moving in step

About Us

Moving In Step is a non-profit, 501 (c)3, organization operated by a Board of Directors, focusing on revitalizing community and activities in Nelson NH, while emphasizing the town's natural and historically significant assets.

Board of Directors 2011 - 2012

Rich Popovic, President

Karen Hersey, Secretary

Dave Birchenough, Treasurer

Kathy Schillemat

Candyce Fulford

Rick Church

Mike Iselin

Susan Hansel

Pamela White

Karen Tolman

Maury Collins

Ruth Lemay

Annual Board Meeting Minutes

Moving in Step Nelson Community Project

Annual Meeting Minutes, August 25, 2011

Call to Order

The second Annual Meeting of the Moving in Step Nelson Community Project, Inc. was called to order by President, Rich Popovic at 7:15 pm on August 25, 2011 at the home of Dave Birchenough in Nelson.

Membership

10 Members of the Corporation were present at the Annual Meeting including the following Directors: Rich Popovic, Dave Birchenough, Candyce Fulford, Karen Hersey.

Reports

President’s Report: Rich Popovic delivered the President’s Report for the year 2010. The Forum held in September, 2010 was singled out as the major achievement with its success due to the collaborative efforts of the townspeople of Nelson. The President’s full report follows these minutes.

Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer, Dave Birchenough, reported total income for 2010 of $18,092.56 and expenses of $12,280.42.

Trails Committee: Dave Birchenough, Chair

The Trails Committee has been meeting regularly both organizationally and in the field. The Road Number One to Dublin trail and the Bailey Brook Mill trail are being readied simultaneously. The Trail Guide subcommittee has nearly completed editing and the Harris Center has given its approval for cutting the Bailey Brook Mill trail with Fall work days and Grand Openings being planned.

Hancock’s Jeanette Baker has agreed to give her Appalachian Trail hike presentation to Nelson this Fall. Last year, Jeanette hiked the entire length from Georgia to Maine and her recollections are mesmerizing. The Nelson Conservation Commission and Moving in Step will co-sponsor this event.

Communications Committee: Candyce Fulford, Chair

The Communications Committee reports that there have been a lot of changes to its goals in the past year. One has been the realization that there would be no fall back person to publish the weekly newsletter and to keep the Moving In Step website current should something happen to the Committee Chair. To ensure that communications between townspeople remains a priority, a Nelson Media Group was formed combining the efforts of those responsible for the Town of Nelson website, the Grapevine 2, The Meetinghouse (published by the Nelson Congregational Church), and the Moving In Step Communications committee. The goal of the Nelson Media Group is to provide training to those who wish to learn the inner workings of the websites, electronic newsletter, and the hard copy newsletters (The Grapevine 2 and The Meetinghouse). These trained persons could then pick up the reins and keep the lines of communication open throughout our small community.

A second goal of the Communications Committee has been to research and develop a community bulletin board where Nelson and Munsonville residents could buy and sell, barter and trade goods and services. Several prototypes for this community bulletin board, or online marketplace, were developed and discussed at length by the members of the Nelson Resource Committee. However, this committee disbanded before a final decision could be made. The Nelson Media Group decided to make this a priority, inviting past members of the Resource Committee to offer suggestions on the final product. Earlier this month the online Classifieds / Marketplace was launched on the Moving In Step website. We realize that it will take some time for our residents to become comfortable with the Classifieds / Marketplace, but expect it to become quite popular as time goes by.

Visitor numbers to the Moving In Step website continues to increase with our highest monthly total being 4377 visits among 216 different persons. We attribute this total to the amount of information concerning the Annual Town Meeting that was provided to the townspeople. Subscribers to the weekly newsletter continues to grow, with a current total of 232 persons – both year ‘round and summer residents combined.

Welcoming Committee: Judith Putzel, Chair

The Welcoming Committee has been meeting monthly since the Forum. We have welcomed newcomers to Nelson and are seeking names of new members of the community. We have assembled basic information that newcomers might want to know: dump hours, local store hours, post office hours etc. We have also put together an information sheet to add to the Nelson-Munsonville Phone Directory. We will be requesting MIS funds and permission from those who put together the original Directory.

Resolutions

The Membership approved the following resolutions and undertakings:

1.    That the corporation’s bank account at the Walpole Savings Bank should be switched from a personal account to a non-profit account utilizing the Moving in Step Tax ID number. Pamela White and Dave Birchenough, signatories to the existing account, will ensure the account is closed and a new account opened under the corporate Tax ID number. Signatories on the new account will be Dave Birchenough and Rich Popovic.

2.    Checks up to the amount of $500.00 may be signed by the Treasurer. Checks over that amount will require the signatures of the President and Treasurer.

3.    Following a discussion of how often the Board of Directors should meet, the membership approved holding quarterly meetings. The first quarterly meeting will be held September 15th, with the following meeting scheduled for December 15th. Thereafter the Board will determine suitable quarterly meeting dates.

4.    A main task at quarterly meetings will be the approval of proposals for project funds brought by committee chairs. The membership resolved that each committee chair submitting a proposal for MIS funds should present his/her proposal in person to the Board. At least 3 members of the Board must be present to vote on a funding proposal. To accommodate immediate needs for funding, during the 2011-2012 year, the Board will meet as needed to hear funding proposals from committee chairs.

5.    Pamela White and Maury Collins volunteered to develop a set of guidelines and a form for funding requests. They will finish this project within 30 days.

6.    Rich Popovic will announce to chairs of operating committees that reports are needed for the December Board of Director’s meeting.

New Directors

The following were approved as new members of the Board of Directors:

Maury Collins

Ruth Lemay

Karen Tolman

Pamela White

Adjournment

The Meeting was adjourned by the President at 8:35 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Karen Hersey, Secretary

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President’s Report, Rich Popovic, President

Obviously our big achievement of the past year was hosting the Forum. Partnering with Apple Hill was a perfect match and the facility met our needs wonderfully. Yes, there were a few small hurdles to overcome (loss of power on day one) but it made the event all the more memorable and in a sense, served our purpose beautifully by bringing us all closer together. The lead-up to the Forum was an extremely impressive act of coordination and organization. The committees and community volunteers all pulled together and orchestrated an extremely difficult task. The result? A representative cross-section of Nelson residents conversing, contributing and eventually making some decisions about the future of our town. New groups and committees were formed to take these ideas and concerns and bring them forward to the rest of the town, and I hope we will hear from a few of those groups later on tonight.

Going ahead, Moving in Step has the challenge of staying relevant now that our “big event” is over. What is our role in the town and the surrounding communities from point onward? What can we do to ensure the viewpoints expressed at the Forum do not get lost? How can we take this community within a community we have built and expand it to include even more people? These challenges and many more lie waiting for us and I will be interested to see what our creative and dedicated group can do to meet them.

Thank you.

Contact Us

We want to hear from you!

Our Snail Mail and E-mail addresses are listed below.

We welcome all of your questions and or comments!

Moving In Step
110 Log Cabin Road
Nelson, New Hampshire 03457
Email: admin@movinginstep.org

Moving In Step, Public Relations
Email: publicity@movinginstep.org

Moving In Step, Newsletter
Send your articles and dates of community events to be listed in the Email Newsletter, no later than Sunday evening, to:
Candyce Fulford
Email: newsletter@movinginstep.org

Projects

If you would like to submit a project to Moving In Step for consideration, please email us with as much information as you can.

If possible, we'd like to know the estimated cost of the project, how much time might be involved to complete it, how many volunteers will be needed, and if any permits need to be obtained.

You can email your suggestions to: Projects