15:16:02	 From NMSPS : Meeting called to order by Treasurer Helen Knoll at 3:15 p.m.
15:17:44	 From Marissa Prada : Yes
15:18:35	 From Marissa Prada : yes
15:19:37	 From NMSPS : Shirley: We need to review the clarification of who  here is a board member
15:21:16	 From NMSPS : Constitution says chapter chairs need to be elected to their positions. Rotating chair is not permitted under our bylaws & constitution. We have precedent for this—former chapter in Roswell was denied permission to have co-chairs.
15:22:03	 From Marissa Prada : Everyone who wants to be here should be here
15:22:54	 From NMSPS : Treasurer Helen (in absence of Pres. Zach) appointed Shirley Blackwell to Board as Chancellor and Bernadette Perez as V. P.
15:25:27	 From NMSPS : This meeting was originally scheduled on Sept. 17—as an emergency meeting.
15:27:56	 From NMSPS : Zach’s (pres.) resignation has not been accepted, so he must be counted as existing board member.
15:29:40	 From NMSPS : Disposition of minutes of previous minutes—Kuan moves that we postpone approval of previous meeting (Sept 12) to next meeting so that we can proceed to emergency meeting.
15:31:34	 From NMSPS : Helen: The purpose of this meeting is a disciplinary meeting.  (Helen read the text from the agenda)
15:32:10	 From NMSPS : Helen moved to appoint Shirley as Chancellor to preside over this portion of the meeting.
15:32:18	 From NMSPS : Motion was passed.
15:33:20	 From NMSPS : (Kuan’s Motion to table approval of minutes from Sept. 12 was also passed.)
15:34:12	 From NMSPS : Shirley called the meeting of the Board of NMSPS to order for the purpose of rendering disciplinary action against one of our members.
15:35:10	 From NMSPS : Roll Call: Shirley, Marissa, Kuan, Scott, Bernadette, and Helen.
15:35:28	 From NMSPS : (Roll Call is of Board members present)
15:36:43	 From NMSPS : 2/3 majority of Board met? No.
15:39:03	 From NMSPS : Attempts to reach Zach and Katrina:
15:39:15	 From NMSPS : Katrina’s number is 505-980-1052
15:39:57	 From NMSPS : Invite link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86230305961?pwd=OGwwMzg5VkFXU1oya1k1N1FLZW01UT09
15:42:54	 From NMSPS : Did Zach accept resignations of Mars and Scarlett?
15:44:08	 From NMSPS : Zach called Bernadette. She put him on speaker phone.
15:44:42	 From NMSPS : So Zach is now in the meeting. We have 7 out of 10 current Board members, so we have a quorum.
15:45:00	 From NMSPS : correction: we have a 2/3 majority of the Board.
15:47:34	 From NMSPS : Shirley calls for a motion to remove Bill as a Director on the NMSPS board. Helen so moves. Kuan seconds.
15:48:13	 From NMSPS : Shirley reads the text under “Motion to remove Individual…”
15:51:13	 From NMSPS : Shirley: Does anyone have an example of missed board meetings? No.
15:51:37	 From NMSPS : Any evidence of micromanaging the CEO or other officers?
15:52:05	 From NMSPS : Zach described Bill’s actions with regard to him.
15:53:38	 From NMSPS : and with regard to previous board. Primarily copying and blind-copying unauthorized persons on emails sent to board members.
15:54:18	 From NMSPS : Shirley: please confine your remarks to the charge of micromanaging
15:55:34	 From NMSPS : Helen: does flooding email inboxes count? Like a dozen emails a day?
15:56:36	 From NMSPS : Kuan: I chaired two Zoom meetings as chair of nominating committee and Basia Miller (another committee) thought Bill was chairing the committee because he so dominated the meeting.
15:57:40	 From NMSPS : Kuan: Billl had to resign from nom. comm. and was requested to stop emailing comm. members, but continued to email Bermadette
15:58:44	 From NMSPS : Zach: when Bill made suggestions of people to serve on  Board, he kept after Zach to appoint them, even when Zach said they didn’t want to serve.
15:59:11	 From NMSPS : Shirley: disclosing confidential info to unauthorized persons
16:00:59	 From NMSPS : Zach: he knows of several people in community who received emails about NMSPS biz from Bill and who are wondering why they were included
16:01:47	 From NMSPS : Shirley: violating the corp’s code of ethics or other written agreements
16:03:21	 From NMSPS : Zach: Bill’s libelous comments about board members and previous Board members…he has this habit of becoming really aggressive with people. And perhaps the many people who have requested not to receive emails from him is an example of this
16:04:14	 From NMSPS : Kuan: email sent to nom. comm. saying that Bernadette had done some things he didn’t like in ref. to Convention and he inappropriately brought that beef to the nom. comm.
16:04:56	 From Marissa Prada : Ethics & Integrity
16:05:04	 From NMSPS : Helen: abusive emails—questioning what she was doing in NMSPS and telling her to “stay in her lane.” (Note from Helen: we need a written statement of ethics)
16:06:02	 From NMSPS : Zach: recently he has been cyber-bullying members of the poetry community on social media who have some connection to Zach and other members of the Board.
16:06:59	 From NMSPS : Shirley: reads part of Constition (Bylaws and Constitution)—name and mission statement
16:07:26	 From NMSPS : Article 1 Section E read by Shirley
16:08:18	 From NMSPS : Bernadette (runs NMSPS Facebook page and Facebook group) had to put an approval feature into those pages
16:08:47	 From NMSPS : Bernadette: Bill was posting partisan political messages about Trump
16:08:58	 From NMSPS : Helen: that’s a violation of our nonprofit status
16:09:57	 From NMSPS : Bernadette: mentioned she has photos of some of his posts—some were quickly taken down by him
16:11:10	 From NMSPS : Bernadette mentioned one post that she blocked, about alteration of dues amount on website
16:12:56	 From NMSPS : Helen: that is disrespecting the officers of the NMSPS Board. Mistakes were made, but there was nothing evil or nefarious about it. For him to handle it like that is inappropriate and disrespectful.
16:13:38	 From NMSPS : Bernadette: After his posts were blocked, Bill demanded to know who was Facebook moderator and what were the criteria for blocking.
16:14:12	 From NMSPS : Shirley: Bernadette, please explain what happened when he overran his budget for Convention
16:14:32	 From Marissa Prada  To  NMSPS(privately) : So, Bill has reached out to me on fb....he said he appointed John Roche to represent their chapter on the Board
16:14:57	 From NMSPS : Bernadette: He kept wanting more and more money.
16:16:14	 From NMSPS  To  Marissa Prada(privately) : Maybe ask this of everyone—Zach knows about who was appointed and when
16:16:50	 From NMSPS : Helen called for a vote on the motion to expel Bill.
16:17:23	 From NMSPS : Helen: I move to have Bill Nevins expelled from the NMSPS board.
16:17:28	 From Marissa Prada : I am not voting on this
16:17:31	 From NMSPS : Scott seconds
16:18:17	 From NMSPS : Yes: Helen, Scott, Bernadette, Zach, Kuan
16:18:29	 From NMSPS : Abstaining: Marissa and Shirley
16:19:02	 From NMSPS : Shirley: Motion carries. Bill will be informed that he has been removed from the Board.
16:19:27	 From NMSPS : Shirley: this part is a motion to expel a member from NMSPS
16:19:57	 From NMSPS : Shirley reads grounds for expelling a member
16:20:38	 From NMSPS : Shirley reads Bylaws & Constitution text on expelling a member
16:20:48	 From NMSPS : Helen moves to expel Bill from membership
16:20:56	 From NMSPS : Kuan seconds
16:21:22	 From NMSPS : correction: Kuan did not second the motion
16:21:30	 From NMSPS : Zach seconds the motion.
16:21:36	 From NMSPS : Discussion
16:23:03	 From NMSPS : Kuan: I am torn. It’s like this man is so dedicated to poetry and brought Mars and Zach into the organization and I am sad about having to expel him, because despite the good that he has done, he’s toxic.
16:23:05	 From NMSPS : Marissa
16:24:05	 From NMSPS : Marissa: I agree with that. I have sat on many boards. When someone has been expelled, it has been for very serious reasons, like stealing and defaming the organization.
16:27:24	 From NMSPS : I want to protect this safe space. I came here to poet. I came here to do great things, but my friends do not feel safe here any more. I don’t think it’s right to quit on any of our poets. We have to find a way to come together and find common ground and move poetry forward in NM. I want to make sure that you all feel safe. If Zach and Mars and Scarlett are leaving because they don’t feel safe—they’re my friends! But I don’t think we should give up on anyone. If you think Bill should be put on some kind of action plan…we ought to figure out a way to not quit on him.
16:28:05	 From NMSPS : Kuan: You want it to be safe, and yet Bill Nevins is the cause of four members resigning.
16:29:15	 From NMSPS : Marissa: If you remove his ability to communicate directly with the Board—if someone else represents his chapter—will that help?
16:29:44	 From NMSPS : support for that from Kuan.
16:30:28	 From NMSPS : Helen: question—is there a way forward for keeping Bill? Like an action plan? Will he adhere to it?
16:30:56	 From NMSPS : Marissa: there needs to be some kind of public apology
16:31:03	 From NMSPS : Kuan: that will not change him
16:31:17	 From NMSPS : Helen: my observation is that he isn’t sorry
16:31:33	 From NMSPS : Marissa: let him walk away.
16:31:52	 From NMSPS : Marissa: then it’s not on us.
16:32:31	 From NMSPS : Marissa: I don’t think the punishment fits the crime—not egregious enough to kick him out of the organization altogether
16:32:57	 From NMSPS : Marissa: even if we cut his membership, he would still have everyone’s contact info
16:33:55	 From NMSPS : Zach starts to speak—Marissa asks him to come back and bring the resigned board members
16:35:31	 From NMSPS : Zach: as far as sanctions, the fact that people have asked him (including Board members) to stop communicating with them—he either ignores or finds others to send to
16:35:53	 From NMSPS : Zach: he has promised to stop before and quickly broken his promise
16:36:39	 From NMSPS : Kuan: He says yes and does no—that’s passive aggressive behavior
16:37:25	 From NMSPS : Zach: what about enforcement? We don’t have a way to enforce it, given that he has everyone’s emails. we also don’t have a way to stop his social media outbursts
16:37:42	 From Marissa Prada : and that makes us micromanagers
16:38:25	 From Marissa Prada : If Zach stays then I will vote yes
16:38:40	 From NMSPS : Scott: would Zach consider coming back and remaining prez. if Bill not a member
16:40:51	 From NMSPS : Zach: Yes. But what makes me concerned is how he reacts when someone tells him not to email—he sends me email bad mouthing that person. He also has been sending me emails about dissolving this organization. I think he has an agenda to make this society fail.
16:42:16	 From NMSPS : Shirley: We are not here to punish Bill. We are here to protect the society. I contacted the legal counsel of NFSPS—she said we must get this guy out of the organization altogether. I saw the resignation letters of all the recently resigned board members. Every one of them cited Bill as the reason.
16:42:53	 From NMSPS : Shirley asks Bernadette and Terri to speak to how Bill’s behavior has been this way for a long time.
16:43:33	 From Marissa Prada : (I will be here in the background)
16:44:12	 From NMSPS : Bernadette: I started getting bombarded with emails about a year ago. I got 5,000 emails from Bill—500 from Feb. to April.
16:45:03	 From NMSPS : Shirley: a flood of emails is harassment and we can get restraining orders to block that. and we are within our rights to block communication from him to the society.
16:45:27	 From NMSPS : Kuan: even if we ban him as a member, he can still email us.
16:46:05	 From NMSPS : Shirley: our legal counsel advised us to contact an attorney.
16:46:12	 From Marissa Prada : ((I've got to cook dinner...I will be in the background))
16:53:03	 From NMSPS : (Terri speaks)
16:53:08	 From NMSPS : (Helen speaks)
16:53:32	 From NMSPS : Kuan: I’m sorry, but I am ready to ban him.
16:53:51	 From NMSPS : Scott: We can individually block him from email and social media.
16:55:49	 From NMSPS : Scott: Kuan, when you were running the nom. comm. to look for officers, Bill contacted me several times to be prez., but I didn’t want to be micromanaged by someone who thinks he knows better how to do it. I think the reason we got board members from outside of the organization was because the people in the organization knew better.
16:56:26	 From NMSPS : Shirley: poets in the larger community have asked me why we have coddled this person and not gotten rid of him before.
16:56:45	 From NMSPS : Kuan: I move that we call the vote to remove Bill from membership.
16:57:03	 From NMSPS : Shirley: time limit on ban or in perpetuity?
16:57:35	 From NMSPS : Helen: restates motion to ban Bill from membership for life
16:57:41	 From NMSPS : Bernadette Perez seconds.
16:58:13	 From NMSPS : Shirley calls the vote.
16:58:45	 From NMSPS : Yes: Helen, Scott, Zach, Marissa, Bernadette, Kuan
16:59:32	 From NMSPS : Shirley: votes “present” because presiding.
17:00:02	 From NMSPS : Vote passes 6-0 with one abstention.
17:00:34	 From NMSPS : Shirley: this action was taken not to punish, but to protect.
17:00:44	 From NMSPS : Shirley turns meeting over to Zach.
17:00:50	 From NMSPS : Scott has to leave.
17:01:18	 From NMSPS : Helen: Can Bernadette take over in Zach’s place?
17:01:32	 From NMSPS : Scott: I hated that we had to come to this.
17:01:46	 From Helen Knoll : attendees:
17:01:52	 From Helen Knoll : Helen Knoll
17:02:19	 From NMSPS : Shirley: We have adhered to our Constitution and conducted the meeting in accordance with it.
17:02:42	 From NMSPS : Zach: I was torn, too. We have protected our organization.
17:03:06	 From Helen Knoll : Helen K, Bernadette P (now VP), Marissa P., Kuan T, Scott W, Zach K, Shirley (chancellor), Terri (zoom)
17:03:41	 From Helen Knoll : Vote to remove from board: 5 aye + 2 abstention. Vote to remove from membership.
17:03:59	 From NMSPS : Zach: I withdraw my proposal to raise dues. We need to have more discussion on that. I hope people who have resigned will reconsider.
17:04:16	 From NMSPS : Bernadette: Who is sending letter to Bill?
17:04:36	 From NMSPS : Marissa & Bernadette: send it certified mail.
17:04:51	 From NMSPS : Helen: I will draft something and ask Shirley to help.
17:05:17	 From NMSPS : Shirley: letter should come from prez. and be signed by all members of the boare.
17:05:20	 From NMSPS : *board.
17:05:45	 From NMSPS : Marissa: Zach, I respect you. Whatever you say or do you know I will always be there for you.
17:06:14	 From NMSPS : Marissa: my questioning things is just to get clarification. I hope everyone comes back who wants to be here.
17:07:35	 From NMSPS : Shirley: to new board members—you will have our utmost support. I and Bernadette are willing to do whatever we can to uphold the new board. You bring so much talent and experience…we as previous officers are willing and able to help you move the society forward.
17:08:15	 From NMSPS : Zach: thanks to Shirley and Bernadette for being willing to step forward and help. Thank you Marissa for your help and your questions.
17:09:10	 From NMSPS : Zach: next meeting will be on second Sunday of October (10/10) at 3 p.m.
17:09:34	 From NMSPS : Kuan: welcome Helen, and Marissa, and Zach—and thank you
17:09:40	 From Marissa Prada : We are phoenixes lol
17:09:43	 From NMSPS : Helen: thank you to all
17:10:08	 From NMSPS : Bernadette: thanks to all. Thanks Marissa for questioning.
17:11:30	 From NMSPS : Shirley: move that we adjourn
17:11:37	 From NMSPS : general agreement