MidAmerica Region, UUA
2018 Business Meeting, June 20, 2018, Kansas City, MO
Approved by the Board of Trustees, July 2018

Welcome

President Eric Huffer welcomed delegates and other members of the MidAmerica Region. He acknowledged Regional Staff Ian Evison, Sharon Dittmar, Nancy Combs-Morgan, Phil Lund, Lisa Presley, and Andrew Zallar and Board Members David Lauth, Tammy Lemmer, and Mitra Jafarzadeh in attendance.

Call to Order

President Eric Huffer called the meeting to order at 4:35 pm Central Time and invited those in attendance to join him in reciting the Purpose of the MidAmerica Region.

Credentials Report/Certification of Quorum

Secretary Tammy Lemmer affirmed that quorum was met by exceeding the required number of represented congregations (25) located in at least five states. Officially there were 153 delegates representing 61 congregations across 11 states.

Approval of Rules of Procedure

Vice President David Lauth moved adoption of the Rules of Procedure as distributed to congregations and as appears on the Region’s website. Dorit Bergen (1st Unitarian Society of Madison) seconded. The motion carried.

Nominating Committee Report

Committee Member Bob Lovell (UU Church of Greater Lansing) presented the report of the Nominating Committee, including a review of the outreach and recruitment process and presentation of the proposed slate. Some challenges were noted, and the slate contains one remaining vacancy for the Nominating Committee. Mr. Lovell extended appreciation to Regional staff for their assistance, as well as current, exiting and incoming members of both the Board and Nominating Committee for their service.

With no other nominees submitted for consideration, Joan Pederson (1st Unitarian Society of Chicago) moved adoption of the slate. LauraLee Woodruff (1st Unitarian Church of Lincoln, NE) seconded. The motion carried.

Expression of Appreciation from our Unitarian Universalist Association

Rev. Vail Weller, Congregational Giving Director of the UUA Stewardship & Development Office shared greetings and gratitude from UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray. Rev. Weller described contributions to the Annual Program Fund as a fulfillment of a promise to be in community with the denomination as a whole, and shared statistics on levels of giving to the UUA and Region. She also provided information on the proposed new formula for calculating the APF requests to congregations. The UUA plans to mail packets to congregations in early fall with general information, followed by an individualized congregational letter with the specific calculations. She noted that volunteers from the Generosity Project, including MidAmerica’s Michele Grove, are available to help connect with congregations.

Recognition of Those Completing Their Service to the MidAmerica Region this year

President Huffer acknowledged the dedication and service of outgoing Board Members Janis Cheney and Doug Cauble. Vice President Lauth expressed similar appreciation for President Huffer, who was completing his 2nd term on the Board after having served on the very first Regional Nominating Committee. Tokens of appreciation were distributed for new and departing members.

Closing Words

David Lauth offered appreciation to those in attendance and offered the following closing words: “It is for today, and for times we shall never see. So let us be about the task.”

Adjournment

Christine Starr-Davis (UU Church of Lincoln, NE) moved for adjournment and Susan Cohn (UU Church of Lexington, KY) seconded. The motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 5:15 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted by Tammy Lemmer, Secretary