In Attendance: Karen Allgeier, Art Anderson, Betty Flaherty, Edwina Gesler, Deanna Leuenberger, Diane Edwards, Jackie Holmberg, and Joanna Anderson

The meeting was opened with prayer by Jackie Holmberg at 8:15 p.m. following the 6:00 p.m. Christmas Dinner held at the Waterfall Restaurant.

Reading of Past Minutes:
• A motion was made and seconded (A. Anderson/Leuenberger) to accept the November 9, 2008 minutes with the following corrections:
o Under REPORTS the October 2008 operating fund balance is changed to $8,025.94

Admission of New Members: As of Sep 1, 2008
• 26 New Members
• 5 Associate Members
• 1 Youth Member

Correspondence:
• Thank you note from Lutherlyn from the Quilt Show
• Thank you note from Kitty Canalli from the Community Shelter
• Thank you note from the Milani family of Greene Township
• Thank you note from the Bittner family
• An e-mail from Jean Taylor for work from Thrivent Rep

REPORTS:
A. Financial: Deanna presented the following information for December of 2008, the operating fund balance is $7,211.94 and the check book balance is $7,461.94 A motion was made and seconded (Edwards/A. Anderson) to accept as presented. Motion carried.
B. Congregational Service Team Director: No report was presented. Diane requests to have all volunteer hours submitted before the end of December.
C. Events Director: No report
D. Communications Director: No report
E. Communications Service Team Director: No report
F. Youth Director: No report
G. Advisor’s: Jackie stated that remaining funds will go to the Community Shelter.

Reminder: Karen will send reminder to congregations that they have until Dec 20th to spend funds.

PROJECT REQUESTS: None

OLD BUSINESS: None

NEW BUSINESS:
A. Year end things to be done:
Request for Auditors- recommended Rick Lee, Bob Young, and Diane Gianelli
St Paul’s Storage: space needs to be relocated
January 24, 2009 – 1 day training planned in Pittsburgh

B. Habitat for Humanity:
June 1-21, 2009
Volunteers from Thrivent
Host benefits to raise money
Money needed by April 1, 2009

NEXT MEETING: January 11, 2009 @ 6:00 p.m. Prince of Peace Church

ADJOURN: Meeting was closed 9:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

I. Meeting was called to order at 6:00 by Karen Allgeier

II. Roll Call
a. Present: Karen Allgeier, Patti Melpolder, Anna-Marie Labowski, Deanna Leuenberger, Diane Edwards, Art Anderson, Jacque Holmberg, Edwina Gesler, Guest Joanne Anderson

III. Communications
a. Thank you from Audrey Hettrick for the going away luncheon and gift
b. Thank you from Jean Taylor for the luncheon and gift
c. Karen sent a letter to St Paul’s Lutheran Church, Erie regarding use of space at their facility for meeting and filing space

IV. Diane gave an update on the Thrivent Builds Project application which has been submitted.

V. Project Requests
Request # Recipient Amount Requested
0816 McKean Council of Churches $150
Art made a motion to match funds at a ratio of 1:1 up to $150 for this fundraiser. Second by Deanna. Motion carried

0817 ELCA World Hunger $150
Anna-Marie made a motion to match at a ratio of 1:1 up to $100 for this fundraiser. Second by Art. Motion carried.

0818 Saegertown area needy families no amount specified
Art made a motion to table this request. We need to get more information about the activity and the amount requested. Second by Diane. Motion carried.

0819 NFL alumni $1600
Deanna made a motion to deny this request. Second by Art. Motion carried.

0820 Lutheran Youth of Erie $450
Anna-Marie made a motion to match up to $450 ($50 per youth) for this fundraiser. Second by Art. Motion carried.

0821 Mike Milani Family $5000
Deanna made a motion to match at a ratio of 1:1 up to $5000 for this fundraiser. Second by Diane. Motion carried.

0822 Community Shelter Services $1600
Art made a motion to table this request. Second by Deanna. Motion carried.
0823 Community Shelter Services $800
Art made a motion to table this request. Second by Deanna. Motion carried.

0824 Bitner $1600
Anna-Marie made a motion to fund this hands on service project for $1600. Second by Diane. Motion carried.

0825 ELCA Disaster Relief Appeal $1600
Anna-Marie made a motion to table this request and look into the details of this appeal. Second by Art. Motion carried.

0826 Love Inc. West County $500
Deanna made a motion to match at a ratio of 1:1 up to $500. Second by Art. Motion carried.

VI. Old Business
a. Discussion was held about what to do with the leftover hams from the election meeting. After much discussion it was decided to divide them between the food pantries in Cambridge Springs, Kearsarge, Wesleyville, Girard, Bethany, and Holy Trinity

VII. New Business
a. Deanna will order calendars for to coordinators to be given as Christmas gifts

• Karen Allgeier, Chapter President, welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming

• Pastor Coleman of Abiding Hope welcomed everyone to their church. He offered a prayer to start the meeting

• Edwina Gesler read a letter of thanks

• Anna-Marie Labowski gave a summary of chapter activities for the year.

• Karen introduced a new Financial Advisor Terry Hojac

• Karen presented those who were nominated for positions on the board. They were each asked to stand as they were introduced. The nominees include:

o President- Karen Allgeier
o Vice President- Patti Melpolder
o Records Director- Betty Flaherty
o Financial Director- Deanna Leuenberger
o Assistant Financial Director- Diane Edwards
o Congregational Service Team Director- Anna-Marie Labowski
o Events Director- Art Anderson
o Advisors- Jacque Holmberg, Edwina Gesler

• Karen announced that we have vacancies for Community Service Team Director, Communications Director, and Youth Director. Anna-Marie explained what each of these positions are and what kinds of skills are required.

• Nominations were accepted from the floor. David Krantz was nominated as communications director.

• Jacque Holmberg made a motion to close the nominations. Second by Edwina. Motion carried.

• Anna-Marie made a motion to cast a unanimous ballot. Motion carried.

• A skit “Food For Thought” was presented by Andy Edwards, Jacque Holmberg, and Anna-Marie Labowski. The skit helped to explain the role of the congregational coordinator. The skit also incorporated a video which reviewed the process of planning a Care in Congregations activity.

• Diane Edwards summarized the play and the Care in Congregations and Care Abounds in Communities programs. She then reviewed the contents of the black bags that each congregation was given when they signed in. She thanked the coordinators for all of their hard work throughout the year.

• Two break out sessions were offered. Deanne Leuenberger led a session about the Care Abounds In Communities Program. Trudy Sallach led a session about the Care In Congregations program.

• After the break out sessions the group gathered in the social hall for a meal and door prizes.

I.Roll Call
a. Present: Karen Allgeier, Anna-Marie Labowski, Art Anderson, Patti Melpolder, Deanna Leuenberger, Diane Edwards
b. Guests: Joanne Anderson

II.Devotions

III.Reading and approval of minutes from July and August

a. Meeting minutes from the July and August meetings were reviewed.

IV.Admission of New Members
a. Motion to accept new members was made. Motion carried.

V.Correspondence

VI.Reports
a. Financial Director
i. The financial report was reviewed. Motion made to accept the report as presented. Motion carried.
b. Congregational Service Team Director
i. There is a new congregational coordinator at Mt Calvary. This needs to be changed with the home office
c. Events Directr
i. No report. Art asked how many hams we will need for the election meeting
d. Communications Director
i. No report
e. Community Service Team Director
i.No report
f. Youth Director
i. No report
g. Advisors

VII.Project Requests
a. No requests at this time

VIII.Old Business
a. Nominations.
i. Karen has agreed to run again as President.
ii. Patti as Vice President.
iii. Betty Flaharty running as Records Director.
iv. Diane will run as Assistant Financial Director.
v. Deanna has agreed to stay on as Financial Director.
vi. Anna-Marie will run for Congregational Service Team Director.
vii. Art will run again as events director.
viii. Edwina and Jacque would like to be appointed as special advisors.
ix. Still need a communications director and a youth director.

b. Election Meeting:
i. The meeting will be held on October 5, 2008 at Abiding Hope.
ii. Discussion was held about getting a mailing out to all members asap. A meal will be served. This will be a coordinator recognition (and training) as well as the elections.

iii. Each congregation represented will get $25 plus 6 hams. Deanna made a motion to order 192 hams (6 per congregation). Second by Patti. Motion carried. Hams will be given to congregations who are represented at the meeting (6 each). Leftover hams will be distributed to a local food pantry. Suggestion to put something in the invitation stating that any extra hams will be given to a food pantry (not delivered).

iv. Jacque suggested that we do a newsletter mailing as well as a postcard mailing through Thrivent’s mailing service to all members with brief info on the postcard saying that they will receive additional information in their newsletter. Also do our own postcard mailing to all of the coordinator and churches with the information.

v. Karen and Deanna will take care of getting prizes for the meeting. Motion made by Diane to spend a total of $300 on prizes. Second by Deanna. Motion carried.

vi. Diane has come up with an entertaining skit to help explain the role of the congregational coordinator and the Care Abounds in Communities and Care in Congregations programs. There is a video that will be shown during the skit that talks about those programs. The participants will then break into 2 groups to learn more about the details of those programs.

vii. National board of Directors election. Karen asked if anyone has received any information about this yet and no one had. Karen said that we usually put something in the newsletter reminding people to vote.

IX.New Business
a. Jacque talked to a local pastor and discussed potential needs from Lutheran organizations that someone could do a fundraiser for to use up some of the Care Abounds in Communities money. Some suggestions included World Hunger, National Youth Gathering, Bethesda, and local burn victims.

b. Deanna reminded everyone that they can request reimbursement for internet useage and mileage for meetings.

c. Anna-Marie reminded everyone to calculate volunteer hours for the year so they can be submitted on-line. You do not need to keep track of meeting time and you do need to keep Waldameer hours separate.

d. Jacque reminded everyone about the good-bye luncheon for Betty, Audrey, and Jean Taylor to be held next week. Deanna made a motion to get each of them a Country Fair gas card worth $25 to honor and thank them. Second by Art. Motion carried. Motion made by Diane that we pay for the luncheon out of operating funds. Second by Art. Motion carried.

X.Next Meeting October 5, 2008
a. Election meeting to be held at Abiding Hope. Registration from 2:30-3:00. Meeting and workshops from 3:00-5:00. Dinner at 5:00.

Meeting was called to order at 6:18 pm by President, Karen Allgeier.

Attendance: Karen Allgeier, Deanna Leuenberger, Diane Edwards; Audrey Hettrick, Jean Taylor and guest Terry Hokaj, Financial Consultant.

Minutes were handed out and tabled till next meeting.

New members were tabled until next meeting.

Correspondence: We received several thank yous which were passed around. Also, handouts from Community Shelter Services.

Reports:
1) Financial Reports - were passed out and tabled until next month, since there was not a quorum.
2) Congregational Service Team - Diane and JJ met for lunch and brainstormed for the Training Program at the Election Meeting. Deanna will head the Care in Communities and Jackie and/or Trudy will work on Care in Congregations.
3) Tentative Schedule for the Election Meeting will be:
a. Registration 2:30 – 3 pm
b. Meeting & workshops 3 – 5 pm
c. Dinner 5 pm

Deanna and Karen will get the prizes. All churches, co-ordinators and members should be invited.

Each church represented will receive 6 hams and $25. - theme: Member Appreciation!

4) Advisors -
Jean Taylor announced that she is leaving Thrivent. Audrey voiced to Jean how we all felt; “What a pleasure it has been to work with you!” Jean replied that she was very happy to have been a part of Thrivent and especially enjoyed working with all of us.

Requests:
#0815 Motion by Deanna and second by Diane to match $1 for $1 up to $1,000 the Benefit Chicken B-B-Q for Village at Luther Square. A phone call vote will be taken for this motion.

Old Business:
Waldameer - Checking on the date

Candidates for the board - we need several - many suggestions were made. Karen will work with Patti
Melpolder on contacting candidates. All are encouraged to help out.

Question on a Check issued to Luther Memorial nearly a year ago for $25. Consensus is re-issue check.

New Business
Cameras - are they necessary? How are they working?

Next Meeting is scheduled for September 7, 2008 at 6 pm at Prince of Peace.

Request #0815 received a motion carried status after a phone vote.

1. Meeting was called to order by president, Karen Allgeier at 2 p.m.

2. Attending meeting were, Karen Allgeier, Diane Edwards, Deanna Leuenberger, Art & Joanne Anderson, and Audrey Hettrick.

3. Minutes and new members were tabled until next month.

4. Join Hands Day project in Erie was attended by Anna Marie and her family, Bill & Lucille Grabowski and Audrey Hettrick.

5. Anniversaries for various churches were discussed. A list can be obtained by calling the Synod office - this year is St. Johns, St. Stephens, and Christ the Redeemer??

6. Correspondence was a letter from Bob Young about the audit which was done earlier - everything was fine.

7. Financial Report - no written report - Balance as of June 30 was $8,049.33

8. Picnic - approximately 100 were in attendance for the picnic(115 tickets sold and 139 registered for the picnic) - food was great, weather was great! Next year will be July 11th pending arrangements with Waldameer

9. Newsletter - need to send one with info about how great the picnic was, the election meeting coming up, the need for board members, etc. Discussed having the board get together for lunch some day to wish a farewell to Audrey and Betty who are both moving this fall. More next month.

10. Diane Edwards and JJ Lee will be lunching some day soon to discuss training sessions at the election meeting. JJ has some ideas to share. Suggestion that we label packets for each coordinator so we know who has received info and who hasn’t. Tentatively Election Meeting is set for October 5th at Abiding Hope - will have to check with Edwina (Jackie Holmberg).

11. Requests:

a. #0814 Gradler - Motion by Deanna and second by Diane that we approve at $1 for $1 up to $5,000 since this is a medical case. Carried

12. Our next meeting will be on August 10th at 7 pm at Prince of Peace. (2nd Sunday of the month, since Karen will be out of town on the 3rd)

1. Roll Call: Karen Allgeier, Deanna Leuenberger, Diane Edwards, Art Anderson
Guest: Anderson

2. Devotions were led by Deanna- Shaped by the Mystery of the Triune God

3. Minutes from the May 4, 2008 meeting were reviewed. Motion to accept the minutes made by Deanna. Second by Diane. Motion carried.

i. It was noted that Diane’s roll has not been officially changed on the website. Karen will call Jean to see what needs to be done to change this.

4. Admission of new members. Art made a motion to accept new members. Second by Deanna. Motion carried.

5. Correspondence:
i. Karen reminded everyone to read the e-news online.
ii. Thank you from the Northwestern Food Pantry for our donations.

6. Reports
A. Financial Director: No activity in operating funds. Balance $8242.80.Check book balance $11,493.06. Care Abounds in Communities balance $13,730. Motion to accept the financial report made by Diane. Second by Art. Motion carried.

B. Congregational Service Team Director- Diane
a. Diane suggested that we consider doing a mini training for coordinators at the annual meeting in November. Make it a workshop type event with breakouts to discuss the Care Abounds In Communities and Care in Congregations programs. There was a suggestion to maybe do a skit or something more interactive to get people’s attention. Could possibly do the breakouts while the votes from the election are being counted and then come back together after the breakouts to announce the results. We then need to do the installation of officers. Deanna made a motion to have the training session at the fall election meeting. Second by Anna-Marie. Motion carried. Edwina will check to see if we can use Abiding Hope. Date for the meeting would be October 5, 2008.

C. Events Director – Art Anderson
a. Waldameer Day is July 5, 2008.
b. Deanna will order give a ways for those attending. She suggested that we order 40 frisbees, total of 40 coloring books and crayons, 100 cups, and pens.
c. The schedule has changed to have the church service at noon before we eat in hopes that more will attend.
d. Ticket prices are $14.25. We will charge $14.00 per person. Diane made a motion for the board to cover the extra 25 cents per ticket. Second by Deanna. Motion carried.
e. Art ordered the sausage. He will also order the hot dogs.
f. Trudy will be there to help out that day and is also organizing additional volunteers to help day of.
g. Karen will check with Jacque and Betty to see what supplies we have left and what we need to buy. She will then let Art know what else we need. Art and Joanne will take care of buying additional supplies.
h. Art will check with Bill Cole about getting the drinks.
i. Deanna asked about port-a-potties. It was decided that with being at a closer pavilion we probably don’t need them this year.

D. Communications Director
a. Position is vacant
b. If anyone has anything for the newsletter let Karen know.

E. Community Service Team Director
a. Position is vacant

F. Youth Director
a. Position is vacant

G. Advisors
a No report from Edwina

7. Project Requests
a. Discussion held regarding matching funds for an event where there will be a Chinese auction or silent auction. It was decided that if there was a charge to get into the benefit we could match that money, but we cannot match money made with the auction.
b. No project requests were received this month.

8. Join Hands Day
a. Requests were received from Camp Pioneer and Bethesda. Deanna made a motion to give $600 to Bethesda and $400 to Camp Pioneer. Second by Art. Motion carried. Deanna will double check on if we need receipts. It was suggested that we send an e-mail to the churches and the congregational coordinators to ask them to plan to help with the activity at Trinity Center.

9.Old Business

10. New Business
a. Deanna said that Betty will be moving in the fall. We will need to check on the items that we have stored there to see if they can stay there or if we need to move them. Edwina suggested that we should do something to recognize here at the fall meeting as well as Audrey.
b. It was discussed that since we have half of our Care Abounds funds left we need to make sure the congregations are aware that we have money left.

The next meeting will be held July 5th at Waldameer after the picnic.

Meeting was adjourned at 7:40.

1. Roll Call:
· Present: Karen Allgeier, Deanna Leuenberger,Art Anderson, Pat Melpolder, Diane Edwards, Jean Taylor, Edwina Gesler, Anna-Marie Labowski

· Guests: Meg Clark, FA

2. Meeting called to order by Karen at 6:12 PM

3. Devotions were led by Diane – The Ascension: Left Behind
· Deanna will lead devotions next month

4. Reading and Approval of Minutes:
· Minutes were distributed and reviewed. Motion to accept the minutes made by Deanna, Second by Art. Motion carried.

5. Admission Of New Members
· Motion to accept new members made by Patti, second by Deanna. Motion carried.

6. Correspondence
· Thank you from Thrivent recognizing board members for their service during National Volunteer Appreciation Week.

7. Reports

A.Financial Director
· Check book balance is $9,992.80. Balance for administration purposes in $8,242.80.
· Balance of Care Abounds in Communities = $16,805.
· Motion to accept the report of the treasurer made by Art, second by Patti. Motion carried

B. Congregational Service Team Director
· No reports

C. Events Director
· Art is working on plans for the event. There are many things that cannot be done until closer to the event. There was a question about whether or not we will need port a potties this year since we are closer to the walkway.

D. Communications Director
· Patti is no longer able to help with newsletter. Jacque has agreed to help with this

E. Community Service Team Director
· no report

F. Youth Director
· no report

G. Advisors
· Jean talked about All Pro Dad’s event. Advanced registration for Thrivent members ends tomorrow. The Big Red Bus (Thrivent Builds) will be in the Pittsburgh area.

8. Project Requests
#0809 Randolph Benefit Dinner Amount requested $1000
Motion made by Patti to supplement this fundraiser at a ratio of 1:2 up to $1000
Second by Art. Motion carried.

#0810 Holy Trinity Pasta Kitchen & Loaves and Fishes Amount requested $375
Patti made a motion to supplement this fundraiser at a ratio of 1:2 up to $375 . Second by Deanna. Motion carried.

#0811 Youth of St Paul’s Mission Trip Amount requested $300
Motion made by Art to supplement this fundraiser at $50 per person up to $300. Second by Patti. Motion carried.

#0812 Quilts for Youth at Bethesda Amount requested $400
Motion made by Deanna to fund this hands on service project for up to $400 with receipts. Second by Patti. Motion carried.

#0813 McKinley School Health Kits and Uniforms Amount requested $1000
Motion made by Deanna to fund this hands on service project for up to $1000 with receipts. Second by Patti. Motion carried.

· Join Hands Day- Still have only received one request from Camp Pioneer. We will make some contacts to see if anyone has any other requests. Tabled until next meeting.

9. Old Business
· Congregational Coordinator Training. Anna-Marie will contact Jacque to discuss dates and logistics for trainings.

10. New Business
· A letter of resignation was submitted by JJ Lee resigning her position of Congregational Service Team Director. Motion was made by Patti to accept JJ’s resignation with regret. Second by Art. Motion carried.

· In light of JJ’s resignation, Diane has agreed to remove her name as Assistant Financial Director so she can serve as Congregational Service Team Director. Motion made by Deanne to appoint Diane to the position of Congregational Service Team Director. Second by Patti. Motion carried.

11. Adjournment- Motion to adjourn made by Deanna. Second by Art.

Next Meeting Sunday June 1, 2008 at 6:00 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church

The meeting was called to order by President Karen Allgeier at 6:13 pm at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. In attendance were: Karen Allgeier, Art Anderson, Edwina Gesler, Pat Melpolder, Diane Edwards, Jacque Holmberg, and guests Joanne Anderson and Meg Clark (Thrivent rep).

Devotions “On the Hope of the Resurrection” were led by Pat Melpolder. Meg Clark gave a short presentation about her role and services she can provide to our local chapter and its members.

A motion was made and seconded (Edwards/Anderson) to accept the minutes of the last meeting as presented. Motion carried. A motion was made and seconded (Anderson/Melpolder) to admit the new members as listed on the website. Motion carried.

CORRESPONDENCE:
 A thank you was received from Jean Taylor for the Erie basket that was recently presented to her

 The postcard that Audrey recently sent out was shared

 Karen noted that the chapter summary report has been accepted

REPORTS:
 Financial Director: Diane Edwards presented the March 2008 Financial Report. A motion was made and seconded (Melpolder/Anderson) to approve it as presented. Motion carried.

 Congregational Service Team Director: There was no report, but it was noted that the packets that Diane sends out once a request is approved are done. Jacque also offered to help Anna Marie with the training.

 Events Director: Art talked about the upcoming Waldameer picnic on July 5th. He is still looking for two cooks and help with the planning. Trudy Sallach will be contacted to see if she can help this year.

 Communications Director: Rick Lee had been filling in this spot but will no longer be able to help. Pat offered to cover it.

 Community Service Team Director: No report
 Youth Director: No report
 Advisors: A discussion was held concerning how to promote the chapter news and highlights in the Erie and Meadville newspapers

PROJECT REQUESTS: As only one Join Hands Day Request has been received to date (from Camp Pioneer), a motion was made and seconded (Anderson/Melpolder) to table this request to see if we get more by the next meeting. Motion carried.

OLD BUSINESS:
 Karen reported on some typographical changes in the Mission Statement and Guidelines and the correction of Diane’s e-mail address. A motion was made and seconded (Melpolder/Anderson) to accept the Mission Statement and Guidelines as presented. Motion carried.

 Jacque and Anna Marie will decide on dates and geographical settings for the upcoming training days.

 The congratulations letter that notifies people that their request for funding has been approved was presented. A motion was made and seconded (Anderson/Edwards) to approve it as presented. Motion carried.

 Anna Marie is currently working on the welcome letter for new members

NEW BUSINESS:
 We are holding action pending the receipt of JJ’s written resignation from the board

 Discussion was held about a standard numbering system for receiving and processing requests for funding. The standard format will be 08_ _ for the current year.

PROJECT REQUESTS:

#0801 – Pioneer Camp and Retreat Center (Anderson/Melpolder) Motion Carried 1:5 up to $800

#0802 – Camp Lutherlyn (Melpolder/Anderson) Motion Carried 1:2 up to $1,600

#0803 – Inter-Church Ministries of Erie County(Melpolder/Anderson) Motion Carried 1:2 up to $1,600

#0804 – Bethesda Community Place (Edwards/Melpolder)
Motion Carried Up to $500 with receipts

#0805 – Little Italy Neighborhood Vacation Bible School (in conjunction with Holy Trinity Lutheran Church) (Anderson/Melpolder) Motion Carried Up to $1,600 with receipts

#0806 – Mr. Thomas Mersky (Melpolder/Anderson) Motion Carried 1:2 up to $5,000

#0807 – Saegertown Youth Vision (Melpolder/Anderson) Motion Carried 1:3 up to $500

#0808 – Community Shelter Services (Edwards/Anderson) Motion Carried 1:3 up to $1,600

NEXT MEETING: May 4th at 6 pm at Prince of Peace. Diane will lead the devotions.

1. Roll Call
A. Present: Karen Allgeier, Patti Melpolder, Anna-Marie Labowski, Deanna Leuenberger, Diane Edwards, Art Anderson,
B. Advisors: Edwina Gesler, Audrey Hettrick, Jean Taylor
C. Guests: Joanne Anderson

Meeting was called to order by Karen at 6:20 pm

2. Devotions
A. Karen led devotions titled “Joseph: Guardian of Our Lord”

3. Reading and Approval of Minutes
A. The Minutes from the January 27th meeting were distributed and reviewed by all. Correction made that under correspondence bullet d. it should read $100 not $1000. Under report of the financial director bullet iv. It should read that the Care Abounds in Communities funds for this year is $29,405.

B. Motion to accept the minutes with the above noted corrections made by Patti. Second by Art. Motion carried.

4. Admission of New Members
A. Since the January meeting there are a total of 10 new members (8 benefit and 2 youth). Motion to accept new members into membership made by Deanna. Second by Patti. Motion carried.

5. Correspondence
A. Thank you from the Food Pantry at First Presbyterian Church in Girard for donation
B. Thank you from Fairview Presbyterian Church Food Pantry for donation
C. Thank you from St Boniface Food Pantry for donation
D. Thank you from Coordinator at Christ the Redeemer for $25 church anniversary gift.
E. Thank you from Bethesda for money received for their gazebo project
F. E-mail from home office thanking chapter for submitting our Chapter summary report.

6. Reports
A. Financial Director- Deanna
i. Checking account balance is $8,777.68. Deanna reviewed our budget from last year and stated that we were pretty close in the percentages that we had designated for spending in different expense categories.

ii. Motion made by Patti to use the same percentages for spending for this year which includes 30% administration, 20% volunteer/ recognition, 40% member events/awareness, and 10% service team/seed money. Second by Diane. Motion carried.

iii. Deanna also stated that the chapter audit was completed and it went well.

iv. Motion made by Diane to accept the financial report as presented. Second by Art. Motion carried.

B. Congregational Service Team Director- J.J.
i. No report at this time

C. Events Director- Art
i. No report at this time

D. Communications Director- vacant
i. Rick Lee is working on a newsletter to be sent to all members. We will include important dates, information about Join Hands Day, Waldameer, and upcoming coordinator trainings.

ii. Jean requested that we also include a plea for congregational coordinators to be sure to update their contact information including e-mail addresses.

E. Community Service Team Director- vacant
i. Discussion was held about the job description for this position. It was stated that this person would receive all funding requests and would then make sure they are complete before submitting to the board for consideration. This would require sometimes calling the service team contact person to clarify information. This person would also follow up with the service team contact to notify them of the decision made about their project. If project is approved a packet would be sent to the contact person.

ii. Diane is willing to accept this position. After much discussion, it was decided that Diane could take on these tasks as part of her role as assistant financial director instead of changing her position. We will designate Diane as the contact person for all Community Service Teams in the newsletter, on the website, and in e-mails to churches.

F. Youth Director- Vacant

G. Advisors
i. Audrey stated that she is working on an e-mail to be sent to all churches suggesting that they get requests in early in the year.

ii. Jean said that the Chapter Summary Report is available on-line. She suggested that we send this information out to the coordinators and the churches. She also suggested using the Visibility Tool-Kit to develop a press release to be sent to local newspapers. After some discussion it was decided that we should try to send this to the small community newspapers in both Erie and Crawford County in hopes that we can get some publicity and generate awareness about what we do.

7. Project Requests
A. No requests have been received to date.

8. Old Business
A. Mission Statement and Guidelines
i. Chapter guidelines were reviewed and discussed in depth. Many changes were made to try to simplify them and make them easier to understand. Karen will make the suggested corrections and send them out to the board members for further review.

B. Congregational Coordinator Training
i. Karen stated that J.J. is working on setting up dates and places for possibly 3 different trainings. These will be located throughout our Chapter region. They will most likely be held in the evening with light refreshments or desserts being served. She will let us know when she has more details.

9. New Business
A. Badges for Leadership
i. Name badges are available for purchase at $9.00 each. It was decided that we might be able to make badges on the computer and put them on lanyards.

B. Welcome Letter for New Members
i. Karen showed a sample of a letter for new members which she found on the CHIP website. She asked if we should start sending these to all new members. Motion made by Deanna that the records director (Anna-Marie) should revise this letter to include information about our chapter and send to all new members retroactive to the new members from January. Second by Diane. Motion carried.

C. Gift for the Auditors
i. Audrey asked if we send a gift to the auditors each year. It was stated that we invite them to our Christmas dinner each year but we do not send a gift. Audrey said that she will send thank you letters to the 3 auditors from this year and we will plan to once againt invite them to the dinner.

D. E-mails to churches
i. As discussed under advisor reports, Audrey will compose and send an e-mail to all congregations encouraging them to submit their funding requests soon. She will include information on who the forms should be sent to (Diane).

E. Join Hands Day
i. We discussed what projects we have funded in the past and what we would like to do this year. In past years we have funded projects and Lutherlyn and Camp Pioneer. Last year part of the money went to the American Cancer Society Relay For Life.

ii. It was decided to include information about Join Hands Day in the newsletter and ask coordinators to consider sending in proposals for projects to try to keep the money in our local Chapter area. Jean stated that the focus of these projects should be to include Thrivent members and youth.

F. A question was raised about how we can get our Financial Advisors more involved in the Chapter. It was recommended that we make sure we include them in all correspondence such as when we send meeting agendas and minutes.

G. Edwina presented Jean with a Basket filled with Erie area products as a token of our appreciation for her support and encouragement of our Chapter.

10. Next meeting will be held Sunday April 6, 2008 at 6:00 at Prince Of Peace. We will then try to stick to a schedule of meeting the first Sunday of each month at 6:00.

11. Adjournment
A. A motion to adjourn was made by Deanna. Second by Art. Meeting adjourned at 9:30 pm.

1.Roll Call
a.Karen Allgeier, Anna-Marie Labowski, J.J. Lee, Art Anderson, Patti Melpolder, Deanna Leuenberger, Diane Edwards, Edwina Gesler, Audrey Hettrick, Jacque Holmberg, Betty Farver

b.Guests- Rick Lee, Joanne Anderson

2.Devotions
a.Karen led devotions reading and article titled “Navigating By GPS (God’s Peculiar Star)

3.Reading and Approval of Minutes
a.Minutes from the December meeting were read by Anna-Marie. Motion to accept the minutes as submitted was made by Deanna. Second by J.J. Motion carried.

b.Edwina stated that in the future we should install new board members at the election meeting in October. We will keep this in mind for this year.

4.Admission of New Members
a. Motion to accept 31 new members (22 benefit, 2 associate and 7 youth) into membership made by Art. Second by Deanna. Motion carried.

5.Correspondence
a. Notice of new coordinator for St Mark’s Waterford
b. Picture from Beverly Kyle of Big Brother’s and Sister’s Christmas party
c. E-mail from Jean with her regrets for not being able to attend this meeting.
d. Thank you from Holy Trinity fro $100 donation for the Pasta Kitchen
e. Thank you from Prince Of Peace for gift of appreciation for hosting election dinner

f. Thank you from Trudy Sallach for Ricardo’s gift certificate and Christmas ornament

g.Note from Susan Bittler, chair of global missions committee regarding upcoming project of gathering school supplies for our companion synod in Karague Tanzania. They will be looking for help to cover the cost of transporting these supplies to Karague

h.Thank you from St Matthew’s for funding for the Christmas dinner for families of Bethesda

6.Reports
a.Financial Director- Deanna
i. Ending balance in the checkbook of $4,878.56. Motion made to accept the treasurers report made by J.J. Second by Patti. Motion carried.

ii.Deanna requested that all chapter leaders fill out an expense report for any expenses incurred that they would like to be reimbursed for. Deanna made a motion to reimburse chapter leaders for mileage to chapter meetings and events if they wish to receive reimbursement. Second by pat. Motion carried. Current rate for mileage reimbursement is 50.05 cents

iii.Deanna stated that we did spend all of the Care Abounds in Communities funds last year.

iv.This year we will receive $29,405 for Care Abounds In Communities which is $225 less than last year.

b.Congregational Service Team Director- J.J.
i. There is no report at this time. There was a question about what should be done with the e-mail notices about Care in Congregations projects. It was determined that J.J. should print a hard copy and keep a folder for each congregation.

c.Events Director- Art
i. Art is already looking for helpers for Thrivent Day at Waldameer.
ii.The pavilion has been reserved.
iii.Betty suggested that early in the year we vote to set aside money for such projects. Deanna will work on a proposed budget for the next meeting.

d.Communications Director- vacant

e.Community Service Team Director- vacant
i. Deanna suggested that we really need to fill this position. She recommended that Diane Edwards consider taking this position instead of being assistant financial director as this position is needed more. Diane will look at the job description on-line and consider this before the next meeting.

ii.Deanna made a motion to purchase supplies to assemble kits for the Care Abounds in Communities service teams. We would need 30 packets for the service team contact and 32 for the congregational coordinators. Second by Pat. Motion carried. Deanna will order 62 bags for the supplies.

f.Youth Director- vacant

g.Advisors
i. Discussion held about the need to get more information about Thrivent out to the congregations. Discussion was held about the role of the FA and their role in promoting Thrivent in the congregations. There are financial programs that the FAs can present to congregations. The congregational coordinators should be encouraged to send congregational newsletters to the FAs to make them aware of new members, baptisms, etc.

ii.Edwina suggested presenting information about Thrivent at the cluster meetings.

iii.Jacque stated that the guidelines and policies have been finished and will need to be reviewed by the chapter board.

iv.Deanna suggested that we also need to consider Thrivent requirements and recommendations and when reviewing our guidelines to make sure we are in line with what is being requested from the home office.

7.Project Requests- no requests at this time

8.Old Business
a.Bob Young, Bob Roamer, and Rick Lee have agreed to do the audit.

b.Everyone should review the Mission statement and guidelines and handout regarding process for decisions on activities before the next meeting.

c.Betty suggested that we do a mailing soon suggesting that people get their requests in early and also include pertinent dates for the year.

9.New Business
a.Congregational coordinator training. Suggestion to do these in clusters and maybe offer 3 throughout our Chapter area and give them the chose to attend whichever fits best for their schedule.

10.Next meeting will be held Sunday March 2, 2008 at 6:00 at Prince of Peace. We will be reviewing our chapter guidelines.

In attendance: Board Members - Audrey Hettrick, Karen Allgeier, Deanna Leuenberger, Art Anderson, Bev Kyle, Pastor Kim Saylor.

Advisory Board Members - Betty Farver, Edwina Gessler

Guests - Joanne Anderson, Diane Edwards, Jacque Holmberg and Jean Taylor LCS

Absent Board Members - Dianne Reyes, Anna Marie Labowski, Cindy Plizga and Don Rhodes.

Meeting was called to order at 5:25 pm by President, Audrey Hettrick

Motion by Art Anderson and seconded by Deanna Leuenberger to accept the minutes of our October 21, 2007 meeting as presented. Carried

New Members - Motion by Karen Allgeier and second by Deanna Leuenberger to accept 107 new members - 73 Benefit members, 22 Associate members and 12 youth members. Carried

Treasurers Report - Motion by Bev Kyle and second by Karen Allgeier to accept report as presented. Note - Balance corrected from the October report. Carried

Requests:

0732 - tabled from last month - Sponsorship of a child in Tanzania for 1 year of school requested $500 - A letter of clarification was read, stating they would support more than 1 student with the money.
Motion by Art Anderson to approve $500, Second by Karen Allgeier, Carried.

0733 - McKean Council of Churches - Community Thanksgiving Service with a Free will offering to benefit community projects and the local food pantry. Requesting $150. Motion by Karen Allgeier and second by Deanna Leuenberger to approve. Carried.

0734 - Jack Tyler Sundberg - Several fund raising activities including a dinner, concert, bake sale, donations, collection jars, etc. for medical expenses. Requesting $3,000. Motion by Karen Allgeier, second by Bev Kyle to approve $1 to $1 up to $2175. Carried.

Waldameer Contract for summer picnic presented by Jackie Holmberg, Deanne will return with needed info - We will have the same shelter, Karen will check on Porta Potty, Picnic will be on Saturday, July 5th.

Please check on line for updates from Thrivent often. 2 new things for leaders are posted now.

Karen will work with Jean Taylor to get our Election results on line.

Monies from Operating Fund for: All motions carried.

Motion by Deanna, second by Karen $150 Beth Spahn - speaker

Motion by Art, second by Bev $150 Prince Of Peace - Meeting & copies

Motion by Deanna, second by Bev $200 St. Paul’s - Meeting/storage/copies

Motion by Karen, second by Deanna $25 Abiding Hope - copies

Motion by Karen, second by Bev - to buy $15 Gift Certificates from Ricardos for - advisors, Betty, Edwina, Jackie; board members going off, Cindy, Bev,
Dianne, Bob, Don, Pastor Kim and Trudy Sallach; and Gift Baskets for Audrey and Jean.

Motion by Karen, second by Deanna - to pay registrations for Salt Fork for
board members from operating funds.

We will need 3 Auditors - Audrey will get them. Possibilities - Bob Young, Diane Giannelli

Karen will check with new board members & let Jean know ASAP if they can attend Salt Fork.

Jean sent out a reminder to congregations to use their Care in Congregations monies via email.

Supplies from Thrivent (Shells for baptism and Crosses) Coordinators get these FREE

Please bring all your volunteer hours to the December 3rd Meeting.

Email from Dianne Reyes was read by Audrey thanking us for everything we have done.

Next meeting will be at Ricardos Restaurant on December 3rd at 6 p.m.

Our annual Election Meeting was held at 3 pm at Prince of Peace with 70+ Thrivent members and coordinators present.
Pastor Wm. Cox, of Prince of Peace, opened our meeting with a greeting and prayer.
President Audrey Hettrick introduced our speaker, Beth Spahn, who gave us an update on her adopted family and what they have gone through.
Audrey then presented her report and thanked her board and coordiantors.
Vice President, Karen Allgeier took over for the election process.

The Ballot included -
President, Karen Allgeier;
Vice President, Patti Melpolder;
Records Director, Anna Marie Labowski;
Financial Director, Deanna Leuenberger;
Congregational Service Team Director, J.J. Lee;
Assistant Financial Director, Diane Edwards;
Events Director, Art Anderson.

The positions of Communications Director, Community Service Team Director, and Youth Director were not filled.
With no nominations from the floor, Betty Farver made a motion to cast a unanimous vote for the ballot as presented, seconded by Karlynn Bernhard, motion carried.

Edwina Gesler made mention that when we were starting out they gave us the name of Erie County Chapter Board, which seems very unfair to our members from Crawford County.

Meeting was adjourned with Pastor Cox leading us in the Doxology and we then continued with a meal and door prizes.

In Attendance: Board Member: Audrey Hettrick, Karen Allgeier, Deanna Leuenberger, Cindy Plizga, Art Anderson, Don Rhodes, Beverly Kyle
Advisory Board Members – Betty Farver, Edwina Gesler,
Guests: Joanne Anderson, Diane Edwards, Jacque Holmberg and Jean Taylor LCS
Absent Board Members – Dianne Reyes, Anna Marie Labowski

I Meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm by President, Audrey Hettrick. Devotions read by Karen Allgeier

II Motion by Deanna and second by Don to accept the minutes of September 16th, with correction of Jacque Holmberg not being present. Carried.

III Admittance of New Members – no report, tabled until next month.

IV Financial Report – Motion by Cindy and second by Art to accept Financial Report. Carried.

After overview of all tabled requests
0723 – Lutherlyn Quilt Show was changed from $1 to $2 as approved originally to $1 to $4 – Motion by Art second by Karen. Carried.

0727 – Bethesda Gazebo – requested $1,600 – Motion by Art and second by Karen to give them $1,600 - Carried

0728 – Diane Reyes Fund Raiser – raised $647, originally approved as $1 to $3 up to $1,600. Motion by Karen and second by Art to raise to $1 to $1 = $647. Carried.

0732 – Sponsorship of a child in Tanzania for 1-year of school – request $500 – Motion by Cindy and
second by Art to table until next month. Carried.

V New request – None.

VI Reports – None

VII Correspondence
a)Community Shelter Services sent a Thank You and key chains
b)Information from Pioneer on programs

VIII Old Business
a)Chapter Retreat – Jean needs RSVP’s as soon as possible. Guest checks are to be made out to Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
b) Election Meeting – will be at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on November 11th. Hams and $25 will be awarded to each congregation represented. Art will get the hams.

IX New Business
a) The chair accepts with regret the resignation of Betty Farver as an advisor. Betty will become to coordinator for St. Paul’s Motion by Art and second by Deanna to accept. Carried.

X Next meeting: November 11, 2007 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Registration at 2:30 pm, Meeting at 3:00 pm and meal at 4:00 pm.

XI Meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.

MISSION STATEMENT
ERIE CHAPTER OF THRIVENT FINANCIAL FOR LUTHERANS IS TO SERVE THE LORD AND COMMUNITY BY ENCOURAGING AND SUPPORTING VOLUNTEERISM AND TO GIVE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO IMPROVE PROGRAMS AND ASSIST INDIVIDUAL NEEDS.

In Attendance: Board Members-Audrey Hettrick, Karen Allgeier, Deanna Leuenberger, Pr. Kim Saylor, Cindy Plizga, Art Anderson.
Advisory Board Members – Edwina Gesler
Guests – Joanne Anderson and Jean Taylor (Lutheran Community Specialist)
Absent: Board Members – Beverly Kyle, Anna Marie Labowski, Don Rhodes, Diane Reyes

• The meeting was called to order at 7:20 PM with Devotions being given by Audrey Hettrick in the absence of Don Rhodes.
• Motion was made by Art Anderson and seconded by Cindy Plizga to accept the August 10’07 minutes as presented.
• There was no report presented for the Admittance of New Members.
• Treasurer’s Report was presented by Deanna Leuenberger . Motion by Karen Allgeier and seconded by Cindy Plizga to accept accounting changes on income amounts as reported. Motion carried. Therefore, with these changes approved, a Motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report was made by Cindy Plizga and seconded by Karen Allgeier.
• New Requests
No. Am’t Requested Description Action
0730 $1,600 Camp Pioneer – Fund Raiser to be held Denied
10/12/07 Entertainment Dinner Auction.
Est. 800 Hours
0731 $2,250 Camp Pioneer – Hand-On Denied
Winterfest Fnd Day for Papyrus families
(for those children who live below poverty
level) to be held 12/1/07. Estimate: 515 Hr’s. Denied
The above two requests by General Consent was denied and Deanna sent a letter out explaining
that we have honored their several requests this year and suggest that they reapply next year.
also the proper forms need to be used in order to honor any additional requests forthcoming.
0732 $ 500 Trinity Lutheran, McKean – Youth to sponsor Tabled
a child in Tanzania for 1 year of schooling @
$500 (note: already raised $520) They would
need $40 plus hours of volunteer time and 10
Thrivent members.
Motion was made by Cindy and seconded by Karen to table until we have more
information on this project.
• Previous Requests
0726 Gospel Fest that was denied – (Audrey read the letter that she sent to Pr. Rhodes regarding the action taken. This was placed on file
0727 Bethesda Gazebo – A Motion was made by Art Anderson and seconded by Cindy
Plizga for this request to remain tabled until November; need more information.

• Correspondence : Correspondence was read by Deanna Leuenberger from Camp Pioneer, and the ELCA for Chuunk Laggon Schools, Tol Island and correspondence was read from Beth Spahn.
The correspondence was placed on file.

• Reports – Reports were given by those coordinators attending.

• OLD BUSINESS
1. Chapter Leader Retreat RSVP’s needed ASAP to Audrey.
2. Feed, OH, Western PA and WV “Care in Regions” Project being coordinated by Karen Allgeier
and Jean Taylor.
3. Elections – Date is Sunday, November 11, 2007 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. The meeting
meeting is at 3:00 PM with dinner to follow. Deanna and Betty will shop for give away prizes.
Each will be given $150 to purchase gifts. Audrey will contact Beth Spahn to see if she will be
our guest speaker. We will give six (6) hams and $25 to each congregation with representation.
4 Audrey gave thanks to Jean Taylor for the wonderful dinner at the Eagle Hotel in August.
* NEW BUSINESS
• Please promote Thiel College Day, the gathering to be held on October 13 at Thiel. Please place
in bulletins.
• Also the youth funding event at Clarion was announced
* Next Meeting Date: October 21, 2007 at 7:00 PM at St. Paul’s Lutheran . Please try to make this
meeting in order to tie up all business. Devotions will be by Karen Allgeier.
• Adjournment- Motion to adjourn was made by Art Anderson at 9:00 PM.

PLEASE NOTE: BECAUSE OF NOT HAVING A QUORUM AUDREY SENT OUT
AN E-MAIL CONDUCTING A POLE ON LINE TO ACT ON THE MOTIONS THAT
WERE MADE AT THE MEETING. ALL MOTIONS WERE APPROVED.

Meeting was called to order by President, Audrey Hettrick at 8 p.m.

Roll Call - Audrey Hettrick, Karen Allgeier, Beverly Kyle, Art & Joanne Anderson, Betty Farver, Cindy Plizga and daughter, Jean Taylor, Jackie Holmberg and husband, Edwina Gessler, Kim Saylor, Don Rhodes and wife.

Minutes - Motion by Kim Saylor and second by Bev Kyle to accept minutes of the July 7th meeting. Carried

Financial Report- Report was given by Kim for Deanna
Motion by Art Anderson to accept report as presented,second by Cindy.Carried.

IV. Project Requests:
0725 -Messiah Lutheran - build a wheel chair ramp Requested $1,200.00
Motion by Art Anderson to fund $400,second by Karen Allgier Motion Carried

0726 -Annual Gospel Fest - Requested $ 800.00
Denied - inappropriate request for funding

0727 -Bethesda - Eagle Scout Project for Gazebo Requested $1,600.00
Motion by Kim and second by Cindy to table. Carried
Suggested that they apply later in the year.

0728 -Dianne Reyes - Medical - Spaghetti Dinner Requested $2,500.00
Motion by Bev and second by Karen - 3 to 1 up to $1600 Carried.

0729 -Camp Pioneer - Motion by Karen to table, second by Art Carried.
Did not have proper paper work - also write a letter explaining that funds are limited and please re-apply next year.

Committee Reports - Tabled

VI. Jean Taylor addressed the group - On behalf of Thrivent with heartfelt appreciation she was pleased to have us all join her this evening for our meal as a Thank you for all the volunteer hours we give. Thank you also to the families of the members of the board. She spoke briefly on the Feed Ohio Project - this needs to be done ASAP. Karen will work with Jean. Also Relay for Life - $ clarification is needed.

VII. Kim Saylor will not continue on the board - Pastor Edwards wife, Dianna would like to serve on the board.
Bev Kyle will not continue.
Audrey Hettrick must take a break from the board. (Term restrictions)

VIII. Audrey - A huge thank you to all the board from Audrey - She really appreciated the support for the past year.

IX. Election Board Committee: needs to have a meeting - Karen and Audrey will come up with an Election Date and go from there.

Thank You from the Haffley Family was read aloud and sent around.

NEXT MEETING - Sunday, September 16th at 7 pm - St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
Devotions will be lead by Don Rhodes

Meeting was called to order by Audrey at 3:10 pm.
Trudy opened the meeting with prayer.

I.Roll Call
a.Audrey Hetrick, Karen Allgeier, Beverly Kyle, Art Anderson, Deanna
Leuenberger, Betty Farver, Cindy Plizga, Anna-Marie Labowski
b.Guests: Trudy Sallach, Joanne Anderson

II.Minutes from the June 5, 2007 meeting were reviewed. Need to add St Paul’s
North East to the list of food pantries. Deanna made a motion to accept the
minutes with corrections. Second by Karen. Motion passed.

III.Admittance of new members. No report available at this time.

IV.Financial Report was given by Deanna. Balance in the checkbook is $6238.21.
Balance of Care Abounds In Communities funds is $11,730. Motion was made by
Karen to accept the financial report as submitted and to pay the bills.
Second by Art. Motion carried.

a.Suggestion was made to approve a budget for the remainder of our
operating funds for the year. Deanna proposed to use 30% for
administration, 40% for member awareness, 20% for volunteer recognition,
10% for service teams. Second by Karen. Motion carried.

V.Project Requests

#0717- Shoes for Orphaned Souls, Buckner office for Missions- requested $1600
Had been tabled from last meeting. Karen made a motion to reconsider this request. Second by Deanna. Karen make a motion to supplement this fundraiser at a 1:3 ratio up to $1600. Second by Beverly. Motion carried.

#0718- Carol Gesler Williamson- Request withdrawn.

#0719- City of Corry gazebo repairs amount requested $600
Deanna made a motion to supplement this fundraiser at a ratio of 1:2
up to $300. Second by Karen. Motion carried.

#0720- City of Corry gazebo repair amount requested $2,000
Motion by Karen to fund this hands on service project for $1000 with
receipts. Second by Deanna. Motion carried.

#0721- Greene Township paradise playground project amount requested $2,500
Beverly made a motion to fund this hands on service project for $1600
with receipts. Second by Cindy. Motion carried.

#0722- St Paul’s Drake’s Mills VBS fundraiser for schools in Guam
amount requested $300
Karen made a motion to supplement this fundraiser at a ratio of 1:1 up
to $300. Second by Art. Motion carried.

#0723- Camp Lutherlyn Campership fund amount requested $1,600
Motion made by Deanna to supplement this fundraiser at a ration of 1:4
up to $1,600. Second by Karen. Motion carried.

#0724- Camp Pioneer Summerfest amount requested $1,600
Motion made by Karen to supplement this fundraiser at a ratio of 1:4
up to $1,600. Second by Art. Motion carried.

VI.Committee Reports
a.Join Hands Day. $400 to go to Camp Pioneer. $200 each to Relay For Life
of Corry, Harborcreek, and Meadville. Need to submit paperwork by July 31.

VII.Old Business
a.Waldameer- Review of how the day went.
b.Plaque at Luther Square- tabled
c.Church anniversaries- St Mark’s Waterford celebrating in December (will
give $50 gift from Thrivent). Lake Lutheran Conneaut Lake ($25 gift)
d.Chapter Leader Retreat- scheduled for January 18-19 at Salt Fork
Retreat. More details to follow.
e.Food Ohio, Western PA, and WV, Care In Regions project. Need to pick 2
Lutheran supported food pantries to support. Chapter will be getting
$1000 from the Region office to fund this project. Churches will be
encouraged to participate in the project by supporting their local food
pantries.
f.Dinner at Eagle Hotel for Chapter Leaders. All chapter leaders,
advisors, FA’s and spouses are invited. Motion made by Beverly to use
chapter operating funds to pay for guest dinners. Second by Art. Motion
carried.

VIII.Motion to adjourn made by Anna-Marie at 4:20 pm.

Present: Audrey Hettrick, Karen Allgeier, Edwina Gesler, Betty Farver, Jacque Holmberg, Trudy Sallach, Kim Saylor, Beverly Kyle, Cindy Plizga, Art Anderson, Don Rhodes, and Jean Taylor.

Absent: Anna Marie Labowski, Deanna Leuenberger, Robert Young, Diane Reyes, and Tim Williams.

Vice-President Karen Allgeier called the meeting to order at 7:16 p.m.

Motion to accept April 22, 2007 minutes was made by Kim Saylor and seconded by Cindy Plizga. Carried.

Treasurer’s report was accepted. Motion by Cindy and Kim seconded. Carried.

There were no new members reported.

A detailed report was given for Waldemeer Day. Help to set up at 10:00 a.m. Eat at Noon.
$13.00 for ride tickets will be sold in advance and at the Park.
Deanna and Betty will work the registration table.
There are no longer free materials from Thrivent, so only leftovers will be set out.
Operating finds will pay for the give-a-ways. Deanna is ordering give-a-ways.
Betty and Trudy will check supplies and order anything needed.
Trudy and Art will handle all arrangements. They have assigned jobs to Wilda and Bill Cole, John Anderson, and Art II.
Deanna is to bring change money for $13.00 and checkbook to pay Waldemeer and all other bills for meat, rolls, condiments, etc.
Next Thrivent meeting is at 3:00 p.m. at Waldemeer.
Service is at 4:00 p.m., with Art Anderson providing music and participants, Audrey Hettrick, Don Rhodes, and Jacque Holmberg.

There were no other committee reports

Join Hands Day is to be finished before June 30 - $300 Camp Pioneer and $200 each for Relay for Life in Harborcreek, Corry, and Meadville.

Funding requests:
0711 Denied Late in getting request in, not enough info
Holy Trinity for Community Shelter
(Motion made by Kim and 2nd by Cindy)

0712 Approved $500 Hands on
St. Matthew’s for Bethesda
(motion made by Karen and 2nd by Kim)

0713 Approved $1,500 Hands on
Big Brothers/Big Sisters
(motion made by Kim and 2nd by Karen)

0714 Denied $1,500 Fund raiser
Golf tournament for Tim Merski
Provided before

0715 Approved $1,600 Fund Raiser ($1 for $2)
Community Shelter Services/repairs
(motion made by Kim and 2nd by Karen)

0716 Approved $ 700 Fund Raiser ($1 for $1)
Trinity, McKean – Tom Leube to help with disability payments
(motion made by Karen and 2nd by Kim)

0717 Tabled $ 600 Fund Raiser (?)
Twelve Apostles for Buckner mission
(out of town)
(motion by Art and 2nd by Bev)

0718 Withdrawn $1,600 Fund Raiser
Carol Gesler Williamson – mission trip (out of town)

Congregational Service Team Director – Bob Young’s resignation letter was read and accepted with regrets. Don Rhodes accepted to serve this position. Motion made by Kim Saylor, seconded by Cindy. Carried.

Plaque at Village at Luther Square was tabled.

Jean Taylor reported about Salt Forks – January 18 – 19
Jean Taylor said our region will get money for food pantries. Prior to November, give each food pantry $1,000 and have members contribute other items. Could have youth involved. Karen moved and Cindy seconded to support regional food pantry.

Food Pantries in our Chapter Area:
Holy Trinity, Erie – supported by St. Paul’s, Erie
Bethany, Erie – supported by Luther Memorial, Lamb of God, and New Jerusalem.
Wesleyville – supported by Messiah and Christ the Redeemer
Kearsarge – supported by Abiding Hope
St. John’s, Erie – (no food stamp items)
St. Paul’s, Drakes Mills
Edinboro – Trinity, McKean
Trinity, Meadville
Saegertown - Twelve Apostles
Trinity (State Street)
Prince of Peace
Girard – St. John’s

Don’t know about:
St. Paul’s, Corry
Faith, Harborcreek
Immanuel, Millcreek
Mt. Calvary, Erie
St. Matthew’s, Erie
St. Peter’s, Millcreek
St. Peter’s, North East
St. Stephen’s, Erie
St. Mark’s, Waterford
St. James’, Fairview
Christ, Springboro
Lake, Conneaut Lake
Albion

Chapter Appreciation Dinner – Friday, August 10th at the Eagle Hotel – Members paid by Thrivent. Will advisors, committee chairs, and/or sponsors be paid out of operational funds?

Motion to adjourn – made by Bev and seconded by Cindy. Carried.

Meeting was called to order by Audrey at 7:20 pm.

I.Roll Call
a.Present – Audrey, Beverly, Edwina, Cindy, Deanna, Anna-Marie
b.Guest – Jean

II.Devotions- Deanna- Prayer by Rev Mark Hansen, Bishop of ELCA Lutheran Church on tragedy at Virginia Tech

III.Review and acceptance of minutes - Deanna made a motion to accept the minutes of the March meeting as submitted, Cindy 2nd, motion carried

IV.Admission of New Members - no report at this time

V.Correspondence

a.Memo from Beth Spahn-

b.Audrey sent an e-mail to one coordinator from each church asking them
to update the list of coordinators

c.Thank you from Pearl at Immanuel for funding for quilt project.

d.Letter from Crop Walk organizers including an invitation to the awards
luncheon

e.Request for “Feeding the Future” from Second Harvest Food Bank. At this
point there are no plans to fund a regional project for chickens or
anything like that. The FAs might have some money that may be used for
regional projects like this.

f.Letter from Make A Wish asking for support

VI.Reports
a.Financial Director- Balance of $6,552.08 in operating funds. $16,030
remaining available funds for Care Abounds in Communities. Suggestions
from Jacque to be sure to include check numbers for all entries, also
need to include check book balance

b.Communications Director- No report. Diane has recently had surgery.

c.Congregational Service Team Director – no report

d.Community Service Team Director- Beverly will communicate with service
teams about status of requests.

e.Youth Director- Cindy- no report

f.Lutheran Day at Waldameer – Betty had a report from Trudy They have come
up with a list of what is needed for the day and what kind of help we
need. We need to decide how much we will charge this year. Price at
Waldameer has gone up to $13.25. Beverly made a motion to charge $13.00.
Deanna 2nd. Motion carried. Deanna will take reservations. Deadline for
registrations July 1, 2007. Worship will be at 4:30. Diane will need to
have information submitted online for mailing by May 8th. We will need to
order give-a-ways 3 to 4 weeks in advance. Deanna will look at what is
available. Deanna should also order a kit of member benefits if there is
anything still available.

g.Join Hands Day- Only one request has been received to date which is
request for Camp Pioneer. May 5th is Lutherlyn work day. Discussion about
Relay For Life in Harborcreek, Corry, and Meadville. Deanna made a motion
to give $400 to Camp Pioneer and $200 to each Relay For Life, Cindy 2nd,
motion carried. Diane should send postcards to all coordinators and also
put information on the website about what we will be doing for Join Hands
Day.

VII.Old Business
a.In February it was suggested that funding requests be sent to Audrey.
Any requests that are received via regular mail will go to Beverly and
she will communicate with Audrey.

b.Church anniversaries- We need to find out from churches when they will
be celebrating so we know when to send the check.

c.Plaque at Lutheran Home- Tabled

d.Chapter guidelines and policies- No report

e.Mission Statement- Audrey has received 2 suggestions. Audrey read the 2
that have been submitted. Audrey will send a copy to each of us to review
for next meeting.

VIII.Approved / Completed project requests- We reviewed the projects which we
have approved at previous meetings and the current status of those
projects.

IX.New Business
a.Funding requests

#0711 Community Shelter Services $2150 expected to be raised
Tabled - Suggestion was made to contact them for more information including how much they are requesting. If we do approve we need to make sure they do some publicity about how much money was raised. Jacque suggested that we ask them to extend the activity date through June or deny this and suggest that we get involved with another project.

#0712 Christmas dinner for Bethesda Center families $500
Tabled

#0713 Big Brothers/ Big Sisters Christmas Party $1500
Tabled

b.Chapter leader E-News- Audrey encouraged all chapter leaders to go on-
line and read this.

c.News from Jean- There will be a Chapter leader retreat again next year,
January 18-19, 2008 at Salt Fork. Instead of giving gift certificate to
chapter leaders as a thank you, our LCSS will take the chapter leaders
out to dinner. If we want to include spouses and advisors we will need to
supplement. Jacque suggested sending a couple of dates in an e-mail to
see what works for everyone. Maybe weekend of September 14-16 or weekend
of 21- 23. Suggested places include the Gingerbread House in Corry or
Eagle Hotel in Waterford.

d.We have a credit of $71.72 with the company that we ordered coordinator
gifts from. So if we decide to do something else for coordinators we
have that available.

X.Next meeting- May 20th at St Paul’s Erie @ 7:00 pm
a.Devotions- Audrey will find someone to do devotions.

1.Roll Call
a.Present: Audrey Hettrick, Anna-Marie Labowski, Rev Kimberly Saylor, Karen Allgeier, Deanna Leuenberger, Diane Reyes, Art Anderson, Betty Farver, Edwina Gesler
b.Absent: Robert Young, Cindy Plizga, Beverly Kyle
c.Guests: Trudy Sallach, Joanne Anderson, Joanne Kaufer

2.Devotions were led by Karen Allgeier

3.Minutes from the February 18, 2007 meeting were reviewed. There were a couple of spelling and grammatical errors noted. Art Anderson made a motion to accept the minutes with corrections. Second by Deanna. Motion carried.

4.Admission of new members: Kim made a motion to admit 9 new members as listed online to membership into our chapter. Second by Deanna. Motion carried.

5.Correspondence:
a.Letter received from Thiel College with an update on our pledge to help build the Johnson Memorial Chapel. Motion made by Audrey to table any further discussion regarding this until she can get more information. Second by Karen. Motion carried.
b.E-mail from Beth Spahn with an update on their family and adoption.

6.Reports
a.Financial Report: Checkbook balance as of 03/18/07 is $7,607.82. This includes $1000 deposited for Join Hands Day. A motion was made by Karen to accept the financial report as presented. Second by Kim. Motion carried. Motion to pay the bills made by Art. Second by Diane. Motion carried.

b.Congregational Service Team Director: No report

c.Communications Director: First newsletter has been accepted and approved and will be mailed by the home office. Postcards will be sent to all coordinators with information about the training to be held April 22, 2007.

d.Community Service Team Director: No report

e.Youth: No report

f.Regional Events: Join Hands Day. There was a teleconference on March 13th for Chapter leaders and coordinators to explain details of Join Hands Day. One request has been received from Camp Pioneer. It will be noted in the newsletter that requests for funding for Join Hands Day need to be received by the April 22nd meeting.

g.Waldameer: Event is scheduled for Saturday July 7, 2007. Art will be meeting with a subcommittee to discuss details for the event. Art will contact Waldameer about getting portable restrooms to have near our pavilion for the day.

7.Project Requests:
#0703 Women of the ELCA synodical convention amount requested $300
Motion made by Kim to fund this hands on service activity for $300 with receipts. Second by Art. Motion carried.

#0704 St John’s Prayer Shawls amount requested $400
Motion made by Art to fund this hands on service project for $400 with receipts. Second by Karen. Motion carried.

#0705 Glenn Surenna amount requested $250
Motion made by Kim to supplement this fundraiser at a 1:1 ration up to $250. Second by Karen. Motion carried.

#0706 Lutheran World Relief quilts amount requested $250
Motion made by Karen to fund this hands on service activity for $250 with receipts. Second by Deanna. Motion carried.

#0707 Aaron Haffley medical expenses amount requested $5000
Motion made by Deanna to supplement this fundraiser at a 1:1 ratio up to $5000. Second by Diane. Motion carried.

#0708 McKinley School Kits amount requested $1000
Motion made by Karen to fund this hands on service project for up to $1000 with receipts. Second made by Art. Motion carried.

#0709 Community Shelter Services amount requested $500
Motion made by Kim to supplement this fundraising activity at a 1:2 ratio up to $500. Second by Deanna. Motion carried.

#0710 St Paul’s Youth Mission Trip amount requested $150
Motion made by Karen to supplement this fundraising activity for the amount of $50 per youth up to $150. Second by Art. Motion carried.

8.Discussion of how to handle late requests. Discussion was held regarding how to handle requests that are received for events that have already been held. It was decided that we need to stress that requests need to be received prior to activities being held. We will consider setting a specific date that requests must be received to the chapter leadership board in order for them to be considered. (ie the 10th of the month)

9.Mission Statement: Motion made by Art to table this discussion until next month. Second by Deanna. Motion carried.

10.Congregational Coordinator training to be held April 22nd at St Paul’s Erie.

11.New Business
a.Chapter of Excellence: All chapter leaders should read information about Chapter of Excellence program which was distributed by Audrey.

b.Date of next meeting: April 22, 2007 following coordinator training.

c.Update on Jean: Audrey read e-mail received from Jean regarding her recent surgery and work status.

d.Devotions for April meeting will be led by Deanna.

12.Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Kim at 9:15.

Meeting was called to order at 7:15 by Audrey. Each board member introduced themselves to the group.

1.Roll Call.
A.Present: Deanna Leuenberger, Jacque Holmberg, Karen Allgeier, Rev. Kim Saylor, Beverly Kyle, Dianne Reyes, Cindy Plizga, Bob Young, Audrey Hettrick, Edwina Gesler, Betty Farver, Art Anderson, Anna-Marie Labowski
B.Guests: David Olson, John Leuenberger, Joanne Anderson

2.Installation of Officers. Audrey installed new officers and accepted returning officers.

3.Devotions. A moment of prayer was led by Audrey

4.Approval of Minutes. Minutes from the December 4, 2007 were reviewed. Kim made a motion to accept the minutes as submitted. Second by Karen. Motion carried.

5.Admission of new members. There were a total of 30 new members presented for membership. Karen made a motion to accept all members as presented. Second by Diane. Motion carried.

6.Correspondence.
A.Audrey passed along information received from Jean Taylor via e-mail
a)The Lutheran Community Services team would like to recognize chapter leaders with a dinner instead of gift certificates. It will be up to the chapter board to decide how we want to handle this.
b)Jean will be having surgery soon. Please keep her in your prayers
c)They are already planning another chapter leader retreat for next year. The dates will be January 18-19, 2008. It will once again be held at Salt Fork
d)Jean wanted to remind us of what needs to be done for the yearly audit

B.Several e-mails were received from Hannah Spahn. The Spahn family is now planning to adopt a daughter as well as a son from Tanzania.
C.A letter was received from Trudy Sallach with information about how Trinity plans to use funds received from Thrivent.
D.Thank you note from Trudy Sallach for the Ricardo’s gift certificate she received for hosting our chapter meeting at her home.
E.Letter from Kitty Concilla from Community Shelter Services with a plea for continued support for their program
F.A letter from Bethesda Children’s home thanking us for the quilts made for them by St Paul’s with funding from Thrivent.
G.Thank you from Trinity Center for the Christmas gifts they received through a Thrivent grant.

7.Reports
A.Financial report. The financial reports for December and January were reviewed. Balance in the checkbook as of December 31, 2006 was $2,494.61. This money was carried forward into this year. The checkbook as of January 31, 2007 was $6,612.82. Kim made a motion to accept both the December and January financial reports as presented. Second by Cindy. Motion carried.

B.Congregational Service Team Director. No report. Jacque made a recommendation for all new leaders to log onto the website and do the tutorials that are available for chapter leaders. This will help each leader better understand their role on the chapter board.

C.Communications Director. No report. Audrey discussed the various types of mailings that are available for us to send out. We can do 4 free mailings per year to all Thrivent members. Jacque discussed how the mailing process works. She suggested that Diane read the February 2006 newsletter to get ideas of what should be included in our first 2007 newsletter. She also pointed out that we can do an unlimited number of mailings to congregational coordinators.

D.Community Service Team Director. No report.

E.Youth Director. No report. We need to try to think of ways to get more youth involved. Betty talked about a new program which is being started called Youth in the City. There was discussion about ways that we may be able to involve them in Thrivent activities. It was also announced that there is a new Conference One Synod youth coordinator, Deborah Johnson.

F.Audit report. The audit has been completed, reports were signed and all appropriate paperwork has been sent in to the home office.

G.Regional Events. Join Hands Day is May 5, 2007. $1,000 will be put into our account on March 1st. There was a suggestion made by Anna-Marie to use the money for a project in our local area so more people from our chapter could be involved. In the past we have been careful to consider both ELCA and Missouri Synod causes. Also should consider local non-profits. Some suggestions were nursing homes, the city mission, food banks, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, etc. There was a suggestion made to include information in the first newsletter asking for suggestions or requests for funding for local projects. Deadline for requests will be the week previous to our April meeting.

8.Project Requests
#0701- Phillips family medical expenses amount requested $5,000
This request was sent out via e-mail previous to this meeting due to the time frame of the activities planned. A motion was made by Beverly Kyle to supplement this fundraiser at a 1:1 ratio up to $5,000. Second by Cindy. Motion carried through e-mail votes by other members.

#0702 - Bethesda Quilts amount requested $750
Motion made by Deanna to fund this hands on service activity for the $750 requested. Second by Art. Motion carried.

Jacque reviewed the process of what needs to be done by the chapter once a request is reviewed and either approved or disapproved. If approved a packet needs to be sent to the person making the request with all of the paperwork they will need to report back on what they have done. If a request is denied someone must contact that person to explain our decision. Karen Allgeier agreed to take on this task.

Old Business

9.Chapter Guidelines and policies. Audrey asked what the status of this project is. Jacque, Pr. Fred Poeppel, Bob Young, and Albert Gesler III had originally agreed to do this but they have not met.
Edwina proposed that we continue to fund medical expenses at a ration of 1:1 up to $5,000.
Jacque reminded that group that if an organization receives any type of government funding they can only request funding from us for something for which they do not receive government monies.
·Jacque and Edwina will work on more recommendations for these guidelines. Jacque will ask Pr. Poeppel if he is still willing to help.
·To give us some perspective of what kinds of projects we have funded in the past, Jacque handed out 2 papers with a summary of the types of funding we have provided broken down by fundraiser vs. hands on and individuals, Lutheran non-profits, and other non-profits. We were reminded that any organization that we help must be a 501c3.
·Beverly discussed suggestions from a chapter leaders conference call to send a letter to congregations and include a $1 bill with saying something along the lines of “could you do without this money”. Something catchy to get their attention and explain to different types of funding that we have available.

10.Plaque at Luther Square. There is a group from St Paul’s who are willing to finish the pavilion. Once this is done we can get the plaque and have it installed.

11.Mission Statement. There was a suggestion made a the Salt Fork retreat that each chapter should have their own mission statement.
·Audrey asked that each board member bring a draft of a mission statement with them to our next meeting so we can review them and start to write our chapter mission statement.

12.Comments about Salt Fork Retreat. Overall it was felt that it was a good conference. The was a good explanation of the Care in Congregations and Care Abounds in Communities programs.

13.Audit committee report. Mary Lee Haynes, Bob Bestvina, and Diane Gianelli performed the audit. Anna-Marie will send thank you notes to them for their service. The books were found to be in order and the chapter summary report and group 990 tax return verification was sent to Fraternal services on 02/09/07.

14.Teleconferences. Everyone is encouraged to participate in these calls. A couple people did participate in the last one.

15.Waldameer. July 7, 2007. We need to find people to be on the committee. Jacque suggested that all board members should plan to be there the day of to help out.

16.Other information.
A.Cindy made a motion to accept Edwina and Betty as advisors to the board. Second by Deanna. Motion carried.

B.Celebration of church anniversaries. This year 2 churches in our chapter will celebrate anniversaries. St Mark Waterford – 50 years, and Lake in Conneaut Lake- 25 years. Karen made a motion to give each church the amount equal to the number of years they are celebrating. Second by Art. Motion carried.

C.Jacque suggested that we need to designate someone to receive e-mailed funding requests and make sure we publicize that in the newsletter. Audrey agreed to be the one to accept these requests.

D.Remember to report volunteer hours for each month to Anna-Marie. Anna-Marie will e-mail a form for everyone to use to track their hours.

E.We need to set a date for a congregational coordinator training. It was decided to hold this event on Saturday April 22, 2007 beginning at 4:00 pm. The training will be followed by a meal. The chapter meeting will then be held that same evening at 7:00pm. All events to be held at St Paul’s Erie

F.Upcoming meetings
·Sunday March 18, 2007 at 7:00 pm at St Paul’s Erie
·Sunday April 22, 2007 at 7:00 pm at St Paul’s Erie(this meeting may begin earlier depending on how long the training lasts)

G.If anyone has any expensed to be reimbursed they must fill out an expense reimbursement form and submit receipts.

The annual election meeting of the Erie Chapter of Thrivent Financial For Lutherans was held Sunday October 15, 2006 at Faith Lutheran Church. There were 78 people in attendance.

The meeting was called to order at 3:00 by Chapter president Edwina Gesler.
Edwina gave a summary of activities that the chapter has supported this year.

Beth Spahn gave a presentation about Mission trips that her husband has made to Tanzania and thanked Thrivent for our support of these trips. She announced that she will be going to Tanzania soon on a mission trip and is planning to adopt a child while she is there.

Kitty Cancilla gave a presentation about Community Shelter Services. She discussed what types of services are offered by the organization. She thanked Thrivent for our support. She also discussed ways that people can get involved by volunteering for the organization.

Audrey introduced the nominees for the Chapter board. They include:
Audrey Hettrick – President
Karen Allgeier – Vice President
Anna-Marie Labowski - Records director
Deanna Leuenberger – Financial Director
Robert Young - Congregational Service Team Director
Diane Reyes - Communications Director
Rev Kimberly Saylor – Assistant Financial Director
Beverly Kyle – Community Service Team Director
Cindy Plizga – Youth Director
Art Anderson – Events Director

Each nominee stood when introduced and told a little bit about themselves.

Audrey asked for nominations from the floor. There were no additional nominations. Betty made a motion to close the nominations. Jacque second. Edwina made a motion to accept the slate of nominees. Motion passed by a unanimous vote.

Jean Taylor, Lutheran Community Services Specialist, gave some announcements from our Ohio Region.
· November has been designated at Food Pantry Month by Thrivent. Jean encouraged us to volunteer at our local food pantries during the month and report all volunteer hours to her.
· Reminded us that on November 4th,Thiel College will be hosting Thrivent Day at their football game. The day will start with a tail gate party and then attendance at the game. Tickets are free to Thrivent members.
· Gave an update on Thrivent Builds. Our chapter has applied to be a Thrivent Builds chapter. There will be many ways for volunteers to support this effort.
· Announced the resignation of Dino Capestrani, Manager of Community Lutheran Services for our region. They have already started looking for a replacement for him.

Edwina brought the meeting to a close at 4:30 pm.

Everyone was invited to join us for a soup and sandwich dinner. Door prizes were awarded.

The existing and newly elected Chapter leaders held a short meeting following the election meeting. Jean discussed a chapter leader retreat which will be held January 12-13th at Salt Fork State Park in Ohio. All Chapter leaders are invited and encouraged to attend. This will be an opportunity to network with other chapter leaders and to learn more about how to effectively conduct chapter business.

Jacque made a motion to use operating funds to pay for the registration for any board leaders who chose to attend as well as travel expenses for 2 vehicles. Audrey seconded the motion. Motion carried.

73 members were present. (The attendance sheet is with the file copy of the minutes.) 26 of our chapter’s 32 congregations were represented. All chapter board leaders were present, except Jacque Holmberg. Our LCSS, Jean Taylor, was absent.

The meeting was called to order and opened with prayer.

Program –
Dr. Kreig Spahn and Mr. Jack Wonner shared the experience of their mission trips to Tanzania. Both trips/projects were supported in part by chapter Care Abounds in Communities funds.
A Habitat for Humanity video was shown as recognition of our chapter’s partnership with the local affiliate this year with the $20,000 grant.

Recognition of everyone present for their involvement as a Thrivent Financial volunteer in 2005 was made by asking folks to stand, either by name, or by which event they helped with (Habitat, Join Hands Days, Gospel Fest, etc.) Everyone in the room was standing!

Election: The slate of nominees for chapter board leader positions was read and with no additional nominations from the floor the nominations were closed. Pastor Wertz moved that a unanimous ballot be cast. Motion approved.

The 2006 Chapter Board Leaders for Erie County PA Chapter are:

President: Edwina Gesler
Vice President: Audrey Hettrick
Records Director: Anna-Marie Labowski
Financial Director: Betty Farver
Congregational Service Team Director: Pastor M. Milne
Assistant Financial Director: Jennifer Czemerych
Community Service Team Director: Jacquelyn Holmberg
Youth Director: Marilyn Manna (Erie County) and Beth Spahn (Crawford County)
Events Director: Art Anderson
Communications Director: Audrey Hettrick

Closing prayer and grace.

Fellowship: Thank you to the folks who helped to prepare, serve, and clean up for this event. Door prizes were given as the members shared a meal and enjoyed each others’ company.

Pre-ordered hams were distributed after the meeting.