Minutes of Annual Board Meeting of Diversity Fairs of Virginia (DFV)/Edwin Washington Project Via Zoom, February 3, 2021, 7pm. 

In attendance:  Larry Roeder (President and Chair), Doug Miller (Secretary), Gertrude Evans, Julie Goforth, Sherri Simmons (Board Adviser), Randy Ihara (Vice Chair). 

Absent: Tony Arciero (voted in favor of all measures by email the following day).  Carlos Lawson could not attend.  Hari Sharma (Treasurer) also could not attend. Noting the presence of a quorum for voting purposes, the Board approved the following: 

1. Doug Miller gave a briefing on an executive coaching service he now offers, which was well received. 
2. Re-election of Officers and Board Members:  After a motion and second, the Board voted to re-elect the current slate of officers and Board members to another two-year term: Larry Roeder, (President and Chair); Randy Ihara (Vice President), Tony Arciero, (Member); Hari Sharma, (Treasurer), Doug Miller, (Secretary), Julie Goforth (member), Carlos Lawson (member), Sherrie Simmons (Advisor).  The next election is scheduled to take place February 4, 2023. 
3. Virtual Meetings:  The Board resolved to continue meeting remotely via Zoom or something similar until the pandemic passes. The President was asked to stay in touch with the CDC and Loudoun Health Department, and recommend any changes to the Board. 
4. Review of Strategic Initiatives:  President Roeder reviewed the items in his Board Report of January 14, providing updates and strategic proposals on the Edwin Washington Project, Bulletin of Loudoun County History, the John Rust Project, publicity and the organization’s websites and social media, among other issues and projects.  There was approval of the proposed strategic direction of all of the matters. 
5. Fundraising Committee:  Noting a need for a more concerted effort on fundraising, especially on grant writing, to support anticipated costs, e.g. the potential move to Douglass, creation of a center of excellence on segregation, and state-wide research scheduled for 2022, the Board discussed and approved the creation of a Fundraising Committee.  The Fundraising Committee will be made up of Tony Arciero, Julie Goforth, and Hari Sharma. 
   1. They will elect a chair and develop their goals and objectives, based on operational recommendations by the President, and identify specific budget line items requiring focus and support and strategies. 
   2. The Board also concurred with Julie Goforth’s suggestion to seek professional assistance.
   3. The Fundraising Committee will report to the full Board at every Board meeting. Potential future sources of funding include sale of bulletin editions, and sales of the Dirt Don’t Burn book, as well as a likely increase in donations as those projects are publicized. 
6. Asian-American Project:  The Board approved the Asian-American Project, to be headed by Randy Ihara and Hari Sharma, to report semi-annually to the Board on Asian-American diversity issues.  The Project will elect its own Chair who will report directly to the Board semi-annually, maintain minutes of meetings and develop budget recommendations, as well as bring on volunteers, maintain a list, and establish events, etc.  The Project should have space on the DFV website and use the DFV Facebook site for advertisements.
7.  U.N. Project:  Because of the essentiality of in person meetings with U.N. officials to effectively  advance the project, the Board agreed that work would be suspended until the Fall of 2021 or after the pandemic. The exception will be track UN virtual briefings as they relate to the advancement of diversity, as those might leads to useful contacts. 
8. Bulletin of Loudoun County History: The Board agreed to maintain the Bulletin of Loudoun County History on its current agreed trajectory and to conduct an overall review of future plans and staffing in the Spring of 2022, no later than May 1, 2022. 
9. Black History Committee Support:  Georgetown has agreed that if the DFV book contract with them is finalized, there will be royalties split between the authors and DFV’s central treasury.  The President proposed this as a potential model for future publications. The Georgetown editors envision it as a trade book for a general national audience, available on Amazon and brick and mortar stores.  At the President’s suggestion, the Board also agreed that 10% of any royalties received will support BHC, paid annually.  In addition, the Board agreed to designate BHC as the recipient of royalties or other assets if, for some reason, DFV were to fold (an eventuality not planned or desired).  This proposal will be presented to BHC for their approval.  
10. Having completed the agenda and with no other business raised, the Board adjourned at 8pm.