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Board Meeting Minutes

TUCSON SISTERS IN CRIME

November 21, 2015

Meeting Minutes

The meeting was called to order by Mary Ball at 10:10 a.m.  (President Rebecca  Dehlke was unable to attend the meeting).

President’s Report:  Members are reminded that local dues are due January 2016.  National dues are increasing by $5.00, but local dues will remain the same.

Mary would like members to celebrate National Librarian Week in April 2016.  Please let a board member know if you have a favorite librarian that you would like our Chapter to recognize at our April 2016 meeting.  

Friends of Saddlebrook Library is having an author event on Feb. 20, 2016.  Authors can buy a table for $35.00 if he/she would like to sell their books.  Go to the Saddlebrook Library website for information.

Member News:

Elaine Powers announced that she will be having a book signing at Mostly Books on Dec. 8th from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.  Please go and support her if you’re able!

Molly McKinney announced that Mystery Anthology is holding a “different writing contest”.  There are limited entries and there will be NO entry fee.  Please find the rules on the Mystery Anthology web site or email Molly McKinney.  Readers will also get a prize!

Treasurer’s Report:  Elaine Powers reported that National SIC approved our chapter’s grant for a booth at the Tucson Festival of Books.  Desert Sleuth’s will not be having a booth, but Mary Ball is talking with the group to see if some of their authors are interested in signing at our booth.

Elaine Powers stated that the donated jewelry auction on-line resulted in a chapter gain of $1,648.12.  The current balance in our chapter account is $5,048.09.

 

Presentations:

A.M. Presenter was Jane Eppinger.  Jane gave members a lively and interesting presentation on unsolved mysteries in the state of Arizona.  She had a wonderful slide presentation and her books were available to members to buy at the end of her talk.

P.M. Presenter was Veronica Kearney from the Tucson Police Department’s Crime Lab.  Ms. Kearney is the department’s technician in the area of Forensic DNA.  She has a degree in both Criminal Justice and Biology.

The Tucson Police Department’s Crime Lab has 35 employees with varying disciplines.  The individual units within the lab are as follows: Arson/Explosives, Controlled Substances, Firearms, Forensic Electronic Media Unit (cell phones, tablets, computers etc.), Latent Prints, Toxicology and DNA.

Ms. Kearney’s presentation was informative and enlightening.  She is open to writer’s contacting her if they have any question about crime scene investigation.  If the question is not related to DNA, she will give your question to another technician in the department and they will call you back.  She gave members her direct line: 520-837-7699.  Leave your name and a brief description of your question and someone will get back to you.

If you’re interested in a tour of the facilities, you can call the general Tucson Police Department’s Crime Lab for information about when they are conducting a tour.  According to Ms. Kearney, the Crime Lab conducts a tour and lecture of their facility two times a year.  It is a very popular tour with a lot of interesting information.

Business Meeting Minutes

Board Members Present:  Mary Ball, Evelyn Cirincione , Elaine Powers and Sue Peterson

The meeting was called to order by Mary Ball at 2:02 p.m.

Christmas Party:  The menu was decided upon based on feedback from members who reviewed the possible choices and voting.  The menu will be as follows:  Shrimp Scampi, Vegetarian Penne and Mediterranean Salad.  The chapter will also purchase three bottles of wine for those members who would like to celebrate with a toast (2 red house wines and 1 white house wine).

There will be no speakers for the Christmas Party, but any attendee, who would like to read a section from their work-in-progress, will be welcome to do so.

Tucson Festival of Books: Mary Ball will be speaking with members of the Desert Sleuth chapter of Sisters in Crime .  Elaine Powers will look into the possibility of a seasonal business license for signing books at our booth.  Organization of the booth will be discussed at the January Board Meeting.

Elections:  Mary Ball stated that the results of the Board Elections will be sent out by email from the Nominating Committee.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by Sue Peterson, secretary.