Agenda for Annual SF3 Meeting, October 5, 2014, 11:30 am

The SF3 will meet on Sunday, October 5th, at 11:30am central time in the Concourse Hotel. (If physically attending, check the board in the lobby for exact room location.)

If you would like to attend this meeting by telephone, please notify the Corresponding Secretary at info@sf3.org, so that arrangements can be made.

Known Agenda Items:

• Officer Reports
• Thanking Exiting Officers, Election of New Officers. We are looking for candidates to run for the position of Vice President. Duties for this position include serving on all committees, and substituting for the President in their absence.
• Appointment of Committee Chairs
• Grant Requests [To date, we have not received any.]
• Proposed By-Law Revision to state that SF3 meetings may be scheduled more flexibly than “the second Sunday of October,” so as to reflect actual practice of the past five years.
• Proposed By-Law Revision: fix inconsistency in the removal of officers.
• Addressing a petition brought by some members of the WisCon concom and SF3 board. They ask that all concom members and SF3 board be guided by and held accountable to WisCon’s Statement of Principles. This group has asked that there be clear consequences for members of the Convention Committee who violate these principles, and note that the Statement of Principles itself already states, “WisCon’s commitment to feminism is also reflected in our processes. Meetings, decision-making processes, program development, and guest of honor choice all reflect a commitment to feminist ideals of equality, respect for everyone’s right to be heard, and the obligation to hold each other accountable for what we say.” Those creating this petition state, “This is not a demand for everyone to adhere to some one true standard of feminist ideology. We believe in the importance of a diversity of opinions, and of everyone’s right to be heard. But we believe that the Convention Committee has, to date, not truly held one another accountable for what we say and do.” The undersigned propose to bring complaints of violations to the SF3 Board, which must then decide whether the member has indeed disregarded these ground rules, and if so, will select a consequence depending on frequency and severity of the transgression, including moderating that person’s emails to the wiscon-concom list, restricting participation in ConCom activities, restricting someone from volunteering in any capacity, and banning a person from WisCon entirely. They ask that this plan be approved by the SF3 board immediately, and posted clearly on the SF3 and WisCon websites.
They state, “We believe that all members of the Convention Committee and the SF3 board deserve a volunteer environment where they are both respected and valued for their contribution, and held accountable for their actions. We believe that these standards are a basic necessity for respectful communication with the WisCon community at large. How can we enforce a code of conduct based on the Statement of Principles if we do not hold ourselves accountable to those same Principles? How can we expect any level of basic trust or respectful communication among WisCon attendees if the members of the Convention Committee or SF3 are held to lower standards?”
If you’re a current SF3 member and want to sign the petition, email sf3info@wiscon.info for a link to the Google Form.

In order to vote at the annual meeting, you have to be a current member, which means that you must have purchased a 2014-2015 membership before the end of the 10/5/2014 meeting. Membership rates are: $9 (under 17 years old), $12 (Basic/Student), $24 (Contributing), $36 (Supporting), $48 (Sustaining), and $60 (Patron). These fees are tax-deductible, and we appreciate your donation. Fees are used for SF3 expenses — grants, corporation filing fees, office expenses, bank charges, etc. Here’s a link on where to join: http://sf3.org/join

Proxy forms may be found online here: http://sf3.org/meetings

If you are unable attend the annual meeting, you may fill out a proxy form and send it to the SF3 address or give it to someone who will be attending the meeting and can deliver it in person. You must send along a check to cover the cost of your membership fee. On the form you may assign specific persons to vote for you or you may ask that a proxy be selected at random. The form must be signed by you.

Those present at the meeting are permitted to hold a maximum of 5 proxies, per the by-laws.

If you have any questions, please email sf3info@wiscon.info.