EUGENE CITY CLUB Board of Directors Meeting Minutes June 25, 2026 Date: June 25, 2026 Time: Called to order at 5:01 p.m.; adjourned at approximately 5:46 p.m.
Occasion: First board meeting of the new term
Recorded by: Joey Bruckner, Secretary
Call to Order President Alyssa called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m. She welcomed the board to the first meeting of the new term and noted that introductions would continue over the next few meetings so members could get to know one another.
Attendance and Introductions The following members were present. Because several were new to the board, each introduced themselves and described their background and their reasons for joining City Club. ● Alyssa, President. She leads fundraising and marketing for the nonprofit Shelter Care. She first came to City Club to coordinate a forum on the PeaceHealth hospital closure and its effect on the unhoused community, served on the program committee for about a year, and then joined the board. Her earlier career was in politics. ● Joey Bruckner, Secretary. He is a director at ICF, a consulting firm based in Washington, D.C., where he leads teams that design and develop software. He joined the board about two years ago after meeting past president Andrew through networking. ● Ron Thompson. He works to facilitate discussion and strengthen the community, with a background in politics and sports that includes coaching, refereeing, and player development. ● Betsy Pownall. She is a counselor in the mental health field who came to the work through journalism, and she values the relationships and community connections the board provides. Maegan Olds. She is a therapist and social worker who practiced in Seattle for twenty years before returning to Eugene. Betsy invited her to the board and the program committee. ● Eric Duirza. He moved to Eugene from Medford two years ago and became interested in City Club while researching the city. He serves on the program committee and has served on a school board and a library district board, and he recently ran for the EWEB board.
Approval of Minutes Joey moved to approve the minutes from the previous meeting, which were included in the board packet. Eric seconded. The board approved the minutes.
Agenda Eric asked why the board packet contained no financial report. The chair explained that the reason would come up during the finance discussion. The board approved the agenda.
Summer of Support The board reviewed Summer of Support, the club’s annual fundraising campaign. Each year the club mails a letter to members and donors asking them to give again, supported by an online page that the media volunteer, Marilyn, assembles. The club pays Eugene Direct Mail to send the letter, the President writes the appeal, and each mailing includes a return envelope. Because the fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30, the letter goes out in early August so that donations arrive before the year closes. Alyssa is writing this year’s letter and asked the board for input. She plans to draw on program highlights and attendance figures and to keep the letter distinct from the president’s letter in the annual report. The board offered several ideas: ● Betsy suggested listing the programs the club has held with their attendance, describing how those programs have affected the community, and including a short quote from a community member. Alyssa recalled that a prior email campaign, run by the volunteer Kelly, paired a community member’s quote with a headshot and also ran on the club’s social media. ● Joey suggested stating clearly what donations pay for and considering a request for in-kind gifts. He also proposed a tiered ask with amounts such as $100, $500, and $1,000, setting the top tier from the prior year’s average gift. ● Ron suggested asking Ralph to specify exactly what the club needs. ● Betsy asked whether the letter should request technical support. Alyssa preferred a specific ask over a broad one, for example directing a gift toward audio-visual equipment or the club’s audio editor. ● Maegan noted that a specific, targeted request could be routed more effectively. On equipment, the board recalled purchasing audio-visual equipment about two years ago. Ralph currently runs two screens and has discussed moving to a single laptop, and the club’s laptop is aging. A larger request could support replacing that equipment or contributing to the sound system. Alyssa will gather input by email and confirm specifications with Ralph before finalizing the letter.
Board Retreat The board will hold a retreat on Saturday, July 25, at 1:00 p.m. [Host location to confirm: the recording did not clearly distinguish between Betsy’s home and the President’s home.] The retreat replaces the July and August meetings, so the next regular meeting will be in September. It will focus on long-term planning for the year. The board identified these agenda items so far: ● Long-term planning for the coming year. ● A fundraiser idea from Betsy. Further discussion of Summer of Support. ● The finance committee and the division of the former treasurer’s duties. ● A final decision on moving to virtual meetings, which Joey requested and the board supported. ● Review of the board survey. Alyssa will send a board survey next week. It will gauge members’ interest in helping with specific tasks and ask whether the current meeting time works. One member, McKenna, cannot leave work in time to arrive by 5:00 p.m., so the board may move the start to 5:30 p.m. Alyssa will also send a calendar invitation for the retreat next week.
Finance Committee The treasurer, Kathryn, has termed off the board, and the position remains open. In the meantime, Alyssa and past president Andrew handle bill payment between them through online banking, which has worked smoothly. The demanding part of the treasurer’s role is managing QuickBooks, largely because of payroll for the part-time development staffer, Josh. Josh manages sponsorships, writes grants, provides fundraising and administrative support, and assembles the board packets. He logs forty hours a month. Each quarter the club reports to the Oregon Employment Department through QuickBooks and pays Josh. The board missed a couple of quarterly reports to the Oregon Employment Department and now carries an outstanding balance. The department indicated that most of the balance will likely be forgiven once the reports are resubmitted, because the club does not genuinely owe it. The reports cannot be resubmitted yet, since the board currently cannot access QuickBooks. Eric volunteered to manage QuickBooks until the board divides the treasurer’s duties at the retreat. The access problem comes from the account’s user limits. The current users include the former treasurer Kathryn, Andrew as administrator through his personal email, and the former executive director Randy, who holds the phone number used for two-factor authentication. Randy left the club about three years ago and lives in the Midwest, so changing users requires verification through her phone. Andrew is coordinating with her to update access. The plan is to remove Kathryn and Randy, add Eric, and make the club’s general email account the administrator, with two-factor authentication tied to the President’s phone, since the club will always control that account. Andrew has reached Randy, who is traveling, and expects to resolve the matter.
Digitization of Past Forums Joey reported on the effort to digitize the club’s archive of past forums. Over the years the club has accumulated many physical recordings on cassette tapes and CDs, stored on library shelving. Joey is using Claude to estimate the total number of items from a photograph of the shelving, since the image is hard to read. Once he has an estimate, he will find an online service and request a quote for digitizing the collection. The objective is to decide whether to digitize the recordings or discard them. Josh can write a grant to fund the work; a smaller grant the club typically receives could cover it, while Alyssa would prefer to direct the larger grant toward venue costs, as she did last year. The longer-term goal is to store the recordings online and to improve the club’s digital operations. Joey has started the task and will complete it.
Committee Reports
Membership Because Ralph, who manages the membership committee, has left the board, Alyssa delivered the membership report. A longtime member, Sandra Bishop, emailed to ask why the club kept requesting her renewal when she had already paid by check and the check had cleared. Alyssa reviewed the bank account, confirmed the payment, and found that checks cashed during Thomas’s presidency had never been reported to Ralph. Reviewing every deposit from that period, she identified thirteen memberships that had gone unrecorded, including three new members and ten renewals. Actual membership now stands at about 110, well above the roughly 90 previously on record. Alyssa entered all of the memberships into the Bloomerang donor database and updated Ralph. She now serves as an administrator in the database, collects checks from the post office box about twice a month, records them, and deposits them. Betsy is writing thank-you cards to donors. Joey asked whether the club should stop accepting checks, and Eric noted that card payments carry processing fees. Alyssa confirmed that the club will keep accepting checks and the occasional cash payment.
Program Programming is set through December, with a few open dates, a stronger position than the club held last year. The annual Turtle Awards were well received. Membership on the program committee has grown, with Maegan and Betsy joining. October and November will center on election programming, including a forum on Congressional District 4, which Alyssa is coordinating again. Some programming remains unsettled while the club waits to see which ballot measures qualify for the ballot.
Media Marilyn did not submit a media report. The board noted its earlier vote to increase the audio editor’s budget so that he also produces the club’s podcast. The podcast now appears on Spotify and other platforms, with episodes released promptly, often by the Monday after each program. Listeners have responded positively.
Fundraising Alyssa delivered the fundraising report. She is currently the only member of the fundraising committee and hopes others will join after the survey. WOW Hall will provide a $1,000 discount for the next fiscal year, beginning October 1, structured as a $250 reduction on each of the first four monthly bills. The venue is the club’s largest expense, and WOW Hall already extends a nonprofit discount. In return, the club will name WOW Hall as a sponsor twice a month. The club received a $500 sponsorship from Lewis Cobb. Josh is working on sponsor renewals, and the two largest sponsors, the University of Oregon and Lane Community College, are renewing. Bushnell declined for now, citing no budget this year, and Alyssa noted that the other two colleges support the club and would welcome Bushnell joining them. Other sponsors include Summit Bank, which holds the club’s accounts, Lane County, and the club’s website host, which gives an in-kind donation. The City of Eugene does not currently sponsor the club and has not renewed, and Alyssa has a meeting scheduled to pursue it. The Eugene Chamber has arranged an in-kind trade: it will run City Club ads that Marilyn designed, feature specific forums in its newsletters, and give the club a free Chamber membership, and in return the club will display the Chamber’s logo at the $1,000 sponsor level. Alyssa is limiting her own sponsorship solicitation because of a conflict of interest with her fundraising work and is shifting that work to Josh.
Finance Report Because the board cannot access QuickBooks, the usual finance report was unavailable, which is why the board packet contained none. Alyssa instead pulled the figures she could reach: the Bloomerang report of sponsorships and donations for May, and the May bank statement. Most of May’s revenue came from membership renewals. Online donations appear under Bloomerang, since the donor database also serves as the club’s card processor, and the debits include the venue and audio editing. Alyssa noted that WOW Hall does not invoice on a regular schedule; it sends a large invoice every few months.
Good of the Order The new board members are now on the club’s email group and calendar, and their photos and biographies appear on the website and on the board list Josh maintains for grant applications.
Adjournment The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:46 p.m.
Decisions ● The board approved the minutes of the previous meeting. Joey moved and Eric seconded. ● The board approved the agenda. ● The board scheduled a retreat for Saturday, July 25, in place of the July and August meetings. ● The board added a final decision on virtual meetings to the retreat agenda. ● The club will continue to accept checks and cash for membership payments.
Action Items ● Alyssa will write the Summer of Support letter, covering program highlights and attendance, how the club uses donations, a possible community member quote, and a tiered ask. ● The board will send Alyssa input for the Summer of Support letter. ● Alyssa will confirm equipment specifications with Ralph before finalizing the funding ask. ● Alyssa will send the board survey next week and a calendar invitation for the retreat. ● Andrew will coordinate with Randy to restore and update QuickBooks access. ● Eric will manage QuickBooks once access is restored. ● Joey will finish estimating the number of archived recordings and obtain a digitization quote. ● Josh will write a grant for digitization once the quote is ready and will continue working on sponsor renewals. ● Alyssa will meet with the City of Eugene about sponsorship.
