As I start this message I realize that it is the last time that I will write it because your new State
Committee President, Dianne Steel, will author this column for the next two years. My term of offices
has come and gone very quickly—it seems only recently that Joan LeMere handed the reins over to
me at the conference luncheon in Las Vegas after the dedication of the Sarah Winnemucca statue
there.
Although this administration’s committee didn’t have such a grandiose project as the Washington
DC Sarah statue, we did manage to accomplish at least two things that should make the organization
easier to manage in the future.
First, we revised the NWHP Operations Guide, with an eye to making job descriptions simpler, and to minimizing
the amount of paperwork involved for each officer. We hope that the guidelines will be a vital document, easier to
understand and follow, and easier to change with the times as future committees see fit
Second, our archivist, Carrie Porter, devised a workable retention schedule for all of the paperwork that is necessarily
generated in the day-to-day workings of any organization. The schedule tells us which papers need to be saved, how
long they need to be kept, when and where to send them and what to do with them when they are no longer needed.
Anything that eliminates paperwork is welcome indeed.
The State Executive Committee meets officially only twice a year, alternating locations north and south. Occasionally
something will come up between meetings which needs to be dealt with promptly, so in years past business had sometimes
been conducted by telephone. Now, these situations are more easily handled by e-mail. I realized that in these cases,
there wasn’t any way of recording important decisions made outside of the actual meetings, so I added another heading
to the agenda format. Along with “ongoing business” and “new business”, I inserted “interim business conducted by email
since last meeting”. That way the minutes record anything that happened since the last minutes, and hopefully
nothing will “slip through the cracks”.
As this is my “presidential swan song” I want to thank the other officers on the committee who have served the past
two years. They are: Betty Miller, second vice president; Holly Van Valkenburgh, third vice-president; Patti Bernard,
secretary; and Su Kim, treasurer. Thanks also to Jane Olive who started out as first vice-president but resigned due to
pressing responsibilities and to Linda Miller who graciously stepped up and finished Jane’s term of office.
According to the NWHP Guidelines the State Presidency is to alternate between the Northern and Southern regions,
so I am happy to welcome Dianne Steel, from Las Vegas, as the incoming State Executive Committee President. She
introduces herself to us in another article in this newsletter. Also new to this committee as an elected officer is Lisa Marie
Lightfoot, from Carson City, as first vice-president. She has been an appointed member of the committee as webmaster.
We appreciate Betty, Holly, Patti and Su Kim, who were elected to serve another term in their respective offices.
My husband, Fred, and I are moving from Nevada in May. Although I won’t be here in person, my heart will always
be in Nevada and I will keep in close touch with the Nevada Women’s History Project via the newsletter and website.
Thank you all for your support and your friendship during our time in this special state.
Cherry Jones, State Committee President
