VIMS Council Meeting Minutes Thursday, November 25th, 2021
6 p.m. Online Meeting Hosted in Victoria, B.C.
Present: Brock Brown (chair), Brian Chapel, Rhonda Duncan, June Fukushima, Kevin Keliher (secretary) and Bruce MacRae.
Absent with Regrets: None.
Agenda Items:
1) Review and Approve Agenda: Motion from Brock to approve agenda. Carried.
2) Approve Minutes of Previous Meeting September 30th, 2021 Motion from Brian to approve minutes. Carried.
3) Business arising from the Minutes and Updates:
a) We sent a small gift to Heather Martin (re-usable Bag with”Gratitude” printed on it) along with a card and our messages of gratitude. A tribute and thanks to Heather was included in the October VIMS Newsletter. Thank you to Sandra Joy for writing the tribute and to June Fukushima for collecting and sending the personal thank you notes and gift.
b) October 16th Margo McLoughlin one day Zoom retreat. Gratitude to volunteers: Joanna Stonechapel – Registrar, Metta VanderVliet – Retreat Manager. Gratitude also to Suzan Denis as Zoom Tech Host. Zoom Participants: 33
c) June to check with Wei Wu that she has not counted Goward House rent in Margo’s retreat.
4) Financial Updates
a) Coast Capital Account Statements Accounts September 30th 2021
Chequing: $3,403.51
Savings: $13,789.14
TOTAL: $17,192.65
Accounts October 31st, 2021
Chequing: $3,713.07
Savings: $13,790.31
TOTAL: $17,503.38
September and October 2021 Financial Reports to be amended by Wei Wu – Brock Brown Retreat did not incur a cost for Goward House rental.
b) June contacted Pat Conroy, a Victoria area accountant who agreed to help file the T2 for Victoria IMS for the reporting year 2020. T2 is completed, costing $630. Motion from Bruce to approve expense ($630.00) for Pat Conroy’s services to complete and file the 2020 T2 with CRA; and June Fukushima, Treasurer sign the T2 on behalf of the Victoria Insight Meditation Society. Carried. Follow-up requirements may result once the CRA receives the T2 Motion from June to contract Pat Conroy to complete and file T2 with the CRA for 2021. Carried. Motion from Bruce to approve that Victoria IMS reimburse Brock Brown $150.00 for the purchase of two camera stands to be used at upcoming retreats at Goward House. Carried.
5) Sunday Night Community Sit:
a) After some discussion it was decided to restart the sit in 2022
b) To be held at Helga Beer Yoga Studio, 7:00-8:15 p.m.
c) In-person meditation on a trial basis on the 1st and 3rd Sunday in January and February. Brock Brown facilitator.
d) COVID-19 protocols for small group gatherings will be followed:Fully vaccinated participants agree to: i) Sign form upon entry indicating name & contact info, ii) Wear mask at all times, iii) Practice social distancing iv) Re-evaluate at end of February and cancel if COVID situation worsens. Bruce moved that Victoria IMS re-start the Sunday Night Sit as outlined above. Carried v) June will contact Helga Beer to confirm rental of the yoga studio.
6) 2022 Budget and 2021 Gifts
a) A deficit budget is presented $2,037.00 Net Loss (Dana – Expenses) $1,000.00 Scholarship Fund $3,037.00 TOTAL Deficit b) 2021 Gifts Given the anticipated surplus funds for the 2021 financial year, consideration was given to donate to charitable organizations that provide free resources to the VIMS community. Three charities were identified: Dharma Seed ($200 USD), Birken Forest Monastery – Video Production Fund ($250 CDN) and Metta Forest Monastery – Book Fund ($200 USD). Motion from June to approve Victoria IMS Budget for 2022. Carried. Motion from June to send donations to the three charities mentioned above. Carried.
7) Communications – Newsletter, Website, and Constant Contact.
a) Constant Contact invitation for Margo’s retreat is scheduled to go out January 24th, 2022.
b) Discussion regarding people signing up for hybrid retreats. June will look into using Constant Contact for in-person participants to sign up (possible max 30) and give the free lu.ma computer program a trial for online retreat registration.
8) Board Changes: a) Brian Chapel has announced he will be stepping off the board after the 2022 AGM. 9) 2022 Retreats:
a) All events at Goward House unless indicated otherwise.
2022 Upcoming Retreats Date Teacher Confirmed (Y/N) Venue Booked Format Notes
Feb 19/20 Margo McLoughlin (Y) Goward House Hybrid
Mar 19/20 Tempel Smith (Y) Goward House Hybrid
Apr 9/10 Tuere Sala (Y) Goward House Hybrid Friday evening Talk via Zoom
May 21/22 Scheduled retreat cancelled Might fill this spot with another teacher
Jun 25/26 Bonnie Duran(Y) Shoal Center Hybrid David Axon Manager
Sep 17 Brock Brown (Y) Goward House Hybrid
Oct 15/16 Christine Feldman (Y) Goward House Hybrid
Nov 12/13 Ajahn Candasirii Goward House Hybrid Nun coming from (Y) Scotland, Katherine Leslie Manager

Next Council Meeting: Thursday, January 13th at 6 p.m.

VIMS Council Meeting
Thursday, September 30th, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. Online Meeting
Present:
Brock Brown, (Chair), Brian Chapel, Rhonda Duncan, June Fukushima, Kevin Keliher (Secretary) and Bruce MacRae.
Absent with Regrets: None.

Agenda Items:

1)    Review and Approve Agenda
Motion from Brock to approve the agenda. Carried.

 2)    Approve Minutes of Previous meeting August 19th, 2021
Motion from Rhonda to approve the minutes. Carried.

3)    Business arising from the Minutes and Updates:
Heather Martin has let us know that she is retiring from teaching. She will, therefore, not lead the January 22nd & 23rd 2022 weekend retreat for VIMS. We will include a tribute and thanks to Heather in the October VIMS newsletter. Council names will be listed on a card June/Brock will send to Heather.

Brock’s September 18th, 2021, hybrid one day retreat on Zoom with a few people participating live at Brock and June’s home. This was a successful format meeting the needs of both the teacher and participants.
Gratitude to volunteers: Kiko Brown – Registrar, Louise Takeda – Retreat Manager, Brian Chapel – Zoom back-up. Gratitude also to Suzan Denis as Zoom Tech Host and for supporting the hybrid experience.
Zoom participants: 21, Live participants: 3

4)    Finances:

Review and Acceptance of August 2021 Financial Reports circulated by email.

Motion from June to approve the financial report for August 2021. Carried.
    Accounts Reporting August 31, 2021
Chequing:       $3,533.51
Savings:          $13,788.01
TOTAL:           $17,321.52

    It was recently discovered that Non-Profit Organizations must file a T2 tax return whether they owe money or not.
Motion from Brock to approve June F contacting CRA to determine if we must file a tax return. Carried.
   We will consider at a future meeting  donations to Non-Profit/Charitable Organizations and will consider the 2022 VIMS Scholarship Fund.

5)    Sunday Night Community Sit: Still on hold.

6)    Communications: Newsletter, Website, Constant Contact.

1.     A tribute and thanks to Heather Martin in the October Newsletter.

7)    Retreats:

1.     Completed Retreats 2021

1.     Upcoming Retreats 2021

8)    Retreats:

1.     Upcoming Retreats 2022

All retreats at Goward House, unless indicated otherwise.

 New COVID-19 guidelines (September 2021): Indoor gatherings require, mask wearing, social distancing, and have someone at the entrance scanning participants vaccination card and their Government ID. Goward House will have their own requirements.

Discussion of the ‘hybrid’ model for 2022 retreats. Tentative plan: Zoom Webinar format. This would involve two cameras at Goward House: one on the teacher, and the other on the retreat manager. The retreat manager would be a slight distance from the teacher and have a separate set-up. The sound person (Bruce) would switch the cameras from manager to teacher. When receiving questions from those in attendance at Goward House, the teacher will be asked to repeat the question for those online.

9)    Next Council Meeting: Thursday, November 25th, 2021

Victoria IMS Council Meeting Minutes
Thursday, Mar 25th, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. Online
Present:
June Fukushima, Brock Brown (Chair), Brian Chapel, Bruce MacRae, Kevin Keliher (Secretary), Rhonda Duncan
Absent with Regrets:  None

Agenda Items:

• Review and Approve Agenda
  Motion from Brock to approve the agenda. Carried.

• Approve Minutes of Previous Meeting (Jan 28th, 2021)
  Motion from June to approve the minutes. Carried.

• Business arising from the Minutes and Updates:

• Feb 20 Margo McLoughlin one-day Zoom Retreat

Volunteers:  Registrar – Joanna Stonechapel; Manager – Joe Barrett; Support team – Brian Chapel, Bruce MacRae; Co-ordinator – Brock Brown; Tech host – Suzan Denis
Number of Participants on the day: 55 

• March 13 Adrianne Ross one-day Zoom Retreat
  Volunteers: Registrar – Sheila Whincup; Manager – Louise Takeda; Support team – Brian Chapel, Bruce MacRae; Co-ordinator – Brock Brown; Tech host – Suzan Denis
  Number of Participants on the day: 58

• Finances: 

• Accounts Reporting Jan 31, 2021
  Chequing: $ 6,439.60
  Savings: $ 7,781.53
  TOTAL: $14,221.13

• Accounts Reporting Period Feb 28, 2021
  Chequing: $ 7,378.95
  Savings: $ 7,782.13
  TOTAL: $15161.08

Payment of $600. Made to Suzan Denis for Zoom hosting two retreats. 

• Review and Acceptance of the Jan – Dec 2020 VIMS Financial Report. Circulated by email. Motion from June to accept the updated financial report for Dec 2020. Carried.
• The Jan 2021 and Feb 2021 Financial reports prepared by Wei Wu were circulated by email. Motion from June to accept the financial reports for January and February 2021. Carried.
• Discussed annual subscription to zoom at 100-person level (20% savings). Motion from Brock to go ahead with annual subscription to zoom at 100-person level. Carried. 

5. Sunday Night Community Sit – Still on hold
6. Communications – newsletter, website, Constant Contact
7. Suggestion from Louise Takeda re: First Nations Territory Acknowledgement at retreats. Discussion concluded not to change our policy which is to leave it up to the discretion of the teacher to make the acknowledgement statement.
8. Retreats 

• 2021 Retreat Programs

Jan 23 Heather Martin – Zoom one-day – Completed. 

Feb 20 Margo McLoughlin – Zoom one-day – Completed

March 13 Adrianne Ross- Zoom one-day – Completed

• Upcoming Zoom Retreats

April 17 Tuere Sala – Zoom one-day, Registrar Kiko Brown, Manager Carol Mousseau

May 16 Tempel Smith – Zoom one-day, Registrar Josephine Tobin, Manager Metta VanderVliet

The following 2021 retreats were determined when we were planning for in-person retreats at Goward House (before Covid and our Zoom method of offering retreats). This schedule will likely change.

Discussion of VIMS Summer/Fall offerings given the uncertainty of the Covid situation. 

Sept 18 Brock Brown one-day Retreat: It was agreed that if provincial medical directions allow, we will test out a one-day retreat led by Brock. This will occur at Goward House and include an online zoom connection for people in remote locations to join in.  

• Oct 16/17 Howie Cohn – Postpone the decisions regarding this program till a later date. 
• Nov 13/14 Ajahn Candasiri – cancelled her trip to Victoria.
• Note: Aranya Refuge is scheduled to organize two Zoom one-day teaching/retreats led by Ajaan Geoff – Saturday, July 10 and Dec 29, 2021. Aranya also plans to host Ajaan Geoff and another Wat Metta monk for the month of November at Earthspring Sanctuary in the Highlands if the Covid situation allows travel from the US.
• Reminder to prepare 2020 year-end Reports for the AGM by the end of April. I suggest that we can review the reports at a VIMS Council meeting in May and then plan to have the AGM in June, 2021

• 2022 Retreats:

• Assume we will be meeting in person, and possibly using zoom at these meetings.

• Next Council Meeting: Thursday, May 20, 2021 at 7:00 p.m

Victoria IMS Council Meeting Minutes
Thursday, May 20th, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. Online

Present:
June Fukushima, Brock Brown (Chair), Brian Chapel, Bruce MacRae, Kevin Keliher (Secretary), Rhonda Duncan
Absent with Regrets: None

 Agenda Items:

1.     Review and Approve Agenda
   Motion from Brock to approve the agenda. Carried.

2.     Approve Minutes of Previous Meeting (Mar 25th, 2021)
   Motion from June to approve the minutes. Carried.

3.     Business arising from the Minutes and Updates: 

•       April 17 Tuere Sala one-day Zoom Retreat
  Volunteers: Registrar – Kiko Brown; Manager – Carol Mousseau :Support team – Brian Chapel, Bruce MacRae ;Co-ordinator – Brock Brown; Tech host – Suzan Denis
  Number of Participants: 45

•       May 16 Tempel Smith one-day Zoom Retreat 

Volunteers: Registrar – Josephine Tobin; Manager – Metta VanderVliet; Support team – Brian Chapel, Bruce MacRae; Co-ordinator – Brock Brown; Tech host – Suzan Denis
Number of Participants: 78

4.     Finances: 

•       Accounts Reporting Mar 31, 2021
  Chequing: $ 7,887.41
  Savings:    $ 7,782.79
  TOTAL:     $15,670.20

•       Accounts Reporting Period April 30, 2021
  Chequing: $ 8,332.03
  Savings:    $ 7,783.43
  TOTAL:     $16155.46

•       Accounts Reporting Period May 18, 2021
  Chequing: $ 3,862.96
  Savings:    $ 13,783.43
  TOTAL:     $17,646.39

Payment of $575. Made to Suzan Denis for Zoom hosting two retreats. 

•       Review and Acceptance of March and April 2021 VIMS Financial Report. Circulated by email. Motion from June to accept the updated financial report for March and April 2021. Carried.

5. Sunday Night Community Sit – Still on hold
6. Communications – newsletter, website, Constant Contact. Due to increased size of back-up website cost has risen. Website was down for a 1½ days this past month. Bruce will check with David to see if he is fine with continuing  to answer emails sent to the Victoria IMS email account.  Council thanks David Axon for his efforts.
7. Suggestion from Rhonda Re: donation via Sister Mon to help COVID situation in India. We have been advised by our accountant we should not make donations to individuals. Individuals can of course make a personal donation if they wish.   

8. 2021 Victoria IMS AGM
9. a) Review and approve 2020 year-end director reports for the AGM. Motion from Brock to approve these reports. Carried. These reports will be distributed to all AGM participants.  

Thank you to Sandra Joy for volunteering to edit and compile the reports. 

b) Officers for 2021-2022. Motion from Bruce to accept the current slate of officers.:
Brock Brown – President
Bruce MacRae – Vice President
Kevin Keliher – Secretary
June Fukushima – Treasurer
Brian Chapel – Director
Rhonda Duncan – Director
Carried. 

1. c) Questions for Members: Do we re-start Sunday Night Sit. If so, how frequently (e.g., weekly, monthly)? Ideas for excess funds? Do we stay doing the same thing we have always been doing, or do we invite specific teachers to offer special programming (e.g., BIPOC, Youth)? Do we want to establish a relationship with Tempel Smith?
2. d) Invitation of Guests to attend upcoming AGM: invite Sandra, Isy, Joanna and Shelly. Consider having a larger VIMS volunteer meeting in the future. 
3. e) Date: Hold the AGM June 24, 2021.
4. f) Agenda. Motion from Brock to accept the VIMS AGM agenda. Carried.

Victoria IMS Council Meeting Minutes
Thursday, August 19th, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. at 4013 Magdelin Street

 Present: 

 June Fukushima, Brock Brown (Chair), Brian Chapel, Bruce MacRae, Kevin Keliher (Secretary), Rhonda Duncan  Absent with Regrets: none

 Agenda Items:

1.     Review and Approve Agenda
   Motion from Brock to approve the agenda. Carried.

3.     Approve Minutes of Previous Meeting (May 20th, 2021)
   Motion from June to approve the minutes. Carried.
4.     Business arising from the Minutes and Updates:  None
5.     Finances:
         Accounts Reporting May 31, 2021
   Chequing: $ 4,720.36
   Savings:    $ 13,784.54
   TOTAL:     $18,504.90

•       Accounts Reporting Period June 30, 2021
  Chequing: $ 4,658.91
  Savings:    $ 13,785.67
  TOTAL:     $18,444.58

•     Accounts Reporting Period July 31, 2021
  Chequing: $ 4,618.91
  Savings:    $ 13,786.84
  TOTAL:     $18,405.75

•       Accounts Reporting August 18, 2021
  Chequing: $ 4,243.91
  Savings:    $ 13,786.84
  TOTAL:     $18,030.75

•       Review and Acceptance of July 2021 VIMS Financial Report. Circulated by email. Motion from Brock to accept the updated financial report for July 2021. Carried.
•       June to investigate possibility of securing a Non-Profit Organization discount through Tech Soup regarding an upgrade to a Cloud version of QuickBooks. 

5. Sunday Night Community Sit – Still on hold

6. Communications – newsletter, website, Constant Contact. Payment of $735.40 made to Constant Contact (annual fee). 

7. 2021 Victoria IMS AGM

•       June to ask John Hilditch to do an independent review of 2019 and 2020 financial records.

8. Retreats 

•       2021 Completed Retreats 

Jan 23 Heather Martin – Zoom one-day – Completed.
Feb 20 Margo McLoughlin – Zoom one-day – Completed
March 13 Adrianne Ross – Zoom one-day – Completed
April 17 Tuere Sala – Zoom one-day – Completed
May 16 Tempel Smith – Zoom one-day – Completed

•       Fall 2021 Upcoming Retreats

 Sept 18 Brock Brown – Hybrid daylong (9 a.m. – 4 p.m.) at Goward House with limited attendance and using Zoom to make the daylong accessible online.  June & Brock did a successful test of Wi-Fi at Goward House. It is at the low end of what is acceptable for Zoom. Motion from June to purchase Wi-Fi Booster. Carried. Dry run to be held first week in September. Brock will consult with Suzan Denis regarding our plan and her role to coordinate this event off site. Brian Chapel will be her off-site back-up. Aim for 20 participants in-person. Registrar to give participants two options in-person or online. When in-person numbers reach 30, that option will then be closed leaving online attendance only. Ask attendees to be fully vaccinated, masks to be worn in close quarters (e.g., 2nd floor lunch lounge area), masks optional elsewhere. No tea station, bathroom single-use. 

Oct 16/17 It was agreed to postpone Howie’s retreat. 

2022 Schedule 

•       Jan 22/23 – Heather Martin – confirmed with teacher. To be confirmed with Goward House.

•       Feb 19/20- Margo McLoughlin – confirmed with teacher. To be confirmed with Goward House. 

•       March 19/20 – Tempel Smith, Joyce would be manager. Brock will confirm with teacher, to be confirmed with Goward House..

•     April 2/3 or 9/10 Tuere Sala, (April 2/3 confirmed with teacher). If Tempel confirms March 19/20 then Brock will ask Tuere to change to April 9/10. To be confirmed with Goward House.

•     May 21/22 Ajahn Punnadhammo – confirmed with teacher, June can be manager. To be confirmed with Goward House.

The following dates have been confirmed with the teacher and the venue booked 

•       June 25/26 Bonnie Duran (Shoal Center in Sidney is booked). David Axon can be manager.

•       Sept 17 Brock Brown one-day at Goward House (booked). 

•       Oct 15/16 Christina Feldman w/e at Goward House (booked).

•       Nov 12/13 Ajahn Candasiri, a nun coming from Scotland w/e at Goward House (booked). Katherine Leslie can be manager. 

·       Next Council Meeting: Thursday, September 30th, 2021, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Brock and June’s.

VIMS Council Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 20th, 2022 at 6 p.m.

Online Meeting Hosted in Victoria, B.C. Present: Brock Brown (chair), Brian Chapel, Rhonda Duncan, June Fukushima, Kevin Keliher (secretary) and Bruce MacRae. Absent with Regrets: None.

Agenda Items:
1) Review and Approve Agenda Motion from Brock to approve agenda. Carried.
2) Approve Minutes of Previous Meeting November 25th, 2021 Motion from Bruce to approve minutes. Carried.
3) Business arising from the Minutes and Updates.
a) VIMS Council agreed via email to change Margo’s February 19, 2022 retreat to an online only retreat given the current COVID-19 situation. The hours will be 9 am – 4 pm. Motion from Brock to approve suggested dana of $20 for Margo’s one day retreat.
b) As agreed, VIMS has made a donation of $250 to Birken Forest Monastery video production fund, $250 US to Dharma Seed (for dharma audio), and $200 US to the Metta Forest Monastery book fund.
c) As agreed, Brock purchased two camera tripods intended to be used for hybrid retreats at Goward House.
4) Financial Updates
a) Coast Capital Account Statements Accounts November 30th 2021 Chequing: $3,532.93 Savings: $13,791.44 TOTAL: $17,324.37 Accounts December 31st, 2021 Chequing: $1,967.37 Savings: $13,792.61 TOTAL: $15,759.98 VIMS will not incur a rental cost from Goward House for the February, 19, 2022 retreat. Goward House has given VIMS a credit towards future retreats. b) November and December 2021 Financial Reports circulated by email. Motion from June to approve November & December 2021 financial statements. Carried
c) VIMS T2 for fiscal year 2020 was filed by accountant Patrick Conroy ($630). Information for VIMS T2 fiscal year 2021 sent to Patrick Conroy.
d) June investigated the cloud version of Quickbooks and discovered it is not cost effective at this time.
e) VIMS sincerely thanks Wei Wu for her continued volunteer support in managing the bookkeeping through Quickbooks and providing timely reports. VIMS also sincerely thanks Kiko Brown for her continued volunteer support in preparing an Excel spreadsheet that categorizes the banking information for Wei to easily enter the data into Quickbooks.
5) Sunday Night Community Sit: a) Due to the COVID-19 situation the in-person Sunday Sit was not restarted in January.
6) Communications – Newsletter, Website, and Constant Contact.
a) The Constant Contact invitation for Margo’s retreat is scheduled to go out January 24th.
b) David Axon continues to respond to the victoriainsight@gmail.com emails. The VIMS sincerely thanks David for his ongoing commitment to VIMS.
c) Appreciation to Bruce for updating the website, producing the monthly Newsletters, and gratitude to June for managing the vims1retreat@gmail.com and vimsdana@gmail.com account.
7) Board Changes: Brian announced that he will not stand as a Board Member when members are acclaimed/elected at the 2022 AGM.
a) VIMS sincerely thanks Brian for his many years of service, providing wise counsel, and technical support.
b) Thoughts on additions to the board, and who would be in the role Brian has been playing (e.g., Constant Contact). We are considering the possibility of contracting out the registration set-up.
c) The next AGM has been scheduled for June 16th, 2022 at 6:30.
8) 2022 Retreats:
a) All events at Goward House unless indicated otherwise. 2022 Upcoming Retreats Date Teacher Confirmed (Y/N) Venue Booked Format Notes
Feb 19 Margo McLoughlin (Y) Goward House Online Kevin Keliher Manager Joanna Stonechapel Registrar
Mar 19/20 Tempel Smith (Y) Goward House Hybrid Joyce Elliott Manager. No Registrar yet.
Apr 9/10 Tuere Sala (Y) Goward House Hybrid Friday evening online only. May 21/22 Scheduled retreat canceled Might fill this spot with another teacher
Jun 25/26 Bonnie Duran(Y) Shoal Center Hybrid David Axon Manager
Sep 17 Brock Brown (Y) Goward House Hybrid
Oct 15/16 Christine Feldman (Y) Goward House Hybrid
Nov 12/13 Ajahn Candasirii (Y) Goward House Hybrid Nun coming from Scotland, Katherine Leslie Manager Appreciation to Brock for coordinating dates with teachers and finding Registrars and managers for the retreats and managing the relationship with Goward House. Next Council Meeting: Thursday, March 17th at 6:30 p.m.

Victoria Insight Meditation Society Council Meeting
Oct 22 2020
Present: Brock Brown (Chair), Bruce MacRae, Rhonda Duncan, Brian Chapel, June Fukushima (Secretary for meeting).

1. Approve Agenda. Brock moved. Carried
2. Approve Minutes of Oct 1 2020. 

Rhonda moved. Carried.

1. Update on Christina’s retreat
   Comments:
   Very positive feedback from participants.
   VIMS suggested dana amount is very reasonable – makes it possible for people to participate. Not everyone donates suggesting that the retreats are accessible.
   Most frequent question is how else to send dana to the teacher other than through PayPal.
2. Recent security problems for Carol Wilson’s retreat registration.
   The link to Constant Contact from the VIMS website was removed.
   There were no further registrations from suspicious emails.
   We will put Carol’s link in the newsletter and monitor if suspicious emails come in.
   The Registrar will be asked to monitor the suspicious names/
3. Use (or not) of an avatar on zoom at future retreats

Brock moved that avatars will be allowed. Backgrounds will not be allowed.
Carried.

1. What to do about retreatants who are named ipad or iphone

June moved that we encourage people to name themselves.
Carried.

We will ask Suzan to offer a training session at the first break of Carol’s retreat in addition to the 8:30 – 8;45 am orientation.

1. Registrar- Carol’s retreat

The work load of the Registrar is much higher for the online retreats vs the in-person retreats. Current Registrar for Carol’s retreat was given the option of being involved with the Zoom related tasks on the days of the retreat and has opted to not be involved. 

Actions:
Kiko will let people in.
Brock will ask Metta about admitting people.
Bruce will monitor the vims1retreat email.

Future retreats: We will seek a Registrar for the 4-weeks before the retreat and seek a different volunteer for the day of the retreat.

1. Qi Kung at Carol’s Retreat.
   Council agreed that Brock contact Carol to offer movement session at Carol’s retreat.
   Suzan suggested this as a possibility given the success of the sessions at Christina’s retreat.
2. Special Year-End Online Gatherings
   Brock is considering offering an online  2-hour pre- Christmas and after Christmas evening on Zoom in keeping with what he has offered in past years.
   Council agreed to the idea.
3. Next Council Meeting: ??

Victoria IMS Council Meeting Minutes (approved)
Thursday, October 1^st, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.
Online meeting
(chaired by Brock Brown)

Present:
Brock Brown, Rhonda Duncan, Bruce MacRae, Brian Chapel , June Fukushima, Sandra Joy (until 7:30 p.m.)
Absent with Regrets:
None

Agenda Items:

1. Review and Approve Council Meeting Agenda:
   Motion from Bruce to approve the agenda. Carried.
2. Sandra stepping down from council:
   Brock thanked Sandra for her contributions. Sandra thanked the rest of council. All shared reflections on the years past. Sandra left the meeting at 7:30 p.m.
3. Brian took the minutes.
4. Approve Minutes of Previous Meeting (August 20^th, 2020):
   There were no changes to the draft minutes.  Motion from Rhonda to approve the minutes. Carried.
5. Business arising from the Minutes and Updates:
   A total of 47 people attended Brock’s online retreat.
   At any given time there were about 25 people connected.
6. Finances
   The January thru August financial report from Wei Wu was circulated to all council members by email prior to the meeting.
   Accounts Reporting Period Aug 1 2020 – Aug 31 2020

Chequing: $   3015.34
Savings:   $   7323.93
TOTAL:    $10,339.27

Event insurance cancelled – waiting for refund cheque
June will ask Suzan to send us an invoice for the work she did for us on the two previous retreats.
June motioned to receive the Jan-Aug Financial Report. Carried.
Rhonda will replace Sandra as a signer for our accounts at Coast Capital Savings.

7. Sunday Night Sit
   Still on hold due to pandemic.       

8. Communications (newlsetter, website, Constant Contact)
   Motion from Brock to pay $150 for 3 years of automatic website backups. Carried.
   June could not download a report from Constant Contact. The company tells us that the open rate for our emails is well above the industry standard. 50% of that happens on on mobile devices.
   June talked about how appropriate the tone of the newsletter is.
   Rhonda agreed to take over from Sandra as the owner of the Zoom account after Christina’s retreat.

9. Future Online Retreats:

• Joanna found a way to get Zoom to generate a list of meeting attendees. That is all we really need.
• Brock suggested that for the first part of 2020 we ask the scheduled teachers to do one-day online retreats because of the difficulty of getting volunteers. One-day events require less of a commitment than an entire weekend so they are less intimidating for new helpers.
• Brock suggested adding a retreat in March, asking Tuere to move hers back by one week and asking all teachers to make their retreats one-day events. This would bring more regularity to our 2021 retreat schedule.
• Discussion of possible managers for future online retreats.
• It would be nice to modify the registrar’s role so that it is concluded when the retreat begins.
• The feed back from our first two online retreats has been very positive and encouraging.
• 2020 Retreat Programs remaining
  • Oct 17/18 Christina Feldman
  • Nov 14/15 Carol Wilson

10. Meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.

Next Council Meeting
November 19^th, 2020 online at 7:00 p.m.

Victoria Insight Meditation Society (VIMS)
 Annual General Meeting – Minutes (approved)
Thursday June 11, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.
Online meeting
Agenda Items:

1. Call to order

The meeting started at 7:15 p.m.  Welcome by the Chair.

2. Establish Quorum (minimum 3 members per VIMS’ bylaws)

Council Members: Brock Brown, Brian Chapel, Rhonda Duncan, June Fukushima, Bruce MacRae, Sandra Joy
Members: Rod House, Joyce Elliott, Joan Glover, John Hilditch
Guests: Isabelle House
Absent with regrets: None.

3. Approve Agenda

Motion from Brian Chapel to approve the agenda.
Carried.

4. Approve Minutes from June 13th, 2019 AGM

Motion from Rod House to approve the minutes from the June 13^th, 2019 AGM.
Carried.

5. Financial Statement for January to December 2019
   June Fukushima continued to fulfill the role of Treasurer in 2019 and Wei Wu the role of Bookkeeper.  Thanks to both June and Wei for their ongoing efficient oversight of Victoria IMS finances.

Account balances as of December 31^st, 2019:

Chequing Account:              $2,429.37
Savings Account:                 $6,815.43
TOTAL:                                  $9,244.80
June Fukushima spoke to the Profit & Loss Budget vs. Actual figures and to the Balance Sheet, answering all questions posed.
June motioned to receive the 2019 financials.
Carried.

6. Review of Financial Records
   There was no review of the Financial Records this year due to the lockdown limitations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It should be done when things open up again.

Bruce MacRae motioned for John Hilditch to conduct the review when it becomes feasible.
Carried

7. Determine if audit is required
   John Hilditch moved that, based on the review of the Financial Records in previous years, we do not require an audit.

Carried. 

8. Directors’ reports

The reports were pre-circulated to the members of Victoria IMS. Brock Brown proposed thanks to the executive for their efforts on behalf of Victoria IMS
Motion from Brock Brown to accept the Directors’ reports.
Carried.

9. Election of officers

All current directors were willing to stand for another year and informed Brock Brown, as Chair, that they met the necessary requirements. Brock Brown asked if there were further nominations and there were none.
Officers acclaimed on slate presented:

Brock Brown             – President
Bruce MacRae         – Vice-President
June Fukushima       – Treasurer
Sandra Joy                – Secretary
Brian Chapel             – Director at large
Rhonda Duncan       – Director at large
Motion from Brock Brown to accept the slate of council.
Carried.

1. General
2. There was a general discussion about the retreats including the numbers of attendees, observable trends, the presence of young people, and participants’ appreciation for the actions Victoria IMS took to facilitate an all gender washroom for use during retreats.
3. Joyce Elliott thanked June Fukushima for organizing and replenishing the retreat boxes with supplies in between the retreats.
4. Thanks were given to Rod House for taking care of website hosting affairs for so many years. This responsibility has been transferred now to Bruce MacRae.
5. Brock Brown spoke to the cancellation of some retreats – April (Pascal Auclair), May (Ajaan Geoff) and July (Howie Cohn) – due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also the suspension of the in-person Sunday Night Community Sit at the yoga studio.
6. Brock also spoke to the fact that Council was currently looking into the possibility of holding our fall retreats in a virtual model.
7. Adjournment

Motion from Brock Brown to Adjourn.
Carried – 8:50p.m.

Victoria IMS Council Meeting Minutes (approved)
Thursday, August 20^th, 2020 at 6:00 p.m.
Online meeting
(facilitated by Brock Brown)
Present:
Brock Brown, Rhonda Duncan, Bruce MacRae, Brian Chapel, June Fukushima, Sandra Joy
Absent with Regrets:
None
Agenda Items:

1. Review and Approve Council Meeting Agenda:
   Motion from Sandra to approve the agenda. Carried.
2. Approve Minutes of Previous Meeting (May 21^st, 2020):
   There were no changes to the draft minutes from the May 21^st, 2020 council meeting.  Motion from June to approve the minutes. Carried.
3. Business arising from the Minutes and Updates:
   A number of impromptu council meetings were held in June and July (specifically June 18^th and 29^th) due to the decision to move the balance of our 2020 retreats from an in-person model to a virtual (online) model. There were a number of decisions that needed to be made regarding hiring a Zoom Technical Support person, acquiring the Zoom software for Victoria IMS and setting up automated banking for online dana. No formal minutes were taken at these meetings but details of the decision-making can be found below.

   Council held an online meeting with Wayne Shelley and Sandy Dowling of BCIMS to learn from them how they offered virtual retreats using Zoom Meeting. They shared some of their documentation ahead of time and were very helpful in answering our questions and concerns. In appreciation, Council agreed to send a donation to BCIMS of $100. June mailed a cheque to them and we received a note of thanks.

   Council agreed to purchase a Zoom Pro account (basic with up to 100 participant capability) with payment to be made on a monthly basis. Sandra Joy holds the account on behalf of Victoria IMS and is reimbursed for the monthly expense on receipt of the invoice from Zoom. June mails a cheque to Sandra for $22.14

   Council agreed to set up e-transfer capability with Coast Capital as well as a Victoria IMS PayPal account for receiving dana. June set up both accounts. PayPal is held in the name of vimsdana@gmail.com.
   Bruce MacRae and June Fukushima have access to PayPal and the vimsdana@gmail.com

   Council agreed to enter into a contract with Suzan Denis (Salt Spring Island) to act as the Zoom Technical Support person for Tuere Sala’s retreat. In addition she would provide training for the Victoria IMS Zoom volunteer team at no charge. June has been the main contact with Suzan with regard to her contract.

   Brock Brown contacted Tuere Sala to see if she could teach a one day online retreat for us in August. This was to be the first online retreat for the Victoria IMS Zoom team (a trial run). Tuere was available and planning began.  Several practice sessions were held with Suzan leading the VIMS Zoom team and as well, a number of one-on-one role-specific sessions with various Victoria IMS volunteers.

4. Finances
   The May to July financial report from Wei Wu was circulated to all council members by email prior to the meeting.
   Account Balances since the May 21^st, 2020 council meeting:
   Reporting Period May 1^st to May 31^st, 2020:

Chequing:         $2,645.59
Savings:           $6,821.26
TOTAL:            $9,466.85
      Reporting Period June 1^st to June 30^th, 2020:

Chequing:         $2,650.81
Savings:           $6,822.10
TOTAL:            $9,472.91

Reporting Period July 1^st to July 31^st, 2020:

Chequing:         $2,443.87
Savings:           $7,323.00
TOTAL:            $9,766.87

June motioned to receive the May, June and July Financial Report. Carried.

New ways to receive dana:
PayPal Account: Bruce MacRae and June Fukushima have passwords to PayPal so that there are two people monitoring the transfer of donations within PayPal to the Coast Capital account. After receiving PayPal donations related to Tuere’s retreat, Bruce and June checked the PayPal account. June then emailed Bruce that she would be transferring donations in PayPal to Coast Capital.
E-transfers: E-transfer capability with automatic deposit to vimsdana@gmail.com has been set up. June Fukushima and Bruce MacRae have passwords/access to this gmail account
Request for Access:
Given that dana deposits must be recorded individually by our bookkeeper Wei Wu for bookkeeping within Quickbooks, June has asked Kiko Brown for assistance to enter the online deposits into a spreadsheet to be sent to Wei. It would be easier for Kiko to do this if she had access to the vimsdana@gmail.com account as each transaction is reported in this email account.  No one who has access to the vimsdana@gmail.com account can take action with any of the donations (e-transfer is automatic and PayPal transfers to Coast Capital are done through PayPal).
June requested to give Kiko Brown access to the vimsdana@gmail.com account for the purpose of logging all online dana.  This data will then be passed to our bookkeeper. June and Brock recused themselves from this vote.
Motion from Rhonda to give Kiko Brown access to vimsdana@gmail.com.  Carried.  Thanks to Kiko for assisting with this task.

 Budget Considerations:
June is recommending that we discontinue offering scholarships for the balance of 2020 due to the uncertainty of Victoria IMS dana/income.
Motion from June to suspend scholarships. Carried.
Bruce will change the website to reflect this decision.

Contract with Suzan Denis (Zoom Technical Support):
Victoria IMS has entered into an arrangement with Suzan Denis to act as our key Zoom Technical Support person for the forthcoming retreats. We will pay her on receipt of her invoice. Council discussed the retreats in general, roles, training and volunteer staffing.  It was agreed that we’ll manage things retreat by retreat and see how it goes.

Insurance: June recommends that Victoria IMS cancel the event insurance policy until we need it again. Council discussed the pros and cons of doing this e.g. premiums may be higher when we want to take it out again (if we cancelled). Brock motioned for June to look into cancelling the policy or getting a discount of some kind. Carried. 

5. Tuere Sala Retreat
   Tuere Sala retreat update (August 7/8, 2020): There were 58 participants on Friday evening (7^th) and 53 participants on Saturday (8^th). This was our first online retreat and was very well received. Appreciation was expressed by a number of the participants. Thanks to all those who supported this retreat: Coordinator: Brock Brown; Manager: Metta VanderVliet; Registrar: Kiko Brown; Zoom Support Team: Suzan Denis (Consultant/Zoom Host), Brian Chapel (Q&A Chat Host), Bruce MacRae (screen share, recording, audio), Rhonda Duncan (Communications).
   As this was our first online retreat there were some issues that need to be resolved for future retreats (e.g. PayPal payments on the US accounts, feedback questions in the post-retreat reflection letter, use of the Zoom spotlight feature during Q&A). Dana for Victoria IMS was given by approximately 50% of participants.

6. Future Online Retreats:
   Council discussed the various things that need to be considered for future online retreats including: volunteers with some knowledge of Zoom, Suzan’s role ongoing, the possible use of purchasing Zoom add-ons such as Webinar and additional participant numbers (greater than 100), the use of breakout rooms, etc.
   The Zoom Technical Host or Manager need to check in with the teacher ahead of the retreat to determine their needs/preferences such as Screen Share, use of Gallery View, handling of Q&A (questions direct to teacher via chat/use of raised hand feature), etc.

7. Sunday Night Community Sit:

• Council discussed the Sunday Night Sit and decided that there will be no in-person sitting at the yoga studio for the balance of 2020 and the early part of 2021. In light of the pandemic we will review the situation again in the spring of 2021. There are also no plans to provide an equivalent in the online model.

8. Communications:

• Newsletters went out on June 26^th and July 31^st, 2020. The August retreat with Tuere Sala was highlighted in both.  Thanks to Bruce for his consistent, ongoing work in producing this monthly newsletter.

9. 2020 Programs:
   • Upcoming retreats/events:

The remaining retreats of 2020 will be held online (in the virtual model using Zoom Meeting).

• September 19 – Brock Brown
• October 17/18 – Christina Feldman.
• November 14/15 – Carol Wilson.
• Completed retreats/events:
• January 18/19 – Heather Martin.
• February 29 / March 1 – Margo McLoughlin.
• April 11/12 – Pascal Auclair – CANCELLED
• May 23/24 – Ajaan Geoff – CANCELLED
• July 18 – Howie Cohn – CANCELLED
• August 7/8 – Tuere Sala – Online

10. 2021 Programs:

The teachers and dates listed below are confirmed for the Victoria IMS 2021 retreat schedule.  Due to the pandemic, the retreats in the early part of 2021 will likely be held online. As the year progresses the situation will be monitored to see if it’s feasible to begin holding in-person retreats again at Goward House and the Sidney Shoal Centre.                           .

• January 23/24 – Heather Martin.
• February 27/28 – Margo McLoughlin.
• April 17/18 – Tuere Sala.
• May 22/23 – Adrianne Ross.
• August 13/14 – Ajaan Geoff. (at Sidney Shoal Centre)
• September 18 – Brock Brown.
• October 16/17 – Howie Cohn.
• November 13/14 – Ajahn Candasiri.

11. Other:

Grateful thanks go to the entire Victoria IMS Zoom team of volunteers: Rhonda Duncan, Kiko Brown, Metta VanderVliet, Sandra Joy, Brian Chapel, Bruce MacRae and June Fukushima, whose sterling efforts supported the successful launch of the Victoria IMS virtual/online retreat process.
An extra special ‘thank you’ to June, Bruce and Brian for all the additional work they did during the months of June and July to set up and test financial/banking protocols, develop and send out newsletters, modify our website and develop and test invitations/notifications in Constant Contact for registration, reminder and post-retreat feedback notices.

KUDOS TO ALL! 

12. Meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.

Next Council Meeting

September 24^th, 2020 – 6:00-7:30p.m.

Weather permitting, the meeting will be in Rhonda’s back yard otherwise it will take place online.