President Joan Smith called the Zoom meeting to order at 12:10 p.m. ET. Also participating were Overseer Leroy Watson, Executive Committee member Cheri Watson, Treasurer Jessica Cope, Secretary Richard Weiss, Steward Amanda Brozana Rios and member Mark Gibbons.
TREASURER’S REPORT
BB&T Operating Account: 2,584.83
There are two membership payments pending. Also, Mid-Atlantic Leaders Conference registration payments will be transferred from the $617.69 PayPal account to the Operating Account from which Conference expenses will be paid.
Kile Fund: $65,821.83
It appears that Potomac Grange and possibly the Kile Fund have lost 501(c)3 tax exemption status for failing to submit annual filings to the IRS and the DC Government. There is some confusion as to whether there are two separate EIN accounts or only one covering both entities.
Rectifying the situation may involve outside legal and financial assistance at some cost. Leroy will oversee the effort. He made it clear that any costs related to the Kile Fund can legally be paid out of the fund.
Jessie Cope moved to seek professional guidance regarding our tax status and pay and reasonable and customary fees for such assistance from the Kile Fund. Leroy Watson seconded the motion and the motion passed.
OLD BUSINESS
The virtual Mid-Atlantic Leaders’ Conference takes place March 19 and 20. Sixty-four people have registered so far. Jessie has distributed 51 boxes with bingo cards and daubers, craft materials, community service project items, snacks and a recipe. National Grange Lecturer Chris Hamp may pre-record her presentation because she is administering COVID-19 vaccination shots in upper Washington State.
The 2021 Grange Revival is scheduled for July 20 -25 at the Days End Campground in Sturgis, South Dakota. Amanda reports that folks are still planning to participate. Potomac Grange has been asked to again sponsor the Olympics event. Joan pointed out that this event requires a lot of equipment that must be shipped ahead of time. She suggested we volunteer to sponsor Bingo Night(s). Amanda could lug that equipment in her car.
Ag in the Classroom-Joan: In January we filed our annual report to National Agriculture in the Classroom. Our annual dues to NAITC of $300 was paid and the fee to maintain our DC Website was paid by Jessie.
NEW BUSINESS
Virtual Ag Day Event sponsored by USDA has invited Grangers to participate on March 22.
National Grange Virtual Fly-in is scheduled for April 7. As there will be no travel involved, Potomac Grange has not been asked for financial support.
National Grange Youth Fund is approximately $3,000.00 short in covering their expenses due to low participation of donations in the Grange Foundation. The program is appealing for support. There was discussion about contributing to the Youth Foundation from the Kile Fund. While no final decision was made, Jessie recommended that any contribution be direct toward something specific, not just flat-out.
National Grange Month is April. Due to remaining Covid risks and restrictions, it was decided not to have our annual tenant breakfast.
The Ag in the Classroom Website-Potomac Grange has recently paid for our DC Ag- in-the- Classroom Website. We can post our materials at no further cost and recently posted and article on farm workers. The site is maintained by the University of Utah.
Membership-There appears to be several prospective new members. Weiss will send a 2021 dues notice to Kennedy Gwin.
There were no “Good of the Order” issues and there were no members sick or in distress.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 1:10 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Richard B. Weiss, Secretary
Potomac Grange #1