Minutes:
NOTE: THERE WAS NO COUNCIL MEETING>>
LAST POSTED MINUTES AVAILABLE of:

The ELDERS COMMITTEE RETREAT MINUTES FOLLOW BELOW

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The meeting began at 10:28 on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at Alice’s fair grounds.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Chris Browne, Alan Cohn, Robert Jacobs, Kay Kintzley, Roger Lesiak, Eric Nicholson, Janet Tarver, Patricia Van Esso and Dee Wirak.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: Diane Albino, Don Doolin, Michael James Long, Cindy Muntwyler and David Peasley.
OTHERS PRESENT:  Licia Shultz (FACILITATOR), Isa Haverlan, Paxton Hoag, Lois Morford, Jain Elliott, Chris Harrison, Pegeen Zygaitis, Jorjan Plimmer, Diane DeDe Schultz, Sue Moore, Katie Cousins, Michael Hilton, Bob Clarke, Bonnie Watson Clarke, Jerry Joffe and Guy Weese
SCRIBE: Dee Wirak

The agenda was posted, items were added as requested. Introductions. Discussed meeting protocol; plan to break out into smaller interest groups to report back to the larger group. Speakers are encouraged to stay on topic.

STILL LIVING ROOM-Janet is the point person; she is in need of three persons to work for a pass for three hour shifts throughout the fair. She has the name of a couple who has expressed interest, she will contact them. Anyone else interested should call Janet. She will be making buttons to identify the booth worker. Kay offered to make a headdress as another more visible option.
The panels for the kiosk will be recovered today. Jerry S will build a storage bench to secure items on site; he is also building the frame for the 90’s timeline. Chris H will get map dimensions to Chris B for the building of a secure frame. Shade cloth has been washed. Banners have not been found, Licia and Kay will remake.
Setup and take down crew: Chris, Robert, Eric and Morgan. They will put up the kiosk, timeline displays, shade cloth, and benches. All major pieces will be in place Wednesday night. Ambiance/decorating committee is Sandra and Chris H, along with Janet. They should plan to decorate on Thursday. Display case items will be collected by Janet and Sandra (Chris B has key currently). Paxton and Sandra plan to bring photos. Kay and Dede will bring flowers.
Janet will be responsible for arranging the SLR entertainment, Patricia will teach her how it’s been done. Janet and Paxton will need to be in contact with one another. We need to be mindful of other venue times and uses. Paxton offered to contact the sound police once he has the needed info for the forms (Paxton will check in with Jay in Ambiance also). We walked the site after lunch and determined where the stage should be; Chris’ illustration clarifies the arrangement. He will request a sign be made “Still Living Room Stage” and one of the carpets will be used to delineate the stage.

NOTE: Details or who’s doing what items for the Still Living Room that came out of the breakout groups have been added in to the above discussion. Janet was given the list created during the meeting which was reviewed at meetings end.
FAIR EVENTS/CALENDAR-Spring Fling, May 7. Jain and Kay will be at our table to answer questions.
Old Timer’s Picnic-June 25. Set up 4-5 p.m. by the History Booth; 5-7 hors d’ouvers; Main Camp dinner followed by dessert 8:30-9. Janet and Kay will talk to kitchen staff and arrange for the couch trailer and fire pit. Desserts and cider are in our budget. Participants are asked to bring citronella candles, mosquito repellent, tie dyes and fresh flowers.
Camp work parties: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 16, May 21, and June 18. There are five persons on the camping subcommittee: Kay, Chris, Roger, Alan and Sue. Officially persons can start to camp on Wednesday, July 6.
Patricia will arrange for new elder certificates to be given out at registration. People assisting with Registration will be made aware of the need to provide Eric a substantial meal while he provides entertainment.
Meet-n-greet, Thursday, July 7 at Alice’s from 7-10 p.m. Theme: “BLUE EVE”, wears blues. Kay will make sure the fire pit is available. Licia offered to be point person and will make sure people staying at Alice’s are informed. She will call, delegate duties and make sure that we have more cheese than last year as this event is getting more and more successful. We need to pass the hat for wine costs. Plans were made for the showing of the Oregon Country Fair, 1983. Licia will contact Paul Bionde for entertainment to follow the film, a sound permit will needed. Licia plans to make a list of new elder’s names available for the meet-n-greet.
Chris invites elders to hop on the FARTS buses anytime from 8-midnight, Thursday, July 7 for a fun ride.
July 8-9-10, 2011 fair dates.
Sunday morning of the fair, time yet to be determined, there may be a memorial walk and dirge led by Morgan on saxophone, walking from the Ritz to the Still Living Room as was done last year. Chris H would like to honor Mira.

BREAKOUT GROUPS-(Note any new details for the Still Living Room and Events have been added into the sections above)
ELDER IDENTIFIER (for all elders)-Polymer acrylic pins with a glittered peach & “E” that could also be worn as a necklace may be cheap/affordable. Licia will check into pricing and a production party may be organized.
The small work group process was agreeable to all and should be incorporated into future retreats.

LONG RANGE PLANNING-The fair has had several failed attempts at long range planning. Path Planning looks at more immediate issues. The fair has grown into a small city. Most responses to our growth have been reactive rather than proactive. Old and young people need to be involved with the discussion of where the fair could be in 10 or 20 years. How? Council of Elders is meeting at 1 p.m. Sunday.
How to expand Culture Jam should also be considered, applications were opened April 1 and closed (full) in 4 hours.

CAMPING-Hospitality Center is looking for a volunteer, discuss at the next committee meeting.
Last year there were approximately 41 marked sites with 75-80 people at our camp (actual numbers were lost with the missing camp notebook), we were comfortably full. With our numbers increasing as they are (91-92 new elders this year for total over 600) we expect to be crowded next year.
After discussion, to avoid a land rush stress for this and future years, Dee made a MOTION to “abandon the first come first serve protocol for campers,” Chris seconded, all approved. Camping subcommittee will meet and propose alternate protocol to allow neighborhoods to evolve and develop.
Path Planning is aware that Elders want more camp space as well as a permanent booth space in the 8. Mention it again and again, also to the new camp crew coordinators.

PENDING FALL DATES-RETREAT: October 1 & 2, 2011; Spirit Walk, October 8

SUNDAY, APRIL 10, 2011 ELDERS RETREAT DAY 2

NEWSLETTER-The first edition went out with the March mailing as planned. Many thanks to Sandra! There was a discussion regarding color and adding photos but we have not budgeted for that this year. In fact, since we only do two mass mailings to elders and both are early in the year, if there will be a FALL newsletter, it will have to be its own mailing. At our current numbers (600+) at approx $1 per person, another mailing would be over 1/3 of our allotted budget. Future budget requests should ask for an increase to cover the added mail expense. Cost and remaining budget needs for this year need to be determined. OCF has a discount at Staples, Patricia will gather color vs. black/white printing cost.
Folks who worked on the newsletter or who have signed up for that subcommittee have expressed an interest in continuing the effort. We would like to be able to solicit contributions/columns from all elders and build interest. Being able to email the newsletter would save considerable funds. A number of ideas were brainstormed but having an elder opt in by sending us an email would be the less problematic than having them sign up by hand at registration or Spring Fling. These events could display a notice and request elders to email us if they want to receive the newsletter electronically and save us money. We could also add this info/request to our annual letter of intent.
A color copy or more extensive newsletter could be posted online. If for example, a new photo taken at the Meet-n-Greet was available in a printable format, people would be enticed to go online. We don’t know what the next step will be.

TIMELINE/ARCHIVES UPDATE-Research for the 90’s decade has been completed, will be written up and reviewed by the subcommittee in time to get the info to Marilyn for the third timeline display.
The Board passed the funding request to archive the Kimble film where the 1969-70 first 2 fairs have been filmed and set to music. Archival activities will be a long term involvement.

A Council Meeting is scheduled tentatively in the Fall at the October Elders Retreat 10/1&2/2011

No MINUTES SUBMITTED TO WEB MANAGER FOR DECEMBER Council meeting.

Respectfully Submitted

Chris Browne
Council Member Deane Morrow, who can be reached through: OCFElders@HotMail.com

1. It was decided that the "Council" should become known as the Council of Elders. This website has been edited to reflect the name change, but the URL is still: www.ocfelderscouncil.org

2. The name of the subcommittee appointed to be responsible for Council clerical functions is to be called: “Council Clerical Committee”

3. Structure of Council Clerical Committee:
Number of participants? At present 3 to 5 have been authorized and 3 persons volunteered; Robert Jacobs, Chris Browne and Michael JamesLong
Term limits? NO.
Selection of members? By volunteering, at present.
Rotation of members? Train and recruit new persons if there is "burnout.".

4. Should there be a written description of the Clerical Committee at this time?
The Council Clerical Committee was directed to write its own statement for the record.

5. Should the Council obtain a paid Facilitator? NO.

6. Should the Council obtain a paid Secretary? NO.

7. Should minutes/abbreviated minutes/unofficial minutes be taken of Council meetings?
It was decided that if minutes were taken by a volunteer (anyone present is free to make unofficial notes) they should include the Agenda and a record of any decisions made. There was a consensus to publish outcomes only, not specific details of who said what. Our goal should be to produce a working statement and if necessary a Summarization of Issues on contentious issues.

8. How should minutes be posted? Web site, eMail, Snail Mail, All??
YES on this website, eMail by volunteer to listserve, Snail Mail on request.

9. Will proxy votes be acceptable? NO. Any exceptions would have to be decided by the Council itself on a case by case basis.

10. Should the COUNCIL seek to be an Official Committee of the OCF and appointed by the Board of Directors? NO.

11. Process of Council Meetings:
Where? Where ever it can be arranged by the Council Clerical Committee.
Note: To date, it has been coordinated by the OCF Elders Committee.
How often? A minimum of twice a year.
Format of discussion? Discussion to proceed around the room with the aid of a volunteer facilitator.
Time limits, number of times to speak? Decision by facilitator with consensus of those present. If more formality needed, those present can consense.
Decision Making: Collaborative Documention to support our goal of having a working statement issued by the Council.
Note: We envision this need only when issues are brought to the Council of Elders for our opinion. With contentious issues the Council envisions an "Old Business/ New Business" format with probable setting of the next meeting within a lesser time than the current 6 month period.

12. Should the COUNCIL have subcommittees when needed? ONLY when needed.

13. Should the COUNCIL have eMail list management - a listing of the managers contact information?
Discussion centered on what is currently available: a) OCF Discuss - a listserve for all Fair Family b) Wonderful OCF Elders - a listserve for OCF elders and c) ocfelders@hotmail.com - an eMail address for all things "Elder." These links are posted on the LINKS page of this site. It was suggested we post a small notice in the FFN monthly to inform the Fair Family of the website and the information/contact options.

14. Should the COUNCIL establish a mechanism to fund events, actions, or other business?
Yes, October 4, 2009, an Official Bank Account was established with co-signers, Robert Jacobs and Diane Albino. (As of January 2011 it contained $163.)