Minutes of NWSSA BOD Meeting 02/11/2026

NorthWest Stone Sculptors Association
Established 05/27/1988
Board Meeting Minutes

ORGANIZATION NAME: NWSSA 

Date: 02/11/2026
Time: 6:30 P.M. PST
Location: via Zoom

ATTENDANCE

Board Members Present: Carmen Chacon, Markos Weiss, Karen Roe, Aerin Sizelove, Ken Barnes
Absent Board Members: Tamara Buchanan, Oliver Harwood
Quorum: Yes 
Guests: Rachell Jarvis
Staff: Renee Roberts

CALL TO ORDER
A meeting of the Board of Directors of NWSSA was duly called to order on 2/11/2026 at 6:30 P.M. PST. Carmen Chacon (Vice President) called the meeting to order.

Approve Consent Agenda
A Motion was made (Markos) to approve the consent agenda and minutes from 1/14/2026 BOD meeting, the motion was seconded (Ken). The minutes were approved unanimously.

Reports:

Subtle Lake Symposium Progress, Plans, Changes for 2026:  Rachell reported the Oregon symposium will be held August 10-17th and will remain at Suttle Lake this year. They are working on various workshops to include pinning and sleeving and Intarsia demonstrations. She is currently looking for instructors and presenters. Questions were raised about the contract with SL in the event that the symposium is smoked out in 2026. Discussion of contract will be continued.

Journal – Cost of adding 4 additional pages: It was discussed that grant money or possibly other funds could be used to cover the expense. A two-issue trial may be considered. Leah’s proposal will be reviewed.
ACTION ITEM: All board members will review Leah’s proposal and submit their comments prior to the next BOD meeting. 

Best of the West Show April 11th and 12th: Aerin – Status on Sign-ups are due by the end of March                        

Status on finding Guest Artists for Pilgrim FIrs – Cyra was not present, but responded via email. See Cyra’s response in addendum. 

Old Business:

Website Report Aerin reported there were some issues with the Artist’s Profile page,as well as membership account and auto renew issues. Aerin and Renee are working to get the glitches resolved.

Domain Name status – Renee reports this issue is being clarified and resolved.

Nomination Committee – Markos reviewed a list of future potential board members. He continues his outreach to potential candidates.

Bylaw update: 
Donation Hard Goods Manager – A new position to take over from Pat. This person will respond back to donations of stone and tools, etc.  Tabled to March BOD meeting.
Events Committee Charter: Aerin states the charter is drafted and she has added comments that were received. A spreadsheet has been created that outlines venues for events, focusing on King County (where grant funds can be used) but including all regions in the Pacific Northwest. Aerin continues to work on the draft charter. 

Donation Manager candidates – Two different positions are needed: one for the Endowment Solicitation and the other for a person to officially accept donations.

OnBoarding packet for new BOD update. Renee is organizing the  recruiting packet.           

Discuss our goals and issues to resolve 2026 – tabled to March BOD. 

New Business:

• Creation of an Advisory Council – Tabled to April agenda. 
• Board to review Website – The BOD all agreed that overall the website is working very well. Michael has offered to reorganize the Sculpting section and will make recommendations for easier searches. 
• Bookkeeping Fee:  There was a proposal to increase the bookkeepers fee from $400 to $600 a month (flat fee). Discussion followed. 
  A Motion was made (Markos) to approve the $200.00 increase for the bookkeeper CG. The motion was seconded (Karen) and approved unanimously.
• Ben Mefford requested $2,000 from NWSSA for stone supplies for Summer Art Camps. with Salem OR Art Association. Discussion followed and it was determined that more information is needed. Cyra will be asked about the possible use of grant money for this project. A decision will be made at the March BOD meeting.

Tabled Items

1. All: Be prepared to discuss OR Events – Member Participation, # of events. Are we wanting to encourage membership growth in OR (or OR/CA) ? Why? Is there enough interest to warrant an effort this way? 
2. Donation Hard Goods Manager – A new position to take over from Pat. This person will respond back to donations of stone and tools, etc.  Tabled to March BOD meeting.
3.  Discuss our goals and issues to resolve 2026 – tabled to March BOD.
4. Creation of an Advisory Council – Tabled to April agenda. 

Adjournment: Time: 8:02 PM

Next Board meeting March 11, 2026

Minutes respectfully submitted by Karen Roe, Secretary

Addendum to Minutes –

Response from Cyra Re: Pilgrim Firs Guest Artist Status:
“We’re all set…I’m actually in the process of making the brochures now and we’ve put all the pieces together. I can’t remember who reminded me during the board meeting about Amy Brier’s suggestion to bring her stone carving trio out to do some big limestone thing, but please thank them if you remember. That panned out so it’s Amy Brier, John Fisher, and Sharon Fullingim and they’re going to carve one of those giant limestone blocks we bought from that company in Spokane.

An additional update is that we bought all those 8’x5′ limestone blocks. They are going to be stored at Sue’s studio on Whidbey. A ton, or more like 5 tons of it, is going to be our supply of beginner’s stone for a very, very long time. Some we will sell to people, and one big piece is for the carving trio at camp.”

Minutes Approved 3/11/2026