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INL of NA EXECUTIVE MEETING HIGHLIGHTS THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2015
MOTHERS FUND Since there are still many in need in Iceland, we will once again collect donations from individuals and clubs for this charity and forward them to Iceland. Deadline will be Dec. 1. Make cheques out to INL NA, clearly marked ´Mother´s Fund´and forward to INL NA Room 103 94 1st Avenue, Gimli Manitoba R0C 1B1 or pay online. http://inlofna.org/Donations
2016 CONVENTION Vancouver B.C. April 27 to 30 ... River Rock Casino .. a great program is being planned.
SNORRI WEST 2016 will visit Minnesota, North Dakota and Manitoba July 7 to August 5 www.snorri.is Click on Snorri West
2017 CALENDAR Deadline for pictures is October 15. The emphasis is on all of our local areas, activities, monuments, attractions. Email Gwen for details ldgomann@gmail.com
ONLINE FUNDRAISING/CROWDFUNDING Sunna Furstenau has developed a plan to support our programs with rewards depending on the size of the donation… you can choose to support whatever you are interested in … International Visits, Snorri West, general, etc. http://inlofna.org/Donations
PERKS PROGRAM INL Membership cards will be issued to clubs for their members after dues are paid in January… these will entitle members to perks from shops, travel agents, etc. in Iceland and North America …another benefit of membership!
INLNA EXEC. MEETING HIGHLIGHTS JAN. 22, 2015
THANKS to all member clubs for the good effort selling calendars and paying dues. The INL has a small profit.
CONVENTION May 14-17 Minneapolis
- Early Bird registration fee $170 USD to end March, then $180 and then $200. Registration opens early Feb. Hotel booking $95, open now
- Three Concurrent sessions. VIGDÍS FINNBOGARDÓTTIR is guest.
- Bus from Winnipeg leaves Thursday, returns Sunday, about 8 hour trip, cost is $180.00 Canadian, requires 35 people.
To Book pat_odegard@hotmail.com
CHARITABLE STATUS Ron Goodman, advises questions raised about possible double dipping because some chapters have charitable status. The dialogue with Can. Govt. continues.
FILMS– Be sure to acknowledge the INLNA and Donald K Johnson support.
CALENDARS will be printed in MN and should be done by the Convention. Ron Johnson did an excellent Job of selling Calendar ads.
WESTWARD BOUND DVD sets sold out fast. 200 more ordered.
CONVENTION MAY 14 -17 in Minneapolis ... Hotel is open for booking now ($95 - see www.inlofna.org) Registration – same price as Winnipeg. Begins with Meet and Greet Thursday night, many interesting offerings Friday and Saturday, Banquet Sat. Night organized by the Icelandic Hekla Club, celebrating their 90th Birthday, last sessions Sunday morning followed by tour of Twin Cities in the afternoon. Ice. Sweater parade, let them know you are bringing yours! Vigdís Finnbogadóttir has been confirmed as a speaker.
Office is closed for Xmas Dec. 19 to Jan. 4
Joan Eyolfson-Cadham is leaving Logberg-Heimskringla - her last issue is January 1, send copy in future to audrey@lh-inc.ca We thanked her for her wonderful co-operation during her term as Editor.
The deadline for nominations for Honorary Members and for the Laurence Lifetime Achievement Award is January 31, and the deadline for submission of resolutions to the AGM is March 16.
VESTURFARAR This 10 episode series about the Icelandic settlements in N.A., (very popular in Iceland!) has been subtitled in English by RUV-TV and put together as a boxed set, including a 1976 program called ´Western Icelanders´ and they have offered us the opportunity to sell in N.A. UPDATE...We have ordered 100 copies, they arrive Mon. Dec. 15... details soon on price, and how to order.
We donated half of our interest for the year 2013 to the Snorri Program.
CONVENTION MINNEAPOLIS 2015 Convention will be held at the Hilton Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Mall of America hotel in Minnesota's Twin Cities, from May 14th to 17th, 2015. Go to www.inlofna.org to book the $95 rate. Programming will be inclusive, suggestions are welcome.
SNORRI WEST 2015 will be a West Coast Corridor, plans are underway – June 14 to July 9…tell everyone you know in Iceland www.snorri.is, click on Snorri West for details and video
INLNA BYLAWS have been approved by Ottawa, due to hard work by Ron Goodman
FILM SERIES is Last Days of the Arctic… email Rob Olason your date if you haven’t yet.
XMAS Charity in Iceland – INL will gather donations and send them to Mother’s Charity, deadline is December 1, 2014, send to INL office.
-Rob Olason
INL of NA Charitable Status-Work continues on this project to ensure that the INL of NA’s legal status conforms to the new Canadian rules for charitable status organizations. The goal is to have the work completed by September 2014.
Annual General Meeting (AGM) Voting Rights to be explored-A group will develop recommendations for clarifying voting rights, club fees and proxy voting protocol for the AGM. The group will also recommend a records management process for collecting INL of NA board policy decisions made between AGMs.
The Donald K. Johnson Icelandic Film Series- The 2014-15 selection is the documentary ´Last Days of the Arctic´ which features acclaimed Icelandic photographer Ragnar Axelsson. Interested clubs should contact the series scheduler through the INL of NA office. A trailer of the film is available on the internet.
2016 INL of NA Calendar theme will be the people of Iceland.
Volunteer Application form being developed. A group is developing a system where INL of NA members can list their skills they could volunteer to aid the organization.
The next INL of NA Executive Meeting is scheduled for Thursday September 25, 2014 at 7:30 pm Gimli time.
Icelandic National League of North America January 2014 Meeting Highlights
-Rob Olason
· INL of NA donates $250 to support the showing of the Icelandic film “Of Horses and Men” at the Portland International Film Festival at the request of a Snorri alumni living in the Portland area. An Icelanders of Portland group was formed on Facebook and may develop into a local club.
· The 2015 INL of NA calendars will be available at the 2014 convention.
Icelandic National League of North America December 2013 Meeting Highlights
Rob Olason
The 2014 INL of NA Winnipeg Convention May 15-18, 2014: Registration forms are now on the INL of NA website. They can be printed out and either mailed in or faxed. Visit www.inlofna.orgfor more information. An on-line registration form will be available soon. It is being administered by the Logberg-Heimskringla website. Possible programming includes a talk by author and journalist Guðmundur Andri Thorsson, and music by world renowned jazz guitarist, Bjorn Thoreddsen.
Snorri West Update: The 2014 program goes to Washington, D.C., Toronto, Kinmount, Hekkla, Ottawa, L´Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland and Halifax. Parks Canada is helping with expenses on the L’Anse aux Meadows leg of the journey. If clubs or other organizations would like to help with financial support of the program please contact the INL of NA office. Organizers also encourage anyone who has contacts in Iceland, to tell them about the program. For more on the program see www.snorri.isand www.inlofna.org
Financial Solvency of the INL of NA: The board is bringing a request to the annual meeting to raise annual dues by fifty cents per member to help reduce the operating deficit. Forming a non-profit organization in Canada and the U.S. is also being studied as a way to encourage tax-deductible contributions to the INL of NA.
INL Calendars: A second run of the 2014 calendars has been made. Contact the INL of NA office to re-order. The 2015 calendar will feature waterfalls of Iceland. INL of NA clubs are asked to help find advertisers. Ads could also include memorials or celebrations of milestones in club member’s lives.
The 2016 INL of NA Convention: will take place in Vancouver, B.C.
The next meeting of the INL of NA: Thursday January 23, 2014.
Icelandic National League of North America October 2013 Meeting Highlights
Rob Olason
The 2014 INL of NA Winnipeg Convention: Registration will be through the Lögberg-Heimskringla website, or by mailing in the registration. Convention details are being developed. Visit www.inlofna.org for more information.
Honourary Lifetime Awards and Laurence Johnson Award: Nomination deadline is January 31, 2014. Awardees will be announced at the convention.
The INL of NA is facing financial challenges. Our treasurer projected a possible $2000 deficit for 2013 in January. As of the end of September the actual deficit is $2300. The board discussed several possibilities to increase revenue, but in the meantime the board voted to remove $5000 from the contingency fund to cover known expenses through the end of the year.
The board is considering a proposal to increase local club membership fees payable to the INL of NA by fifty cents per person in 2014. This fee increase would need to be approved at the Annual General Meeting which will take place at the INL of NA convention in Winnipeg. Currently the club membership fee is $4 per person for the first 50 members and then $2 per person for each additional member. Research into membership fee history revealed that the 1933 membership fee was $1 per member.
Snorri West Update: The 2014 program goes to Washington, D.C., Toronto, Kinmount, Hekkla, Ottawa, L´Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland and Halifax. A presentation on the program was made at the INL of Iceland and used a small fraction of the 6,000 photos snapped by the 2013 Snorri West members. See www.snorri.is and www.inlofna.org
Icelandic Charity Christmas Donations: The INL of NA will again gather donations from local clubs and individuals willing to donate to the “Mother’s Charity” in Iceland. Deadline is Dec. 1, so the funds can reach Iceland before Christmas.
INL of NA Communications Project: A request to local clubs to offer advice to the INL of NA on whether to continue the INL Regional Director position and/or revive the Communications Director position was sent out in October. Clubs are being asked send their thoughts on these positions by the end of November so the board can discuss the issue during the December meeting.
Developing a non-profit U.S. based organization to help financially support the INL of NA:An investigation into creating a non-profit organization was announced. Several legal issues need to be resolved but if the status could be created, this could be a means to raise funds for INL of NA operations.
By-Laws need to be re-written: The INL of NA is a Charitable Status organization in Canada. A change in Canadian law requires that the INL of NA by-laws be rewritten to conform to the new rules. The new by-laws would need to be approved during the Annual General Meeting in Winnipeg.
The INL of NA board meets again on Thursday December 5, 2013.· President Ron Goodman opened the meeting by saying this year was interesting, as two new Provisional member clubs were welcomed: Chicago and Washington, D.C. He said the INL of NA needs to work on elevating the organization’s profile among the member clubs. This theme was echoed throughout the meeting.
· 1st Vice President Claire Eckley reported that she is searching for the next International Visitor Program candidate. She is working with the Chicago club; Snorri West program; ensuring an INL of NA presence at August the Deuce and Islendingadagurinn festivals.
· 2nd Vice President Sunna Pam Furstenau reported on her successful IVP trip to Iceland; the growth of the INL of NA Facebook page; and the growth of the Icelandic On-Line club including signing up three more members to the club at the convention.
· Dianne O’Konski reported that the 2014 INL of NA calendar will feature Icelandic volcanoes. Amanda Allen will take over the 2015 calendar.
· The Icelandic Biography project is launched and a webpage on the INL of NA website will appear shortly with more information.
· This year’s INL Reads! selection is “The Young Icelander,” by Jóhann Magnús Bjarnason and translated by Borga Jakobson.
· Snorri West will bring four participants from Iceland this summer to explore Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and North Dakota between July 10 and August 7. Planning is underway for a future western or eastern tour.
· Settlement tour to Blaine was a success. Interest is high for another settlement tour at the 2014 convention.
· Discussed ways to improve communication flow from INL of NA to local clubs.
· New duties of INL Regional Directors was presented. The Ontario and Manitoba positions are open. INL Club representative position was also discussed.
· Reports were also presented on the Donald K. Johnson Icelandic Film Series, INL website traffic and club web services available through the INL of NA website.
· 2014 INL of NA convention will be May 15-18 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The slogan is “Winnipeg-Welcoming Icelanders since 1875.” The theme is “Footsteps,” which will celebrate contributions to North American life by Icelandic individuals and groups.