Minutes of the Winter Meeting of the Illinois Classical Conference Advisory Council held on Saturday, February 2, 2008, at the Corner Bakery, 224 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill.

Members present: Marilyn Brusherd*, Vicki Wine*, James Chochola*, Elisa Denja*, Alice Mulberry*, Jennifer Draper*, Virginia Anderson*, Elizabeth Skoryi*, Lanetta Warrenburg*, and Stephen Pilewski*.

Members present by proxy: Thomas Sienkewicz*, Mary Lee Muniz*, Lois Dion*, Rickie Crown*, Victoria Henderson*, William Napiwocki*, Emil Kramer*, and Jennifer Jordt*.

Call to order: With a quorum present (7 required) President Alice Mulberry called the meeting to order at 8:35am. President Mulberry welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending this meeting.

Secretary’s Report: Stephen Pilewski reported that the minutes of the 3 previous meetings (Advisory Council on 10/5/07, First General Business on 10/6/07, and Second General Business on 10/7/07) held at the Crown Center for the Humanities, Loyola University, Lake Shore Campus, Chicago, Ill. 60626, were published both on the ICC website and in the Augur (Jan., 2008, pp. 8-13). Since there were no corrections to the minutes, Elisa Denja moved, seconded by James Chochola, to approve the minutes of the 3 previous meetings as published. The motion passed by acclamation.

Treasurer’s Report: Elizabeth Skoryi presented the Annual Treasurer’s Report as of 2/1/08. The ICC realized a profit of $1,763.40 from the Fall 2007 ICC Conference, but this was due in large part because Loyola did not charge the ICC for its many expenses (e.g. room rentals, duplicating materials, etc.). After some discussion, it was decided that a donation of $1,000 be presented to the Classics Department of Loyola University as the ICC’s expression of gratitude for Loyola’s generous support of the Fall 2007 ICC Conference. Jennifer Draper so moved, seconded by Virginia Anderson. The motion passed. When discussion of the rest of the report was concluded, Jennifer Draper moved, seconded by Elisa Denja, to accept the Annual Treasurer’s Report as of 2/1/08. The motion passed by acclamation.

Newsletter Editor’s Report: Elizabeth Skoryi pointed out that Lincoln-Way H.S. is doing the duplicating of the Augur at no charge, but that the ICC does supply the paper. After some discussion about Lincoln-Way’s continued support of the ICC and the Augur, Virginia Anderson moved, seconded by James Chochola, to send to Lincoln-Way H.S. a form of recognition (e.g., a plaque) for the school’s continued support of the Classics. The motion passed. Elizabeth then reported that 128 Augurs (Jan., 2008) were mailed at a cost (paper, envelopes and postage) of $145.92, with some paper left over for the next issue. Elizabeth also said that 40 reminders for lapsed membership dues were mailed out. Marilyn Brusherd thanked everyone for responding to her e-mail which called for items for the Augur. She did, however, express concern for not receiving reports that should appear in the Augur. Marilyn then called attention to the use of the 11 point font which seems to fit well within the 28 page limit. None of the members reported difficulty with reading the font, and so Marilyn will continue to use this size font.

Registered Agent: Stephen Pilewski reported that Lois Dion gave him the required Annual Report form and Elizabeth Skoryi gave him a check at the fall conference at Loyola. He completed and mailed the report with payment to the Secretary of State on time.

ICC Website: President Mulberry reported receiving no new updates from Thomas Sienkewicz.

Illinois Latin Tournament: Jennifer Draper reported that 20 schools with 367 students were planning to participate in this year’s Qualifying Exam. The Final Exam will be held at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington on 4/26/08. Jennifer said her goal is to vary the locations for the Final Exam and not place a burden on any one college. She would like to receive more invitations from colleges in order to accomplish this goal. President Mulberry expressed appreciation for Jennifer’s hard work.

Auditing Committee: No report was received, although Elizabeth Skoryi reported that the audit was completed at the end of last September.

Membership Committee: Of the 40 reminders for lapsed dues that were mailed, Elizabeth Skoryi reported about 8 responses were received so far. Some renewed, whereas others expressed no interest in continuing their memberships.

Nominating Committee: With 2008 being an election year, President Mulberry called for consideration for nomination of officers. Discussion ensued on some possibilities.

Awards Committee: Virginia Anderson called for the names of retirees so that proper recognition can be given.

Memorator Invocatorque: No additions to the obituaries that appeared in the Augur (Jan., 2008, p.6) were received from William Napiwocki.

Teachers’ Idea Exchange: Marilyn Brusherd expressed a desire that worksheets be available at ICC conferences. James Chochola said that he could post some of them on ListServe.

Pedagogy Workshop: Elisa Denja distributed the 2008 Latin Pedagogy Workshop Schedule, which also appeared in the Augur (Jan., 2008, p. 20). She also distributed the report from the Latin Pedagogy Committee, which was reviewed and discussed.

Resolutions Committee: James Chochola reported that the Resolutions were published in the Augur (Jan., 2008, pp. 14-15), and that he will turn over his materials to successor Jennifer Jordt. James pointed out that the names to be thanked need to be sent to his successor before the conference (as President Mulberry has done) so that everyone could be properly recognized. James also suggested that the Resolutions be given at the Saturday banquet, which would be a more proper occasion for presenting official recognition. He will pass along this suggestion to Jennifer Jordt.

Liaison to Schools and Colleges: No report was received and President Mulberry said that John Makowski could not attend due to illness. Discussion then ensued about various methods in making new Latin teachers aware of the ICC’s existence and getting them involved with its activities.

IJCLN: Elizabeth Skoryi reported that 15 schools, 2 of which were new, were planning to attend the annual convention on Feb. 21-23, 2008, with about 360 students.

IJCLS: Mary Lee Muniz’s report on the Nov. 17, 2007, convention appeared in the Augur (Jan., 2008, pp. 21-23), according to Stephen Pilewski.

Illinois Certamen League: Elisa Denja said that she will send the results. Elizabeth Skoryi said that there are now 4 divisions, that the 4-team buzzer boards have been obtained, and that everything is going well.

ICTFL/ACTFL: Virginia Anderson attended an ICTFL meeting in January and reported that there is a push for affiliates to do something at the annual convention. Virginia asked that ICC presenters consider reprising their presentations at ICTFL, or that presenters who cannot make ICC to consider giving their presentations at ICTFL. The ICTFL convention will be held at the Marriott Hickory Ridge Hotel in Lisle on Oct. 17-19, 2008, which will be one week after the ICC conference. Virginia then recounted a disturbing incident where a member did not submit bills for incurred expenses in a timely manner, but rather let them accumulate for a number of years before submitting them. When the organization balked at the request for the large reimbursement, legal action was taken, resulting in not only reimbursement being required to be paid, but interest as well. Failure to do this would result in the organization’s loss of not-for-profit status. Discussion ensued on how to protect the ICC from such an event. Stephen Pilewski pointed out that Art. VIII, Sect. 2 of the Bylaws (revised 10/19/02) governs payment and allows for changes by resolution of the Advisory Council. Finally, Marilyn moved, seconded by James Chochola, to form a committee comprised of Virginia, Elizabeth Skoryi and Stephen to investigate how to make a rule to receive bills in a timely manner and to allow for their prompt payment. The motion passed.

CAMWS: Vicki Wine called attention to her report in the Augur (Jan., 2008, p. 16). She suggested checking the CAMWS website for promotional materials. Vicki thought that perhaps the nomination forms for scholarships could be printed in the Augur, but Marilyn said that the Augur is limited to 28 pages.

ACL: James Chochola said that the Annual Institute will be held at the University of New Hampshire in Durham on Jun. 27-29, 2008. Since he is part of the National Committee for Latin and Greek, James solicited characteristics that an ideal, prospective Latin teacher should have, especially those that meet certain state and/or national standards. James would present these to NCLG.

APA/AIA: Adding to her remarks in the Augur (Jan., 2008, p. 1), President Mulberry wished to thank all participants for their support.

2008 Conference: Adding to her report in the Augur (Jan., 2008, p. 6), Vicki Wine said that she received a suggestion to have a social rather than an academic activity on Friday evening due to our members’ Friday work schedules and the distances that they must travel. President Mulberry said that the Iowa classicists are looking forward to meeting with their Illinois colleagues. Marilyn Brusherd said that she will receive the abstracts and that they will be evaluated anonymously by a Program Committee. Discussion then followed on ideas for vetting the abstracts. College students are encouraged to submit abstracts for consideration. Planning is underway for the banquet, its location, and for a banquet speaker.

2009 Conference: Except for its location at Northwestern University in Evanston, President Mulberry had no activity to report.

Harvard Commencement Speech: Elizabeth Skoryi said that she has about 70 DVDs that are still available for sale. Jennifer Draper offered to take them to JCL Nationals because teachers there look for such materials. Discussion supported Jennifer’s idea, and Elizabeth suggested that the leftover DVDs be distributed to new teachers as a promotion, hopefully with CAMWS funding. Vicki Wine pointed out that CAMWS funding of a $300 grant had already been allocated. Vicki further suggested that members who were new in 2007-2008 or will be in 2008-2009 be informed of this perquisite.

ICC Banner: Jennifer Draper proudly displayed the long awaited but new and impressive ICC banner. She was happy to report that the cost (about $60) came below the estimated $175. Members interested in displaying the new ICC banner should contact Jennifer.

Database of Colleges and Universities offering Latin and Greek: Jennifer Draper solicited any changes and will transmit them to Thomas Sienkewicz for posting on the ICC website.

ListServe: James Chochola reported no new members. He offered suggestions for materials that may be submitted for posting on ListServe, examples of which are pictures taken at conferences and textbook related worksheets.

Trip to Indianapolis Art Museum: President Mulberry was pleased to report that everyone had a great time and there were quite a few positive contacts made. A report of the trip will appear in the Augur.

Proposal for Travel Reimbursement: Stephen Pilewski requested a discussion on the possibility of reimbursing Advisory Council members (which includes ICC Officers) in whole or in part for the cost of transportation to attend Advisory Council meetings. Stephen recalled that in the 1970s the ICC reimbursed its Officers for the cost of motel/hotel expenses and conference registration at the annual ICC conference. It was the incentive then for members to serve as officers. This was discontinued later because all of the officers were reimbursed for expenses by their schools anyway, so it was thought that the ICC reimbursement would be double-dipping. At the time the ICC had 2-3K in its treasury. Today, however, retirees are serving in positions formerly held by active teachers, and schools may not reimburse their teachers for attending ICC events. Stephen felt that if the ICC desires statewide participation in the good work of the Advisory Council, then the ICC should defray all or a part of the transportation expenses. Moreover, the Bylaws (revised 10/19/02) already allow for this reimbursement (Art. IV, Sect. 9). Discussion ensued. Virginia Anderson pointed out that ICTFL provides for travel expenses under certain circumstances. James Chochola thought that he might not seek reimbursement for a CTA fare, whereas Lanetta Warrenburg felt that some sort of reimbursement for her car expenses and city parking would be appreciated. Vicki Wine echoed Lanetta’s sentiment because of the far distance that she has to travel. Elizabeth Skoryi wondered about the impact on the ICC’s finances and the complexity of payment. Because of time constraints, Marilyn Brusherd moved, seconded by James Chochola, to add the task of seeking a resolution for the travel reimbursement for Advisory Council members to the committee previously formed for timely submission of bills. The motion passed.

Diamond Anniversary: President Mulberry noted that the ICC’s 75th Anniversary will occur in 2012 and be held downstate (i.e., away from the Chicago area). She asked to give some thought to forming a committee to steer this important event.

New Business:
Teaching and Tutoring Positions: Lanetta Warrenburg provided an update on the current status of Latin teaching in the Elgin area, and she solicited candidates for upcoming Latin positions there.

Upcoming Events: President Mulberry said that she will post anything new in the Augur and/or on the ICC website.

Adjournment: There being no other business and having the necessity to conclude in time for the Chicago Classical Club luncheon at the Berghoff Restaurant, President Mulberry thanked all for attending and called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Elizabeth Skoryi so moved, seconded by James Chochola. The motion passed by acclamation, and the meeting was adjourned at 10:50am.


Respectfully submitted,

Stephen Pilewski
Secretary