Permanent Board minutes | January 21, 2012

12-01 Opening Worship: We opened in waiting worship, as the snow fell outside.

12-02 Roll Call: The Recording Clerk called the roll.

Present: Edward Baker, Holly Baldwin, Aimee Belanger, Travis Belcher, Debbie Block, Deana Chase, Jeremiah Dickinson, John Humphries, Christopher McCandless, Bruce Neumann, Suzanna Schell, Donn Weinholtz, Fritz Weiss, Carl Williams

Regrets: Jennifer Baily (Personnel Committee, Clerk), Susan Davies, Sarah Gant, Ben Guaraldi, Galen Hamann, Jan Hoffman, Allan Kohrman, Rebecca Leuchak, Dwight Lopes, Ed Mair (Treasurer), Donald Mick, Robert Murray, Sarah Sue Pennell, Karen Sanchez-Eppler, Patricia Shotwell, Carolyn Stone, Ruah Swennerfelt, Jane Van Landingham, Rosemary Zimmermann

Ex-Officio: Jacqueline Stillwell (YM Presiding Clerk), Jonathan Vogel-Borne (YM Secretary)

12-03 Minutes of 11/19/2011 were approved with corrections.

12-04 Memorial Minute: Friends heard a memorial minute celebrating the life of David Douglas (West Falmouth). Friends approved forwarding this minute to Sessions, asking that the Memorial Minutes Committee review and edit it, as necessary.

12-05 Report from the Yearly Meeting Secretary: Jonathan Vogel-Borne, YM Secretary, began his report on YM activities in recent months by distributing copies of the 2011 Minute Book, celebrating the completion of this major annual task.

Staff updates: Beth Collea, Religious Education Coordinator, continues to be very active in providing support for First Day School programs. Nat Shed is back from his sabbatical and seems refreshed. Jodi Goodman is still in her 6-month trial period, but her formal training as an archivist is already proving to be a gift to the YM.

Around YM: Young Friends returned to Friendly Crossways for the mid-winter retreat. Jonathan visited for a morning, participating in a very centered period of worship. He noted that the results of a survey of participants posted on the wall included responses to questions such as “Do you believe in God?” and revealed great diversity.

Jonathan shared some concerns regarding the relationships between MMs and the YM based on some recent communications: He reported that the recent North Sandwich MM newsletter referred to what they perceive as “the evangelical agenda of the YM.” He shared that the State of Society report written by YM Ministry & Counsel and distributed to MMs, prompted a formal, minuted response from Worcester MM, expressing disappointment with the text, which “does not address our spiritual condition….” Worcester MM actively engaged with the State of Society report, while most MMs seem to have just ignored it. Several Friends reflected on the process for drafting and sharing State of Society reports in their own MM and QM, with some noting the tensions among differing visions for these reports as an annual report of activities, an expression of our hopes for ourselves and our communities, or an honest reflection on where we are and our ongoing struggles.

12-06 Priorities Process Budget: Jonathan Vogel-Borne presented the current draft of the priorities process budget, which incorporates discernment from the “Funding Our Vision” Day last October, the Personnel Committee, and Coordinating & Advisory Committee. He reviewed the suggested changes in income and expenses, noting that MM contributions were up last year despite an $11,000 reduction in the contribution from Cambridge MM. The “next tier” contributors increased their donations, and that seems to be sustainable, with some smaller meetings giving a significant amount.

While Friends were comfortable with much of the proposal, some saw a lack of integrity in the proposed two-step incremental increase in hours for the Religious Education Coordinator. It was observed that our staff person already works more hours than is reflected in the incremental increase. PB recommends that increasing the RE Coordinator to 32 hours per week be listed as a Level 2 priority.

The next step in the process is to distribute the priorities process budget to YM committees for review and comment. At the same time, a letter presenting an overview of the budget and the budget process will be sent to MMs.

12-07 Report on New England Friends Home Property: Jonathan Vogel-Borne reported on behalf of the Ad Hoc Friends Home Property Committee (see PB Minute 11-78). Referencing the Progress Report distributed with the advance documents, he reviewed the major developments since the November meeting, including: the solicitation of proposals and the decision to decline an initial lease-to-buy offer from a Montessori school, which is now working to identify funding and submit a revised proposal; establishing a formal asking price of $1.5 million while deciding to complete the process of securing an appraisal; the challenge of securing adequate insurance coverage for the property; and steps taken to address the bookkeeper fraud discovered at the end of November.

Jonathan reported that the YM has engaged Steve Snow, a CPA, to help clear up the Friends Home books, close out FY2011, and help to implement best practices moving forward. Current procedures involve Chris Doehlert, who is serving as treasurer for the ad hoc committee, filling out the checks and send them to Alice Schaefer, along with appropriate documents. Alice signs the checks and mails them.

Jonathan clarified the details of the bookkeeper fraud:

• Coughlin Consulting Services (CCS) is the independent contractor hired by NEYM in June 2011 to handle the bookkeeping for the Friends Home following the resignation of the Friends Home’s director. Kim Coughlin is the principal and sole employee of the company.
• CCS subcontracted the work to Tenneysa Hughes, an independent contractor, who is the mother of three young children and performed the work at home.
• Sometime during the summer, Ms. Hughes acquired the rubber stamp signature from the CCS office, contrary to YM’s agreement with CCS that the stamp would remain at the office. Over the next four months, Ms. Hughes wrote 14 fraudulent checks, amounting to roughly $23,000.
• Because the fraud involves independent contractors rather than employees, neither the YM’s insurance nor CCS’s insurance will cover the loss, and due to the use of a signature stamp, the bank will not cover it.
• Ms. Hughes was arraigned in court on January 19, and a warrant for her arrest was issued when she failed to appear.
• It seems unlikely that CCS will survive as a business in the face of the fraud, which also involves other clients in addition to NEYM.
• NEYM has paid CCS $4,159 for the services rendered since June.
• Jeanne McKnight, serving as counsel for the YM, has advised that if we were to file a civil suit against CCS, seeking to recover damages, the expenses of doing so will likely exceed the funds we might recover. A criminal proceeding against Ms. Hughes may provide a greater likelihood of financial compensation.
• Friends addressed the question of whether to pursue legal action against Kim Coughlin for negligence. Several Friends expressed discomfort with pursuing the course of legal action, especially since it seems unlikely to lead to recovering NEYM funds. Friends were also uncomfortable with doing nothing, raising concerns about our responsibility to protect potential future clients from a similar loss and wanting to explore options that could lead to both reconciliation and restitution. Friends recognized the human costs already faced by both Ms. Coughlin and Ms. Hughes.

Friends asked Jonathan and the ad hoc Committee to pursue a face-to-face meeting with Kim Coughlin to explore opportunities for reconciliation and restitution, perhaps at least seeking the return of the fees NEYM paid to CCS. Jonathan intends to gather more information about our options for seeking some compensation within the context of the criminal proceedings against Ms. Hughes.

​​​​​​​12-08 Reports from Coordinating and Advisory Committee (C&A) and Sessions Committee: Jacqueline Stillwell, YM Presiding Clerk, reported on behalf of C&A, as well as for the Sessions Committee.

Mid-year gathering – The notice for the mid-year gathering, scheduled for March 31- April 1 (see PB Minute 11-96), was sent to all MMs last week and will go out to individuals soon. The gathering will be held in a church near the Wellesley meetinghouse to allow adequate space for a large attendance and breakout groups.

Sessions Planning – Aaron Fowler and Laura Dungan of Great Plains YM have agreed to lead the Bible Half-hours, and Joe Crookston has agreed to lead the Tuesday evening session. Sessions Committee is still working to identify panelists for the two plenary sessions.

YM Search Committee – Four more people have agreed to serve on the YM Secretary Search Committee (see PB Minute 11-96): Hannah Zwirner, Dwight Lopes, James Grumbach, and Jackie Stillwell. C&A is still seeking one more person to serve on the Search Committee.

​​​​​​​12-09 Report from the YM Secretary Search Committee: Bruce Neumann, Clerk of the YM Secretary Search Committee, reported for the Committee. It seems unlikely that the Committee will be able to bring a recommendation to PB in May. He suggested that a called meeting in July might be necessary in order to move this process along in time for Sessions. After some discussion, the Coordinating and Advisory Committee decided against seeking to fill an interim position unless this process takes considerably longer than expected. Advertising for the position will commence soon, with a notice in the NE Friend and on the NEYM website; Friends Journal, Quaker Life, and other national publications are being considered. Friends encouraged a widespread promotion. The YM budget includes $1000 for recruiting expenses.

12-10 Report from Personnel Committee: Edward Baker reported that the Personnel Committee has recommended a salary range of $55,000 to $62,500 for the new YM Secretary position. Friends approved this recommendation.

12-11 YM Governance Structure: Jackie Stillwell, YM Presiding Clerk, invited Friends to continue the conversation on YM governance structure, noting that the advance documents had included a comprehensive record of this discussion over the previous decade by incorporating links to earlier reports.

Holly Baldwin shared notes from her conversation with Susan Davies (see PB Minute 11-104). They identified two interconnected issues of concern that have been discussed previously at PB: 1) a lack of meaningful connection with the more remote MMs; and 2) a mistrust of YM structures. While the steps being taken to improve transparency are important, there is still a need for pastoral efforts to address what seems to be spiritual brokenness in the relationships. Recognizing that this concern is broader than the relationship between PB and MMs, it will be important to consult with YM Ministry & Counsel and its subcommittee on Traveling Ministries and Intervisitation, possibly through a gathering of representatives from the three bodies. At the same time, it could be fruitful to be intentional about choosing PB meeting locations that provide opportunities for outreach to and connection with more remote MMs, inviting the participation/attendance of visitors.

One Friend noted the need to address this perception of a separation between the YM and MM by seeking to help people understand that “we are it,” that when you join a MM, you also join the YM. Friends also suggested reviving the practice of formally recording MM representatives to Sessions and continuing to offer scholarships for individuals coming to Sessions from MMs that have not been represented in recent years.

​​​​​​​12-12 Treasurer’s report: Jonathan Vogel-Borne reviewed the written report provided by the Treasurer. He explained the allocation of expenses related to the Friends Home transition: expenses incurred as part of the ongoing maintenance of the property will continue to be handled through the Friends Home books, while any expenses related to the sale of the property (including legal fees) will be processed as part of the YM operations budget.

Edward Baker reported that Eileen Cummings has resigned as Clerk of Finance Committee for health reasons.

12-13 Internal Nominating Committee Report: Donn Weinholtz, Clerk of Internal Nominating Committee, reported the following recommendations:

• YM Nominating (At-Large) – Nancy Isaacs (Monadnock), class of 2015
• Internal Nominating – Donn Weinholtz (Hartford), class of 2015

Friends approved these recommendations.

​​​​​​​12-14 Travel Minute for Kristna Jan Evans: Edward Baker read a travel minute for Kristna Jan Evans, who will be traveling to Cuba as an elder for Betsy Cazden (see PB Minute 11-99). The minute has been approved by Keene MM but has not yet been considered by Northwest Quarter. Friends approved endorsing the travel minute, pending the Quarter’s approval.

12-15 Recommendations from Puente de Amigos Committee: Edward Baker reported on behalf of the Committee. The Committee recommends the following Friends for travel in the ministry as representatives of New England Yearly Meeting to visit and work among Friends in Cuba Yearly Meeting during April 2012:

Wellesley MM

• Christopher Curt Arico-Muendel Matthias Carl Arico-Muendel Christopher Lowell King
• Mary Elizabeth (Marybeth) Toomey Rebecca (Becky) Penn Winkler

Fresh Pond Monthly Meeting

• Jennifer Edwards Baily
• Josie Edwards Baily-Zona