HomeMy WebLinkAbout22.08.10 - Minutes, Womens Commission
Minutes of the Washington County Commission on Women
6 p.m., Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Present: Danielle Garth, Beth Harvey, Mary Hendrickson, Barbara Martin, Dawn Nally, Shadae Paul,
Jessica Scott, Randall Wagner (Washington County Commission, liaison), Elise Weber
Absent: Amber Mowery, Steffanie Smith
President Shadae Paul called the meeting to order.
I. Commission Updates:
A. Commission membership: Shadae announced that Amy Miller resigned as a commissioner. Her term
was ending soon and she has pressing work commitments this fall that will limit her availability.
Members expressed appreciation for Amy’s contributions and regret that they would no longer work
with her on the commission. There are additional four nominees for the Washington County
Commission on Women (WCCW) pending before the County Commissioners. Commissioner Wagner said
they should be considered at the August 16th meeting.
B. Updated Bylaws: By accident, it was discovered that revisions to the current WCCW Bylaws, which
were written in past years, were not reviewed and approved by the County Commissioners. The
number of commission members allowable in the WCCW Bylaws (15) exceeds local code. Vice President
Harvey will work on revisions. Elise Weber volunteered to assist. Randall Wagner will secure assistance
from the staff.
C. Reimbursement process: Shadae reminded commission members that all purchases are made with
personal funds and go through a reimbursement process. Amber Mowery, Treasurer, needs to be aware
of the purchases and can assist with timely reimbursement.
D. Secretary role: The Bylaws define responsibilities of the secretary. A question was asked about the
Historian role of the secretary, mentioned in the Bylaws. Shadae said there are files in the Commission
building basement that contain previous WCCW documents. Minutes and other information about
activities of the Commission are preserved there for future members’ use.
E. 4-Step Program for Change: Barbara Martin described a Brooke’s House program, offered in
coordination with WCCW, for graduates. The program helps with transition issues and covers topics
such as goal-setting, budgeting, and creating a vision board. A purpose of the program is to encourage
exchanges of ideas and concerns among the graduates.
II. Meeting Location:
Previous problems with access to the Washington County Administration Building at 100 West
Washington for meetings has led to reconsideration of where meetings should be held. This item was
discussed in closed session.
III. Financial Literacy Class: The WCCW will continue to organize and implement Financial Literacy
classes at Brooke’s House. Shadae led this effort in April 2022. Volunteers were sought to support the
session facilitators from September 27-October 26, 2022. The sessions are modeled on the curriculum
for women in recovery created at the University of Chicago and topics include empowering women,
responsible use of credit cards, financial goals, budgeting, etc.
IV. 35th Anniversary Event on September 14, 6 p.m. in the Library, downtown Hagerstown: Discussion
focused on various aspects of the plans, which call for a picture frames, each of which will include a
photo and a quote from one of the 35 women. Beth Harvey suggested that the picture frames be used,
again, at the TEDxWomen event in October. Information about each woman will also be located on the
WCCW website, and will be posted on social media. A suggestion was made to post some information
about the 35 women on a projector in front of the room at the 35th Anniversary Event that rotates
information about the event. A program with the night’s agenda could be located at each table and on
the projector. Danielle can also send a follow-up to the invitation with additional information about
parking and the program. The subcommittee will ponder the suggestions as it continues to plan for the
event.
Shadae said that an additional $500 was allocated to the 35th Anniversary event from an existing fund
for Circle of Sisters programming. There will be $896 remaining if the $500 is spent.
V. TEDxWomen event will be Friday, October 8 in Kepler Auditorium at Hagerstown Community
College: A subcommittee is identifying potential speakers for the TEDx event from the list of 35 women.
Speakers will need to be comfortable speaking without notes, which is quite challenging for many
people.
VI. Closed Session: The group discussed the pros and cons of meeting at the Washington County
Administration Building versus at another location, in this case Hagerstown Community College (HCC).
Beth made a motion, seconded by Dawn Nally, to meet the remainder of the calendar year at the HCC
location in an effort to consolidate the strengthening relationship with HCC. The board voted 5-3 to
accept the motion.
Sincerely,
Mary Hendrickson
Secretary