Minutes of the Executive Council of the
Clan Campbell Society of North America
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Anchorage, Alaska
CCSNA President Ed Cattell called the Executive Council meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. In the absence of a quorum, it was decided to consolidate the Executive Council meeting with that of the Commissioners on the following day. The combined councils would as usual receive reports, deal with questions, hold discussions, and make decisions, which could be ratified at a later time. At 9:08 a.m. the meeting was adjourned, to resume on Friday, June 25, 2004 at 9:00 a.m.
Minutes of the Executive Council, Commissioners’ Meeting,
and Annual General Meeting of the
Clan Campbell Society of North America
Friday, June 25, 2004
Anchorage, Alaska
President Ed Cattell, who offered a prayer on behalf of the society and its members, convened the meeting at 9:20 a.m.
The roll was called and it was determined that there was not a quorum to conduct business.
PRESIDENT’S REMARKS:
The President expressed his thanks on behalf of the CCS(NA) to Alaska Commissioner Russ Madigan and his wife Suzi and to Deputy Commissioner Paul Campbell for all the work they did to make this Annual General Meeting a great success. Lara Boucher was thanked for the beautiful “Klondike Quest” program she designed for the event. Despite the lack of a quorum there was a good turnout with 44 members registered. The schedule, as agreed by consensus, would consist of the Executive Council and Commissioners’ meeting in the morning, and, following luncheon, the Annual General Meeting. Awards would be made at the banquet following the Highland Gathering June 26.
ADVENTS:
The President formally informed the meeting of the birth of a son and heir to our chief, MacCailein Mor. Lord Archie Frederick Campbell, styled Marquess of Lorne, was born in London to Duchess Eleanor and Duke Torquhil on March 9, 2004. Photos of the Marquess will be in the newly released JOURNAL and on the CCS(NA) website. The news of a Campbell heir to the Dukedom of Argyll was received with expressions of heartiest congratulations to the parents and general applause.
On a more somber note, the President noted with regret the passing of CCS(NA) past president Col. Robert Monty Campbell of Mt. Gilead, NC. His obituary appears in The JOURNAL. Vice President Walter Campbell attended the memorial high mass on behalf of the Society. Col. Bob’s interment will be in Arlington National Cemetery on June 30, 2004. Several members of the Society, including V.P. Walter Campbell (by letter) and David Campbell, who served as Col. Bob’s vice president, shared with the group fond memories, reminiscences, and lively anecdotes, all with tributes to Col. Bob.
MINUTES:
In the absence of a quorum the revised and corrected minutes of the January 31, 2004, Executive Committee meeting was received by consensus. The secretary made a point to note and read the revisions to the published version, especially those of the Genealogy Report, where he had made several errors. He expressed his gratitude to Dr. Ruby Campbell for her forbearance and assistance in making the corrections.
VICE-PRESIDENT’S REPORT:
The Vice-President, Walter J. Campbell, was absent due to a family commitment and his report—which could not be officially received—was given by President Ed Cattell. Walt is working closely with membership chair Michelle Campbell. He is also working closely with the Commissioners. It is the responsibility of the vice-president to make appointments and approve changes among the Commissioners, but he does not do the actual recruiting of the Commissioners. It remains the job of the Regional Commissioner to select and appoint the State and Deputy Commissioners. Please keep Walter Campbell and Randy Seale informed of any changes that need to be approved and included in the JOURNAL or website.
SECRETARY’S REPORT:
ELECTION RESULTS: The results of the election of four trustees of the CCS(NA) for a three year term were certified by the secretary as follows:
John Jack Campbell 306
Ann Jackson 308
Melanie Pinkerton 303
Robert. C. St. John, Jr. 306
A vote was also cast in honor of Dayla Reagen-Buell, Deputy Commissioner of Region 10. Randy Seale indicated in a communication to the secretary that the email response in this election fell short of expectation (about 300 emails of 1300 came back as bad; about 140 persons actually voted on line with 166 out of 1200 casting paper ballots). There was discussion about the reasons for this, including the number of filters that block out any mass mailings from reaching their recipients. Barton Campbell suggested that regular emails should be sent to the members to get them used to CCS(NA) email communications. There was discussion of a quarterly email bulletin that might entice CCS(NA) members to keep the Society apprized of their email addresses. Dayla Reagen-Buell suggested that the Commissioners might want to get in touch with the 300 persons whose email addresses were faulty, to update their records. Ed suggested that the entire list might be emailed to the Commissioners who could then follow up those from their regions, reminding the Commissioners that any changes discovered during the contact should be reported to Walt and Randy, who are efficient in assuring that the corrections are noted and added to our membership and commissioner lists.
NEWSLETTERS:
Heather Campbell Smith suggested that all regional, state, and local newsletters should remind the members to let CCS(NA) have their current email address.
On this topic, President Ed reminded the Society that each Region Commissioner receives a certain amount of money from the CCS(NA) funds and suggested that if anyone is providing a newsletter, it could be sent electronically to maximize savings. He also hoped that local newsletters could be posted on the website (via Randy) and that on the website events could be broken down, state by state, with each state having a part of the website.
EVENT REPORTS:
Ed continues to encourage those reporting on events to add narrative and pictures to the requested raw data of attendees and members recruited and send it to the JOURNAL for Donald Draper Campbell. He asks that all participating for CCS(NA) at games or gatherings use the appropriate games report and send it to the address on the report form. He explained that the form helps the Society collect the data to make charts, graphs, and decisions about where to allocate limited funds. The narrative gives credit to those who have worked and acknowledges new members. Photos are a way of sharing the excitement of the event.
A DIRECTORY:
Lou Campbell-Schultz shared his region’s directory, which is sold for $10.00 US. It lists all games, piping and dancing competitions, and Scottish contacts in the Northwest and provides a real resource for his folks.
SPAM AND MAILINGS:
Junny and Ann Jackson introduced the topic of spam and spam filters on the Internet and described methods the members could use to receive our emailings. Joe McD. Campbell underscored the importance of a proper subject line, for example “Campbell,” to use in emailing members. Ed suggested that these observations should be shared with Randy and an article in the JOURNAL could assist our members to receive Internet communiqués. Dayla suggested that the members should be reminded “to keep us updated” and “to please set up your email filter to receive CCS(NA) messages” while Carl Guilford suggested that the Commissioners’ and games reports could be sent out by email on a standardized online form (instead of by pen and ink). Robert St. John reminded the group that one problem with electronic versions is that some will not open so corrections can be made or data entered. Ed led the discussion to methods by which we could use direct email at this time (cut/paste) and how it might be used on the website in the future with various pigeon holes set up to receive data.
FORMS AND MANUALS:
Tommy Thomson remarked on the paper forms. He declared that the forms sent to the Region Commissioners from tent managers continued to have “mystifying elements.” The forms also require the Region Commissioners’ approval before being passed on to Randy, and this makes for a slow process. He wanted to know what verification of expenses are required; what receipts are needed. He also asked, “Where are the manuals?” Ed replied that the AGM manual is done and in use. Those for the Commissioners and tent managers are being updated, but Walter has the previous versions if they are needed. He indicated that the Finance Committee has previously decided both what funds would be approved for a games and under what circumstances. While there are always new matters to be dealt with, the Region Commissioners who are in charge of funds must use their discretion. Reimbursements will be made unless the expenses are incurred against the stated policy of the Society based on the findings of the Finance Committee. The President noted the wide variation in costs and requests for reimbursement from across the regions. Lou reminded the Society of the many costs accruing to volunteers and introduced the subject of event insurance.
EVENT INSURANCE:
While there is a wide variation of events fees across the country, $1,000,000 is the normal insurance requirement to hold an event. [Ed and others later (see: NEW BUSINESS) discussed the insurance and the matter of “save” or “hold harmless” clauses as they applied to a whole event and to the CCS(NA) tent as part of the event.]
MEMBERSHIP REPORT:
STATISTICAL REPORT: the President presented the statistical data from this report in the absence of the Chair. The report is filed and attached to these minutes. The report noted the changes in membership, region by region, between December 2003 and June 15, 2004. Regions 1,2,4,5,10,21 and 22 all experienced gains while Region 12 had the greatest loss. Region 2 obtained 13 new members, followed by Region 5 with 11 and Region 10 with 5. Ed explained that the CCS(NA) has offered members of the other Canadian Clan Campbell societies the opportunity to join ours and indicated that the change in membership the CCS(NA) has experienced in the last 6 months appears to be, on the whole, a good trend. As with other similar societies in recent years, we have experienced loss of membership and our losses since have not been severe. Tommy indicated that he had noted several lapsed members returning.
Lou introduced the idea of marketing the Society to improve membership. He and the MacDonald’s in Washington State have attempted to create a public interest by exploiting a friendly rivalry and rustling each other’s mascots.
California Commissioner Carl Guilford suggested that a standardized post card might be used as a follow-up to new or potential members who have stopped by a games tent. Ed encouraged such follow-up, but perhaps something even more personal—a phone call, for example—might be more productive. He reminded everyone that the guest registers —containing many prospective members—ought to be forwarded to the Membership Chair and to V.P. Walter Campbell. Ann indicated that the guest registers were useful in making the Games Report.
Elaine suggested that recognition be given to longevity—perhaps 10 or 15 year pins to be awarded at the AGM and announced in the JOURNAL.
Tommy asked concerning the category of “life membership” which has been restored with a $750 cost. Ideas about this category and a sliding scale of fees were included in the Chair’s report.
MEMBERSHIP CHAIR REPORT:
The report of the chair, Michele Campbell, was read by President Cattell. It is included as an attachment to these minutes. It included a reimbursement history for the second half of 2003 and listed expenses for ads in various Scottish publications. The chair, to date in 2004, has mailed 108 potential member packets from various leads with a 2% success rate. Barton Campbell noted that the results laid out in the report indicated problems and the need for better marketing the Society. He noted that he has had difficulty making contact with the chair through email. Ed explained that the list shows all possible methods of making contact outside of the normal. He, too, wondered what we are doing to market the CCS(NA) effectively. Barton urged that our expensive advertisements in the various Scottish-related journals be coded to ascertain their effectiveness.
Lou suggested that guests at the games tents might sign up right on the labels, which can then be photocopied. This then becomes both the guest register and a convenient instant mailing list. Western Canada Commissioner Bruce Campbell indicated that the Commissioners need to learn more about new and prospective members than the guest list currently calls for, including how the Society became known to the new member and the person’s interests and talents. Ed said that such a survey was done not many years ago. If a region wants to add to the forms’ specific information, this is possible, but all forms used regionally should be cleared with Randy.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a.m. and resumed at 1:15 p.m.
TREASURERS’ REPORT:
In the absence of the treasurers, the treasurers’ report was filed and is an attachment to these minutes. President Cattell shared the highlights, as of June 15. He explained that the first 6 months of the year is not the period in which the Society normally acquires great revenue. The report included a region-by-region summary of expenses.
INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE REPORT:
The IT report, submitted by Randy Seale, was filed and is an attachment to these minutes.
Randy now has administrative control of the website and has changed to a new domain registrar GoDaddy.com. This has cut costs by 70% over the previous registrar. The CCS(NA) now owns certain website domain names in addition to the Society’s primary web address of www.ccsna.org. These websites all direct inquiries to our official website. There have been inquiries to other North American and UK websites that approximate ours, asking to acquire ownership, and a procedure is in place to acquire sites to which others are not actually entitled.
EMAIL MEMBERSHIP DRIVE:
Randy is in discussion with WEI, a professional website service company, concerning a web crawl that may reach 5 million names. This matter was discussed at the January Executive Council meeting in Gulfport, MS. Randy has examined costs, the methods for conducting the web crawl, and the legalities. The costs are still being determined, a website has been established that can support this drive, and by the definitions of the CANSPAM ACT (2003) the CCS(NA) and CCEF appear not to be “commercial email” and so remain outside of the acts restrictions.
GENEALOGY REPORT:
The Genealogy report was filed and is an attachment to these minutes. It was read by the Secretary. Joe McD. commented on how lucky we are to have a genealogist of Dr. Ruby Campbell’s caliber and praised the work she has done. There was some discussion concerning the LDS recognition that the parochial records of Scotland 1553-1854 are the copyright of Scotlandspeople.gov.uk and so not available free to the general public. Ed pointed out that the information, collected by the government, belongs to the people. A user fee might be justified, but no one can copyright something that is already part of the public domain. David Campbell of Salt Lake City, UT agreed to check with the LDS concerning this recognition of the site’s proprietary control of parish records. Joellyn Cattell indicated that the data had been given to the LDS church and Ed clarified that it had been given to the church to be made available to the public. There was also discussion of Ruby’s previous request for volunteers to help put the raw data into the program. Dayla shed some light on the privacy issues arising from dealing with the “living.”
COUNCIL OF SCOTTISH CLANS AND ASSOCIATIONS:
Ann Jackson will represent the Society at this meeting, held during the Gathering at Grandfather Mountain. The CCS(NA) has no particular agenda for her.
YOUTH COMMITTEE REPORT:
Heather Campbell Smith’s report focused on the Youth Bulletin which is available, but still being refined. Plans are underway for a short introduction to the Campbells for non-CCS(NA) kids which will include word games, a genealogical tree, and coloring pages with a Scottish theme. John Campbell of Olympia, WA, Deputy Commissioner of Washington State, has drawn many of the pages to be colored by kids while their parents are busy joining the Society. Lou Campbell-Schultz volunteered to ask John Campbell to serve as Youth Committee chair in succession to Heather, who is rotating off the Board of Trustees. Heather was thanked with applause for her many years on the Youth Committee.
Lara Boucher was also thanked by applause for her work on the AGM program design. She has indicated that many of the designs she employed in the handsome “Klondike Quest” pamphlet for the AGM are public domain and she will make a list of them and make them available.
NEW BUSINESS:
Several topics were suggested by a written communication from Bruce Campbell, Region Commissioner for Western Canada, who was present. Some had previously been discussed. They included:
LIABILTY INSURANCE:
Bruce brought up the question of liability insurance and it was determined that the Society doesn’t require it except in relationship to its attendance at Games and Gatherings where all participants are covered by the event insurance. Ed asked that anyone with concerns about the insurance or that matter of signing papers should refer them to him.
CLAN CAMPBELL SOCIETY APPLICATIONS:
A request was made to add two questions to the applications—1) How did you hear about the Society? and 2) What are your interests? This data should then be transferred to the Commissioners and be used accordingly.
IDEAS FOR SIGNING UP NEW MEMBERS:
There had been discussion on this matter previously.
A PORTRAIT OF THE DUKE AND HIS FAMILY:
CCS(NA) Secretary David Stedman’s recent photograph of the Duke and Duchess at Inveraray Castle can be reproduced and used at games.
LOCATIONS AND TIMING of 2005 AGM:
It has been the recent practice to move the AGM around North America, not just on the coasts, so that many people might have the chance to attend. The next one will be July 10, 2005, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The floor was then opened to the general membership for matters of concern.
The Annual General Meeting
The President announced the new trustees who have been elected to serve a three-year term. They are John Jack Campbell, Ann Jackson, Melanie Pinkerton, and Robert Campbell St. John, Jr. He thanked the trustees rotating off the board, Heather Campbell Smith and Dr. Frederick Campbell.
Alaska Commissioner Russ Madigan thanked Lara Boucher, Lynn Burns, Joe Campbell, Suzi Madigan, and website designer Jeff Campbell, his committee for the Anchorage AGM. He explained the transportation arrangements to and from the Alaska Highland Games at Eagle River and gave details of the banquet to follow.
In response to questions, he described details of the handsome triptych that had been designed for games use. Members were encouraged to support the silent auction.
Lara Boucher shared concerns about the CCS website with its outdated material and typos. She has been unable to contact the Webmaster. Ed replied that Randy Seale is now the Webmaster and an email should be sent to him advising of errors (with a copy to Ed). Ed told the AGM that Randy is working through the entire website and all errors should be brought to his attention. Lara volunteered to assist with graphic materials and the design part of the layout. Ed asked Lara to work with Walter to make a graphics master that could be changed easily, and Russ suggested that the graphics should be in a format that can be downloaded.
Ed suggested that all material on the website from one year should continue on the website until it is replaced by material from the next year. For example, information about the 2004 AGM should remain until the 2005 material is ready. Such information serves as publicity, and at least a year lead-time is required for folks to prepare for an AGM.
Dayla Reagan-Beull would like a “Commissioner’s corner” section of the website, a secure place for Commissioners to get information and especially the forms they need to do their jobs. Ed indicated that this would not be necessary as parts of the website are already protected by a password. Ed reiterated his wish that the Commissioners should be able to access the minutes and committee reports from the website. He also was enthusiastic that as many Commissioners as possible should attend the Executive Council meetings, as good ideas for improvements invariably came from the involvement of as many participants as possible.
Lou Campbell-Schultz suggested that gifts of membership in the CCS(NA) made a good family present, and Ed added that we need to design a gift membership where the bill always comes back to the original donor.
In a further discussion on the status of the website, Ed explained that the CCS(NA) is a mere toddler in this area, but that we are growing up quickly. He did not want to overwhelm the members with a too-complicated website.
A “thank you gift” to Alastair Campbell of Airds was suggested by Carl, and it was learned that a set of books, volumes 1-3 of the Clan Campbell History, signed by the trustees, was to be a part of our recognition of his work, for which he was paid by the CCEF.
A question concerning the medallion insignias of the clan officers, raised by Lou, was directed to Walter who has charge of them.
Awards will be given at the AGM Banquet.
Awards
At the AGM Banquet the following awards were announced:
Commissioner of the Year Award was presented in absentia to Michael Stephenson, East Tennessee Deputy Commissioner. The award will be presented to Michael Stephenson by Vice-President Walter Campbell.
Clansman of the Year Award was presented in absentia to Michael Thames, California Deputy Commissioner. This award will be presented to Michael Thames by Tommy Thomson, Region 10 Commissioner.
The President’s Award was presented at the banquet to Alaska Commissioner Russ Madigan. President Ed Cattell, making the presentation, also thanked Russ and his committee for all they had done to make the AGM such a great success.
Respectfully submitted,
David Stedman
Secretary
Clan Campbell Society (North America)