Minutes of the NEIL Meeting for March 30th, 2003

The NEIL Board held a meeting on March 30th, 2003 at Brandeis, following the first Intercon D Con Committee meeting. The meeting was opened at 4:55 PM. In attendance:

The Changing of the Treasurer

Charles Sumner reported on the transition process that will lead to Michael McAfee as the treasurer.

Charles raised the issue of who has signatory access to the bank account. There must be new signers when Charles hands off the duty. Since every signer needs to sign off on transactions, having more than two becomes problematic. The account is at the Stoneham Bank, with offices in Stoneham, Billerica and Wilmington.

It was suggested that Tim and Michael be the signatories. It was suggested that David Clarkson, as the Hotel Liaison needed more access to the account than Tim, because of his dealings with the hotel. It was agreed that Michael and David would be the new signatories. It was suggested that we keep this arrangement as long as one of them is the Treasurer.

It will necessary for the signatories to supply ID - a Social Security Number and a photocopy of legal ID are sufficient.

Charles gave Michael the account ATM card. Michael was also given a copy of the current documentation.

Charles still needs to complete the taxes, and a few more additional tasks before the books can be closed.

Tax Issues

Charles is in the process of filling out paperwork to get NEIL non-profit status on the Federal and State level. We are currently a not-for-profit incorporated entity. We are applying to become a 501(c)(7) entity.

The paperwork will make us retroactively non-profit. There are still tax implications.

Legal Issues

Charles is the current contact person for the lawyers.

Material mailed to the previous Intercon address, including unopened mail from January, was supplied by Jim White. This included an existing bill for $350, for filling out the annual paperwork for 2001 and 2002. There was also a blank for future paperwork for 2003. We also need to make sure that we send the $15 to the state to maintain the registration for the NEIL incorporation. There's a form template for information for the state.

The November 2001 annual report still needs to be filed with the state.

NEIL Bylaws

Charles passed out hard copies of the official bylaws. Jeff will go through his email and compare them to the draft.

The NEIL bylaws will be put online.

Charles also passed out hard copies of the Articles of Incorporation. They are generic, boring boilerplate and contain little relevant information. The only relevant passage is the formal NEIL mission statement in the first paragraph. This will also go online.

Current Financial Statement

Intercon C was firmly in the black, with about $1300. NEIL will have about $3000 on hand, once the con wraps.

There are some bills outstanding:

Recipient Owed
Lawyers $350
State $45
Taxes (estimated) $300

This leaves NEIL in excellent financial shape, with a significant cushion should an Intercon have a difficult year. There will be sufficient monies to support a reasonable web hosting solution as well.

It was suggested that we consider additional ways this money might be used to promote LARP.

LARPA and promoting LARP

A motion was made to repay LARPA for the initial seed money that the ILF provided to Intercon the Thirteenth. This seed money has been passed down from year to year. It is our hope that LARPA can use this money to seed additional LARP events as successful as ours. The motion was seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Jeff reported that the original seed money was $314. A motion was made to set the amount of the repayment at $314. The motion was seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Charles volunteered to write a cover letter. The NEIL Board asked that the letter convey our gratitude for their initial investment.

The Minutes from the Annual Meeting

Jeff distributed a copy of the minutes from the annual meeting. A motion was made to accept the minutes. The motion was seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Hotel Cost Options

The cost of the function space is increased in the hotel contract for next year, by $100. The Radisson offered the convention an option to raise room prices by $5 a night each, with the additional monies used to reduce the costs of the function space.

Room cost is significant for many of the attendees. A motion was made to reject the Radisson offer, keeping hotel room costs at current rates. This would mean that the convention would have to cover the additional function space costs. The motion was seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

The question of room rates raised other issues. Some attendees went online to get last minute rates. They got rooms at $60 a night. This generated some ill-will among the attendees. This changed our room numbers, potentially costing us a significant amount of money. The hotel also lost out in this process.

We should investigate to see if there is a way to lower the room costs further.

NEIL Elections

There was a brief discussion of the NEIL election process and results. It was decided that a longer discussion was merited. The discussion was tabled until a future meeting.

NEIL and promoting LARP

Chad raised the issue of NEIL and promoting LARPs. Chad volunteered to put together a web page (or pages) to describe what NEIL can do to promote LARPs and LARPing.

Chad raised the possibility of using a Build Your Own Game session at Brandeis as additional Intercon promotion. There is also interest in other places, such as the Five Colleges in Western Massachusetts. Chad will try to arrange for a date and a plan for Brandeis.

Conclusion

The Board agreed to meet again when there was a need to do so. The meeting was adjourned at 5:49 PM.