Mahamaya Girls’ College Alumnae Association of North America
Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting
September 10, 2005 at 8.00 a.m. (PST)
Attendance (via telephone conference):
Neranjika Dissanayake - Director/Treasurer/Web Manager
Nilmini Dorabawila - Director
Vajeera Dorabawila - Director
Harshi Liyanage - Director
Deepa Dharshani Nanayakkara - Secretary
Arushie Nugapitiya - Director
Geethanjalie Wijayapala Selvendran - Vice President
Sujatha Werake - Director/President
1. Call to Order
With the quorum present, Sujatha Werake called the meeting to order at 8.15 a.m. PST.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Board Meeting that was Held on the 13th of August 2005
Arushie Nugapitiya resolved to approve the minutes and Neranjika Dissanayake seconded it. The Board resolved to approve the minutes without any changes.
3. Welcome the New Directors and Officers
Neranjika Dissanayake, Harshi Liyanage, Arushie Nugapitiya, Sujatha Werake – all of whom were members of the initial Board of Directors – welcomed the new directors and officers.
4. Appointment of an Auditor/Accountant
Geethanjalie Selvendran informed the Board that she contacted Mr. Priyalal Wickramasinghe, who is a retired accountant, about this matter. Further information about the duty has to be given to Mr. Wickramasinghe. Harshi Liyanage mentioned that Neranjika Dissanayake is keeping all the financial records so that Mr. Wickramasinghe can refer to them if required. Geethanjalie Selvendran was told to ask Mr. Wickramasinghe about what kind of information/material he needs (i.e. does he need hard copies of the receipts, etc.). The Board resolved to appoint Mr. Wickramasinghe as the Auditor for the year 2005-2006.
5. Agenda for the 2005-2006 Year
i. Next Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Nilmini Dorabawila and Vajeera Dorabawila suggested that we hold the next Annual General Meeting (AGM) on the Memorial Day weekend. The Board has to yet decide if the AGM should be held on Friday or Saturday of that weekend; the majority of the Board prefers to hold the AGM on Saturday, the 27th of May 2006.
Everyone agreed that a venue that is accessible to most Mahamayans living in the U.S., such as District of Columbia, would be the best. A location that can be used for free, such as a clubhouse, library, or a community center, is preferred; since these kind of places needs to be reserved promptly, everybody was encouraged to brainstorm about the location and e-mail any ideas as soon as possible. No firm decision was made; thus, further information regarding the AGM will be discussed during the next board meeting. The Board resolved to ask Vajeera Dorabawila and Nilmini Dorabawila to work with other alumnae in the East Coast to come up with a good venue for the next AGM.
ii. Plans for the 2005-2006 Year
a. IRS Filing to Obtain Non-Profit Status
Harshi Liyanage informed the Board that the IRS filing should be done in the near future and that the filing fee is $300.00.
Moreover, she mentioned that the IRS filing should be completed within 15 months since the corporation was started. Since March 2005, some laws have been changed, and she will draft the form and e-mail it to the Board before the next board meeting. Arushie Nugapitiya and Pradeepa Wickramasinghe (an Accountant) will assist Harshi Liyanage with this matter. The Board will further discuss about this topic during the next board meeting. Harshi Liyanage also emphasized that our projects for the next year should be aimed at enhancing the purpose (under the Articles of Incorporation) of the corporation. She then read the “purpose” of the corporation.
b. Scholarship to a Former Mahamayan and to a Current Student at Mahamaya Girls’ College, Kandy
Harshi Liyanage suggested that MGCAANA’s main goal should be to benefit the alumnae living in the United States and Canada; therefore, 60% of our projects should be aimed at promoting services to the alumnae in the U.S. and Canada and 40% of the projects should be aimed at assisting the school and its students in Sri Lanka.
Sujatha Werake informed the Board that Mrs. Chathuri Munasinghe is going to present a scholarship to a current student at Mahamaya Girls’ College. Sujatha Werake will speak to the Principal and Vice Principal on Monday, the 12th of September 2005 and will get more information regarding this matter. The Board has to decide if this scholarship money should be given to one student or several students and whether the money should be dispersed in installments. We, as an organization, will be acting as a facilitator on this task, yet this is still an important project that we will be doing in the 2005-2006 year.
The Board also decided to help, at least, a few Mahamayans who come to the U.S.A. and/or Canada for further studies. We can receive information about such students from Mahamaya Girls’ College, and we already know about a few students who have recently arrived in the U.S. The Board should maintain a list of such Mahamayans and should also decide on how many scholarships ought to be given and how much should be spent on scholarships. One idea was to give a scholarship that would be sufficient to buy books for the first semester.
c. Setting-Up a Forum and a Social Network for the Students who Come to the United States and Canada
The Board decided to set-up a forum for the students of Mahamaya Girls’ College, who come to the U.S. and Canada so that they can help each other both academically and socially.
Geethanjalie Selvendran suggested that it would be a good idea to host the Mahamayans, who have come here for studies, during their breaks, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Board asked Arushie Nugapitiya, as a member of the Membership Drive Committee, to gather a list of names of student members and draw a plan in order to establish a student forum.
d. Hurricane Katrina Relief
Geethanjalie Selvendran informed the Board that we should help the victims of the hurricane Katrina. There are a few Sri Lankans who are living in that area. Arushie Nugapitiya asked whether we could use the money of MGCAANA to help these people. The Board resolved that at this early stage of the corporation, we should adhere to projects that aim at helping the alumnae and students, but will certainly look into doing more social projects in future.
e. Bulletin Board and Communication within/to the Members
The Board asked Neranjika Dissanayake about creating a bulletin board in the corporation website. The bulletin board can be utilized to post career opportunities, announcements, and such to inform our members. Also, the members can use it to socialize among other Mahamayans. For the 2005-2006 year, we will use the website, e-mail, and the newsletter to communicate with the members. Further information regarding the bulletin board will be reported during the next board meeting.
f. Monthly Newsletter
The Newsletter Committee is currently working on the first issue of the newsletter, and it will be published in the month of October. We yet have to decide on the name. The Board decided to provide space to the Colombo branch of the Mahamaya Girls’ College OGA in our newsletter.
g. Fundraising
Neranjika Dissanayake informed the Board that we should try our best to collect funds for the organization. Vajeera Dorabawila and Nilmini Dorabawila mentioned that there would be a lot of Mahamayans at the Trinity vs. Thomian rugby tournament so that it would be a great opportunity to do some sort of fundraising activities. One idea is to do a car wash on the day of the tournament; members and non-members may help MGCAANA. Another idea is to hold a stall with short-eats, snacks etc.; this event may be organized as a potluck as well.
h. Gathering Books and Magazines to the Mahamaya Girls’ College Library
Mrs. Pearl Lenora has suggested that it would be great if MGCAANA could collect essential books and magazines that can be sent to the Mahamaya Girls’ College library. We will need a lot of money if we are to buy books from the U.S. and/or Canada and ship those to Sri Lanka, so we should look into alternative ways of collecting books and magazines. Dharshani Nanayakkara suggested that we can do book drives in several states. Sujatha Werake informed the Board that Mrs. Chithra Weerakoon is the contact person in Mahamaya Girls’ College, who can give us necessary information regarding this matter.
i. 75th Anniversary of Mahamaya Girls’ College
14th of January 2007 is the 75th Anniversary of Mahamaya Girls’ College. The Board suggested that we could include special articles, which discusses about the history of Mahamaya Girls’ College, in the newsletter. Geethanjalie Selvendran asked the Board if we could publish a special commemorative magazine for the 75th anniversary; if so, we will need sponsors. The Board decided to establish a committee for this project. We should also start to collect articles for this special newsletter/magazine.
In addition, we should get information about the activities the school is planning on doing for the 75th anniversary to check if there is anything that we could do. If the school is going to publish a book or magazine, we could include an article that discusses about our goals and what we are doing in North America.
j. Yahoo Network Group
Sujatha Werake suggested that a Yahoo group, which can be set-up by us, would be an easy way to communicate between the Directors and Officers. A Yahoo groups allows group mailing, so all the members of the group can see each person’s message; this is a good way to keep everyone informed.
We can form two separate groups, one for everyone and another one just for the board members. The Board resolved to ask Sujatha Werake and Geethanjalie Selvendran to pursue establishing a Yahoo Network Group.
k. Time Line for Our Activities
The next Annual General Meeting will be held in May 2006. The Board should start planning, at least, three months prior to the AGM. The IRS filing will be completed before the end of this year. The first issue of the newsletter will be mailed in October 2005. The bulletin board will be active from November 2005 or so. If we decide to make a special commemorative newsletter for the 75th anniversary of Mahamaya Girls’ College, it will be sent out to the members in the month of January or February 2007. The Mahamaya Girls’ College library project will take place in 2006. We will speak with the school before December to inquire about Mrs. Chathuri Munasinghe’s scholarship.
6. Any other matter:
i. Committees of MGCAANA
The Board decided to establish a committee for the 75th anniversary of Mahamaya Girls’ College project. Arushie Nugapitiya was told to inform the board members about the committee members.
ii. Recruitment of Regular and Honorary Members
Even though there are about 100 Mahamayans living in the United States and Canada, only 32 have joined MGCAANA so far. The Board and the Membership Committee should be active in recruiting members, and it is recommended to contact each person individually. Neranjika Dissanayake was asked to make the list of potential members available to every board member. Mrs. Nadeeka Goonasekara, as a member in the Membership Committee, will assist in recruiting members.
iii. Recruitment of Committee Members
We need more members for the Fundraising Committee.
iv. Contacting Mahamaya Girls’ College
Mrs. Chithra Weerakoon is the contact person at Mahamaya Girls’ College. The school has e-mail, so we can also contact the school via e-mail. The Colombo branch of Mahamaya Girls’ College OGA will send us information as well.
v. Any New Ideas for the 2005-2006 Year
The board members were encouraged to think about more activities that can be done during the 2005-2006 year, and we will keep adding those to the list of activities.
7. Adjournment
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 9.45 a.m. PST.
The next Board Meeting will be held on Saturday, the 8th of October 2005 at 8.00 a.m. PST.
Prepared by,
Deepa Dharshani Nanayakkara