Minutes of Democrats Abroad Guatemala

Executive Committee meeting on Thursday, December 16, 2019 at 12:00 noon via Skype

Members in Attendance: John Chudy, Chair; Dave Evans, Member at Large and Treasurer(acting); Kee Adams Evans, Events Coordinator

Per our bylaws (paragraph 19.3), all meetings are open to all members. 

Called to order at 12:03pm

Approval of Agenda and Minutes: Minutes from November meeting and December agenda were approved with corrections to debate events.

Treasurer’s report: Net worth as of December 16, 2019 is Q4709. We discussed finances for 2020 and the need for funds to help our Get Out The Vote efforts. Dave suggested we organize a direct email fund raising campaign, and Kee mentioned we might again adopt the approach we used in 2018 when we employed the online tool RaiseThe Money, through which DAGT ran a direct-email fund raising campaign. This will be a topic for our January Excom meeting.

Chair’s Report: The Americas Region lost a colleague, Patrick Werner, founder and chair of Democrats Abroad Nicaragua, on November 30^th due to a heart attack, see more  at: https://www.democratsabroad.org/news.

Americas Region points of interest include: (1) members are encouraged to endorse candidate petitions to be on DA’s ballot for the Global Presidential Primary (GPP) - any member can sign the petitions at https://www.democratsabroad.org/candidate_petitions by the January 6th deadline, (2) Establish GPP voting centers and report them to International Chair by December 31. DAGT will hold only one in-person voting center in Antigua, and will encourage Remote Voting for members who cannot vote in-person, and host remote voting assist events. (3) Membership Verification to be completed by January 31, 2020, See current status below *(4) Certified DA WebEx Host training – useful for DAGT so we can use WebEx for Excom meetings instead of Skype. https://wiki.democratsabroad.org/display/WebEx/Host+Certification+Sign-Up+Form,  Trainings in January and February (see note below). We will try to use WebEx for our Excom meetings beginning in February or March. (5) The region will revive the use of CC Field Plans.  We will do one for 2020. (6) Guidelines for GPP will be updated and released soon.

Events for 2019:  Film Series Update: there was no movie night in December. Kee suggested some American classic films for 2020 including Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, To Kill a Mockingbird, Grapes of Wrath, and the Manchurian Candidate (original). They have been ordered to be hand-carried back to Guatemala.

The next Democratic debate takes place December 19^th at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Only seven candidates, the fewest of the debates held so far, will be on the stage. After that, January 14 will be the last debate before the February 3^rd Iowa Caucuses. February’s debate will be Feb 7, just four days before New Hampshire voting on the 11^th. No decision was taken on a debate watch party for any of these debates.

The Oliver Litondo visit has been tabled.

2020 voter registration and GOTV activities will begin with the Global Presidential Primary (GPP). Kee has confirmed Café Condessa as the site for DAGT’s in-person voting station on March 3, 2020. DAGT will have only one in-person voting center and it will be open for the one day only, March 3^rd. Kee will begin recruiting volunteers to help with the in-person voting after January 1^st. Remote voting online will be available for DAGT members unable to attend the in-person voting. Kee will reach out to volunteers to help with Remote Voting Assistance centers (Internet cafes or other public places with connectivity where remote voters can get help) in January. Promoting the GPP by email, Facebook, Website, and other media will begin in January. Kee and Scotney will coordinate the messaging. The DPCA Communications and GOTV committees have begun producing materials. Voter registration/FPCA events will begin in mid-March. FVAP Voter Assistance Guide for 2020-2022 will be ready in January and four hard copies will be mailed via CANIZ to Antigua.

The DAGT Excom will meet next on January 20th, at 12 noon, at El Sitio’s Café Teatro and via Skype only.

Travel Notes: Mary Lou will be in and out. Hyung will be away December 17 to January 7, 2020.

Adjourned: 12:50 pm.

* Membership 2019-11-01 (Americas)

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 1^st, 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 15^th 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 3^rd, 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.