2015 1st Quarter Activity Report
The International Service Board (ISB) conducts the daily business of Urantia Association International. Its members, elected by the Representative Council (RC), include the following: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Chief Financial Officer (all of whom form the Executive Team), and Chairs of the following committees: Membership, Communications, Dissemination, Education, Conference, Study Group, and Translation. The officers and committees of the ISB as well as the Executive Administrator plan, coordinate, and carry out the activities of Urantia Association that are international in scope and have been authorized by the Representative Council. They also serve as an information resource for the constituent Associations.
The following describes some of the activities undertaken by the ISB members in the first quarter of 2015:
President
Chris Wood, who is also acting Fundraising Committee Chair, chairs the Executive Team, and is the liaison with the leadership of Urantia Foundation and the Fellowship, attended and made a presentation at the Lone Star Urantia Association regional conference in Argyle Texas in March and provided special training on the 3-Year Plan for the newly elected ISB members.
Vice President
Merindi B, whose term expired at the end of March after serving two full terms, was also the Chair of the Representative Council. She provided information and guidance for a smooth transition to the new Vice President and RC Chair, Andres Ramirez. She continues to serve as a team member of the 2015 International Conference Financial Aid team.
Chief Financial Officer
Bradly Tharp is also a member of the Fundraising Committee. The 2014 Year-End Financial Statements were completed, as well as the annual Treasurer’s Report. Significant revisions to accounting procedures and processes have been implemented.
Secretary
Susan Owen, who is also a member of the Education Committee and the Website Management Committee, continued to provide meeting minutes and action points for the monthly ISB meetings, posted January and February ISB meeting minutes and 2014 Year-End Financials to the RC, submitted the 2014 RC Meeting Minutes, and provided training for the new ISB members.
Membership Committee Chair
Gary Rawlings, whose term expired at the end of June after serving two full terms, provided for a smooth transition to the newly elected Membership Chair, Anton Miroshnichenko who joined the board in April. Gary welcomed eleven new members into the Association, and worked with three teams who are aspiring to become new Associations, as well as with three Local Associations who are aiming to become National Associations.
Communications Committee Chair
Vern Verass, whose term expired at the end of March after serving two full terms, made a smooth transition to the newly elected Communications Chair, Kathleen Swadling who joined the board in April. The first online issue of Tidings was posted and translating of the website began in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Ukrainian and Russian.
Education Committee Chair
Sheila Keene-Lund advised the topical index of the Tidings and Journal articles is almost complete and the committee has begun gathering and discussing ideas for a Teacher Training Symposium.
Conference Committee Chair
Antonio Schefer took office at the end of December and has selected his first committee members, Olga López Molina, Tamila Ragimova and Mike MacIssac. He has completed the review and fixed the audio problems on all the 2011 Leadership Symposium videos. Antonio attended a Blue Club conference in Berlin in March and is making contact with and planning to visit all of the European Associations. He is also on the 2015 International Conference Financial Aid team.
Translation Committee Chair
Chris Moseley continued to look for volunteer translators and to provide translation services to the ISB, RC and the website.