Alumni Association of Rensselaer NY
Minutes
April 4, 2023
Attendance: Dawn Brown, Tracey Stock, Jim Finke, Phil Foust, 2 online
Officers: Kathy Keenan, President; Denise Roberts Wright, Vice President, Liz Rooney Ryan, Treasurer
Administration: Joseph Kardash
Meeting was called to order at 6:38 pm.
Reports were given:
President: Hall of Fame preparations were discussed. Presently Kathy is working on the Program and PowerPoint and is in search of a photographer for the event. Kathy will put a plea on Facebook to see if an alumni can volunteer. End of the School year activities are being finalized as well. An email has been sent to each principal to see how the enrichment grant is being utilized this year. The presenter for the scholarships at graduation has been finalized.
Vice President: The Craft Fair was a great success netting $1,147.50 for the association. Positive comments were received about the event from the community as well as the crafters. We would like to plan a fair for next year and work with the senior class. Sign update: Denise has contacted the President of the Planning Board and the City Councilman to see if any action has happened with the city attorney. The Councilman will check with the city attorney and give a status report to Denise when he gets an answer.
Treasurer: It was reported that we received $610 in memberships/renewals and had one reimbursement check of $443.07 to Denise Wright for pins/ribbons for the Hall of Fame dinner leaving us with a total of $21,185.63 in our working account. Concerning the implementation of getting Square, Liz will be contacting Tom Mulyca with sign-in/registration information in order to get a QR code. Tom will see if this will be feasible. Denise will contact Joe Grimaldi who runs a nonprofit for Crailo Historic site to see how that group utilizes Square to get some advice for us.
Old Business:
Deb Reimann Community Spirit Scholarship: It was voted on and approved to give a $100 scholarship to be awarded at graduation for a senior who emulates Deb’s dedication to her community (see the attached sheet). This explanation sheet will be given to the high school principal and the guidance department.
Senior Breakfast: Will be at 8 am on May 12. This will be a full breakfast which has been in contrast of what has been done for the past two year. J. Cochran and F. Pilato has made a generous donation to assist with the funds for this project. Denise Wright, Dawn Brown, Liz Rooney Ryan, Doris Roberts, and Gerry Mullaney have volunteered to assist with the breakfast. The committee will meet and start getting items ordered. We will also be using some of the leftover supplies from the craft fair.
Centennial Award: Applications have been copied and given to the senior high English teachers. They are due May 15th and then they will be evaluated by the principal, guidance counselors, alumni members, and teachers. Jim Cochran will present the award at graduation.
Pat Lewis Award: Liz Rooney Ryan will contact Scott Lewis to see if he is willing to continue funding this award. She will report in May about this topic. If he does, Jim Cochran will present the award.
Spring Picnic: After the association survey, many members were interested in having a picnic. Doris Roberts will report in May and see if something can be organized for the summer.
Banners: Many of the banners the association has are made of heavier vinyl material and in poor condition. Kathy asked members to get quotes from companies for tablecloths and table runners with our logo on it. A benefit will be to have more durability and easier to store the items. The topic will be discussed in May after quotes are reviewed.
New Business:
Nominating Committee: Denise Wright, Phil Foust, Jim Finke, and Tracey Stock have volunteered to be members of the nominating committee. The hope is to have a slate of officers to announce in June which will be voted on in September. Denise will send an email to the committee with the officers’ roles so members can review the information as a starting point.
Banquet Committee: The banquet committee will meet on Thursday April 6 at 6 pm to finalize items for the April 29th banquet.
Hall of Fame rules: Kathy reviewed the rule in the Hall of Fame process that stated someone who is nominated in a year cannot nominate a person. She felt that if a person is nominated as a surprise, that person might have already nominated someone and that it is wrong to invalidate that entry. There was discussion about finding out the rationale behind that particular rule. A motion was made and seconded to eliminate that rule from the HOF rules. It was approved by 5 for and 2 abstentions.
A motion was made and approved to adjourn at 7:38 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Denise Roberts Wright
NOTE: If you prefer, please watch our saved live stream at https://youtube.com/live/9xaJMAemFkQ?feature=share.