President Herwald opened the meeting at 7:05pm. John Kral did the devotion. The minutes from the previous meeting were corrected and approved. The financial report was reviewed and approved. The beginning balance on 3-1-07 was $4008.22 and the ending balance on 4-30-07 was $3936.41. Fred informed the group that $500 in Join Hands Day money was still available for use.

Katherine submitted new chapter members since the last meeting for approval. A total of 22 new members (15 Benefit, 6 Associate, and 1 Youth) were approved.

A Care in Communities request in the amount of $1,600 from the Deanville Fair Boosters for a BBQ fund raiser on June 10 was approved. The Thrivent banner was requested for display at this event. David Bronstad agreed to deliver the banner on his way through town prior to June 10.

President Herwald updated board members regarding the fund raising efforts for the Searcy Family Habitat Home. As of this date, the fund raising goal has only $350 left to raise which was not perceived to be a problem.

John Kral updated members about the assistance Holy Cross is providing to the Hope Pregnancy Center. John reported that more than 20 youth and 7 parents working at the May 12 garden cleaning event. A motion was made and approved to appropriate the remaining Join Hands Day money to Holy Cross for use with the Hope Pregnancy Center garden clean up project. Board members were informed that Join Hands Day work needed to be completed by June 30 and project forms completed and submitted to Thrivent by July 31.

Webmaster Alex Maslowski announced that he was moving to California. In anticipation of his departure and to provide assistance to his replacement, he has updated the web site position duties.

President Herwald announced that he received a request from David Kuhlman that 3 individuals (William Withow-Conroe, Texas; William Edmonds-Waller, Texas; and Wallace Jahns-Cypress, Texas) have agreed to serve as Congregational Coordinators for Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lyons. The request was approved.

Board members reviewed a Chapter informational report prepared by Molly Wagoner, Thrivent Community Services Specialist. The next meeting is scheduled for June 18 in Deanville.

President Herwald opened the meeting with prayer at 7:05pm. The minutes from the February 19th meeting were reviewed and approved as written with one small correction. Financial Director Kolkhorst reviewed the financial report. The beginning balance on 2-1-07 was $4,132.22 with an ending balance on 2-28-07 of $4,008.22. Fred announced that $1,000 in Join Hands money has been received and deposited. Expenses from Congregational Coordinator Training were submitted for reimbursement. Fred shared Thrivent Donation Acknowledgement Forms with each member for their use as needed at future congregational fund raising events. The financial report was accepted and approved as submitted.

No new chapter members were approved due to the absence of a list of names. President Herwald updated members on the status of the Thrivent Builds Habitat Home for the Temica Searcy family to be constructed by area churches. The wall raising for this home is scheduled for 8:00am, Saturday, April 21. The home is located in the Angel’s Gate subdivision at 1489 Mervin’s Run in Bryan. Greg announced that although some money has been committed, the total amount needed (10% of the total) has not yet been fully pledged. Habitat and Thrivent would like to have commitments in place by not later than the April 21 wall raising. Greg requested that each congregation discuss this with their representatives so the commitment deadline can be met as requested.

Uses for Join Hands Day funds were discussed. One suggestion included utilizing Join Hands Day money in conjunction with the TAMU Big Event. John Kral informed members that Holy Cross is working on a project with their congregational youth to provide support and assistance to the Hope Pregnancy Center. A garden cleaning day was completed on March 17. The intent is to make assistance to the center an ongoing activity project of multiple congregations. A motion was made to approve $500 in support of the Center garden clean up project. The motion was approved.

John Fackler announced that the Congregational Coordinator Training event led by Molly Wagoner, Thrivent Community Services Specialist scheduled for Sunday, March 18 was not well attended. It was determined that the Sunday at the end of Spring break was not the best time to conduct this event. A discussion was held about ways to increase Congregational Coordinator involvement and participation. A proposal was made to offer a PDF copy of the power point presentation prepared and shared by Molly Wagoner to each Coordinator for them to review on their own. A motion was made that once each Coordinator has completed their review and submitted request for a planned event using the information from the presentation, a gift card to a local restaurant would be offered as appreciation. The motion was approved.

A motion was made to purchase a large size “presentation type” check to use for award recognition or presentations. It was suggested that markers, an eraser, and the correct type of maker be purchased and kept with the check. The motion was approved. Bonnie Horak volunteered to make a protective sleeve for the check once received and the actual size is known.

It was agreed by members that due to busy schedules and unless the need arose, that there would not be a meeting held in April. The next meeting will be held on Monday, May 21st at Holy Cross.