2018-04 From the President: Luncheon Venue

Luncheon venue

As part of our quest for more adequate space, the UMRA Board of Directors and the Campus Club Executive Committee have approved a promising experiment for 2018–19. Key features of the agreement are as follows:

The Campus Club will allow us to use the West Wing for three “pilot program” luncheons in 2018–19, tentatively in November, January, and March. For these, UMRA will extend invitations to Campus Club members to fill in excess capacity (at least for the talk, and possibly to bring their trays to the luncheon as well).

For the remaining five programs we can use whatever combination we wish of Campus Club ABC in the current time slot, or the West Wing in an afternoon time slot with a light buffet instead of a luncheon. In approving the experiment, the Board agreed to limit any afternoon sessions to months with sufficient daylight to permit participants to return home before dark. The sequence of components for afternoon sessions will probably be: 1) workshop, 2) social hour with a light buffet, and 3) speaker.

This arrangement will permit us to stay in the Campus Club facility for 2018-19 and to test out different formats and time frames for monthly events. It will probably also require some increase in luncheon prices, given the higher rental fees for the West Wing. Look for more details in the May newsletter.

Heads-up on May meeting

I want to make sure all UMRA members are aware of the special time and place for the upcoming Annual Meeting. The event will be held from 4 to 6 pm, Tuesday, May 22, in the West Wing of the Campus Club, with President Kaler as our guest speaker. More details will be available in the May Newsletter.

A few things you might not know about UMRA

UMRA workshops are free and do not require that you attend the luncheon before them.

• You can still read the UMRA newsletters in the traditional format if you prefer. When you receive the emailed e-newsletter, just click on View the entire newsletter online. You can also print the pdf file.
• A new section of the website contains some useful documents on our organization’s history (umra.umn.edu > About Us > UMRA History). These include a history of UMRA’s first seven years, and four lists: luncheon speakers since 2004, workshops since 2006, officers since 1992, and Board members since 1993.
• Lots of additional documents are to be found in the UMRA archives (umra.umn.edu > About Us > Document Archives), including all newsletters since October 2004; Board and Association minutes since May 2015; annual financial reports since 2014−15; and key organizational documents (e.g., Bylaws, Operating Manual, Memorandum of Understanding with the University).

— Chip Peterson, UMRA President, 2017−18