[printprofilepic]This has been an exceptionally busy period for the Board, one in which we had a number of important changes to discuss and vote on.
First and foremost: the hiring of a new Director of Religious Education (DRE). For the last several months, the DRE search team, led by Mark Peterson, has been hard at work looking at resumes and interviewing potential candidates. Their choice for an on-site interview was De Anna Hoyle. Last week, the Interim DRE, Benette Sherman; the minister, John Cullinan; the RE committee; the search team; members of the Board, and others met and talked to her. Based on that, the search team requested that we offer her the job. The Board approved the hire and she has accepted.
Second, we spent some time in trying to set up a more usable allocation of building space. We have been looking for a space solution that would open up a music room for the various choirs to practice and for needed storage. In addition, a number of church attendants have asked for a quiet space to meet for discussions before and after services on Sunday. We have come up with a solution, which, although it leads to a decrease in RE space, meets these requirements.
Third, we have been working hard on defining a FY12 budget. This has required us to work closely with our Steward, Dianne Wilburn, to collect as many pledges as possible to finalize our numbers prior to the upcoming Congregational meeting on May 1. Thank you, Dianne, for running a great face-to-face canvass.
Finally, several months ago the board approved the purchase of new accounting and administrative software. Recently we worked with a professional accountant who pointed out that we needed to tighten up our accounting practices to meet expected standards, particularly if we were audited or when we begin to approach lending companies. We expect to switch over to the new accounting system beginning July 1.
Dean Carstens
2010-2011 Church President
