Well, we're into the last month of 2003 and it's hard to believe the year's almost over. It's time to restock the whiteout because the first quarter of each new year finds me writing the incorrect date until my brain finally adjusts.

Previously the Board of Directors passed the following motions:

Board of Directors Motion 2003-01
I (Ralph J. Huntzinger) motion, within the Board of Directors, that the WINS-talk suspensions for members Joe Garbarini, Roy Wilson, Terry (last name unknown) of Gbie and Bob Peterson, which were imposed on 10-13-03 at approximately 11:29 PM EDT, for various violations of email list rules, be lifted; and, if passed, this motion will go into full force and affect upon its posting to the WINS email lists.

This motion passed unanimously except for Joe Garbarini who abstained, and the four members were immediately reinstated to the Talk List.

Board of Directors Motion 2003-02
I (Ralph J. Huntzinger) motion, within the Board of Directors, that if the motion to lift the WINS-talk suspensions for members Joe Garbarini, Roy Wilson, Terry (last name unknown) of Gbie and Bob Peterson is passed, that these members be placed on probation for a period of four calendar months; said probation to begin when the suspension is lifted via WINS email list posting. The conditions of probation to be as follows:

1. No violations of email list rules as currently posted or as may be revised within the probationary period

2. For each new violation of email list rules which occurs within the probationary period, an immediate suspension of eight days from the email lists shall be implemented for the violator**

3. For each new violation of email list rules which occurs within the probationary period, in addition to the immediate suspension of eight days as noted in #2 above, the Board shall also impose an appropriate suspension for the new violation which shall run consecutively to the noted 8 days.

**Admin note: 8 days is the presumed balance of the original suspension which was lifted early.

This motion passed as follows:
Ralph YES, Ray NO, Dave YES, Joe ABSTAIN, JD YES, Doug NO, Josh YES

Board of Directors Motion 2003-03
I, Ralph J. Huntzinger, make a motion, within the Board of Directors, that Treasurer Joe Garbarini file for and receive an IRS tax ID number for WINS; and that Treasurer Garbarini open an interest-bearing, commercial checking account for WINS so that the Society may more efficiently conduct business; said checking account to have two WINS Officers on the account, being the Treasurer and another Officer selected by the Board, but requiring only one signature for checks; and, if passed, this motion will go into full force and affect upon its passage.

This motion passed unanimously. Last month the opening of our checking account was announced, as well the opening of our new PayPal account with a successful transfer of WINS funds. As it turns out, the interest-bearing aspect of the checking account couldn't yet be accomplished as there's a requirement of a minimum of $1000 balance before interest will be paid.

Board of Directors Motion 2003-04
I, Ralph J. Huntzinger, on behalf of a proposal presented by Dave Noble, Secretary and Ray Larson, Vice President, make a motion, within the Board of Directors, that Secretary Dave Noble open a Post Office Box account with the US Postal Service, in WINS name, in the City of Saint Louis, Missouri; said Post Office Box to be the official, physical mailing address for WINS; said Post Office Box enabling WINS to more professionally and more efficiently conduct business; said Post Office Box account to currently cost $58 per annum; said Post Office Box to be paid for by WINS Treasury funds initially and then annually at the renewal rate; and, if passed, this motion will go into full force and affect upon its passage.

This motion passed unanimously. Last month, Secretary Dave Noble opened aUS Post Office Box (POB) for the club. The new POB is the officialsnail-mail address for WINS. The address is as follows:

WINS, P.O. BOX 220904, St. Louis, MO. 63122

Dave will act as the club's official point of contact for WINS correspondence. Dave has donated the POB cost of $58 for the first year. Thanks a lot, Dave!

Speaking of donations, Vice President Ray Larson has sent two books of first class postage stamps ($14.80 value) to Secretary Dave Noble to be used for official WINS business. Thanks a lot, Ray!

Since the last newsletter was finalized, the Board has passed the following motions which may be of interest to members:

Board of Directors Motion 2003-05
I, Ralph J. Huntzinger, make a motion, within the Board of Directors, that Treasurer Joe Garbarini be approved to automatically pay invoices for the WINS email lists - the Talk List and the Trading Post List; said invoices being billed by dYnamic eXpressions; said lists to cost $5.00 each per month and $120.00 total per annum; said invoices to be paid by WINS Treasury funds incrementally as they arrive; and, if passed, this motion will go into full force and affect upon its passage.

This motion passed unanimously and will ensure the continuation of our email lists.

Board of Directors Motion 2003-06
I, Ralph J. Huntzinger, make a motion, within the Board of Directors, that Treasurer Joe Garbarini be approved to automatically pay invoices for the re-registration of the WINS Domain Name - winsociety.org; said invoices being billed by dYnamic eXpressions in reimbursement fashion; said renewal to cost $15.00 each per annum at the next renewal; said invoices to be paid by WINS Treasury funds as they arrive; said invoices may be paid in multi-year increments for savings or efficiency; and, if passed, this motion will go into full force and affect upon its passage.

This motion passed unanimously and will ensure the retention of our domain name for the website.

Board of Directors Motion 2003-07
I, Ralph J. Huntzinger, make a motion, within the Board of Directors, that Treasurer Joe Garbarini be approved to advance a $30.00 petty cash fund to Secretary Dave Noble for the purpose of purchasing business and office supplies for WINS; said $30.00 to be provided from the WINS Treasury; the Secretary to obtain receipts for such purchases and forward them to the Treasurer; said receipts to be utilized by the Treasurer to reimburse the Secretary's $30.00 petty cash fund; said receipts to be retained by the Treasurer for WINS records; said purchase expenses to be reported by the Treasurer to the membership; and, if passed, this motion will go into full force and affect upon its passage.

This motion passed unanimously and will enable the WINS business office to function efficiently.

Board of Directors Motion 2003-08
I, Ralph J. Huntzinger, on behalf of suggestions from Board members, motion, within the Board of Directors, that the probationary period of four calendar months for members Joe Garbarini, Roy Wilson, Terry (last name unknown) of GBIE and Bob Peterson, which was imposed on 10-20-03, via motion 2003-02, be lifted; and, if passed, this motion will go into full force and affect upon its passage.

This motion passed unanimously except for Joe Garbarini who abstained. Very generally, it's was asserted by Board Officers that a positive gesture was in order in the interest of instilling and reinforcing harmony and friendship for ALL within the Society as we set out on our new era.

To date, the Board has had only one official meeting. That meeting pertained to the suspensions of four members which were imposed before the elections. Prior to archiving, those meeting minutes were unanimously approved via Board of Directors Motion 2003-09. With some additional discussion, the Board also approved the following administrative terms for the release of meeting minutes. These terms will be appended to the copy of any meeting minutes which are released to an active member who has made a request for a copy of the minutes.

TERMS Pertaining to Meeting Minutes of the Board of Directors

1. Summaries - Active WINS members who request meeting minutes shall be provided a summary of the minutes for the specific meeting they've requested.

Summaries of meeting minutes remain the property of WINS. They are private and confidential and for the use of Active WINS members only. They may not be shared with, provided to or discussed in any manner with anyone who's not an Active member of WINS.

2. Full Email-Discussions - Active WINS members who request meeting minutes in the full email-discussion version may be provided a copy in that format for the specific meeting they've requested, providing the Board of Directors believes the minutes contain nothing that's compromising or embarrassing to anyone.

Full email-discussion versions of meeting minutes remain the property of WINS. They are private, privileged, and confidential. They may not be shared with, provided to or discussed in any manner with anyone, including other WINS members.

3. When the Board meets on behalf of the membership to discuss issues involving members, the Board must be able to freely discuss all available information. Meeting minutes may therefore be sensitive in that discussions will likely involve personal issues or information that could be construed as compromising or embarrassing. Members are asked to understand this and to realize that confidentiality protects the Society and its members. A violation of these terms undermines the society and the effectiveness of the Board, and subjects the violating member to severe sanctions.

The terms are self-explanatory and for the well-being of the membership.

WINS eighteenth auction will open December 6, 2003 and will run for 7 days. For those who've never participated in the WINS Auction, please consider doing so. JD White has quite a few auction items listed already on the site. Please visit the auction site at: Auction 18. Please also consider donating the proceeds of an auction lot to the WINS Treasury. Many members have already utilized our auction as an opportunity to do so.

Don't forget about the Club Token contest, the notice of which is found at: Contest. The contest runs for about another 2 weeks, until December 17, 2003, 9:00PM MST. The design competition will provide us with the obverse and reverse for our Club Token. It's also hoped that the obverse design, or some combination of submitted designs, will provide us with a permanent WINS Logo. There are two grand prizes and small participation awards. It's rumored that one member has already invested over thirty hours in a single design. Please consider joining in on the fun!

Notice: The Offices of the Board of Directors will be closed on December 25, 2003 and January 1, 2004.

Best Regards,
Ralph J. Huntzinger