February 2, 2002: Day-Long Board Intensive

In Attendance: Jane Grace Bowman, Barbara Brodsky, Dottie Coyne, Kris Kurnit, Aiji Pipho, George SanFacon, Pat Shalis, Kalindi Trietley.

To begin, there were bagels, tea and coffee and a half hour of sitting. We did not begin the business meeting until after 10:00.

The first hours of the morning were spend discussing the need to bring clarity to the work of the Board. We need greater communication between all aspects of Deep Spring to relieve some confusion. The Board needs to hear of all the activities that are being done by sangha members to forward the work of teaching vipassana in town and beyond. There was a request for Barbara to report to the Board in a written statement each month about the work that is initiated from her desk.

With better communication, the Board can plan the use of our resources more effectively. Time and money are our two resources. It may mean saying "no" to a worthy request of our time or energy. In order to say "no" one must have a strong "yes" on the inside. This means setting boundaries and priorities. And everyone realizes that is very difficult to say "no" in a world of pain. So it's more than communication.

It's also the wise use of resources--time, energy and money. And time and energy can be actually the more significant elements. George estimates that at present 700 volunteer hours a month are keeping Deep Spring going. This is equivalent to five persons working full time. And this is all being accomplished by folks with families and jobs which also make demands on their time.

So we have to get clear on our basic commitment. The Board is holding to a vision for the future--bringing these wonderful teachings from Barbara and Aaron to a greater audience which may extend beyond Ann Arbor but which is supported by a strong sangha here in town.

The Board is then responsible to budget the money and human resources as best as possible. The focus of the Board of Deep Spring is to create and hold a strong center so that we can support our outreach. We must focus on the C of DSC. In our logo we felt that Board sat in the center of the sangha as the hub of the wheel so to say with even the teaching of Barbara and Aaron as one of the petals. The Dharma provides the rim of the wheel and holds the whole thing together.

With the success of the teachings and the increased interest in what we are doing, we have to reorganize ourselves to handle this higher demand. Some organizations can flounder because of success if they do not adjust their organizational methods. To date, many decisions have had to be made by Barbara to answer the needs of the moment. Gradually the administration of the sangha can pass to the Board. In future, the Board will not simply implement decisions that Barbara has made, but will also be part of the decision making process.

The Priorities of Deep Spring Board are:
Board development
Sangha development
An office administrator
Growing the building fund
And finding a permanent home
. . . . . . while keeping everything going.

Our primary need is for more people to give their time to the committees and task forces that accomplish the work of Deep Spring. At present, a small inner group is doing a great deal. Somehow the committees must be strengthened.

We also spoke of creating an advisory group of recent Board members who would receive our minutes, get the email traffic, and who would attend meetings of their choice as nonvoting observers. Sadly, we are looking at Kris and George stepping down in just two meetings and we so value their experience and wisdom. So here is a method of keeping their advice coming.

The bulk of the afternoon was spent in a review of Pat Shalis' excellent budget presentations. Several items brought up discussion. The newsletter caused a discussion to make it less costly and perhaps have it generate more income. Jane Grace and Barbara will continue their deliberations on this matter. Several other talking points were noted but not amplified in the interest of time but no doubt will come up at future Board Meetings. Pat took down the list of questions and concerns.

Finally we focused on the issue of sangha building. Trying to schedule a sangha gathering near term seemed impossible. Then the idea of April 21st, Sangha Sunday at Sunnyside caught on. This day will take shape as the time approaches. But the feeling was that some potlucked food, some talking, laughing, walking, playing, meditation, etc would be great sangha nutrition.

So there you are. We left at 4:30, tired but feeling we had done good work.

MAY OUR EFFORTS BE FOR THE GOOD OF ALL BEINGS.

recording secretary, Dottie