Present:

Bruce, June, Sandra, Brian

Absent with Regrets:

No one

Agenda Items:

1. Review and Approve AgendaMotion from June to approve.
   Carried.
2. Approve Minutes of Previous MeetingMotion from Brian to approve minutes from December 18^th.
   Carried.
3. Business Arising from the Minutes and Updates
   • Yoga studio is booked for 2015 Study Group dates:
     • Jan 11
     • Feb 8
     • Mar 8
     • April 12
     • May 3
     • June 14
     • July 12
   • Update on Heather’s retreat:
     67 attended on Saturday.
     49 attended on Sunday.
     The different format (more quiet meditation time) was well received.
   • Study Group update:
     Kate will conduct April Session.
   • Beginner drop-in update:
     7 attended in January.
     3 attended in February.
   • Goward House update:
     110 people is the official occupancy limit for the whole building.
   • Website update:
     Bruce will make Brian a WordPress administrator so that he can look at the plugins.
     The WordPress organization does not accept financial donations but encourages it’s users to support the developers of the themes and plugins they use.
   • Ajahn Jayasaro is not comming to North america in 2015.
4. VIMS Council Membership
   • Brock is now on sabbatical from council.
   • Bruce is chair-person.
   • Welcome to Sandra Joy as a new member.
   • Lawrie Thicke has resigned from Council. We appreciate Lawrie’s contributions on council and his willingness to continue to support the Sunday Night program.
5. Financial Update
   • Account Balances on February 1st:

     Chequing 2,713.62 (corrected for mistake made by Coast Capital)
     Savings  5,229.66

   • Fund Balances on February 1st:

     General       8,593.28
     Discretionary   500.00

   • June met with an accountant (David Levinson). He will produce the 2014 financial statement. He also gave advice on the use of QuickBooks but has set up an Excel spreadsheet for us to use in the future. The cost is expected to be about $300.
   • The 2013 balance sheet presented at the 2013 AGM that indicated the year-end balance for the VIMS chequing account to be $3,667.93 has an understood $70 error. Two uncleared cheques from 2013 of $35 each were not identified as a separate line item. The year-end chequing balance for 2013 was $3,737.93. This will be identified and noted at the 2014 AGM.
   • Wei Wu will be asked to be our bookkeeper.
   • Discussion of cheques needed for January and February.
     Two cheques were given to Bruce for Heather.
   • Motion from June, seconded by Bruce, to remove Lawrie Thicke as a signing officer and to add Sandra Joy and Brian Chapel.
     Carried.
6. Christina Feldman Retreat – March 2015
   • Registrar: Sheila Whincup
   • Manager: Brock
   • Sound: Bruce
   • Registration is now open. The response so far has been very good.
   • Someone will consult with the teacher before mentioning a policy on electronic devices in the reminder letter.
7. Council Members’ Updates on Roles and Tasks
   • Sunday Night Sit – discussion
   • 2015 Retreat Operations – roles, tasks, coordination
   • Newsletter – Margo is producing it but June will do the March issue. Over 350 people open it every month.
8. 2015 Programs
   • Ajahn Tiradhammo is available to come to Victoria on July 18/19.
     He will lead a one-day retreat on Saturday July 18^th and lead the Sunday Night Sit on July 19^th. The Unitarian church is tentatively booked but we will still try for Goward House in case it becomes available.
   • Mar 14/15 Christina Feldman is confirmed for Goward House.
     Topic: Brahma Viharas on the Path to Awakening.
     Travel budget: $750 – she is coming from Boston.
   • Kate Dresher:
     Sandra has offered to provide accommodation for Kate.
     Kate will lead the Sunday Night Sit.
   • May 23/24 Ajahn Sona has been confirmed for Goward House.
     Cheque has been mailed for air fare.
   • August 22/23 Ajaan Geoff has been confirmed for UVic Cadboro Commons rooms.
     Confirmed topic: Karma
     The monks will be able to stay on campus.
   • September 26/27 Margo McLoughlin is confirmed for Goward House.
   • November 7/8 Howard Cohn is confirmed for Goward House.
9. 2016 Retreat planning – Goward House dates confirmed
   • Jan 16/17 Heather Martin is confirmed.
   • March 25/26 Pascal Auclair is confirmed.
   • Lawrie has received confirmation from Steve Armstrong for September 17/18.
   • Christina Feldman is confirmed for October 15/16. Goward House is available.
   • Council decided to see if we can have a monastic lead the May 21/22 retreat.
   • June will send an open invitation to Ajahn Passano to see if can come to Victoria in 2016 or 2017.
10. Meeting adjourned at 9:19 p.m.