TO:                  HIS BRANCHES BOARD OF DIRECTORS               October 1, 2006

FROM:            EUGENE YOUNG

SUBJECT:      MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 9, 2006 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

PRESENT:      W. MOREHOUSE, R. W. KING, T. SMITH, D. BEINETTI, J. BOWMAN, L. ERB, W. LIGHTFOOT, W. WALENCE, AND E. YOUNG

 

ABSENT:        J. FENTON AND A. GEYER

GUESTS:        S. MOREHOUSE, ANTHONY MARTORANA, B. TIMGREN, JESSICA SPEARS (Student from Roberts Wesleyan College), S. CLAWSON, AND ELAINE VIGAR

 

The meeting opened with prayer.

 

Secretary’s Report:

The minutes of the August 8, 2006 meeting were accepted unanimously on a motion by D. Beinetti and seconded by T. Smith.

 

Treasurer’s Report:

The financial report for July 2005-June 2006 was received unanimously on a motion by T. Smith and seconded by D. Beinetti. The property tax and other items had to be put on the credit card. Our current debt is about $5,000. 

 

Kellie Spychalski and two other students from Roberts Wesleyan offered to do a financial analysis of His Branches as part of an internship. It was moved by W. Lightfoot and seconded by R. W. King to accept the offer. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Intercessors/Neighborhood Report:

The Arnett Block Association met in August. Lessons learned from the block party:

1. There is a need for more publicity, including the library
2. New Life needs to be more involved - a Gospel Concert?

 

There was a shooting in the neighborhood in August. The neighbors were concerned about how it was handled.  This was discussed with Officer Trovato from the Rochester Police Department who met with the group. 

 

The park project at the corner of Arnett and Wellington is going forward. There is a workday September 17 to spread mulch and compost. The city has promised to put in a fence, a walkway, and a bench at an estimated cost of $12,000, hopefully before winter.

 

Senior Citizens are helping with a birdhouse-building project at School 16.

 

Governance Committee Report:

On a motion by D. Beinetti and seconded by W. Lightfoot Rev. Anthony Martorana was added to the Board. He is the pastor of Joy Community Church and has experience with youth and family ministry.

 

President’s Report:

Dr. Morehouse reported about development activities in the absence of S. Hays.

• A very helpful meeting was held with the Finger Lakes Heath Systems Agency. They reviewed a list of contacts and grant opportunities. There is optimism that the $20,000 need for the Article 28 clinic will come in.
• A meeting is planned with Preferred Care regarding a possible fund-raiser with Dr. Patch Adams.
• It was requested that people provide names of possible contacts of people or organizations that could help His Branches financially. The names should be sent to S. Hays. D. Beinetti offered to help with M & T bank.
• Dr. Morehouse suggested that the Development Committee should be reconstituted. W. Walence offered to serve on the committee. Dr. Morehouse will contact J. Fenton about his involvement. D. Beinetti and L. Erb will also serve on the committee. It was suggested a schedule should be set up for committee meetings.
• A. Martorana suggested that a letter should be sent to Grace Family Medicine patients asking for donations for the Article 28 Clinic. Transition to Article 28 Clinic is all in place except the $20,000 grant.

 

L. Erb and Dr. Morehouse will meet with Pastor Nicolas of the United Methodist Church regarding a satellite office of His Branches in the North/ Northeast District of Rochester.

 

Dr. Fountain will be in Rochester September 23-27. He will conduct several seminars at various venues.

 

Jessica Spears gave a report on the community health assessment she did as part of her internship this summer.  It involved the following items:

1. Demographics
2. Community leader interviews-pastors, legislators, librarians, etc.
3. Community health care assessment.

The conclusions/observations she came to were:

1. There is a lack of youth programs, especially for teens during after school and summer time. This includes things like sports teams and mentoring. This is especially true of the 12-16 year age groups.
2. The consequences of this lack are that the 19^th Ward has a high teen pregnancy rate and the highest gonorrhea rate country. The abortion rate is also high.
3. There is a breakdown of communication between the community and health care providers. Healthcare providers thought there are enough services but people are not aware of what is available. This implies a lack of communication. 

She made the following recommendations:

1. After school programs for 12-16 year olds at His Branches. Roberts’s students could be recruited to help.
2. Form a centralized network of resources that people can call or online with places to get help with various problems.

It was moved by L. Erb and seconded by W. Walence that Jessica be authorized to start a teen outreach program at His Branches for 12-16 year olds from the neighborhood. This passed unanimously. S. Clawson offered to do a survey with her clients with respect to what activities they would like to do.

 

Peter Grinion is planning to open a counseling center upstairs called “Hope Family Counseling and Support” on October 2. CORE Youth Services will rent the space, with the first month being provided rent-free. Students from Roberts will be helping in the center.

 

Missions Report:

B. Timgren gave a report on the history of her work in Israel and Lebanon. She has been a missionary for 23 years. Her major support comes through her newsletter. She is working in Israel with Lebanese people who were displaced form Lebanon. She is still running a dental clinic that has been in operation for 6 years in Israel and has served over 1,000 people. A Christian Arab dentist is the covering for the clinic to meet government regulations. The service they provide is comprehensive. They have also helped poor Israelis. She is evaluating whether it is time to close the clinic and move on to other activities. She has discussed giving the equipment to another group and she is considering working in the Bethlehem area. This is outside Israel. She is also considering starting a program to teach English as a second language. She will be conducting a seminar on health care in Senegal. She is also considering taking more training for herself. This may involve moving back to Canada. She asked for prayer for guidance on these decisions.

 

Embracing Options:

Sandi Clawson, Director, reported that EO raised $2,500 from the baby bottle drive this year. They will be starting dessert nights as a fundraising project this fall. Last year they raised $3,000 during their dessert nights.

 

Sandy is going to a Care Net conference in Denver next week. She is scheduled to participate in a child abuse conference at Calvary Chapel of Rochester and will also be speaking at Browncroft Community Church in October and Pittsford Community Church in November. EO is partnering with the Palmyra office of Care Net on the ultrasound project and has scheduled a meeting with supportive physicians.

 

EO started a post abortive counseling program and is considering starting a satellite office in the area of Joy Community Church.

 

The newsletter was sent out. EO and His Branches will partner to get a postal permit. EO will get the permit. The minimum mailing is 200 pieces.

 

Adjournment:

The meeting was adjourned with prayer and a devotional based on Acts 1:10 by W. Lightfoot.

 

The next Board meeting is October 10 at 7:30 am at the His Branches Conference Room.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Eugene F. Young