** Please visit our website: http://www.africanassociation.org **
Dear Aggo,
I will be working this Saturday and so will miss the General Meeting.
But for moving AAM forward, I am willing to serve on the Board if so
considered by other AAM members present at this meeting. I wish you and
AAM a very successful meeting.
Thanks
Thomas Adeetuk
College Library
Helen C. White Hall
600 N. Park Street
Madison, WI 53706
(608)263-3145
----- Original Message -----
From: Aggo Akyea <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2005 10:10 pm
Subject: GENERAL MEETING OF AAM AGENDA & MINUTES OF LAST MEETING
To: [log in to unmask]
> African Association of Madison, Inc general membership meeting
> Saturday, December 10, 2005 starting at 5:00 PM
> Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center
> Hall of Fame Room
> One John Nolen Drive
> Madison, WI 53703
> Phone: (608) 261-4000
>
> AAM members, supporters and all friends of Africa.
>
> TENTATIVE AGENDA
>
> 1. Welcome & Introductions
> 2. Minutes of Sept 24, 2005 General Meeting
> 3. President's Report
> & Calendar
> 4. Financial Report
> 5. Highlights of the New Constitution & By-Laws
> 6. Adoption of the New Constitution & By-Laws
> 6. Membership Registration/Annual Dues Payment
> 7. Election of Board of Directors
> 8. Other Matters
> 9. Adjournment
>
> Parking in the Monona Terrace building will be restrictive.
> Please park in the street or in the available City or County
> Parking ramps.
>
> Thank you.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> AFRICAN ASSOCIATION OF MADISON, INC.
> MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING
>
> HELD ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2005
> At Hospice Center, Madison, WIMinutes of the third quarter
> general Meeting held September 24, 2005
> THIS IS A SCHEDULED GENERAL MEETING
>
> PRESENT:
> Augustine Soko, Felix Ossia, Kervin Soko, Meja L. Maka, Anita
> Makuluni, Joseph Brewoo, Ann Marie Dawson, Jennifer Kendagor,
> Samba Baldeh, Godwin Amegashie, Salifou Issoufou, Bill Bosu,
> Gibril Jarjue, Richard Yarl, Adelaide Fiske, Devine Akabutu, Ego
> Enemuoh, Angie Osakwe, Kaari Njiru-Lowe, Dean Makuluni.
>
> GUEST SPEAKER: Janice Beers
>
> Opening: The President, Mr. Aggo Akyea, welcomed members and
> declared the meeting open at 5:17PM. Members introduced
> themselves. The President asked the Vice President, Mr. Richard
> Lowe, to convey his gratitude and that of the Association to the
> management of the Hospice Center for allowing us use their
> facility for our general meeting.
>
> APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Item 4 (III) was moved to Item 6 and agenda
> was approved.
>
> APPROVAL OF MINUTES: This was not necessary because minutes of
> the last general meeting were not available due to transition in
> leadership.
> SPECIAL TOPIC ? Immigration
> Janice Beers, an INS certified immigration specialist from the
> Jewish Social Services, was invited to address the meeting on
> immigration issues as part of our outreach program. Janice
> introduced herself and gave some background information. She has
> been doing immigration advocacy since 1990. She started out
> advocating on behalf of Russian emigres. She is trying to reach
> out the various communities in Madison. Her services are
> confidential, fees are on a sliding scale and referrals, when
> necessary are made to an attorney. She stressed that she was not
> an attorney. Beginning in Oct. her hours at Centro Hispano will
> be 12:00 PM ? 5:00 pm on Mondays. She available for consultations
> to all who need it.
> OPEN ISSUES:
>
> 1) Announcements
> a) Hospice Care?s Sister Relationship with Karibu in Meru
> Kenya. It was announced that the Hospice Care had sister-institute
> relationship with Karibu, a similar establishment in Meru, Kenya.
> A doctor from the institution is on an official visit here and a
> fundraising dinner was scheduled for Oct. 4, 2005.
> b) Schools of Hope ? Needs volunteers. It provides tutors for
> elementary, middle and high school students.
> c) St. Peter?s Parish has a sister-diocese relationship with
> a diocese in Ghana. St. Peter?s is hosting visitors from the
> Ghanaian parish.
> d) AFFEST 2004 video is available for sale. The price is $20
> per copy.
> e) Volunteers are needed for badger games. Proceeds go to
> finance Africa House. Interested persons should contact Richard
> Yarl, Chairman of the Outreach Committee.
> f) Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas, ULAA,
> will be meeting in Madison on October 22, 2005 at Bethany
> Methodist Church. Your support will be appreciated.
>
> 2) Committee Reports
> a) Financial Report ? Joseph Brewoo, the Association?s
> Treasurer, presented a summary of the financial activities of the
> Association since he took office. His report covered both the
> General and the Scholarship Accounts. On a question by Godwin
> Amegashie on whether AAM had any expenditure on Monona Terrace and
> Convention Centre, Joe reported none. Joe reported that he was in
> the process of convening a meeting of the Financial Committee,
> which comprises of himself, Frank Kooistra and Adetunji Lesi to
> look into updating the Association?s tax status with the IRS. He
> informed members of donations made on their behalf to various
> relief efforts ? Hurricane Katrina and Stoughton Tornado ($100 to
> each effort).
> Kervin Soko moved for adoption of the financial report and was
> seconded by Godwin Amegashie. The motion was unanimously adopted.
> b) Outreach Committee ? Richard Yarl, the Chairperson of the
> committee reported he was still looking for interested members of
> the community to join the committee whose membership currently is
> the chairman and Ben Weller. He encouraged members to purchase
> the AFFEST 2004 video which is now available at $20 per copy.
> Richard Yarl also solicited volunteers, especially High School
> Students, for Badgers game day volunteer service.
> The President thanked Anita Makuluni on her work producing the
> newsletter and the Outreach Committee for reaching out to the
> community.
> 3) Collection of Dues- More members introduced themselves and
> the meeting took a break for collection of dues.
>
> 4) Presentations ? Focus Group & Bye-Law
> a) Focus Group ? Richard Lowe gave a final presentation of
> the Focus Group initiative. Please see handout. His presentation
> outlined the type of activities AAM could engage in. The project
> identified problems facing and opportunities available to the
> association. b) Aggo Akyea delivered the second presentation.
> Please see attachment. He focused on a specific recommendation
> generated from the Focus Group initiative ? change in the
> organizational structure of the Association. Part of the
> recommendation from the Focus Group initiative was to move to a
> Board-run association instead of the current presidential system
> where all power rested with the President and the executive
> accountable only to the general membership. Aggo compared both
> structures and listed why the move to a board-run association was
> necessary. Some of the reasons included better management of the
> association, assurance of continuity, better accountability, and
> discernible line of authority and more commitment to the goals
> and aspirations of the Association. The Association will be able
> to tap into the community to get experts to serve on the board.
> The presentation highlighted the responsibilities of the board
> and those of the executive and the line of
> authority between the two- the Executive reports to the Board of
> Directors.
> 5) Next Steps
> a) 4 volunteers are needed from the floor to join the
> Executive in finalizing work on the Bye-Laws
> b) Scheduling of a special meeting to ratify the Bye-Laws
> c) Implementation is tentatively scheduled for the December
> general meeting.
> 6) OPEN Discussion- Questions, Comments & Suggestions
>
> Several speakers commended the Executive for the Focus Group
> project and the restructuring initiative. A member wanted a copy
> of the presentation. Samba wants extra volunteers to help promote
> the December general meeting for better attendance. Kaari Lowe
> wanted to know if any of the positions were salaried. The reply
> was ?No?. Ann Marie Dawson suggested that a good way to recruit
> new members was through the national associations. Adelaide Fiske
> suggested that individuals take the initiative of promoting the
> Association through word of mouth.
>
> Kervin Soko commended the Focus Group for a job well done and
> suggested that the national groups be represented in the Board of
> Directors. Samba and Salifou agreed with Kervin that national
> associations be represented on the board. Samba further suggested
> that AAM had a low image among the national associations because
> AAM had no tangible accomplishments after several years of
> existence. Dean Makuluni disagreed. In Dean?s opinion to suggest
> that AAM has failed ignores its accomplishments like AFFEST. He
> said that it was a question of developing programs that will
> appeal to members and the community. Ego Enemuoh thanked the
> President for the presentation and concurred with the switch to a
> board-run association. Maja said the presentations were good and
> relevant to the progress of the association. He thinks there is
> room for optimism pending what programs are developed and if
> there is accountability. Richard Yarl charged members to
> participate because the association
> will fail without members participation.
>
> Ann Marie wound up the discussion by reminding attendees that
> the constitution is dynamic and a work in progress. Therefore,
> members should not wait until November (time for adoption of bye-
> laws) to offer suggestions. Salifou suggested that the Outreach
> Committee get involved with the job of notifying our community of
> the anticipated changes ? the constitution and the Focus Group.
>
> The following volunteered for the respective groups:
> a) Constitution Drafting Committee
> i. Kervin Soko
> ii. Samba Baldeh
> iii. Kaari Lowe
> iv. Salifou Issoufou
> b) Outreach Committee
> i. Jennifer Kendagor
> ii. Gibril Jarjue [log in to unmask]
>
> ADJOURNMENT:
> The meeting adjourned at 7:32 PM on a motion by Ann Marie Dawson.
>
>
>
>
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