Minutes of the Advisory Council Meeting of the Illinois Classical Conference held on Friday, Oct. 18, 2002, in the Tartan Room of the Stockdale Center at Monmouth College, Monmouth, Ill. 

Members present:  Alice Mulberry, Marilyn Brusherd, Lanetta Warrenburg, Laurie Jolicoeur, Elizabeth Skoryi, Thomas Sienkewicz, Raymond Heisler, Jane Borelli, Stephen Pilewski, Charles Speck, Lois Dion, Jennifer Draper, Virginia Anderson, Vicki Wine, Henrietta Davis, Judith Streid, and Dorothy Coyne.

The meeting was called to order by President Jane Borelli at 5:25pm.

Secretary’s Report:  Stephen Pilewski reported that the minutes of the Winter Meeting of the Advisory Council held on 2/2/02 were published in the May, 2002, issue of the Augur, pp. 9-12.  Since there were no corrections to the minutes, Virginia Anderson moved, seconded by Raymond Heisler, that the minutes of 2/2/02 be approved.  The motion passed by acclamation.

Treasurer’s Report:  Raymond Heisler reported that there were 4 new life members, 4 new members, and gave the status of ICC’s accounts as of 10/17/02:

     Institution                    Form                     Amount

     American Metro              Certificate               $ 5,653.84

     Edens Bank                  Certificate                 5,390.40

     New Trier Credit Union      Checking                    1,031.90

     New Trier Credit Union      Calder Endowment            3,867.21

     Old Second National Bank    Checking                   14,849.57

     TCF Bank                    Certificate                 2,744.07

                                                   Total   $33,536.99

Auditing Committee Report:  Elizabeth Skoryi reported that efforts are underway to conduct the audit.

Newsletter Editor’s Report:  Marilyn Brusherd reported that 135 issues of the Augur were mailed in May, and 141 issues in September.  She asked the Council members to keep her apprised of changes to name, address, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses so that she can keep the listings in the Augur current.  Marilyn then reported the bad news that the discount rates (1 cent/page or about $50.00 per issue) at Stagg H.S. would not continue.  Various quotations were obtained at commercial places but the increase in printing costs would be substantial (e.g., Kinko’s: $690.00; Office Max: $280.00; Office Depot: $211.00).  Discussion ensued on issuing the Augur online versus paper, or giving the recipient the option of either method.  Jennifer Draper then offered to look into the possibility of her school taking over from Stagg H.S.  Laurie Jolicoeur then moved, seconded by Elizabeth Skoryi, that if a school cannot be found which can provide a similar service as Stagg H.S., then the expenditure for January mailing be approved for the lowest commercial rate.  The motion passed by acclamation.

Illinois Latin Tournament:  Jennifer Draper reported that the transition from Frank Raispis to her was still in progress.  She solicited writers for the Latin IV exams and has obtained the names of some suggested graders.  Jennifer pointed out that the District exam would be changed to the Qualifying exam and be given at the schools rather than at regional sites.  Lanetta Warrenburg queried the possibility of changing the Latin III selections from Cicero and Vergil to Prose and Poetry options that would allow for a wider range of authors and poets to be included.  Jennifer felt that the idea should be brought up at the ILT Board meeting for consideration.  She reminded everyone that writers and graders would continue to be compensated for their efforts.  Finally, Jennifer said that the 2003 State exam would be held at the Univ. of Illinois in Urbana.

Awards Committee:  Thomas Sienkewicz said that the Farrand Baker Teacher of the Year Award would be presented at the Sunday luncheon, and that 4 retirees would also be honored at the same event.

Nominating Committee:  Thomas Sienkewicz presented the slate of new officers:

     a.  for President:  Laurie Jolicoeur of Lyons Twp. H.S.

     b.  for Vice-President:  Brian LaVelle of Loyola Univ.

     c.  for Secretary:  Stephen Pilewski

     d.  for Treasurer:  Elizabeth Skoryi.

Membership Committee:  Vicki Wine reported that membership stood at 153, of which 15 were institutional, 5 joint, 17 life, and 4 new.  She encouraged that the names of prospective members be sent to her or to let the candidates know that a membership form now appears on the ICC website.  An added inducement is that the first year’s membership is free.

Teacher Exchange:  Vicki Wine reported no changes and that all items are now listed on ICC’s webpage.  What is new for this year’s conference is a table in the lobby of the Stockdale Center where anyone can leave donated items.  For any items taken from the table, a free-will donation is requested with proceeds being divided up among the scholarship funds under ICC’s control.

Memorator Invocatorque:  Alice Mulberry was happy to report that no word was received of any deaths.

Pedagogy Workshop:  President Borelli commented from the written report from Mary Ann Beatty and Rickie Crown that the Workshop was canceled this summer due to low enrollment ( 8 enrolled; 10 were the minimum).  Despite this setback, Mary Ann and Rickie asked that the ICC continue to support the efforts of the Pedagogy Workshop.

Illinois Junior Classical League North:  Virginia Anderson and Jennifer Draper called attention to the IJCLN convention Feb. 27 - Mar. 1 at the Holiday Inn in Countryside, and that 27 packets were sent out.  They reported that 75 from Illinois attended the national JCL held at the Univ. of Kentucky, that Illinois had the 9th highest increase in membership of all states, that Michelle Wu from Barrington H.S. was elected President and would preside over the 2003 convention in San Antonio, TX (the 50th annual convention).

Illinois Certamen League:  Elizabeth Skoryi commented that there will be up to 11 schools participating this coming year.

CAMWS:  Vicki Wine called attention to the Illinois recipients of various CAMWS awards as reported in the May and September issues of the Augur, among whom were Sherrilyn Martin, Thomas Sienkewicz and Christine Ayers.  Vicki pointed out that the next CAMWS convention would be held Apr. 3-5, 2003, in Lexington, KY and that the special introductory membership rate was still $15.00, which is an excellent incentive to join CAMWS.

Liaison of Schools and Colleges:  College professors, Thomas Sienkewicz reported, typically focus on publications, not on relationships with high schools.  He solicited ideas to foster better relationships between the two institutions.  One method, he said, was the National Latin Teacher Recruitment Week, to be held Mar. 3-7, 2003, and the handout for this event was contained in the ICC registration packet.

ACL:  Charles Speck related that although he missed several recent ACL conventions, he nevertheless attended 25 ACL conventions and 26 ICC conventions.  He is still interested in receiving news items of classical happenings which he will pass along to ACL publicists.

APA/AIA:  No report was received.  Discussion ensued as to finding out who the representative was.  No one was quite sure.

ICTFL:  Virginia Anderson reported that ICTFL was holding its convention in Springfield on the same weekend as ICC’s convention.  ICTFL is still interested in ICC’s presence at its conventions, and Virginia advised that she wants to keep this door open.  Discussion noted the good number of modern language teachers who showed up at ICC presentations last year at the joint ICC/ICTFL convention.  Nevertheless, some members felt that preserving ICC’s own conventions was important too, not only for the lower cost, but for the greater opportunity to foster relationships.  Virginia thought that ICC should meet periodically with ICTFL.

2003 Conference

2004 Conference:  President Borelli reported that no invitations were received yet, but that she was hopeful for a Chicago metropolitan area site for 2003 and a downstate site for 2004.  Marilyn Brusherd gave a geographic breakdown of the membership:

     1)  Chicago and its suburbs:           83

     2)  Rockford area:                      6

     3)  Western Illinois:                  10

     4)  Springfield and Central Illinois:  10

     5)  Southern Illinois:                  2

     6)  Other states:                       6.

President Borelli and Marilyn solicited ideas for meeting sites.

Other Business:

     a.  CPDUs and CEUs:  President Borelli was pleased to announce that the ICC is now an official, recognized provider by the Illinois State Board of Education in quite a few categories.  She also requested that a member who is familiar with CPDUs and CEUs be appointed who could take charge of the paperwork.

     b.  ICC Bylaws:  President Borelli said that a motion will be made at the General Business Meeting tomorrow to approve the revised Bylaws after a few typographical errors are corrected.

     c.  Classics Day:  Lanetta Warrenburg pointed out that she desired a successor and solicited ideas for succession.

     d.  Local Committee:  Thomas Sienkewicz said that the committee tried its best to accommodate the needs of everyone, and pointed out that with the low-cost convention registration fees and subsidy from Monmouth College that the ICC convention should break even.

     e.  New Traditions:  Laurie Jolicoeur was pleased to announce the inception of 2 new convention events:  toasting and storytelling, and she solicited stories of past conventions to share.  Thomas Sienkewicz reminded everyone that as the depository for ICC artifacts, Monmouth College would like to receive items such as programs of past conventions and pictures that it could display, as it did for this convention in a showcase in the lobby of the Stockdale Center.  Items could be sent to Thomas.

     f.  Donor’s Forum of Chicago:  Lois Dion and Stephen Pilewski reported receipt of an Illinois Nonprofit Sector Survey which requested highly confidential information of the ICC’s organization, officers, directors, membership and finances.  After some investigation, Lois and Stephen concluded that the request:

     1)  is of no discernible benefit to the ICC,

     2)  is a survey designed for community leaders, on whom the ICC does not rely,

     3)  provides an initial $150 membership in the Donor’s Forum of Chicago which appears to be a consultant group that teaches techniques for fundraising, management, etc., of which the ICC has no need, and,

     4)  does not seem to address educational groups, but seems to focus on community groups (e.g., Kiwanis, Rotary, etc.).

For these reason, Lois and Stephen felt that the ICC should not pursue completing this very intrusive survey.  Discussion ensued as to the pros and cons of completing the survey and sending it in.  Finally, Jennifer Draper moved, seconded by Lanetta Warrenburg, to disregard the Donor’s Forum of Chicago’s survey and to respond to any query from that organization that the ICC is not interested in its services.  The motion passed by acclamation.

There being no other business, Jennifer Draper moved, seconded by Raymond Heisler, to adjourn the meeting.  The motion passed by acclamation, and the meeting was adjourned at 7:15pm.

                                             Respectfully submitted,

                                             Stephen Pilewski

                                             Secretary