Victoria IMS Council Meeting Minutes (approved)
Thursday, May 21st, 2020 at 7:00 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 Brock to approve the agenda. Carried.
   Approve Minutes of Previous Meeting (April 23^rd, 2020):
   There were no changes to the draft minutes from the March council meeting.  Motion from Brock to approve the minutes. Carried.
   Business arising from the Minutes and Updates:
   There is a credit for Ajaan Geoff and Than Tim for 2 flights on Air Canada due to the flights that were cancelled for the May visit. The credits are with Expedia.
   No payment was made to Helga Beer Yoga for the month of May for the Sunday evening rental of the yoga studio. The Sunday evening sit is on hold until further notice and we will wait for Helga to contact us.
   Brock has emailed the Shoal Center in Sidney to cancel the July 18 one-day rental (Howie Cohn’s retreat was cancelled). He has not had a reply yet. Victoria IMS has paid a $100 deposit on the rental.
2. Finances

The April financial report from Wei Wu was circulated to all council members by email prior to the meeting.Account Balance since the April 23^rd, 2020 council meeting:
Account Balance as of May 1^st, 2020:
Chequing:         $2,645.59
Savings:           $6,820.39

TOTAL:            $9,465.98

June motioned to receive the March financial report. Carried.
June spoke with our insurance agent regards the possibility of receiving some temporary reduction or adjustment to the premiums for the Victoria IMS policy as a result of COVID-19 (cancellation of retreats at Goward House and the Sunday Night Sit at the yoga studio). June was advised to keep the current policy going. If we interrupt it now, whenever we decide to restart or reinstate it, the premiums will likely be higher at that time than they are currently.

3. Sunday Night Community Sit:

There was some discussion on what to do next for the Sunday Night Community Sit. Suggestions included having an outdoor sit, facilitating an online offering, the use of Insight Timer, and waiting until the fall to return to the yoga studio with masks, social distancing and sanitizing procedures in place. No decisions were made.

Communications:

A mid-month newsletter went out on May 15^th with information about some online dharma offerings. The next newsletter is scheduled for release on May 29^th.

4. 2020 Programs:
Council had a discussion of the fall programming in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and what the possibilities were for proceeding with the retreats. Council discussed the possibility of holding the retreats in a virtual manner and what this might entail – what software we could use, how we could staff the operations, how we might handle dana, etc.  We also needed to know what other groups were doing.  Sandra reported back on her initial conversation with Wayne Shelley of BCIMS who have successfully moved their retreat offerings to a virtual model. Brock will contact Carol and Christina so we can understand how they’re both offering their teachings in the time of COVID.

Upcoming retreats/events:
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

5. 2021 Programs:

The teachers and dates listed below are confirmed for the Victoria IMS 2021 retreat schedule.  All retreats will take place at Goward House unless otherwise indicated and we will continue to monitor the potential impact of the pandemic on social gatherings and consequently on the 2021 retreat schedule.                          .
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.

6. Other:

The Victoria IMS Annual General Meeting (AGM) is scheduled to be held on June 11^th, 2020 beginning at 7:00pm. This will be held as an online meeting using Zoom Meeting.

The majority of Directors’ reports have been received and feedback provided.

The AGM Agenda and Council Reports should be sent out by May 28^th.

7.Meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.

Next Council Meeting
July 16^th, 2020 – 7:00-8:30p.m.
Online meeting.