Minutes of the Advisory Council Meeting of the Illinois Classical Conference held on Friday, Oct. 10, 2008, in the Moose Harbor Room 314 of the Stoney Creek Inn, 101 18th St., Moline, Ill 61265.

Members present:  Vicki Wine*, Elizabeth Skoryi*, Jennifer Draper*, Anna Reiff*, Lanetta Warrenburg*, Emil Kramer*, Marilyn Brusherd*, Daniel Garrison, Elisha Denja*, Francesca Tataranni, Brian Tibbets, James Chochola*, Christopher Condrad*, Alice Mulberry*, Laurie Jolicoeur*, William Napiwocki*, Jennifer Jordt*, and Stephen Pilewski*.

Members present by proxy:  Lois Dion*, Thomas Sienkewicz*, Mary Lee Muniz*, Virginia Anderson*, Erin Flynn*, John Makowski*, and Rickie Crown*.

Call to order:  With a quorum present (7 required) President Alice Mulberry  called the meeting to order at 5:20pm.  President Mulberry welcomed all present and thanked them for attending this meeting and the conference.

Secretary’s Report:  Stephen Pilewski reported that the minutes of the Winter Meeting of the Advisory Council held on 2/2/08 were published in the Augur (May, 2008, pp. 10-12) and on the ICC website.  Since there were no corrections to the minutes, Emil Kramer moved, seconded by Elisha Denja, to accept the minutes of 2/2/08 as published.  The motion passed by acclamation.

Treasurer’s Report:  Elizabeth Skoryi presented the Annual Treasurer’s Report and commented on the line items.  Since there was no discussion, Jennifer Draper moved, seconded by Anna Reiff, to accept the Annual Treasurer’s Report.   The motion passed by acclamation.  Elizabeth then presented the 2008-2009 Budget, and discussion took place on the line items, allocation amounts and expenses.  When discussion was ended, Emil Kramer moved, seconded by Anna Reiff, to adopt the 2008-2009 Budget.  The motion passed by acclamation.

Newsletter Editor’s Report:  Marilyn Brusherd solicited articles and news.  She requested that these items be sent to her as quickly as possible for earliest inclusion in the Augur.  E-mail is still the preferred form of transmission.

Registered Agent:  President Mulberry announced that Lois Dion has forwarded the required Annual Report form to the Secretary for completion.  Stephen Pilewski said that he received the check for the required fee from Elizabeth Skoryi, and that he would file the report by the November 1st deadline.

ICC Website:  Reporting for Webmaster Thomas Sienkewicz who was in Scotland, President Mulberry said that Thomas will post information sent to him if it is in HTML format, and he will also accept suggestions for improving the website.  Thomas is also willing to turn over the website to another webmaster, if someone desires this position.

Illinois Latin Tournament:  Jennifer Draper called attention to her detailed report in the Augur (May, 2008, pp. 26-28).  She reported that 21 schools participated.  Next year’s Finals would be held on 4/25/09, but Jennifer is waiting for a confirmation from the host college.  Her goal is to achieve a geographic rotation among the host colleges.  Jennifer said that registrations will be sent in December and that she is working on making the registration form available on the ICC website.  Finally, Jennifer solicited copies of Tournament exams prior to 2003, which she would like to post on the ICC website.

Auditing Committee:  Anna Reiff said that she would present her report at tomorrow’s First General Business Meeting.

Membership Committee:  Elizabeth Skoryi reported that as of 10/8/08, membership totaled 91 paid members (including 4 joint regulars and 23 life members with 1 joint lifetime), 69 who had not yet renewed (reminders would be sent out later), and 5 new members.  Elizabeth also reported that 170 September Augurs were mailed with a postage cost of $198.90.

Nominating Committee:  Laurie Jolicoeur presented the slate of officers for the 2008-2010 term:  Emil Kramer for President, Becki Wick and Dr. William Lowe for Vice President, Stephen Pilewski for Secretary, and Elizabeth Skoryi for Treasurer.  Discussion ensued on the reasons for having two persons share the vice presidency, including a growing trend in other organizations to have two people share an office, and the lack of a single person this time around who was willing to accept the nomination for the upcoming term.  The Bylaws were discussed.  While the ICC’s Bylaws were written with a single officeholder in mind, no one could find a specific prohibition of two persons sharing the vice presidency.  One advantage of having two vice presidents was that it would ease the burden of putting next year’s conference program together.  After more discussion, Jennifer Draper moved, seconded by Elizabeth Skoryi, to accept the nominations, including the two nominees for the Vice Presidency, for presentation to the general membership for election.  The motion passed.

Memorator Invocatorque:  William Napiwocki regretted to report the passing of Mary Ellen Martin, a former secretary of the ICC, on 9/28/08.  Elizabeth Skoryi added that Sr. Irene Wlodarski, who formerly taught at Joliet Catholic Academy, passed away, but she did not have more details.  William then called for a moment of silence to honor these members.

Awards Committee:  Vicki Wine said that retirement certificates would be presented at the Saturday lunch, and that the Teacher of the Year and 3 Lifetime Achievement awards would be presented at the Saturday banquet.  Discussion then occurred on the manner and timing of the presentation of these awards.

Teacher Idea Exchange:  Anna Reiff solicited new materials, but her stated desire to overhaul the access method to these materials sparked a lively discussion.  Anna felt that the ICC website should be employed rather than allowing access to these materials only once a year at the time of the ICC convention.

Pedagogy Workshop:  Reporting for Rickie Crown and Mary Ann Beatty, Elisha Denja called attention to the written report.  Due to low enrollment, the 2008 Workshop was canceled.  Future workshops would probably be in two one-day formats, given on a Saturday (although in-service days at schools would be explored), and held in a location accessible to a high density of Latin teachers.  The Workshop committee expressed appreciation to the ICC for its financial support.  Discussion then ensued on the timing of the workshop and if moving the dates would attract enrollment.

Resolutions Committee:  Jennifer Jordt said that she was still gathering the names of people who needed to be recognized and that she was still working on the resolutions.

Liaison to Schools and Colleges:  President Mulberry said that John Makowski was unable to attend this conference and she did not have a report.

IJCLN:  Christopher Condrad announced that the convention would be held at the same venue as last year:  the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Tinley Park on Feb. 26-28, 2009.  New this year will be the Fall Festivus to be held at Barrington H.S. on 11/22/08.  Designed to introduce students and teachers to IJCLN, activities will include an assembly, one academic test, Ludi ping pong and other activities.  Christopher encouraged everyone to visit IJCLN’s new website at www.iljcl.org.

IJCLS:  In addition to Mary Lee Muniz’s report in the Augur (Jan., 2008, pp. 21-23), President Mulberry announced that Marcene Farley would give a report tomorrow.  The next convention would be held at Collinsville H.S. on 11/22/08.

Illinois Certamen League:  Elizabeth Skoryi distributed a report showing the 4 divisions and the schools of each which have registered so far or intend to do so.  Lanetta Warrenburg reported on her efforts in this project and that she was working on a database of exam questions.  Lanetta also said that the Illinois Certamen League is interested in new people who would be interested in helping with this project.

ICTFL/ACTFL:  President Mulberry called attention to Virginia Anderson’s report.  ICTFL will hold its Fall Conference on Oct. 16-18, 2008, at the Marriott Hickory Ridge Hotel in Lisle, Ill.  Virginia invited ICC members to join her for a informal lunch get-together at the Marriott.  Virginia then reported on events and funding changes that occurred at the national and state levels.

CAMWS:  After calling attention to her reports in the Augur (Jan., 2008, p. 16; May, 2008, p. 15), Vicki Wine announced that Andrew Reinhard of Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers was the new State Vice President for Illinois.  Vicki would announce the dates for the next CAMWS meeting at tomorrow’s First General Business Meeting.

ACL:  James Chochola highlighted the events at the 61st Annual Institute held at the University of New Hampshire in Durham last June.  James then announced that the next institute would be held at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles on Jun. 26-28, 2009.

APA/AIA:  Reporting for Thomas Sienkewicz, President Mulberry highlighted the events at the January meeting in Chicago.  She thanked Nava Cohen, Sasha Austin-Schmidt and James Chochola for their able assistance.  The January, 2009 meeting would be held in Philadelphia.

2008 Conference:  Vicki Wine presented the statistics for this year’s conference:  60 registered, including 10 from AMICI, and 11 students from Augustana.  For the Friday evening social 25 registered, and 50 registered both for the Saturday lunch and that evening’s banquet.  Vicki also emphasized that Augustana College has been a great help with this year’s conference.

2009 Conference:  Daniel Garrison said that Northwestern University was looking forward to hosting the ICC conference.  He pointed out that Evanston has 4 hotels of different price ranges that are within walking distance of the campus meeting areas.  He will check on the availability of rooms for the Columbus Day weekend.  Daniel also introduced Francesca Tataranni, who would be assisting him with the conference logistics.  Both were thanked by President Mulberry and the Advisory Council for hosting the conference.

2010 Conference:  Although some initial contacts have been made, President Mulberry reported that there was nothing to report at present.

Harvard Commencement Speech:  Elizabeth Skoryi said that she has 60 DVDs left which are available for sale.

ICC Banner:  Due to her rush to attend the conference, Jennifer Draper reported that she forgot to bring the banner.  It was, however, displayed at Illinois Wesleyan University during the ILT Finals.  The banner is available for ICC business, and members interested in displaying it should contact Jennifer.

Database of Colleges and Universities offering Latin and Greek:  In order that the list can be kept current, Jennifer Draper solicited the latest information from institutions on their degree programs.

ListServe:  James Chochola proposed that the Teacher Idea Exchange materials be listed on ListServe, which prompted a discussion on which outlet would be more appropriate:  the ICC website or ListServe.  James also proposed that a database of high schools offering Latin be established, and discussion followed on that topic.

Committee for Travel Reimbursement and Submission of Bills:  Stephen Pilewski regretted to report that progress in this endeavor has not been good.  Stephen had proposed several ideas for reimbursing members attending Advisory Council meetings:  the federal mileage rate (currently $.485/mile), the federal mileage rate for medical care (currently $.20/mile), the actual costs for public transportation, or some sort of discount on conference registration fees.  Cost estimates would have to be worked out with the Treasurer.  Stephen also proposed several ideas for bill deadlines.  Elizabeth Skoryi said that despite the appearance of a healthy bank balance, the ICC simply cannot afford this expense.  The focus then turned to solving the issue of timely submission of bills.  After a spirited discussion, Jennifer Draper moved, seconded by James Chochola, that the following policy be established:  1) bills for expenses incurred prior to the 2007-2008 fiscal year will not be paid, 2) bills for expenses incurred during the 2007-2008 fiscal year must be initially submitted to the Treasurer within 30 days of receipt of the January, 2009 issue of the Augur, and 3) bills for 2008-2009 and future fiscal years must be initially submitted to the Treasurer within 30 days of the end of the fiscal year (July 30 would be the deadline).  The motion passed.  (The fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.)  Stephen then withdrew from the committee and was replaced by Jennifer Draper.  William Napiwocki then inquired about the possibility of some form of reimbursement for the officers.  Jennifer said that the committee would continue to explore some form of reimbursement.

Committee Memberships:  President Mulberry said that certain positions will be changing after the election of the new officers.

Diamond Anniversary:  The ICC will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2012 President Mulberry reported, and she felt that a committee should be established to prepare for this milestone occasion.  Discussion followed and there was an agreement on the need for pictures, memorabilia, stories and programs.

Date and Location for the February Meeting:  Tradition has been that the Winter Meeting should occur on the first Saturday in February, just prior to the Chicago Classical Club luncheon.  Discussion ensued on the hardship that the early morning meeting time imposes on those members who have to travel long distances.  Emil Kramer suggested that the ICC meet after CCC in order to make this allowance for travel.  Discussion then addressed the possibility of meeting on a date other than on the same date as CCC, and to find a place closer to public transportation and outside the downtown area to ease travel for long distance members.  After more discussion a tentative date (2/21/09), time (12:30pm), and place (Walter Payton’s Roundhouse Restaurant in Aurora at the BNSF/Metra commuter station) were set.

Other New Business:  Jennifer Draper was sad to report that Notre Dame H.S. in Niles has made the decision not to offer Latin beginning this school year.  If anyone wishes to write to the school’s officials to reconsider their decision, Jennifer had the names and the address.

Teaching or Tutoring:  President Mulberry announced that she will retire from the William Ray Elementary School in Chicago at the end of this school year.  Persons interested in this position may wish to contact her for more details.

Upcoming Events:  None was reported.

Adjournment:  President Mulberry then asked if there was any other business.  When none replied, President Mulberry thanked all for their support and cooperation as she prepared to conclude her term of office, and she called for a motion to adjourn.  Jennifer Draper so moved, seconded by William Napiwocki.  The motion passed by acclamation, and the meeting was adjourned at 7:50pm.

                      Respectfully submitted,

                       Stephen Pilewski

                       Secretary