Society Board Minutes – October 2016

IFGS BOARD MEETING MINUTES
10/18/16
Final

TOPICS: Advice to a European author writing a LARP fiction set in New York, adding a “Disciplinary Procedures” By Laws amendment to the fall ballot, standard waivers must not be “customized” by signers.

The 10/18/16 Society Board Meeting was called to order at 8:03 p.m. Eastern Time. Board Members John Jones, Hugh Greene, Dane Lyon, Olan Knight, Pat McGehearty, Brad Evenson and Sarah Gibson were present. David Spence, President of Dallas Chapter and FRC member, Melanie Greene, Treasurer from Northern Alabama Chapter, Michelle Cahill from Northern Alabama Chapter, David Gibson from Dallas Chapter, and James Harmon, President of Central Oklahoma Chapter, were present. Janice Gott Society Clerk also attended.

STANDING BUSINESS:

MINUTES: MOTION: To approve the minutes of the 9/15/16 board meeting (Knight, Gibson, 6-0-1, Evenson abstain).

FRC REPORT: Lyon reported that the FRC is planning a meeting later this week. Spence is soliciting comments from a Dallas game that playtested the new character classes.

SSC REPORT: Jones reports the SSC is reviewing a revision of the Bluebook.

REGISTRY: Current Registry Handbook and waivers are up on the new website.

TECH COMMITTEE: Jones notes that Slackchat (Slack.com) may be more reliable than Skype for running Society meetings, and is worth considering. Brett Paul reported that he has migrated the IFGS.org website to a new WordPress website format, transferring over the old website links. Eventually it will allow committee chairs to post their own updates on the website.

GENERAL PROMOTIONS: Jason Dziuk reported that he and many others have responded to a woman from the Netherlands, a European LARPer, who requested info on how we do things in America, as she intends to write a novel about a fictional LARP set in New York. Spence noted that the Weatherford newspaper posted a nice article about the Dallas Chapter, with photos, that has led to a number of new interested potential novices. Greene noted that their chapter got some interest from LARPing.org website. Dallas Chapter has also had interest through their site.

CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW TASK FORCE: Greene suggested adding a “Disciplinary Procedures” By Laws amendment to the fall ballot. This addition will only require a majority vote to succeed. (Full text of the amendment is below.)
MOTION: To add to the fall ballot an amendment to the Society By Laws including “Disciplinary Procedures” as Article XI (Greene, Evenson, 7-0-0).

ELECTIONS: Jason Dziuk as Election Chair has received two candidate statements already, and intends to advertise for more. Electronic balloting will be open November 1st to December 1st.

CHAPTER LIAISON UPDATES: Greater Milwaukee had a question about the waivers. A participant crossed out items in the waiver before signing it. The Board felt that it was unacceptable to allow people to participate after customizing a waiver, whether it is the Registry Handbook suggested waiver or other standard chapter waiver. Registry will send out a notice to that effect, and add clarification to the Registry Handbook. Central Oklahoma has run their first game, and intends their second game next weekend. Harmon reports they plan to run a Friday evening and Saturday day game at the upcoming IzumaCon, and need experienced help. The date is the first full weekend of January 2017. Dallas offered game day help and help with props. They have not yet changed over their bank account, but plan to.

CONTINUING BUSINESS

SOCAL CHAPTER DISSOLUTION: Gott has been communicating with SoCal about wrapping up their treasury.

MINORS POLICY AMENDMENT: Greene is still working on this.

NEW BUSINESS

No new business.

NEXT MEETING: The next IFGS Board Meeting will be held on Thursday, November 17th. Times for the meeting are 5 pm Pacific, 6 pm MST, 7 pm CST, and 8 pm EST. The meeting will be held on Skype at i_f_g_s or 720.259.1667. The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 pm EST.

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Proposed Amendment to the IFGS ByLaws:

BY LAWS Article XI
DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES

Disciplinary Procedures. The Society Board may, upon accusations of misconduct, review the actions of any IFGS member holding an official position within the IFGS, be it at the Society or Chapter level. Upon conclusion of a review of accusations of misconduct, if the Board finds that corrective actions are necessary, the Board may take any of the following Disciplinary Actions to address the misconduct. Decision to exercise any of these actions shall require a 2/3 vote of the Society Board for each action to be taken.

A. Notice of Censure – Delivery of an official rebuke of actions in the form of a reprimand, aimed at reformation of the person and prevention of further offending acts. A notice of censure shall include: a description of the actions which provoked the censure, the correct and expected actions to be taken in the future including any necessary corrective actions, and expected consequences if the offending actions are continued.

B. Removal from Position – The offending official shall be removed from all official positions within the IFGS and will be further barred from holding any official position for the period of one year.

C. Ineligible to Hold Office – In the case of repeated or particularly egregious offenses, the Board may declare a person to be “Ineligible to Hold Office” within the IFGS. Any person with this status shall not hold any board, officer, or committee chair positions at any level within the IFGS. The ineligible person may petition future Society Boards to review and potentially remove this status.

D. Banning – the Society Board may initiate the Full Society Membership Revocation Process for banning the offending official from the IFGS. This ban may be for a limited time, or permanent. This banning process shall follow current IFGS Membership Revocation Procedures.

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Society Board positions expiring at the end of 2016:
John Jones
Olan Knight
Dane Lyon
(David Wood’s former position) Hugh Greene

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CHAPTER LIAISONS
Dallas – Evenson
Denver/Boulder – Lyon
Norman – Lyon
Pacific Northwest – Jones
Northern Alabama – Gibson

Provisionals:
East Central Oklahoma – Knight
Greater Milwaukee – Greene
Southern California – Knight

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PROJECT LIST

Completed Tasks
Society-level electronic voting – Completed
Society Waiver Forms – Completed
Stoplight Policy – Completed
Milestone & Karma Awards – Completed
Business Cards – Available on Vistaprint
Updating Society Website to WordPress – Completed

In Process Tasks
Updating Governing Documents – In process with Society Task Force
Updated Committee Charters – In process with Society Task Force

On Hold
Character Creation System-CAP4G
Expand and Revise Wiki (Possibly incorporating online rules.) –

Not Started
Updating GW Handbook–
Streamlining the payment processes between Society and Chapters –
Treasury Tracking –
Shared Calendar on Website –
Creation of a Treasury Handbook –
Membership Tracking –
Link Exchanges –
Research for 8.0 Rules Set –

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