2021 Business Meeting

MIDDLE EAST OUTREACH COUNCIL
MEOC Business Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, November 17, 2021, 8:00 - 9:00 PM EST
Conducted via Zoom
 
Participants: Craig Cangemi (QFI; President), Christopher Rose (Professional Adjunct Lecturer; Past-President/Treasurer), Katie Aslan (University of Texas at Austin; President-Elect/Membership Chair), Will Daniel (Littleton High School (CO); Board Member), Rima Hassouneh (University of Michigan; Board Member), Greg Hill (John D. Horn High School (TX); Board Member), Jacqueline Vidal (Garza Independence High School (TX); Board Member), Joe Stanik (Anne Arundel Community College (MD)); Secretary), Jean Campbell (Portland State University-Retired; MEOC Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree), Larry Michalak (U.C. Berkeley-Retired; MEOC Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree), Suriati Abas (SUNY Oneonta), Zack Crandall (Buffalo Grove High School (IL)), Corinne Hughes (Portland State University), Julie Wakefield (McQueen High School (NV)).
 
Welcome:
President Craig Cangemi brought the meeting to order at 8:06 PM. and welcomed all attendees. He noted that the past two years have been difficult for those involved in Middle East outreach. MESA did not meet in person in 2020 and 2021, which meant that MEOC did not hold in-person meetings and a teacher workshop in conjunction with MESA. Furthermore, MEOC did not participate in NCSS in 2020 and 2021. We hope for in-person meetings in 2022, including an in-person book awards ceremony.
 
Approval of 2019 Business Meeting Minutes:
Prior to the meeting, Secretary Joe Stanik distributed to the members of MEOC via email the minutes from the previous business meeting, which was held November 15, 2019, in New Orleans, NO. A motion to approve the 2019 business meeting minutes was introduced, the motion was seconded, and the minutes were approved.
 
Treasurer’s Report:
Treasurer Chris Rose shared the 2021 MEOC financial statement, dated November 17, 2021:
Assets:

• $5,111.32 in Checking
• $48,621.07 in Savings

Transaction Summary, December 2020-November 2021:

• Income: $927.99
  • Membership income: $860.65
  • Amazon affiliate income: $67.34
• Expenses: $1,130.01
  • Google: $537.24
  • Incorporation renewal: $10
  • Book Award expenses (shipping and supplies): $582.77

• Website-related expense: $108.99

A motion to approve the treasurer’s report was introduced, the motion was seconded, and the report was approved.
 
2021 Election Results:
Craig announced that Greg Hill was unanimously elected to a second term on the Board of Directors. Joe added that, for the 2022 election, three seats on the Board will be in play. Will Daniel and Rima Hassouneh are eligible to run for a second term, while the seat now held by Jacqueline Vidal, who is serving her second term, will become open. President-Elect Katie Aslan will move up to President in 2022.
 
Membership:
Membership Chair Katie Aslan reported that MEOC currently has 372 access members, 9 institutional members, and 15 educator/outreach professional members.
 
Book Awards:
Over the course of the past year, an ad hoc committee comprised of Craig, Chris, and Katie supervised the Book Awards process. Chris reported that the 2021 award winners will be announced via a live-stream program on Face Book and YouTube. The date of the awards ceremony has not been announced. The committee praised Susan Douglass and Emma Harver for their recent outstanding service as Book Awards Co-Chairs. Their standardization of the book award infrastructure and streamlining of the review process was highlighted.
 
New Business:

• Chris announced that Lisa Adeli, who passed away on December 22, 2020, was posthumously honored with the MEOC Lifetime Achievement Award.
• Jean Campbell recommended that the Youth Non-Fiction Book Award Category be renamed to honor Lisa.

 
Outreach Professional Updates – 2021 Success Stories:
Attendees of the meeting shared exciting accomplishments from the past year.
 
Craig adjourned the meeting at 8:48 P.M.
 
Respectfully Submitted,

Joseph T. Stanik
MEOC Secretary