FSLB Steering Committee Conference Call

1/17/08

Agenda:

• Opening Prayer

• Review of Financial Procedures and Policy

• Update from various committee heads

• Membership Drive/Letters to Organizational Heads/Spring Fundraiser

• Updates from Edwin Fahnbulleh and Lynette Roberts re: their trips to Liberia and contact w/ LBF

• Update from the Chair re: potential meeting with NBA personnel.

• Closing Prayer

Attendees:

The meeting began with the Chairman (Fannoh) introducing our guest, Michael Keating, to the group and with Michael giving some background information on himself. Michael is affiliated with the Center for Democracy and Development with the University of Massachusetts. He has visited Liberia on a few occasions with his work with the Press Union.  He will be leaving for Liberia on Saturday and will be there for 2 weeks. His primary interest is to develop an audience for basketball, to help develop players and get some scholarships for some of the players to play in the U.S. He requested some assistance with meeting those persons in Liberia who are running the basketball program there, as well as an opportunity to meet some of the players. We assured him we could arrange for both of those as well as a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Sports and he is looking forward to meeting with the officials of LBF and the ministry as well as watching some of the games in the league and having a tour of the Sports Commission. He also has been in contact with one of the officials at the NBA who has expressed a desire to meet with us. Michael would like for two of our members to accompany him to a meeting at the NBA location in New York in the latter part of February. There was some discussion about the NBA sending a delegation to Liberia some time in the near future and the idea of liaising with Magic Johnson and Bob Johnson, owner of the Charlotte bobcats, was also discussed. We explained that that was also something the Ways and Means committee had begun to explore so it seems like our partnership could prove quite rewarding.

Following the comments by Michael, the meeting was officially called to order at 9:45 p.m., with an opening prayer.

There was some discussion whether or not the November 2007 Financial Report had been approved by the board of directors and could be posted on the website. It was confirmed that the board had approved the report and notified the steering committee previously so it was agreed that the report would be placed on the website. Wulwyn will be contacted to see that this is done. 

The Financial Policy and Financial Procedures were discussed briefly and it was agreed that the most ideal approach with these two documents would be two merge them into one or at least be certain that they are referenced to one another. The steering committee, initiated by the Treasurer will take another look at the documents, modify them and then forward them to the board for re-review and approval. Dawn Tolbert indicated that she would redistribute her comments regarding the two documents so they can be considered in the revision process.

The tax exempt status of the organization was discussed briefly. The organization is now incorporated in the state of Rhode Island however the proper paperwork needs to be submitted in order to complete the federal filing for 501( c) 3 status.

Unfortunately, all of the committee chairs were not present for the call and therefore, the reports/updates were not given. Several written reports have been received by the steering committee and minor revisions are still required in order for these reports to be posted on the website.

We reviewed the issue of the new logo, letterhead and membership cards. It was agreed that the members of the steering committee had placed individual votes and the design with the star in the ball was the one that received unanimous votes and therefore, we will begin using same. Edwin Fahnbulleh was asked to send another email with the logo, letterhead and membership card sample to refresh everyone’s memory.  Edwin indicated that there will be a cost of $45 to purchase a PDF copy of the logo so everyone can begin to use it. Though he volunteered to pay for it, it was agreed that the expenditure should come from the organization’s treasury. If Edwin still wishes to cover the cost, it was agreed that he should instead make a $45 donation to the organization (which in essence would offset the expenditure) however, we want to avoid having individual members paying for items that are official FSLB business. A motion was made, voted upon and agreed that the funds be made available for the purchase of the PDF format from the treasury. The chairman of the board abstained from the vote.  For the record, the financial policy and procedures have not been finalized and approved however, this was thought to be the best approach to handle this issue.

With respect to reinvigorating the organization, we agreed that we should continue with the idea of hosting a spring fundraiser which will entail statewide basketball games and sips with the view of increasing awareness of the organization and potentially increasing the membership. Fannoh indicated that a new president has been elected for the Minnesota group and he will be contacted and asked to mobilize efforts in Minnesota. We also agreed that we need to be more aggressive in getting present members to become current with their dues. All Chairpersons will be asked to contact their members via email and request that they pay their membership dues.  The secretary will be asked to send the letter to the organizations that had been drafted some time ago.  The new logo should be used. Finally, the steering committee will draft a letter to be sent to all members asking them to also make their dues current.  The membership fee was revisited and it was agreed that the membership fee will be $30 for membership through the next convention in June 2008 or $100 through June 2009. Since we are still in the infancy state, we agreed to provide these incentives for now. Each member will receive a membership card in the mail.  The membership committee will draft a letter to the members which will be sent electronically, if we don’t have their mailing addresses, and at that time, their mailing addresses will be requested in order for their cards to be mailed to them.  The Chairman of the Board recommended that those persons in leadership rolls (board members, committee chairs, officers, etc) of the organization, should pay a little bit more for membership. This would raise the standards and set an example for all members to take the organization seriously and come forth with their dues. Though it was agreed in general that that would be nice however, we do not want to make this mandatory as we don’t want to dissuade anyone from volunteering their time to the organization because they may not have the funds to make an additional contribution.

Edwin Fahnbulleh recently returned from Liberia and had the opportunity to meet with Fred Pratt, the secretary general of LBF as well as visit the Sports Commission Edwin has circulated photos that he took during his trip. They show how deplorable the conditions are that the players are playing under. The bleachers are unsafe and some appear ready to collapse. Edwin reported that the entire facility needs to be overhauled. The league was not in session during the holidays due to lack of funding. Apparently they are in dire need of simple things for the game to be played regularly, for instance, balls, nets, whistles, referee jerseys, stat books, etc. At night, many games have to be prematurely ended due to lack of electricity. The generator on the premises is unreliable and will need to be replaced soon, not to mention the cost of fuel for the generator. Edwin indicated that Mr. Pratt requested any donations be made in kind (by sending the actual items needed) as opposed to financial donations. As reported previously, the sports commission is in great need of repairs and instead of sending money for those efforts, it would be preferred that contractors be contracted for the job or actual materials be sent. Fred Pratt thanked FSLB for their interest and commitment to the cause and indicated that without us, the program might not survive through next year.

Though the report was disheartening, it reaffirms our efforts and we should all be convinced now, more than ever, that what we are doing is greatly needed and will be appreciated by our fellow Liberian basketballers.

The meeting was closed with a prayer.

The next conference call will be held on either Jan. 20 or 27 depending on everyone’s availability.

Minutes as recorded by DYRT