The California Progress, Inc. Board of Directors met Monday night for its September meeting, welcoming a new executive director.
Susan Hodges will now serve in the role after the resignation of former executive director Resa Dudley. In her first evening of business, Hodges and the rest of the group discussed progress with the Latham Memorial Family Park project and upcoming fundraising events, along with taking care of some other items on the to-do list.
As of Monday's meeting, CPI board president Pam Green said fundraising needs for the playground portion of the park - for which foundation work is now taking place at the park grounds - still remain at around $60,000. To that end, CPI will look to have a busy next few months of fundraising. In October, CPI will host both a golf tournament Oct. 8 and its Halloween "Spooktacular" at the Eitzen Mansion Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. The latter event was slated to take place last fall but was canceled because of COVID-19 concerns.
The group is also set for a t-shirt sales fundraiser, which will coincide with both the Oak Street Business District's {Oak}toberfest Thursday and Friday and with the California Area Chamber of Commerce's Saturday Ozark Ham & Turkey Festival. Next week, Green informed the board, t-shirt sales should be available via Grace Designs' website as well.
CPI's "Passport to Autumn Fun" mailers, which were approved at a previous board meeting, have been well-received so far, Green said at Monday's meeting.
In line with business related to the park, the group also agreed that the 9-11 commemorative event organized by Moniteau County 4-H participants went well and served as a good showcase for progress at the park so far. All told, the event raised more than $10,000 for the veterans memorial portion of the park.
Other business on the agenda Monday night included a pair of office-related improvements. The group discussed upgrading its current office printer, which seems to be limited in its print options. The agreed upon plan Monday night was to research options and decide at a future meeting what route to take, whether it be buying a new one outright or renting through an outside company.
The board also agreed to look into changing the executive director email address from a Hotmail account to something different.
The group also discussed the need to address an issue at CPI's latest mural location; the Latham Sanitarium mural has some issues with water splashing up onto the paint when it rains, due in part to some overhanging concrete having been removed from the building when mural painting began. The board approved taking care of the issue, which would involve installing either a gutter or some concrete below the mural.
Finally, the board approved allowing for an outside group to use the park Oct. 16 around noon for a Catholic Rosary event.
CPI's next regular meeting is set for Monday, Oct. 11 at 5:30 p.m.