Amigos Board of Directors August Meeting Highlights

At its August 5 meeting in Dallas, the Amigos Board of Directors announced the appointment of Craig Stephenson, City Manager for the City of Ponca City, OK, to serve as an independent director on the board. Stephenson replaces Joel Valdez, Tucson, AZ, who was unable to serve. He will serve a one-year term on the Board and be eligible for election next spring to complete the remaining two years of Mr. Valdez’s three-year term.

Board Chair Anne Prestamo, Oklahoma State University Libraries, reported on the orientation session held for new board members the previous day. She also announced the appointment of Budget and Finance Committee members: Treasurer Patrick Heath, Independent Director, Chair; Polly McCord, University of the Incarnate Word; and Art Lichtenstein, University of Central Arkansas. Prestamo also reported that Shirley Dickerson, Stephen F. Austin State University, will chair the Nominating Committee.

As is customary in the first meeting of a new fiscal year, Directors shared environmental information about libraries in their states. Sharing such information helps all Directors better understand issues across the region and alerts Amigos staff to activities that may influence services from Amigos.

In his Treasurer’s report, Heath noted that the June 30 unaudited year-end financial report shows positive results for year-to-date operations and the Amigos investment portfolio.

Prestamo, who serves as a member of the OCLC Americas Regional Council and Global Council, reported on the recent meeting of the Global Council held during the American Library Association’s annual conference in New Orleans.

Filling in for Amigos Chief Executive Officer Bonnie Juergens, who was unable to attend the meeting, Amigos Chief Financial Officer Charles Cason updated Directors on the status of the Open Source pilot project and provided other reports on the operations of the organization.

The next meeting of the Board of Directors will be on November 4.