Hawaii Island Wellness Travel Assoc.
Minutes of the Meeting of Board of Directors
June 22, 2008 - Kailua-Kona

Members Present:  Randall Rupar, Helena Johnson, Evelyn McCarthy, Nancy Emery, Barbara Moore,  Julia Fairchild,  and invited guests, Walker and Susan Sanders

Apologies:  Marcel Hernandez and Denise Janelle

Approval of the Minutes:  Minutes of the May 29, 2008 meeting were read and approved

Treasurer's Report:  Evelyn McCarthy reported that she and Julia Fairchild have:
  • changed over the signature cards on the bank account,
  • requested debit cards for online payment of taxes, etc.
  • opened a PayPal account on behalf of HIWTA to facilitate payment of dues online
  • set up an online membership application and payment process through the new HIWTAMemberForum.com website
  • Purchased a separate URL for the Member Forum website for an intial $7 and $2/month to host through Julia's web hosting account with Homestead.com

Evelyn has also communicated with Susanne Simms and the Hawaii Tax Board to straighten out our having duplicate tax numbers, and get our "overdue taxes" taken care of.  It may be that we have overpaid our taxes, because we were not originally aware of having had two open accounts.  That process is still underway, and Evelyn will report on the progress at our next meeting, or by email to all board members as it occurs.

As to membership dues and the state of finances at the moment, we have identified the members that we have record of having paid their dues, and posted it on the Member Forum Website.

At the meeting it was determined that all board members are paid members, several of them having paid at the November 3, 2007 meeting.

The current balance in our HIWTA account is:  $100.22
Deposits:Payments:
Old Business:

1.  Walker Sanders came to give input and advice into our next steps, and direction about becoming a non-profit corporation (or not).  It was his suggestion that we communicate with those on our our membership lists, explain where we are now in relation to our mission statement, new board, website, etc., and ask for members to renew.  He felt that applying for non-profit status is premature at this point, and promised to follow our progress and give ongoing input as we go forward.

Walker is very enthusiastic about the purpose and focus of our group, and is anxious to be of service to us as we need his help.  We agreed to keep him posted on our growth.

2.  Marcel Hernandez was unable to attend the meeting but his email input was, after talking to past participants, that we need a full-time person to run the business of HIWTA, to make sure that it thrives.  Members present felt that with the enthusiasm of the board we currently have, we can move ahead and see what happens.  Until we can ascertain how many members we have, and what their support is, we can only move ahead with what we have at present.  We certainly do not have funds to hire anyone to run the business of HIWTA yet.

3.    Election of President/Vice President. 
Barbara Moore was nominated, seconded, and unanimously approved as our new President.

Helena Johnson was nominated, seconded, and unanimously approved as our new Vice President.

New Business:

1.  Website maintenance - At present, our website is not online.  We are not yet clear as to what it will take to get it back online. 
  • Julia is contacting the gentle men who originally changed the server in May
  •   We called David Gaynes who agreed to provide the website details/files on a CD, and mail it to the HIWTA address.
  • Barbara Moore suggested a person who is capable of maintaining Windows-based websites, and Julia will get in touch with him right away.
  • At present, our website is our most valuable asset, and getting it back online is our top priority.

2.   Membership Drive -

Questions posed included:
  • What do we have to offer to the members? 
Some ideas included, first of all, our very awesome website, and the sheer power of presence of so many wellness providers.  Down the road, we discussed the possibility of offering group health and dental insurance, liability insurance, and other benefits of a focused group of healers on the island.
Also mentioned was our very helpful alliance with the Big Island Visitor's Bureau, which we have already established, and hope to nurture and expand.

  • Why would they pay their dues?
We must first establish our credibility, and show that HIWTA can move forward from the standstill it has encountered.  Hopefully, the full disclosure of our business, having a full board in place, with access to minutes, opportunity to participate, and a viable HIWTA website will encourage people to place their trust once again in the wonderful vision of Susanne Sims, and recapture the hopeful enthusiasm of our very first meeting, where over 300 people attended, and wanted to participate.


Board Assignments to be accomplished by next meeting:
Evelyn McCarthy -
  • continue getting tax info sorted out
  • verify paypal account for MemberForum website
  • Submit balance sheet to be included in Minutes of Meeting
  • Sort out the phone answering/message process

Julia Fairchild -
  • Prepare Minutes and get approval of Board by email
  • Post minutes on the Member Forum Website
  • Write a letter to the membership, introducing the new officers, new Member Forum website, and asking for membership dues to be paid.  This letter is to be approved by all board members before being sent out.




Meeting Adjourned:  3:00 p.m.
Next Meeting:  TBD during last week of July in Kona

/s/ Julia Fairchild,
Secretary, HIWTA
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