COMMITTEE TO ORGANIZE AN OHIO COURTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Proposed Minutes of the February 8, 2013 Meeting at the Thomas J. Moyer
Ohio Judicial Center
Present: Judge James Cissell, Gary Leppla (via phone), Diana Mercer, Ted Prasse, Terry Scanlon, Don Schweller (via phone), Professor David Stebenne, Judge Tom Unverferth, John VanNorman, Fred Vierow.
A. PRELIMINARY MATTERS
1. Call to Order. Judge Unverferth called the meeting to order at 1:32 p.m.
2. Approval of Minutes. The committee unanimously approved the minutes from the January 11, 2013 meeting.
3. Approval of Proposed Agenda. The committee unanimously approved the proposed agenda.
B. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
1. Report on Action Plan.
A. Action Plan review. Mr. Prasse presented to the committee a draft action plan for the Society. The draft, which was prepared in response to the request of Justice Lanzinger, addresses the following provisions regarding the Society: (1) the case statement for the Society’s creation, (2) the Society’s proposed goals and functions, (3) initial potential projects for the Society, and (4) necessary action steps in establishing the Society. For more information, see the attached copy of the action plan.
Following Mr. Prasse’s review of the draft action plan, the committee members discussed and made several minor revisions to the document. Mr. Prasse indicated that he and Mr. VanNorman will work to prepare an updated draft for circulation to the committee members. Following approval of the updated draft, Mr. VanNorman will submit the finalized action plan along with a cover letter prepared by Judge Unverferth to Justice Lanzinger for her consideration and eventual presentation to the other Justices of the Supreme Court.
B. Discussion of Presentation of Action Plan to the Justices. Mr. VanNorman outlined for the committee members the process by which administrative proposals are officially submitted to and considered by the Justices. In response to an inquiry as to when Justice Lanzinger would present the action plan to the Justices for consideration, Mr. VanNorman indicated that it is uncertain as to precisely when it will occur and that the timing is dependent upon a number of factors, including the Court’s conference schedule, when Justice Lanzinger chooses to present it to the Court, etc. Presentation to the Justices would likely not occur until later in the spring, at the earliest.
2. Discussion of the Formation of the Society. Judge Unverferth lead a discussion of several topics and outstanding issues concerning the formation of the Society.
A. Incorporation questionnaire. Judge Unverferth distributed a copy of an incorporation questionnaire provided by Sonya Jindal, an attorney with the law firm of Taft, Stettinius, & Hollister LLP, who has volunteered to assist with incorporation. Judge Unverferth indicated he will complete the questionnaire and return it to Ms. Jindal.
B. Incorporation costs/finance subcommittee. With regard to the cost of the initial filing of the necessary incorporation paperwork, the committee members agreed that the incorporators will likely be asked to collectively pay the cost. Judge Unverferth noted the need to reestablish the finance subcommittee to continue discussing this and other financial-related issues. He will email the committee members, asking for volunteers to serve on the committee.
C. Finalization of Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. It was noted that the committee members have previously approved the draft Articles of Incorporation, but there are still outstanding issues with regard to the proposed Bylaws. It was decided that committee members should email John VanNorman with proposed changes to the Bylaws and at the next meeting the committee will review those proposed changes.
D. Recruiting subcommittee. The committee members discussed the future need to recruit members for the Society. In response, Judge Unverferth proposed the establishment of a subcommittee to review member recruitment. Judge Unverferth will include this in his email to committee members.
C. DATE OF NEXT MEETING.
The next meeting will be held on April 11, 2013 from 1:30 p.m. until approximately 3:30 p.m. in Room 735 at the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center, 65 South Front Street in Columbus.
D. ADJOURNMENT.
There being no further business to come before the committee, the committee adjourned at 3:30 p.m.
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