American Reading Forum

Minutes for ARF Board Meeting

May 6, 2009

Location:

Hilton Hotel, Room B

International Reading Association Annual Conference

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Present:

Brenda Townsend, Membership

Karen Douglas, Treasurer

Joyce Fine, Archives

Gary Moorman, Website

Nance Wilson, 2009 Conference

Michael French, 2010 Conference

Lynn Yribarren, Graduate Student Mentoring Committee

Lynne Miller, Board Member

Helen Robbins, Member

1. Brenda called the meeting to order, facilitated introductions of those present, and made the following announcements:

a. Proposal deadline extended to May 31. Approximately 30 have been turned in to date.

b. If you are a Board Member and you receive a request for your input, please respond as quickly as possible.

c. Registration for the 2009 ARF Conference is now up on the website

2. Report from the Chair: Cheryl McLean sent a written report to the Board Members and Committee Chairs attending this Board Meeting (See attached). She indicated that the theme for the 2009 conference is Redefining Diversity: Going Beyond Language, Literacy, and Culture. She thanked Karen Douglas for her on-going work as treasurer, and she also reported that the $600.00 request for a graduate assistant to help maintain the ARF website was unanimously approved.

3. Report from 2009 Program Chair: Nance reported she currently has 31 proposals. She would like to have 50. She indicated that the Graduate Student deadline for proposals is October 15.

A suggestion was made to see how many people are listed on each proposal to get an idea of how many people who are presenting will register for the conference.

Nance reported that a total of $2000.00 will be paid as honoraria for the speakers (1 x $800.00; 3 x $400.00).

After discussion, it was recommended that a letter of agreement for each speaker be developed so that expectations and ARF commitments are clear. Brenda and Mike will draft the letter.

After discussion, it was noted that a write-up about graduate student scholarships should be posted on the ARF website. Lynn (Yribarren) will draft this announcement.

It was recommended that each student who is applying for a scholarship develop a 6 to 10 slide PowerPoint presentation (1 slide about self, with photo; remaining slides about their presentation). This slideshow would run on a continuous loop at the registration desk.

Nance is seeking suggestions for an ARF person to be the speaker for the lunch session.

It was noted that the ARF Chair orders food for the conference; however, the Chair needs to work closely with the Treasurer.

It was noted that Cheryl gets food for the opening night reception.

To support the on-site work to be done at the 2009 ARF conference, the following volunteered to help as a program committee: Joyce Fine, Michael French, Helen Robbins, and Lynn Yribarren.

After discussion about the Shrimp Fest, it was noted that a replacement informal social-type activity could be explored a venue other than the Sun Dial. This would not be a formal activity of the conference, but rather an opportunity for informal discussion and networking for those who would like to attend.

4. 2010 Conference Report: Michael reported that the theme of the 2010 conference is: Celebrating the Tests We Use: What We Know and How We Know It.

Michael reported that Lois Lowery and Sharon Draper have agreed to be speakers and that he is seeking confirmation from Freddy Heibert and Dorothy Strickland.

Michael is developing plans for books by Lowery and Draper to be autographed and sold at the conference, with proceeds going to the ARF Graduate Student Scholarship fund.

Michael reported that he is developing plans to have a story teller as the featured speaker at the luncheon.

5. Treasurer’s Report: Karen reported that the balance in checking as of 4/26/2009 is $4,430.52 (see Treasure’s Report attached). She encouraged us to make sure we have good attendance at the annual conference.

6. Membership Report: Brenda reported that 123 individuals attended the 2008 ARF Conference and that there were 119 paid memberships in 2008-2009. (See Membership Report attached).

7. Website: Gary expressed appreciation for the approval of the $600.00 for the graduate assistant who will assist with the ARF website. He reported that the website was doing well.

8. Committee Reports:

a. Archives: Joyce reported that all was well. She collected material from this Board Meeting for the archives.

b. Graduate Student Mentoring Committee: Discussion regarding this committee was incorporated in the discussion about Graduate Student Scholarships for the 2009 Annual Conference (See item #3 above)

Minutes respectfully submitted by

Lynne Miller, Board Member and Volunteer Secretary for this Board Meeting