Board Members Attending: Susie Garretson (Chair), Jim Reed, Sam Braun, Steve Verkamp, David Connell, Peter Pilles, Drew Barringer, Susan Golightly, Beverly Miller, Wayne Ranney, and LaVelle McCoy

Board Members Unable to Attend: Alan Affeldt, Sara Alemán, Sam Henderson, Carolyn Shoemaker, Jack Metzger, Barbara Poley, and Leigh Kuwanwiswma

Attending from MNA: Robert Breunig, Director; Lynn Yeager, Controller, Pats Shriver, Assistant

Other Attendees: Pat Pauli (Sedona Muses President), Shelly Altensladter (Sedona Muses member), Bob and Janet Moore (Sedona Muses members), Benjamin Smith (Emeritus)

I. Call to Order
It was determined that a quorum was present. Susie Garretson welcomed the group, and introduced the guests.

II. Approval of Minutes

The October 6, 2007 Board of Trustees meeting minutes were reviewed.

A motion was made to approve the minutes. It was seconded, and passed unanimously.

III. Approval of Consent Agenda
The following consent agenda items were considered:

Executive Committee Minutes; October 4, November 8,
Fundraising Committee Minutes; October 29 and November 13
Governance Committee Minutes; November 15
Finance and Investment Committee Minutes; November 28
Program Committee Minutes; November 14

A motion to approve the consent agenda items (minutes) was made, seconded, and passed unanimously.

VI. Report from the Chair

Board pictures will be taken at the February 2, 2008 meeting by Dallas Larsen. The question came up on where other pictures were located, and Robert Breunig confirmed that they are archived at the Museum; either electronically or in hard copy.

V. Report from the Director

Robert gave a welcome to the guests. He also commented it was the passing of a very important occasion – Pats Shriver’s one year anniversary with the Museum.

2007 Fiscal Year
Robert said he was pleased to announce that preliminary, un-audited, numbers indicate that MNA closed the fiscal year in the black. The annual audit will be done in early December – and we hope that the auditors will confirm these preliminary numbers.

Collections Center Update
Robert noted that the plans for the Collection Center are available for viewing today in the room (at the Sedona Library).

The work on the Collections Center is coming along; the demolition on the five buildings is now complete. The demolition process was respectful – the buildings were carefully taken apart, and most all materials recycled. Photographs documenting the process have been taken and will be archived. The cinder block walls were ground up, and the gravel will be used beneath the foundation of the new building. We are now a quiet phase through the end of the year. The architect, Jim Roberts, has applied the City of Flagstaff for the grading permit, which we expect in early January. Final building plans should be submitted to the City by the end of December. The electrical and mechanical drawings need to be finalized. Roberts and his associates are conducting computer energy performance modeling of the building. A “webcam” of the site will be up on the MNA website within the next one to two weeks, so everyone can watch the construction of the building.

On Thursday November 30, Robert met with Matt Crawford, a museum conservator, Richard (Rick) Cronenberger, an architect with the National Park Service (NPS), Elaine Hughes and Kara Kelly from MNA, Jim Roberts the Collections Center architect, Gwenn Gallenstein, Curator with NPS. The goal was to have a final meeting to review the plans for the center. There was review on all building systems, to ensure they meet conservation goals, including temperature, relative humidity, fire suppression systems, security, lighting, roof construction and pest management. Everyone in the meeting is comfortable with the design and is confident the building will do what it should do to give the best care of the collections. Mr. Cronenberger at the end of this meeting commented that he is completely comfortable with the design and function of the building.

Collections Center groundbreaking is planned for Feb 2, 2008, also the date for the next Board meeting Robert will be talking with the donors to find out what they would like to see for that day. Planning will need to be finalized, and there has been discussion on who should participate: agencies, tribes, public officials, city council, and MNA membership. This will be the first celebration to help kick-off the 80th Anniversary year.

Pulliam Trust Grant Update
Work continues on the Pulliam Trust planning grant. MNA has been working with Jim Roberts and Associates on analyzing the condition of the museum building. The electrical system appears to be in good condition. Matt Crawford will be working with the team to help define future environmental conditions needed for display of collections.

MNA has signed a contract with Ralph Appelbaum and Associates (RAA), one the largest and most prominent museum design firms in the world. They will work with MNA to develop a concept plan for new long-term exhibits. RAA has history with MNA, their first job outside of New York was working with MNA in 1979. The firm has gone on to do such projects as the dinosaur halls at the American Museum of Natural History, Adler Planetarium, the Holocaust Museum, the Clinton Presidential Library, and the new WWI Museum in Kansas City.

AAM Accreditation Update
AAM Accreditation is moving forward. Gary Edson, from Texas Tech University, and Molly Lowell from Mercer Museum, are scheduled to visit to MNA in March or April 2008. They will meet with staff, board, volunteers, and will also do a site inspection, tours, display reviews, etc. Their primary task is to verify the information MNA provided in the self-study is accurate. They will write their report within ninety days of their visit. The Accreditation Commission meets in the summer of 2008 (July), and Robert hopes full accreditation will be granted at that meeting.

Museum Annual Appeal
The annual appeal is receiving steady responses. All funds are running slightly ahead of last year to date. MNA recently received a $100,000.00 gift for the endowment fund, and $20,000.00 for the Discovery Program. There will be follow-up with fundraising, phone calls in December.

2008 Exhibits
There will be several new exhibits in 2008. Grand Canyon Grandeur an exhibit of a collection owned by A. P. Hays will open on February 8th. This exhibit is sponsored by the Arizona Museum of Natural History (formerly the Mesa Southwest Museum).

MNA was also recently contacted by the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. There is an exhibit program located in Terminal 4, with secure, filtered cases. The airport has a museum level curator running the program. In late January 2008, MNA will install an exhibit with the theme of celebrating MNA’s 80th Anniversary. Twenty-three million travelers pass by these cases each year. The airport will fund the exhibit, and provide MNA information cards. The exhibit is slated to end in August, but MNA will discuss extending it through the anniversary date.

The MNA Gift Shop is hosting two “Trunk Shows” in December. Board members are encouraged to do holiday shopping at one of these shows!

The Highway 180 “FUTS Trail” project is ending. The project was originally scheduled for completion in late August.

VI. Report of the Program Committee

The Committee presented the following accessions recommendations:

Review of accession # IL2007-30:
IL2007-30-1: Squash Blossom necklace ca. 1958 by Mrs. Ondelacy (Zuni). Turquoise in silver. $9,500
IL2007-30-2: Turquoise in silver cluster pin ca. 1958 by Mrs. Ondelacy (Zuni) $600
IL2007-30-3: Turquoise & silver cluster bracelet ca. 40-50’s by Mrs. Ondelacy $850
IL2007-30-4: Katsina doll by Jimmy Kewanwytewa ca. 1940’s $2,000

The Programs Committee recommends to the Board the accession of the items as presented in IL2007-30. Motion was made, seconded, and passed unanimously.

VII. Report of the Finance and Investment Committee

Report on Fiscal Year 06-07 Financial Statements
For fiscal year 2006-07 the final numbers will come in the annual audit report. A $200,000.00 surplus expected.

Acceptance of October Financial Statements
The October numbers were compared to October 2006 numbers. In revenue: admissions were up, memberships were flat, general donations were down a bit. Gift Shop sales are good, but Bookstore sales down. However, preliminary numbers for November for the bookstore are better. Rental income is up. Salary expenses are higher than last year, largely due to the taking on of three staff members in the Collections Department who came off two-year grants. We are still attempting finalize Namingha exhibit revenues.

The Finance Committee recommends that the Board accept the October Financials as presented. Motion was made, seconded, and passes unanimously.

MNA Endowment Foundation Report
The MNA Endowment Foundation (MNA EF) board approved an investment policy at their October 1 meeting. For now, funds that come to the Foundation will be invested with Miller/ Russell. In 2008, each remaining MNA endowment fund (nine in all) will be evaluated and potentially transferred to MNA EF.

Following up on the discussion at the October board meeting, Robert reported on his consultation with the attorneys for MNA and MNA EF regarding the language on the spending policy in the MNA/MNA EF Agreement. They provided a joint response recommending that MNA/ MNA EF keep the language on spending as originally drafted in the Agreement.

David Connell recommended that the General Endowment Fund be transferred from MNA to MNA EF. Robert pointed out that an agreement with the original donor of this Fund specified that if an Endowment Foundation was created that the Fund would be transferred to the Foundation.

Motion was made to move the General Endowment to the MNA Endowment Foundation. It was made, seconded, and passed unanimously.

Notification of Proposed Bylaws change vote at the February 2, 2008 Board meeting to add an Audit Committee

There is a recommendation from Finance and Investment Committee to create a new Audit Committee as permanent committee under MNA bylaws. It is proposed that the chair of the Audit Committee be an MNA Board member but that the committee membership be composed of either MNA board or non-board members. This serves as notice that the Board of Trustees will vote at the February 2, 2008 meeting to confirm the formation of this committee and add it to the committees enumerated in the MNA bylaws. Ms. Garretson has appointed Jim Reed chair of an interim ad hoc Audit Committee (until the permanent committee is approved). Larry Fester has agreed to move to the new Audit Committee from the Finance and Investment Committee.

Miller/ Russell Update
Investment Advisors, Miller/Russell, advised the Finance and Investment Committee of their recommendation to rebalance the MNA portfolio. The recommendation is to change asset classes, investing more in international companies. They also recommended re-allocations to alternative stocks, hedge funds, real estate, commodities, etc. After some discussion, the Finance and Investment Committee advised M/R to proceed.

IX. Muses Report

Pat Pauli, the President of the Sedona Muses, indicated that the Muses have an active upcoming season. The Muses now number ninety-five members. Upcoming is their holiday luncheon in Sedona, and then starting in the New Year, their lecture series.

X. Other Business

None

Next meeting: Saturday February 2nd, 2008 9:00AM Pearson Seminar Hall