by K. Finger, second by T. Matthews to allow these 2 clubs to switch these dates. Motion passed.

C. Hospitality Chair – K. Freeland moved, D. Freeland seconded to appoint Rita Jene Sledz as permanent hospitality chair. Discussion will continue in September concerning a “convention room” for her during the conventions. Motion passed.

D. Joe LeBlanc asked for permission to purchase the Michigan Quarter Release Video from the January 26^th ceremony. Motion made by A. Parks, seconded by K. Finger to release up to $100 for purchase of this video. Motion passed.

E. Hatie Award Procedures – There are 2 plaques that we currently have in our possession. D. Rothfeld can arrange for others. Past Presidents will meet to come up with a nominee for this award.

F. Spring 2006 Award – K. Freeland has been given 2 letters - 1 from Mich-TAMS and 1 from Battle Creek Coin Club to co-host the Spring 2006 Convention. S. Marzelli moved and D. Freeland seconded. Motion passed.

G. Life Memberships - Do we need a 1-year requirement for life membership? Most of these memberships are asked for by dealers for points, but if they aren’t a member when they ask for life membership, what should we do? Since there wasn’t an answer to this question, we moved on.

H. Ballots and Biographies for the upcoming election will be sent out as a separate mailing, since there won’t be a Mich-Matist in time for publication of these items.

Under Elections, the following discussions were held:

Who do we get for a CPA? Joe will contact Pat Heller and Jack Huggins, and the Executive Committee will look into the proper procedure to hire an elections chair (CPA) for our ballot. General consensus was to keep all of the election items at “arms length”. Motion made by D. Rothfeld, seconded by T. Matthews to allow the executive committee to carry this out. Motion carried.

Under Board Member Comments, the following comments were made:

A. K. Finger – will draft a letter to the dealer from yesterday’s board meeting that Al will send on behalf of the board.

B. K. Freeland – Don Charters has asked for permission to go to the Mid-America Coin Expo to represent MSNS at no expense to us.

Under General Membership Comments, the following items were discussed:

A. R. Dillard – discussed Mike Bean and his spider press – will come to the Fall 2004 Show. K. Finger moved and T. Matthews seconded to pay for his hotel room & free space. This will come out of convention expenses and space. Motion passed.

B. Mike Dennany – asked to see if exhibitors can use the hospitality room. We will try this in the fall, but on a need to know basis.

C. Ann Bobrofsky – asked about Harold Anderson and his clocks. Ray Dillard will attempt to contact him and find out if he can make a clock for us for the fall show.

Items for discussion at the September meeting

A. How big do member clubs have to be to be a member club? 15 members are suggested in the convention manual, but we need to discuss this.

B. Convention manual

C. Convention Host and Hospitality Chair – rooms, responsibilities, etc.

D. Update on 1956 collection, fax machine and computer

Motion by S. Marzelli, seconded by T. Matthews to adjourn at 11:15 a.m. Motion passed.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathy Freeland, recording secretary