The Church Boards
Trustees
by
Charlene Snyder
Getting to know the Church Boards
This is
the second of our series about the "who, what, when, and
where" of our church boards.
Trustees Board:
Sally
Comfort is the contact person for the Trustees and has
served in that capacity for 3 years. She thoroughly
enjoys being a trustee which has been an unexpected
pleasure and that amazes her.
Sally
has been a church member for 10 years and has served on
Deaconate, Adult Education, and the Music Committee.
She also serves on Called to Care and sings in the
choir. A very busy lady!
She
really enjoys the Trustee's meetings of getting things
done and taking care of the business of the church.
Doug
Daman has been on the Trustees board for 2 years.
When he
joined the church, Doug served on the financial planning
committee... then joined the Trustees. He likes being a
steward for the church and is always interested in
taking care of the "nuts and bolts" of keeping it
going. He's mechanical and maintenance handy inclined
and has fun in the process. He loves the companionship
of working with a good group of intelligent folks who,
in his words, like "pushing the rope."
Bert
Jackson, who is Anna and Keyla Beebe's grandfather, has
been a Trustee for 2 years. He likes serving as a
trustee and is very impressed with the people he serves
with and the decisions they
make.
Bert
considers his expertise for serving on the Board of
Trustees is that he knows people who know how to do
things. Other comments from Bert: "Our leader Sally
Comfort keeps us living within the budget without
short-changing the church's mission."
Royal
Norton has served as a trustee for 3 years. He's retired
and has the time to help. He feels like he has to be
doing something all of the time... otherwise, he's
dead. He's an engineer and can do anything and, since
he has been a supervisor in another life, Sally was
confident he would be an asset to the Trustees. Roy
likes the meetings and making a contribution to the
church, and he has a great sense of humor !
Louise
De Groen has been a trustee for one year. She enjoys
serving on the Trustees because she likes to stay busy,
although she really didn't know what the job was all
about until she actually came on as a trustee. She
feels like the Trustees work together as a team to get
things done and realizes she may have more time to do
that than the other trustees. Louise says the most
difficult part of being a trustee is trying to do the
job with such limited funds. Currently, we are behind
in our income and that is a major concern for her.
Responsibilities
of the Trustees:
The Trustees are responsible for the
business, plant, physical structure, personnel and
financial stewardship of the church. These
responsibilities may seem self explanatory, but we have
included a description of each area for your
information.
-
Business: This involves taking care of all the
money and finances, i.e., the financial stewardship
of all the money coming in and going out.
-
Physical Structure: This involves taking care
of all the maintenance of the building, i.e., the
new roof that was put on last year, the new
carpeting in Stuart Hall, and the beautifully
painted walls. Also, keeping the parking lot in
shape, making sure the physical structure is clean
(hiring and supervision of custodial services)
and keeping the computer running are just a few of
the many tasks of the Trustees.
-
Personnel: The Personnel Council is the
"go-between" for the hired staff and the
congregation, i.e., handling any problems with the
minister, the janitor, or any of the employees.
Currently, John Campbell, Bev Staaden, and Sally
Comfort serve on the Personnel Council. They
review employment contracts and find individuals to
fill vacant positions, as well as updating job
descriptions. The hired staff is accountable to
this Council. The Personnel Council is
available on call, and appointments can be made by
contacting any person on the committee.
Meetings: The Trustees meet on a monthly
basis, usually in the Robe Room after coffee hour.
Their meetings are open, and they welcome anyone to join
them. Their meetings are very informal, though Sally
prepares an agenda. Their decision-making is by
consensus.
Accountability: The Trustees are accountable
to the congregation.
Vision or Goals for This
Year
-
We would like to
stay within our income. In order to contain our
expenses and increase our income, we have been
exploring some marketing strategies to increase the
size of our congregation, such as the bumper
stickers, postcards, ads, etc.
-
To
replace the old lights in the Rainbow Room and
Stuart Hall.
-
To
complete the new gutters.
-
We
are listening to conversations about increasing our
building use (the Boys and Girls club), as that will
affect our expenses, such as in the electric bill,
more hours for the custodian, and possible increased
maintenance due to the wear and tear of increased
activity. We are very supportive, but we are
concerned and responsible for the impact on the
physical structure of the church. We would be
supportive and interested in the idea of possible
grants as well as a Community Center.
Thanks, Trustees!! We appreciate having such vigilant
stewards caring for our church.
For more information about the Trustees,
please contact the Board directly, or write the
newsletter with your questions, comments:
editor@suquamishucc.org
