Minutes of Democrats Abroad Guatemala
Executive Committee meeting on Thursday, November 13, 2019 at 12:00 noon at Café Teatro El Sitio and via Skype
Members in Attendance: John Chudy, Chair; Mary Lou Ridinger, Vice Chair; Dave Evans, Member at Large and Treasurer(acting); Kee Adams Evans, Events Coordinator; and via Skype, Hyungjoon Jin, Member at Large.
Per our bylaws (paragraph 19.3), all meetings are open to all members.
Called to order at 12:04pm
Approval of Agenda and Minutes: Minutes from October meeting and November agenda were approved with additions under Events for 2019 item.
Treasurer’s report: Net worth as of November 13, 2019 is Q4559.
Chair’s Report: No responses received to the new recruiting email to fill vacancies for Treasurer and Secretary that went out November 1st, despite 107 members having opened the email. Mary Lou mentioned having met some new people working with NGOs who might be able to join and perhaps volunteer.
Discussed DAGT bylaw amendments to be proposed and voted on by the full membership at DAGT’s Annual General Meeting in 2020.
Membership list cleanup will be emphasized through January; fixing and reinstating bad emails and opt outs is a big push to ensure that global primary outreach is maximized.
Juan Pablo Aris, Counsel, has been asked by International Counsel, Joe Smallhoover, to serve as Deputy Counsel for the Americas region. Juan Pablo has accepted. This will be a good opportunity for Juan Pablo to become acquainted with the bylaws of regional country committees, and their various legal challenges, and of course, become familiar with the Democratic Party Committee Abroad Charter. Congratulations, Juan Pablo!
Events for 2019: Next Movie Night will be Friday, November 15th at Casa Convento Concepciٕón at 6:30pm featuring The Inlaws the original from 1979. There will be no movie in December due to holiday parties and travel. We will discuss a title for showing in January.
Voter Registration and GOTV activities for 2020 will start soon. The DA Global Presidential Primary (GPP) March 3-10, 2020, and voter registration and ballot request activities for the general election on November 3, 2020 are the focus of the coming months. Locally, DAGT has to inform the International Chair of its GPP in-person voting centers by December 31. One will be in Antigua, March 3rd, at Café Condessa from 9:00am to 6:00pm. Kee will confirm with owner/member Ginger Hooven. Kee will also check with Scotney and Hyung about possible in-person voting centers or remote voting assist events in Guatemala City and Lake Atitlán area during GPP week. At the close of in-person voting, all paper ballots must be counted and totals reported by email to the International Chair and then mailed by DHL or other international courier to the International Chair.
Promoting the GPP by FB, email, Website, newspapers, and other means will be very important for maximizing turnout.
GPP guidelines and checklists will be issued by Democrats Abroad once the DA Delegate Selection Plan is approved by the DNC, which is expected shortly.
Voter registration events will begin March 14, 2020, in Antigua. The plan is to hold one per month up to the general election in November. Some will be on weekends and others during the week. Kee will coordinate with Hyung for events around Lake Atitlán.
The DAGT Excom will meet on December 17, at 1pm EST, via Skype only.
Travel Notes: Mary Lou will be in and out. John will in the USA Nov 21 to December 29, 2019. Hyung will be away December 17 to January 7, 2020.
Adjourned: 12:59 pm.