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January 6, 2007
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met at the Le Mars Public Library January 6, 2007. Those present gave their name and town. There were four members present who were members from the first year. They were Frank Postma, Iris Hemmingson, Pat Behrens and Hugh Boylan. They gave comments and stories on the early days of the group
The program consisted of each person telling their experiences with early computer programs and how they back up their computer information. A lot of good information was passed on to all.
A Get Well card was signed for John Winterringer.
President Linda Mohning called the meeting to order.
Secretary Pat Behrens read the minutes. They were approved as read.
Treasurer Madeline Meyer reported a balance of $570.97.
Annual reports were given by the president, vice-president, secretary, newsletter editor and librarian.
The 2007 program books were passed out to members.
Madeline Meyer reported that the United Bank of Iowa at Odebolt has the same regulations as the Primebank in Le Mars. Clay Nemmers moved Madeline move the Computer Genies bank account from the Primebank in Le Mars to the United Bank of Iowa at Odebolt to be more accessible to her as treasurer. The motion was seconded by Frank Postma and carried.
Clay Nemmers moved the Standing Rules be changed to reflect the change in banks to show the United Bank of Iowa in Odebolt as the holder of our account.
Linda Zieman will be the speaker at the February meeting. She grew up in Seney, Iowa and currently lives in Texas. She is the host of three GenWeb websites: Plymouth, Sioux and Monona Counties. Bill Jentz moved we allow a $100 honorarium for her, seconded by Shirley Skadeland. Motion carried.
The Iowa Sales Tax Return letter was turned over to the treasurer, who will take care of it.
The meeting adjourned on a motion and second by Ruth Postma and Bill Jentz.
Lunch was furnished by Lorna Brandt, Pat Behrens, Ruth Postma, Linda Mohning and Betty Winterringer.
Members present were: Lorna Brandt, June Dias, Iris Hemmingson, Bill Jentz, Judy Jentz, Madeline Meyer, Linda Mohning, Joretta Mohns, Jean Nilles, Glendon Peterson, Ruth Postma, Frank Postma, Shirley Skadeland, Edith Staab, William Van Wyhe, Linda Wheeler, Clay Nemmers, Hugh Boylan, Pat Behrens, Lorene Letsche, Betty Winterringer. Marianne Meister was a guest.
Pat Behrens, secretary
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met at the Le Mars Public Library on February 3, 2007. Prior to the business meeting, an educational presentation was given by guest speaker Linda Ziemann on the Iowa GenWeb. Linda is the county coordinator for three local county GenWeb sites – Plymouth, Sioux, and Monona counties. There were 20 members and 23 visitors present.
Following the program, refreshments were provided by Janice Albert, Jean Nilles, and Linda Wheeler.
President Linda Mohning called the business meeting to order at 3:25 p.m. The minutes were approved as read. Copies of the Treasurer’s report were distributed to members. The ending balance for January is $570.97.
Lorna Brandt reminded everyone that the programs for March and April have been switched around. The March program as listed in the program book will be held in Storm Lake on April 7, and the April program as listed in the program book will be held in Spencer on March 3. The quarterly newsletter is expected to be out by the end of this month.
June Dias reported on a number of changes that she has made to our website, and all are encouraged to check it out if you haven’t already done so. Click on “What’s New” for a quick look at the recent changes she has made. A counter is located on the bottom of the first page to indicate visitors to the site. She also gave us an idea of where some hits are coming from, e.g. from links from other sites such as the Spencer Library, Plymouth County GenWeb, NW Iowa Genealogical Society, AOL search, NW Iowa Library Services, and Kindred Trails.
Linda Mohning asked for volunteers to write up a handout on making backups.
New Business: There was discussion on the club’s website choices. Members are asked to consider the options, and we will need to make a final decision by next month. June Dias reported that she has been unsuccessful in her attempts to contact the owner of the website service (ACS out of Hawarden) that we currently subscribe to in order to clarify some issues. Our payment for the website is due in April but there is another issue of the domain name which doesn’t expire until July. It isn’t clear who actually owns the domain name. We also have been trying out the myfamily.com website on a trial basis as another option to consider. One problem with using that site alone would be that it would not be open to the general public, which our current website is. Visitors would need a unique username and password from myfamily.com in order to get to our website, and none of the information posted there (such as the pioneer surnames) would ever show up on search engines or anything.
There was discussion on charging a fee for non-members to include their ancestor information on the pioneer surname list on our website. Current members are not charged a fee for their listings. Motion was made by Glendon Peterson to charge non-members a fee of $5.00 for posting their pioneer surname lists for one year. Seconded by Joretta Mohns. Motion carried.
Membership cards were distributed to those present.
There was some discussion with regard to the handling of flowers/memorials in the event of death of a member. Several years ago this was discussed and it was decided to send a card to the family of deceased members. It was moved by Glendon Peterson that it be entered into the minutes to send a card to the family of John Winterringer and to reflect the sentiment that the Computer Genies has utmost gratitude and sincerest appreciation for the continual and selfless dedication to genealogy as displayed by John and Betty Winterringer over the years. Seconded by Clay Nemmers. Linda Mohning will bring the card to the wake or funeral. Members were also invited to send cards/memorials individually as they wish. Suggestions were made to collect donations as a group or individually toward needed equipment for the genealogy room at the Historical Museum. It was decided, by general consensus, to continue the practice of members doing this individually as they wish. Ruth Postma suggested that the genealogy room at the museum could possibly be renamed the Winterringer Heritage Room or something similar. Linda Mohning or Ruth will bring this idea to the museum board.
The next meeting will be held on March 3 at the Spencer Library. Speaker will be Lorna Brandt on “Basics for the Beginning Genealogist”. A Silent Auction of some promotional items from past years will take place at the March meeting. Members were reminded to check their email/website and/or listen to the radio for any notification of meeting changes due to inclement weather.
Meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Lorna Brandt, Acting Secretary
The March meeting was cancelled due to blizzard conditions.
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met April 7, 2007 at the LDS Church in Storm Lake at 1:30 p.m. Janice Danielson presented the program. She had several handouts with lots of good information. She also had a petition for members to take home to get signatures to protest the closing of vital records without first conferring with a panel of genealogists for a better understanding of the use and need of those records. Janice informed us of the happenings of the IGS and the LDS genealogical activities.
Following the program a short break was enjoyed with snacks furnished by Lorna Brandt, Janice Danielson and Madeline Meyer.
The thirteen members and ten guests who were present introduced themselves and told of their favorite research websites.
President Linda Mohning called the meeting to order at 3:20 p.m. The minutes were read and approved as read. The treasurer’s report showed a balance of $817.24. The report will be placed on file.
The webmaster’s report showed 223 visits to our website the past 31 days. She presented several interesting statistics concerning our website. It was interesting to know that eight countries besides the US used our site.
In unfinished business, a discussion ensued on whether our website should stay with ACS of Hawarden or change to Remsen’s Midlands or MyFamily.com. Cost, space availability and accessibility were among the items considered. Webmaster June Dias’ recommendation was to stay with ACS. Janice Danielson moved we stay with ACS, Frank Postma seconded the motion, motion carried.
Ruth Postma reported that the Northwest Iowa Genealogical Society has named their genealogy collection the John and Betty Winterringer Collection and the room at the Historical Museum be named the John and Betty Winterringer Room. John and Betty have done so much work and spent many, many hours working on the genealogy collection. This is a very fitting honor for them.
In new business, we welcomed new members Kent Erickson, Linda Ziemann, Harlan Woolworth, Beth James and Peggy Powell.
Janice Danielson moved we adopt the following Standing Rule #10, seconded by Glenda Gustin, motion carried: Standing Rule #10—The club, or the executive board in the interest of time, may decide to send a card to members on the occasion of a member’s life event such as a hospitalization, serious illness, anniversary, birthday, special honor, wedding or other important occasion. The club or the executive board may decide to send a sympathy card to the bereaved family of a member who passes away. However, any flowers, money, gifts, memorials and other expressions of affection or sympathy shall come from individual members and not the club as a whole.
Lorna Brandt and Linda Wheeler were appointed to update our membership form.
We have five books of obituaries that Darrell Easton collected. Linda Mohning asked for volunteers to index these books. The books would then be sent to Linda Ziemann who will put these obituaries on-line using a voice reader computer program. The index could be put on our website and the books in the genealogy room of the Plymouth County Museum since most of the obituaries are of Plymouth County deaths. Linda has already indexed the first book. Frank Postma moved we do this, Janice Danielson seconded, motion carried. Peggy Powell volunteered to do some indexing.
Stan Bastman submitted a bill for $4.29 for postage and offered to take payment in the form of a membership, a $10.00 value. Peggy Powell moved we deny his request. Linda Wheeler seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Janice Danielson moved we pay Stan’s bill or $4.29, seconded by Lorna Brandt, the motion carried.
Janice Danielson is conducting an evening computer genealogy workshop in Storm Lake through the Community Education program on April 16, 23 and 30.
The next meeting will be at the Public Library in Sioux Center on May 5. Wilma VandeBerg will be the speaker.
The meeting adjourned at 4:10.
Pat Behrens, secretary
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met May 5, 2007 at the Sioux Center Public Library.
Wilma VandeBerg presented a program on Dutch Genealogy. She gave many interesting tips and ideas for Dutch research. Wilma compiled a booklet for those present which included a map, how to research Dutch ancestors, Dutch Internet websites and English meanings of Dutch words. Her information should be a great help to those researching their Dutch heritage.
Betty Winterringer, Frank and Ruth Postma served lunch which included some Dutch treats.
President Linda Mohning called the meeting to order at 3:20 p.m. Members and guests answered roll call by giving their name, town and a “Favorite Dutch Tradition”.
The minutes were read and approved.
The treasurer’s report showed a balance of $762.95. Linda Mohning presented a bill for $11.49 for postage on the obituary books sent to Linda Zieman. Peggy Powell will also have a bill for this and will be paid when a bill is presented. Motion to pay these bills was made by Frank Postma, seconded by Glenda Gustin. Motion carried.
The webmaster report showed 189 visits to our site during the past month, an average of 8 per day.
Progress is being made on the indexing of Darrell Easton’s book of obituaries. Linda Mohning showed a book that has been completed. She contacted the Sioux City Journal to see if putting copies of their obituaries on the websites would be all right with them. As long as credit is given to the paper, it is OK to do this.
There will be a Silent Auction at the June meeting. Pat Behrens will be in charge. Computer Genies promo items, discards from the Librarian tubs and donated items are welcome.
President Linda asked if the club would consider purchasing five Legacy Training CDs for $20 that could be obtained with her purchase of Legacy genealogy program. It was decided that there weren’t enough people using that program that would warrant the purchase of these CDs.
Linda Mohning wondered about approaching other societies to exchange newsletters. What had been done in the past? More thought will be given to this. Some newsletters are now available on-line which will make a difference in any decision.
People interested in doing research in your county for others are needed. E-mail Linda Mohning if you are interested. Pat Behrens is listed at this time on the Iowa Genealogical Society website.
A petition against the closing of vital records in Iowa was passed around for signatures. Most identity theft does not come from these records. Members are urged to write their congressmen.
Frank Postma showed his complete collection of Computer Genies newsletters. He had the members list of the first meeting.
The June meeting will be in Le Mars. Frank Postma will speak on the Resthaven Cemetery project.
The meeting adjourned on a motion by Madeline Meyer, seconded by Glenda Gustin.
Pat Behrens, Secretary
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met at the Le Mars Public Library at 1:30 p.m. Prior to the business meeting, Frank Postma presented a program on the Resthaven Cemetery project. The group drove out to the cemetery to view the structure put up by the City of Le Mars which contains a map of the cemetery and an alphabetical list of the gravestones along with identification of their location. Frank reviewed the process of collecting the information, which initially involved club members walking through the cemetery in 2001, taking pictures and documenting information from the gravestones. Subsequently, obituaries have been collected, discrepancies between city records, cemetery findings, and obituary information have been worked on, and annual updates have been done by Frank. Back at the library, the group was then shown how this information, including gravestone images and obituaries, have been added to the Plymouth County GenWeb site. A question and answer time was provided, and Frank was commended by the group for all the work he has contributed to this project.
Meeting was called to order by Linda Mohning at 3:20 p.m. with 11 members and one guest present. Linda provided handouts from the last meeting on Dutch genealogy for those who were unable to attend that program, as well as Genie brochures and recent information she received from “Dear Myrtle” news.
Announcement was made of the death of Pat Behrens’ son, and a sympathy card was signed by all members present.
Reading of the minutes of the May meeting was tabled until next month.
The June newsletter will be ready in the next couple days.
Madeline Meyer and Janice Albert, serving as the Auditing Committee, reported the treasurer’s books for 2006 to be in good order.
Madeline distributed copies of the current Treasurer’s Report, showing a balance of $749.82.
There was no webmaster report as June Dias has been ill for the last week.
Copies of a proposed new membership form, developed by Lorna Brandt and Linda Wheeler, were distributed for the group to consider. Also a sample page of a proposed member directory, to include member information, picture, etc. was distributed for members to consider. Members were asked to look over the forms and make comments and suggestions prior to the next meeting. The member directory would be something available only to members via a printed booklet and/or in a “member’s only” space on our website.
Linda Mohning handed out sheets showing counties represented in our NW Iowa area, and asked members to consider signing up as a volunteer researcher for one or more counties.
Frank noted to the group that the German American Society in Omaha will host a Platt-Deutsch conference in Omaha in mid July. More information on this will be sent on to Linda Mohning, who will get the details out to all members.
Announcements were made concerning the next Genies’ meeting at the Le Mars Museum and of the next Sioux County meeting with Linda Ziemann as speaker.
Members were given some time to bid on several miscellaneous items displayed on a table as part of a silent auction. Items included were previous promotional items that had not sold several years ago, as well as some items donated by members for the auction, and some outdated or unused materials from the library boxes. The money for the items sold was given to Madeline, and items not sold were taken by Hugh Boylan for storage for a future meeting.
Refreshments were provided by Linda Mohning, Betty Winterringer, Clay Nemmers, and Lorna Brandt.
It was moved by Frank, seconded by Glenda to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned about 3:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lorna Brandt, Acting Secretary
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met July 7, 2007 at the Plymouth County Museum at 1:30 p.m. Iris Hemmingson and Betty Winterringer showed us the many books, files, indexes, etc. that aid in family history research. Many hours have been spent in collecting all this and making it available to the public.
Members and guests introduced themselves and their town and told of their favorite museum.
President Linda Mohning called the meeting to order at 2:35. The May and June minutes were read and approved.
The treasurer’s report showed a balance of $773.82.
A new proposed membership form composed by Linda Wheeler and Lorna Brandt was discussed. Ken Reisinger moved we adopt the new form, seconded by Joretta Mohns, motion carried. This form could be used for a Membership Directory, also. Joretta Mohns moved we have a directory for members only, seconded by Linda Wheeler, motion carried.
Members were asked to sign a paper designating if they would do research for a county in our area. Several names are on the list already. Basically we will cover the counties of Lyon, Osceola, Dickinson, Sioux, O’Brien, Clay, Plymouth, Cherokee, Buena Vista, Woodbury, Ida and Sac. Other counties could be added later if the group desires.
There were some items left from the Silent Auction last month. It was decided to have another Silent Auction at the next meeting in Cleghorn.
Linda Wheeler moved we give a $25 honorarium to Nancy Parrott for next month’s program. Lorna Brandt seconded the motion, motion carried.
Ken Reisinger moved we give the Plymouth County Museum $15 for the use of the museum and for the staff in getting ready for our meeting. Frank Postma seconded the motion, motion carried.
The next meeting is August 4 at the Meriden-Cleghorn Community library at Cleghorn. Nancy Parrott will present the program on the DAR. Other announcements were for the September 1 Genies meeting at the Le Mars Public Library with June Dias giving the program on Beginner’s Web Design. Also, Frank and Ruth Postma are planning to attend the Plattdeutsch Conference in Omaha in mid-July. Maybe they can report at the next meeting
The meeting adjourned at 3:05
Tours of the museum were offered. Lunch was served by Iris Hemmingson, Betty Winterringer and Linda Mohning.
There were 12 members and 5 guests present.
Pat Behrens, Secretary
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met August 4, 2007 in the M-C Community Library in Cleghorn. The silent auction was continued at this meeting with the items left from the June meeting.
Nancy Parrott of the Pilot Rock Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution presented the program on the DAR. Some of the main objectives of the DAR are to promote patriotism, preserve American history and secure a better education for our children.
Lunch was served by Pat Behrens, Lorene Letsche, Bill & Judy Jentz, and Shirley Skadeland.
Introduction of members and guests was made by giving their name, town and earliest ancestor in the USA. There were a few very early immigrants named in the 1600’s.
President Linda Mohning called the meeting to order at 3:10
The minutes were read and approved as corrected. Ron Reisinger’s name was incorrectly recorded as Ken Reisinger.
Newsletter editor Lorna Brandt would like some items to put in the newsletter.
Treasurer Madeline Meyer reported a balance of $733.82
The “Research Help” web pages are about ready to be put on our website. Volunteers are still needed for Lyon and Ida counties and the city of Sioux City. Madeline Meyer volunteered to do Ida County. Frank Postma moved that the counties to be included in our research area would be twelve: Lyon, Osceola, Dickinson, Sioux, O’Brien, Clay, Plymouth, Cherokee, Buena Vista, Woodbury, Ida and Sac. Lorna Brandt seconded the motion, motion carried.
The new membership forms composed by Linda Wheeler and Lorna Brandt were passed out to the members present. The information on these forms would be used to form a Membership Directory after the October meeting. Other information could be added for a directory such as a short biography, how you got started in genealogy, maybe a photo of yourself.
There was a question concerning the possibility of an annual silent auction of items pertaining to genealogy or computers. The matter was tabled.
Volunteers to serve on the nominating committee are needed. Election of officers is in November.
The meeting adjourned on a motion by Joretta Mohns, seconded by Madeline Meyer. Motion carried.
Pat Behrens, secretary
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met September 1, 2007 at the Le Mars Public Library with 14 members and 6 guests present.
Lorna Brandt presented the program on Beginning Genealogy. She talked about various forms to use, proving your data, organizing your material and provided several genealogy websites which might be useful to the genealogist.
Lunch was furnished by Hugh Boylan and Linda Mohning.
President Linda Mohning called the meeting to order at 2:55. Members and guests introduced themselves giving their name, town and the genealogy software they use.
The minutes were read by Secretary Pat Behrens and approved as read.
President Linda had some handouts from the genealogy library at Fort Wayne, Indiana, which she shared with those present. She also pointed out that anyone using the GoodSearch website would be helping the Iowa Genealogical Society earn some money. Ancestry has been selling biographies, which they have taken from family websites. They have had many protests about this action. The 2008 version of Family Tree Maker has made two unpopular changes to this new version and they do not offer an update for a reduced cost to current users. This has caused some protests, also. There were some newsletters from other groups passed around for the group to see.
Treasurer Madeline Meyer reported a current balance of $771.82.
Lorna Brandt of the Membership Committee reported she had the new forms on hand for those who needed one.
Pat Behrens reported on a research query for JOHNSON. Linda Wheeler has been working on this.
Membership forms are due before December. Information on these forms may be used for a Member Directory. A short biography of yourself, how you started genealogy and a picture would be appreciated. This would be compiled and given out at the January meeting.
The president appointed the current officers to be the nominating committee. Election is in November.
A good winter project would be a NW Iowa Genealogical Research Directory. Wilma Vande Berg of Sioux Center said we could use her directory as a starting place and then update information for all 12 counties in NW Iowa. Her counties include Lyon, Osceola, O’Brien, Sioux, northern Plymouth and northern Cherokee. She included cemeteries, morticians, churches, libraries, newspaper files, societies, history books, what’s at the courthouses and more. This would be a very useful research tool.
Announcements:
The next Genies’ meeting will be in Spencer, Oct 6, program by Lorna Brandt on “Celebrate Family History Month”.
DAR Workshop by Martha Washington Chapter DAR, October 27 at Morningside Public Library, Sioux City.
Plymouth County Country School Reunion, September 22 at Plymouth County Museum.
Frank Postma announced that the Sioux County newspapers will be scanned and be available to the public at Sioux County libraries.
Three of the guests have joined the Computer Genies. They are Janet Manning of Le Mars, Nancy Sonnichsen of Le Mars and Phyllis McMillian of Sioux City.
The meeting adjourned.
Pat Behrens, secretary
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met on Saturday, October 6, 2007 at the Spencer Public Library with 6 members and 3 guests present. A program on Family History Month was presented by Lorna Brandt, and there were items displayed by several in attendance in honor of their heritage.
Refreshments were provided by Madeline Meyer, Joretta Mohns, and Lorna Brandt.
The meeting was brought to order by President Linda Mohning at 2:45 p.m. Linda shared some information and instructions on how to access some 1930 aerial photos of Iowa land from the Department of Natural Resources.
Treasurer’s report was given by Madeline Meyer. There were three new memberships received in the past month, each for a half year. No expenses reported. Ending balance as of October 6 is $786.82.
The “Research Help” pages should soon be posted by June Dias on our website.
New membership forms were distributed.
Members were encouraged to volunteer for nomination for office positions for next year. Ideas for programs for next year are also welcome.
Volunteers are also needed to assist in developing a directory of genealogical resources for NW Iowa. We will be updating and adding to the work already done by Wilma Vande Berg of Sioux Center. Wilma has done the counties of Lyon, Osceola, O’Brien, Sioux, Northern Plymouth and Northern Cherokee. We will want to add Dickinson, Clay, Woodbury, Ida, Sac, Buena Vista, Southern Plymouth and Southern Cherokee.
There was discussion regarding moving the membership deadline up from the
current October meeting date. It was moved by Linda Wheeler, seconded by Glenda
Gustin that reminders be sent in March to previous members who have not paid
dues by then, and to set the deadline for dues to the June meeting. This would
not affect new memberships, only continuation of membership from the previous
year. Motion carried. It was noted that this will require a change to Standing
Rule #7 of the Bylaws.
The next meeting will be held at the Le Mars Public Library on November 3, with a presentation on Family Tree Maker II (advanced CD version).
Motion to adjourn by Joretta Mohns, seconded by Madeline Meyer. Meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lorna Brandt, Acting Secretary
The Computer Genies of NW Iowa met Saturday, November 3, 2007 at the Le Mars Public Library with 15 members present. Introduction of members included their name, town and Best and/or Worst Thanksgiving Food.
The program was the Advanced Family Tree Maker DVD that showed many helpful ideas and how-tos.
Lunch was furnished by Linda Mohning, Edith Staab, June Dias and Betty Winterringer.
President Linda Mohning called the meeting to order at 2:55 p.m.
The minutes were read and approved as read.
The treasurer’s report showed a balance of $796.82. There was a $10 deposit for dues for Darcy Schultz.
It was reported that the club’s librarian boxes are being kept at the Plymouth County Museum. It was suggested that we contribute something to the museum for the space taken by our boxes. Our president will talk to Iris Hemmingson to see about this.
The Research Directory was discussed. It was noted that Woodbury County has also put together a research directory with covers seven counties. This book can be found in the Le Mars Public Library. For our research directory the members decided to add printed books and histories to our categories.
In new business, some changes to the by-laws were discussed. Linda Mohning suggested the following changes to Article V: Officers and Elections
Section 1. Officers: Change ‘librarian and webmaster’ to ‘webmaster and librarian’ to comply with Article VI.
Section 3. Elections: Elections shall take place at the regular November meeting, a slate of nominees having been obtained by the nominating committee with permission of the nominees. A majority vote is needed to elect any officer. Candidates may be nominated from the floor for any office.
Section 3 suggested changes would read:
Section 3. Elections:
a. Elections shall take place at the regular November meeting, a slate of nominees having been obtained by the nominating committee with permission of the nominees.
b. The nominating committee shall prepare, and make copies of, a Single Ballot, which may be used, for the election. The nominating committee may also supply slips of paper for ballots and any other items necessary for conducting an election.
c. Candidates may be nominated from the floor, for any office, if their consent is obtained.
d. The election shall be conducted by a ballot vote.
e. The members shall decide, before voting, whether to use either a Single Ballot or Multiple Ballots.
1. A Single Ballot. All offices and nominees are listed on one sheet of paper. All
nominations from the floor shall be accepted for each office, at one and the same time, prior to voting.
2. Multiple Ballots. Members shall vote for each office, consecutively, in the
order as listed in the bylaws. Nominations from the floor shall be accepted for
each individual office, one office at a time, immediately prior to the balloting
for each office.
f. A majority vote is needed to elect any officer. A majority is defined as “more than half of the votes cast”. If no candidate wins a majority, additional balloting is required until one candidate wins a majority of the votes. The nominee with the least votes is not required to drop out.
g. Write-in candidates are allowed so long as consent is obtained prior to the balloting.
h. Tellers shall distribute, collect and count the ballots and report the results to the group.
i. The president shall declare the results of the balloting.
j. The results of the balloting shall be entered into the minutes.
Frank Postma moved we accept these proposed bylaw changes, seconded by Janet Manning, with a final vote to be taken at the December meeting. The motion carried.
Election of officers followed. Glenda Gustin moved we use a Single Ballot for election, seconded by Joretta Mohns. The motion carried.
The officers for 2008, elected unanimously are:
President – Linda Mohning
Vice-president – Linda Wheeler
Secretary – Pat Behrens
Treasurer – Madeline Meyer
Newsletter Editor – Lorna Brandt
Webmaster – June Dias
Librarian – Hugh Boylan
The president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer are the program committee. It was decided to do this by e-mail since it is difficult to find a time when everyone can meet.
The December meeting will be at the Le Mars Public Library with the program to be a video from IPTV on rural life in the 1930’s. Lunch will be potluck Christmas treats.
The meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m.
Pat Behrens, secretary
Members present were: Janice Albert, Pat Behrens, Lorna Brandt, Glenda Gustin, Madeline Meyer, Linda Mohning, Joretta Mohns, Glendon Peterson, Frank Postma, Edith Staab, Maureen Timblin, Linda Wheeler, Betty Winterringer, Janet Manning, Phylllis McMillan