Minutes
Annual Business Meeting
Urban History Association
January 3, 2009
Hilton New York, Bryant Suite
Presiding: Martin V. Melosi
The meeting began as Martin Melosi called it to order shortly after 9:30 a.m.
A motion was made to accept the minutes of the previous meeting. The motion was seconded. With an affirmative voice vote, the motion carried and the minutes were accepted.
Executive Secretary-Treasurer Janet Bednarek then moved to a number of reports. First, Brad Hunt, very busy with final accounting for the conference, did not provide a membership report. However, Janet Bednarek noted that in the figures she had seen membership seemed to be up. She will contact Brad about a more formal report.
In terms of finances, Janet Bednarek repeated what she had reported that the morning’s board meeting -- that the finances for the association were strong. Final numbers were not complete for 2008 as yet, due to continued efforts to finalize the accounting for the conference. However, it was clear that the conference would bring a return to the association of somewhere between $10,000 and $12,000. The checking account has a healthy balance. The Jackson Fund had been placed in a one-year certificate of deposit in early 2008. It is anticipated that the interest earned will more than cover the cost of the award. All Life membership payments continue to be deposited in a separate Life membership fund. Bednarek reported that she also hoped to continue to transfer some money from the checking account into that fund, which continues to be too small given the large number of life members in the UHA. As noted, the conference fund will grow by a healthy amount after this year’s conference. Once completed, Bednarek will send a full accounting of the general funds and of the conference in particular to the board members in the new year.
Bednarek, on behalf of Roger Lotchin, then reported the results of the nominations committee’s work and the election results. Michael Ebner was elected as the UHA president for 2009 and Dolores Hayden as the president-elect for 2009. The new board members beginning a 3-year term at the beginning of 2009 are: Matthew Klingle, Laura McEnaney, Harold Platt, Timothy Gilfoyle, Margaret O’Mara, Andrew Lees, and Mark Rose.
The nominating committee in conjunction with the Executive Committee of the UHA had also nominated Janet Bednarek for a second term as the Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Urban History Association. She has accepted that position and will begin a second term January 2010.
In old business, Bednarek reported that the vote on providing support for the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History will be held electronically in year 2009.
In new business, the UHA will not sponsor a session at the OAH conference in 2009 in Seattle. However, the board believes in the importance of continuing the practice of sponsoring sessions at the OAH and the AHA. Board member Nancy Kwak has already volunteered to organize a session for the AHA in 2010 in San Diego. Bednarek will approach the board again in early 2009 to find a volunteer to organize a session for the OAH in 2010 in Washington DC.
Martin Melosi made a short presentation on the Fifth Biennial Conference. Overall, it was considered a great success. Though final figures are still pending, it was clear that the conference will result in a sizeable return to the association. Melosi stressed that such returns should be anticipated and part of conference planning in the future.
As for the Sixth Biennial Conference, Melosi has organized a site selection committee. Once that committee has completed its work, the results will be publicized (newsletter and/or website).
Janet Bednarek reported the current newsletter editor, Jeff Strickland, was interested in stepping down from that position. Bell Clement was approached about taking over and she has agreed. Bednarek will work with Strickland and Clement in early 2009 to assure a smooth transition. Emphasis will be placed a getting the newsletters out in a timely fashion.
Bednarek briefly mentioned that Sage had approached the UHA with a proposal to link subscription to the Journal of Urban History and membership – i.e. joining the UHA would involve also subscribing to the JUH. If membership were linked, Sage would offer a significant discount on the price of the subscription. She reported that a survey will go out to members on this issue.
In items from the floor, Bednarek reported that Alan Lessoff had again volunteered to form the prize committees in 2009. Once the committees are formed, information on the prizes will be posted on the website (should be by mid-February at the latest).
She also noted that the board would begin examining a couple of potential by-law revisions. The first would better align the terms of the president and president-elect to the biennial conference schedule. The second would involve potentially different schedule times for the annual business meeting and the board meetings.
The meeting then adjourned just before 11:00 a.m.