Draft
CAP Board Meeting Minutes Nov. 1, 2023
Abridged Minutes of the C.A.P. Board of Directors Meeting
November 1, 2023 (By Zoom)
Members Present: Kathy Catanach, Judith Cosgrove, Kathy Fedorchuk, Michele Granger, Bonilyn Heleen, Linda Johnston, Beth Mays, Rob Schain, Kerry Walton, Mary Wills
Member Absent: Susan Hunt
Call to Order 8:01
1. Review of Board of Directors October 3, 2023, Minutes
Motion adopted: Accept Minutes of the Board of Directors October 3, 2023, meeting.
The possibility of sending an abridged version of the minutes to CAP members was discussed. It was agreed that an abridged version could be made available for member’s education.
2. Treasurer’s Reports for M/E October 2023 Financials Rob
Motion adopted: To accept the Treasurer’s Reports for M/E October 2023 Financials
3. Visitation – Judith & Boni
a. Lower Cape Visitation, Boni and Mary
• Visits to Regal Care will start this month on the second Monday. Danelle is the new activities
director there.
• Thirwood Place has a new activities director, Maureen. Boni will meet with her on Nov. 2 to discuss the type of visits they’d like us to make. For example, to meet in the common area or go to
individual rooms, or both.
• Mary is still working on having visits at Cape Cod Hospital.
b. Upper Cape Visitation, Judith
• Kathy Fedorchuk is working on CAP visits to Bourne Manor
• CAP teams have been going to Laurentide on Saturdays. Going on a weekday instead is being
explored.
c. General Discussion about Visitation
• Boni and Judith brought up an issue that both are experiencing. When email blasts are sent out
(by them or by the Site Captain) requesting availability for a particular visit, the sender is not
receiving responses. They explained that this is a problem because this information is necessary
to prepare for a site visit or respond to a Site Application. In some cases, CAP is required to give a
list in advance of a visit to the site’s activity director; therefore, there is confusion when more or
less teams show up for the visit. There was a discussion about how to have our members help us
out. One solution is to let our members know why it’s important to answer the emails. Posting of
these Minutes may help Members understand the importance to always responding to your
Captain with a yes, no or maybe.
4. Children’s Program
• Visits, 10 were made in October; 7 are scheduled for November and 9 are scheduled for December.
• Susan will prioritize new school or community program requests over some libraries since the
latter have been less well attended.
Draft CAP Board Meeting Minutes Nov. 1, 2023 2
5. Membership Committee Update – Linda and Kerry
a. Mission Statement and role of the committee
• Linda reported that the mission of the membership committee is to facilitate the participation of all members of CAP in its mission by welcoming and mentoring new members and by supporting all members as we work to provide pet therapy to the Cape and local communities.
• She also listed several ways to increase communication among members and to promote a sense of belonging. 1) Produce a member’s Handbook & Directory. 2) Put together a kit to welcome new members to CAP. 3) Provide a mentor to each new member. 4) Send hand-written thank you and other notes, 5) Have quarterly get-togethers of CAP members who live in the same area of the Cape.
• The committee will have a meeting soon and is seeking members.
b. Update on status of Member Handbook & Directory.
• Kerry reported that she sent each member their contact information on file with CAP. The response has been very positive.
6. Outreach Committee Update
a. Susan Hunt would like to resign as Chair of the Outreach Committee and Deb Pierce has offered to be the new chair of the committee.
b. Now all members of this committee are Board members. Other members need to be recruited to join the committee.
7. Training Committee Update – Mary
a. Update on Mid/Lower and Upper Cape classes.
• Classes are going well. Upper Cape testing (Waquoit) will be on Nov. 13th at 8AM. Lower Cape testing (South Dennis) will be on Nov. 15 at 7:30PM. No extra help is need; the Evaluators will conduct the testing as had been the practice for the last 10 years.
b. Evaluator and Shadowing Programs update
• There will be an effort to recruit more evaluators.
8. Newsletter and Website – Michele and Rob
a. Calendar and Event Pages on the website will be redesigned.
b. Mary suggested the creation of a “Members” access page (password protected). After some discussion, it was agreed to add a Members Only section to the CAP website. It could include details of the day/time and place of our scheduled visits and other information such as Board Meeting minutes and committee reports.
c. Michele will soon be soliciting entries for the newsletter – photos, messages, etc.
9. New Business:
a. Waquoit Church Bake Sale – Approval for funds to have a “bake day” for donation to the event. Mary reported that the Church has been very generous to CAP and wanted to express our thanks. She was told that one of their largest fundraisers is a bake sale that is held 2 days before Thanksgiving. Mary is planning to bake some pies and other goodies for the sale. Please let her know if you would like to help her bake on Nov. 20th.
b. Debby Pierce was presented as an interim Board Member and Outreach Director replacement for Beth Mays who has moved and can no longer hold this position. Motion adopted: to approve the appointment of Debby Pierce as an interim Board Member and Outreach Director.
Adjourn: 9:38
Next Meeting Scheduled for Wednesday, December 6th at 8:00 am
Respectfully Submitted,
Kerry Walton
Secretary