BOARD OF DIRECTORS & COUNCIL MEETING
March 20, 2004
Highlights:
Though many were absent from the meeting of
the Board on March 20th at Young Harris College, all reports were positive and
the spirit continues to be upbeat.
The Committee on Programs & Literary Activities presented to the Board a
tentative schedule of activities for the first annual meeting of the Society on
Saturday, June 5th. The day’s events will feature brief business sessions of
both the full Society and the Board of Directors, during which time the
2004-2005 slate of directors and officers of the Board will be elected. The
keynote speaker for this event will be Dr. Hugh Ruppersburg, Professor of
English and Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia.
Dr. Ruppersburg is well-acquainted with the works of Reece and is a member of
the Society’s Board of Directors. Another important feature of the morning will
be a video presentation of the interviews with persons who knew Reece that were
recently videotaped by the Oral History Committee. A DVD containing these
interviews, as well as “The Bitter Berry” film, will be available for sale at
the meeting. Following lunch at the College dining hall, during which special
music will be enjoyed, shuttle service will be provided to the Reece family farm
on Wolf Creek. After a ceremony in which the Union County Development Authority
will pass on to the Society a 50-year renewal lease to the property, members of
the Society will have an opportunity to take a walking tour of the Reece home
place. All in all, this promises to be a day of celebration of Reece’s legacy.
A report from the Membership & Cultivation Committee indicated that the present
membership of the Society is 230. The original first-year goal of 150 charter
members has now been increased to 250. The Board voted to offer lifetime
memberships for a fee of $200.
The Budget & Finance Committee presented a 2004 budget totaling $11,000 that was
approved by the Board. Income is expected principally from three sources:
membership fees, sale of DVDs and books, and special donations. The Society
expects approval from IRS of its application for 501©(3) status very soon.
An estimate of costs for developing the Reece family property into an historic
site was presented by the Reece Farm Development Committee as information only.
The total cost of $3,000,000 includes several important phases of a long-range
project. It is expected that the bulk of this money will come from special
grants.
The Oral History Committee report took the form of a brief videotape of short
segments from several of the interviews that will later appear in the DVD
mentioned earlier. These samples were applauded by the viewers and created
considerable excitement concerning the finished product. A number of people
acquainted with Reece will be featured, including Mildred Greear, Dora Spiva,
Dale Elliott, James & Frances Mathis, Zell Miller, Fay Hoag, Bettie Sellers, and
Ethelene Dyer Jones.
Following lunch, a number of the attendees drove over to the Reece farm to
witness the splendid work of clearing done by Union County. The entire area has
been spruced up by the county work crew, making it far easier now to envision
the various stages of the plan of development.