COASTAL SENIOR COLLEGE BOARD HISTORY

Steering Committee – July, 2001 to November, 2002

July, 2001 First meeting to discuss possibility of forming a senior college at University College at Thomaston. Attendees recruited by ads in local papers and personally by Joan Fink, Director of Univ. College at Thomaston. Decided there was enough interest to meet the following month.

August 15, 2001 Chair: Jean Chalmers. 12 present including Kali Lightfoot from USM and Joan Fink, Director of UCT. It was decided to create a Founding Board for 6 months until we can set up our structure, bylaws, etc. We will aim to offer 5 or 6 classes in the spring of 2002. Committees will be Membership, Governance, PR, Volunteers and Curriculum. Special Events will be part of Curric. Kali said the state would provide $5000.00 in seed money.

Sept. 19, 2001 Chair: Tom Molloy. 22 persons present, incl. Mary Frenning from Belfast Senior College. She reported that Belfast held its first classes in Sept. 2001 with 333 members from 42 towns.

It was agreed that Chairs of Standing Committees would be part of the board.

Membership – Shirley Hamlin

PR – David Bailey

Curric. BJ Frederick

Governance – Tom Molloy, Bill Martel

Volunteer: Deb Haviland

October 17, 2001 Chair: Jean Chalmers. 17 present. Draft of bylaws reviewed. It was decided that our senior college would be based in Thomaston, but that courses will be held in additional locations after the first semester.

November 14, 2001 Chair: Tom Molloy. Bylaws adopted. It was moved to charge an annual membership fee of $25.00. However, only $12.50 will be charged initially, until Aug. 31, 2002, to get us in sync with other senior college membership terms. Classes will cost $25.00 each, with $20.00 of that amount allotted for books and materials. The need for brochures was discussed. Special Events should be separate from Curriculum. Meetings will be held on the second Wed. of each month.

December 9, 2001 Chair: Tom Molloy. Group questioned when we would move from Steering Committee to 9 member Executive Committee, as outlined in the bylaws. Curric. Com. presented 9 courses for March – 5 on Friday morning and 4 in the afternoon. Carol Inuyou has been hired to design the brochure, logo, and letterhead. Photos were taken for the brochure. Special Events is planning a Sunday afternoon lecture series. We will try to make decisions by consensus, rather than vote. Senior Spectrum has offered to provide transportation to classes.

January 3, 2002 – There is a statement on file from Joan Fink on our Financial Relationship with UCT.

January 9, 2002 Chair: Tom Molloy. There was a report on the compressed video conference, which Tom and Shirley attended. 5000 brochures will be printed. A mailing will go out on Jan. 18 for spring classes, and posters will be hung. Our first event will be January 27 at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle. It will be a debate – “The Pros and Cons of Current Anti-terrorist Regulations” – between former congressman David Emory and Att. Jonathan Hull, and hosted by Don Carrigan from WCSH. There will be celebratory gathering for Steering Committee members afterwards at BJ Frederick’s home. In Feb. Rabbi Ski will speak at an Open House in Thomaston. Shirley Hamlin has made her first presentation – to the Rockport Boosters Club. The committee agreed to pay $289 for 34 60 second ads on WBach.

February 13, 2002 Chair: Tom Molloy. We have 78 members – and 76 are registered for classes. Officially we are the 11th senior college in Maine. Discussion on how we differ from Adult Education. Consensus: We meet during the day time and have an age requirement. Our goal is cooperate with local adult education programs for mutual cooperation and promotion. A decision was made to hold some classes in Damariscotta in the fall of 2002. Shirley Hamlin put forth the need for an off-site coordinator to prepare for expanding beyond the walls of UCT. This person would locate possible class sites and determine what each site offers. Deb Haviland reported a decision had been made to have a volunteer assigned to each class, chosen from the registrants. This person would assist the instructor in non-teaching duties. The first state senior college leadership conference, sponsored by MSCN, will be held in Lincolnville June 17 – 19.

March 6, 2002 Elaine Storer has agreed to attend our meetings to act as recorder.

April, 2002 Our first session has started with 8 classes and 140 registratrants! We are launched!

May 8, 2002 Ms. Storer is unable to act as recorder. It was decided that instructors who wish to see their evaluations may do so. Jean announced our next special event - Bob Hershon, President of the American Bar Assoc., will give a talk on May 17 at the Rockland City Hall. Shirley noted that there will be 5 sessions of a Book Group over the summer, open to the community. Davene has organized a 3 part lecture series on American Foreign Policy in 2002. Curriculum and Special Events Committees have merged, and are now called the Program Committee.

103 lunches were provided at the End-of-Term Luncheon. 85 tickets were paid for at $5.00 each.

June 12, 2002 Chair: Larry Townley. Mailing of fall, 2002 classes will go to 600 people – one mailing in July and the 2nd in late August. There are still 2700 brochures on hand. It was decided there would be no Special Events during the regular 8 week course period spring and fall. Events should be planned for Nov., Dec. and January. The fiscal year shall be July 1 through June 30 to coincide with the University’s fiscal year. The August Board meeting will be a brief one on Aug. 14th at Larry Townley’s home, followed by a Social Gathering to include the Steering Committee, Volunteers and Office Staff.

June 21, 2002 Chair: Dorrie Welch. Special meeting of the Steering Committee. 14 present. Goal: To plan for the restructuring of CSC by developing a Mission Statement and looking at board issues and bylaws.. The current Bylaws call for a 9 member Executive board, but we are not ready to move in that direction yet. A Mission Statement was adopted:

The mission of CSC is to provide an open stimulating learning community for intellectual growth and personal development for all persons 55 years and more, through courses, workshops and special events.

It was decided to suspend the current bylaws except for Name, affiliation, location, revised mission statement, and the membership and financial sections. It was also determined that a retreat was needed in the fall.

September 18, 2002 Chair: Davene Fahy. 12 present. Decision made to hold “Lunch and Learn” sessions on Fridays between morning and afternoon classes. There may be a speaker, but if not, students are invited to bring a bag lunch and socialize. First speaker will be Luthera Dawson, topic: Maine Lingo.

October 9, 2002 Chair: Larry Townley. 13 present. CSC and UCT have cooperatively purchased a sound system for $950.00. This will be stored in the closet of Room 207. Directions are attached, but Carole Leporati will train those who wish to use it. The small office across the hall from the main office at UCT is available for our use on Fridays, and on other days by appointment. The Luncheon will be held on Nov. 8th at $6.00 a ticket, again catered by the Thomaston Café. MSCN has requested each Maine senior college submit information for a page on their website.

October 23, 2002 Retreat: Friends Meeting House, Damariscotta Co-Chairs: Davene Fahy and Larry Townley; Facilitator: Dorrie Welch (See separate record of decisions made at this meeting.)

Board of Coastal Senior College: November, 2002 to December, 2003

Nov. 11, 2002 Chair: Davene Fahy The first item of business was to vote on the slate of officers presented by the nominating committee:

Chair: Bob Jones

Vice Chair: Dorrie Welch

Secretary: Betty Welt

Treasurer: Shirley Hamlin

This slate was accepted by acclaim. Bob took over as chair and the group recognized itself as a Board, rather than a Steering Committee. He set a challenge of recruiting 10 new Board/committee members by July, 2003. A new nominating committee will be appointed in the spring.

Vote to move from Steering Committee to a Board.

Founding members:

David Bailey

Charmarie Blaisdell

Jean Chalmers

Davene Fahy

Barbara Frederick

Shirley Hamlin

Deborah Haviland

Robert Jones

Carole Leporati

Larry Townley

Doris Welch

Betty Welt

Receipts for reimbursement for purchases should be submitted to receive payment by check (rather than from petty cash.) PR needs to be coordinated from one place. Before holding a special event we should always ask “Why is the event being held – to raise money, attract new members, add variety to our offerings?”

January 8, 2003 John Snow was elected to the Board and also will serve as treasurer.

Committee reports will be sent to all Board members 10 days prior to each meeting. Interest list will be sent by bulk mail. Current CSC members will be allowed to register for classes before other CSC members. CSC members will receive course mailing via first class; interest list will be sent bulk mail. Tim Wilson, Camp Director for Seeds of peace, will present a program at Rockland City hall on Feb. 2. 13 of our instructors took part in a focus group as part of a research study being done at OLLI.

February 12, 2003 Guest Fred Clemens proposed that CSC could be an outreach facility for the Camden Conference. Board agreed. Archives will be kept at UCT if that is possible. We will hold a Faculty Orientation on March 14th, also inviting Classroom Assistants to attend. Seeds of Peace program was canceled due to a snow storm. Survey of past members revealed several reasons for not renewing, but none complained about the courses. Board should allow committees to work independently, rather than work as a committee of the whole. Working groups reported consensus on the following subjects: A CSC calendar should be kept at CSC, with one person assigned to keep it updated. A nominating committee needs to be formed to bring screened names for Board positions. Goal is to add 4 or 5 new members by fall. New Board members should have an orientation prior to their first meeting. We should only hold special events that fit a pre-determined purpose. (Raise money, attract potential members, etc.) Off-site classes should be held in Camden and Rockland. Wiscasset, Alna, Whitefield and Jefferson should be targeted with membership materials. Potential volunteers should be asked to do specific tasks. Archives should ideally be kept at UCT.

March 12, 2003 Posters have been distributed by the Membership Committee to advertise spring classes. Deb Atwell has agreed to do art work for special events. Each event coordinator should contact Debby directly. A summer lecture series is being planned by Shirley Hamlin on Maine Women. Davene suggested we change our name to Thomaston Academy for Lifelong Learning (TALL), partly to clear up our confusion with Midcoast Senior College in Bath/Brunswick.

April, 2003 – Name change discussion was tabled until Feb. 2004. We have received a $500 grant from Sam’s Club. Board agreed to remove an age restriction for SCS, and instead state that membership is open to all seniors. The Board reached consensus on the following:

Special Events will be free to CSC members.

If a fee is charged, only non-members will pay.

From this day forward, CSC will pay no one!

New Board members will serve a 3 year term.

Fall classes will not be announced until after the membership drive. The CSC Brochure will be revised by the Membership Committee.

May 14,, 2003 A special event offered by Sandy Oliver will be held on May 23. Board approved changing our Fiscal Year to May 1 through April 30. Membership year will remain Sept. 1 through Aug. 31. Monthly committee reports should be dated for archival purposes. Formal release forms will be used for all future taping of classes. Copies of the WW2 class videos will be sent to local libraries at cost. Membership will present a CSC program to Lincoln County Realtors.

June 11, 2003

July 9, 2003 New Board members are:

Christine Maxcy

Phil McKean

Henrietta Pearl

John Syrett

A letter will be sent to them, welcoming them, inviting them to an orientation and informing them of responsibilities of Board membership. Membership plans an Open House in Camden in Sept. Bylaws will need to be addressed at fall retreat. Betty Welt reported that the data from the Peer Teaching study has been analyzed, and submitted to The Journal of Educational Gerontology.

September 10, 2003 Board paid tribute to Founder Jean Chalmers, who has resigned from the Board. CSC’s first winter term is being planned for January, 2004. The Board declined permission for Shirley Hamlin to use $150 she has raised through a privately organized fund-raiser for paying travel and honoraria for Special Events presenters. The Board referenced the Board decision of April, 2003 in reaching consensus. There will be a “Name the Newsletter” contest. The Board reaffirmed its intent to continue to strive for consensus in making decisions. No recommendations have been made on the use of the $500.00 Sam’s Club gift. The Volunteer Committee is looking into having someone provide coffee for Friday AM and PM classes at UCT. The Brochure has been revised and 5000 copies have been printed. Note cards and envelopes are also available.

October 9, 2003 If you are unable to be at a meeting and want a copy of any handouts, submit a SASE and the secretary will see that handouts are mailed to you. Minutes are distributed by e-mail. Kali at OLLI has assured John Snow that CSC is insured for liability.

November 12, 2003 A committee of Betty Welt, David Bailey, Charme Blaisdell, and BJ Frederick will review the bylaws and make recommendations to the Board in Feb. 2004. The Membership Committee has initiated the use of gift certificates of $25.00 for CSC membership “for the person who has everything”.

December, 2003 – Coffee at breaks – We could hire a UCT work-study student to make coffee and clean up, or ask a CSC student to make coffee in exchange for a free class. Small group meetings are being held to discuss honoraria and other financial issues. Carole Leporati submitted the winning name for the newsletter “Coastal Senior College News”. The End-of-Term Luncheon is a Board responsibility. Board agreed that class members should be recruited to prepare coffee on Fridays in return for a free course. Curriculum Committee will take Winter session faculty to lunch, to be reimbursed from the treasury.

January, 2004 to December, 2004

January 21, 2004 – Small group meetings continue to be held to discuss honorariums and other financial issues. CSC has purchased a coffee pot to make coffee at UCT. The End-of-Term Luncheon is a Board responsibility. Dave Bailey would like to see more classes held in the Damariscotta area.

February 11, 2004. BJ Frederick made a presentation on how the Curriculum Committee functions and how courses are developed. John Syrett and Charme will create an ad to advertise for instructors. Kali Lightfoot has notified CSC that abolishing an age limit violated the mission of MSCN. We then voted to require members of CSC to be 50 years old. Phil McKean reported that CMCA will open their trips to CSC members, and Atlantic Challenge would be willing to join us in cooperative advertising.

March 10, 2004 Kali Lightfoot was a guest at our meeting.

April 14, 2004 Henrietta Pearl and Christine Maxcy have resigned from the Board.

The following items were agreed upon as a result of the hororaria and financial issues discussions that have been going on in small groups:

We will offer a copy of the text to instructors.

We need to have written policies regarding spending funds.

Instructors, facilitators and presenters shall receive a book certificate for $25.00, plus a voucher for a free course (exclusive of any extra lab fees, etc.) Membership shall be waived for the semester in which the course is taken.

Instructors and Facilitators plus Presenters get invited to the lunch.

Our mission is broad enough to include special events such as trips, and one-day events.

May 12, 2004 A Rag Time Lecture and Concert will be presented on Aug. 22 as a special event. Nominating Committee presented the following slate to take effect Sept. 1, 2004:

Chair: Dorrie Welch

Vice Chair: John Snow

Secretary: Charmarie Blaisdell

Treasurer: John Snow

Phil McKean is working with the Farnsworth on a program with artist Allen McGee.

Betty Welt and Deb Haviland andLarry Townley expressed their intent to leave the Board when their 3 year term expires in August.

June 9, 2004 BJ Frederick reports that John Syrett will become the new Chair of the Curriculum Committee. Lucie Bauer will be invited to join the Board.

Deb Haviland recommends that the Volunteer management Chair be a Board member.

Course registration fee is raised to $30.00 for each class. The matter of who should receive book certificates should be revisited.

Special Events Committee is disbanded. Any future events will be referred to the Board. A template for bringing a proposed event to the board will be drafted by Dorrie and Shirley. Dorrie recommended that Publicity and Membership be combined. A Board retreat has been scheduled for Sept. 18, facilitated by Bob Fraser. The policy and procedures manual will be finalized then. Ten copies of the book, “On Conflict and Consensus” will be purchased for Board members.