Eugene/Springfield Governing Council Meeting Minutes

July 22, 2026

Present:

Todd Gauthier, Sherri Lange, Margot Zallen, Juanita Devereaux, Steve Koller, Rick Steers, Marcia Robeson, David Kolb, Debra Sorensen, Betty Wood, Steve Stoynoff, Susan Walcott, Bill McNamee (Portland - zoom)

Absent: Jim Ruderman, Gordon Nagai

The meeting was called to order by Sherri Lange at 2:02pm.

Minutes from the June 24 meeting were reviewed. Margot moved to approve the minutes as presented and Susan seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

CPE and OLLI-UO Staff Report

Todd said the closing report for FY26 would hopefully be available in August.
Todd gave an update on the Strategic Planning survey, sponsored by Deborah Keyek-Franssen. He said that she will host a town hall for each location. Meetings for all three will be on zoom. The Eugene/Springfield town hall is scheduled for August 5 at 3pm. Todd advised that no immediate changes to OLLI operations are expected to result from or be announced at the town halls. Todd advised that the survey data presented will be location-specific. A combined report will come to the council at a later meeting.
Todd reported that work of the hybrid committee is temporarily tabled while training continues with the classroom volunteers. Training documents have been developed for the processes to manage speakers, projector, computers, and such. A progress report will be presented at the August council meeting.
Padlet, (aka Members Connect) a non-UO sponsored resource for members, will being managed by Lora Lockwood and Shiela Pardee. The goal is to have it up and running in August.
Steve S. asked how much OLLI might be saving now that we do not have work study students. Todd says we won’t be saving large amounts of money, but there should be some small savings. It is unknown if or when student assistants will be hired again. Todd pointed out that if new UO staff/students are added they may perform different work than done previously.

OLLI-UO Portland Staff Visit

Bill McNamee, joined the meeting to report on progress and membership growth at the Portland site.
He said he appreciates serving as program assistant. He went on to report on the Fall plans for that location.
He’s very excited about the program offerings and pleased with the uptick in membership. He reported that more women than men attend, but he’s working to encourage more men to join in.
He explained that he personally promotes OLLI around the Portland area, at coffee shops and other locations.
David asked Bill about canvassing in the Portland area. Bill reported that new members are coming mostly from the North and NE parts of the city close to the campus neighborhoods.
Bill gave compliments to Ernie Niemi and Andy Walcott for their recent climate science presentations.
Todd asked how Bill handles welcoming new members. Bill said he uses flyers and takes advantage of an electronic screen in the lobby of the library building which cycles through both OLLI and other campus events.
He added that while learning is important, developing a community is equally important and he is promoting that when talking about OLLI to prospective members. He encourages people to come early to OLLI events and sits in the library entrance lobby to engage members in conversations around the tables there.

New Business

Susan reported that four OLLI members agreed to be candidates for Governing Council seats. There are four openings. Terms are for two years, which can be renewed up to three times. Voting is facilitated electronically. Results will be announced at the September annual meeting. MOTION was made by Susan to approve the candidates as presented. Margo seconded and the slate of candidates passed unanimously. Steve K. reminded the Council that ballots are prepared in August and sent out for a vote by all active members.
Susan also reported that a group of previous winners of the Earl Hain award met prior to council meeting to discuss possible nominees for this year and selected one. She provided background on the award’s creation and clarified the criteria used for selections. She advised that full details can be found in the bylaws. The results will be announced at the September 24 Annual Meeting. MOTION was made by Susan and seconded by David. The name of the recipient will be kept secret till announced. The motion was approved unanimously. A second motion was made by Susan and seconded by Margo that an exception be made for the award presentation date, this year. Susan proposed that it be given out at the Annual Meeting in September rather than at the Holiday event in December. The motion was approved unanimously.
Sherri reported on a short list of enhancements she heard at the first meeting of the Engagement committee. She pointed out that some of these suggestions could be considered for any type of OLLI session:
Fix the members’ name tags to include tag lines for new members, committee members, GC member, etc.
Advise membership that committees and related chair are listed on the website - no password required.
Encourage socializing time (5-10 minutes) at the beginning of sessions to help people get to know each other better.
As part of a session’s opening comments, ask for a show of hands for new members, welcome them.
Read a portion of the OSHER code of conduct: Our Osher Community values kindness, patience, positivity and respect – something we call “The OLLI Way”. These values are critical as we interact with one another.
Publish names of new members so that they can be welcomed by others who may know them from other activities.

Continuing Business

Steve S. reported on upcoming Outreach Committee events, including a meeting on August 14. He said he will bring more details about the committee administration and work scope to the August council meeting.
Sherri gave a brief review of the development of, or changes to, three committees (Engagement, Outreach and Membership) which occurred during this fiscal year. Her goal was for Bill to understand what could done at his location and how processes could be approached, adding that OLLI E/S now has five committees plus a governing council.
Betty reported that Sherri came to the Engagement Committee’s first meeting, with Andy Walcott, Jackie Stokes and Skip Walden, current committee members. Betty proposed that engaging one more member would be helpful, since one of the committee’s goals will be to facilitate the matching of interested members with openings on other committees. Betty suggested that it might be helpful to get current committee chairs together for a discussion of their respective volunteer needs.

Committee Reports

Membership: Rick (newly-elected chair) reported that Jeff Chamberlain will be joining the Membership Committee. Rick reported on the ‘Dining with Friends’ event coming up, as well as the new process set up by Lora. Rick also would like to add one or more members to the committee.
Program Committee: Steve K reported that the group has been busy. Kate Nelson is coordinating an OLLI antiques road show event, enlisting Andy Walcott to video people and their items. Other new programs are in the works. He added that the committee has a new member, Joan Evans.
SIG: Juanita gave an update on what is happening with the various SIGs.
Todd reminded us that the picnic is on August 27 at 11:30 in Lively Park. Games provided, but bring your own lunch.

The next Governing Council meeting will be on August 26

The meeting adjourned at 3:15.

Deb Sorensen, Secretary

July 22, 2026