Council relocates office, revises exhibit guidelines.

The Annual Conference Council, the executive committee for the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference, has given approval for the transfer of the Annual Conference Office from Elgin, Ill., to New Windsor, Md. The new office location after Aug. 31 will be the New Windsor Service Center, a property of the Church of the Brethren General Board.

The council met Dec. 7-8, 2005, in New Windsor, and gave final approval to the move in a conference call on Jan. 6, reported Conference secretary Fred Swartz. Also approved were a position description for the Annual Conference Assistant, a vacancy now open due to the resignation of Rose Ingold who held the post for six years. In other business, the council conducted a three-year performance review for the Conference's executive director Lerry Fogle, approved updated guidelines for exhibits and literature distribution at Annual Conference, adopted a budget for 2006, and received reports.

Fogle said the office relocation comes as a result of "personnel changes and efficiency of operation for the Annual Conference Office in a central location." The office's new address on the New Windsor campus will be announced at a future date.

In the performance review, the council cited Fogle's leadership of the Annual Conference as professional, innovative, and especially committed in Christian faith and family ideals and in loyalty to Conference and the church. The council engaged colleagues, Conference coordinators, and other members of the church at large in the evaluation process.

The council received progress reports from study committees and reviewed accomplishments toward the implementation of recent Conference actions. A special task force created by the council to evaluate reasons for declining attendance at Annual Conferences and to submit recommendations for the promotion of Conference is currently at work. Tracy L. Wiser of Myersville, Md., is chairing the task force. The council also made final plans for posting the Church of the Brethren's "Manual of Organization and Polity" on the Annual Conference website.

Updated guidelines for exhibits and literature distribution were drafted by the Program and Arrangements Committee and submitted to the Council for final approval. The revised guidelines, effective Jan. 3, provide a more positive statement about criteria for granting exhibit space, expectations of exhibitors, and general issues related to literature distribution throughout Conference facilities, Fogle said. The committee "wants to emphasize that the guidelines contain revisions to the existing document; they are not a total rewrite of the original document," he said.

The Aug. 2005 mailing of exhibitor applications for the 2006 Annual Conference contained the previous version of the guidelines. Both that version and the revised version were taken into consideration when applications for exhibitor status were reviewed, Fogle said. The updated guidelines will be available soon at the Conference website www.brethren.org/ac, click on "Policies and Guidelines" under "Minutes and Statements." Questions can be addressed to Fogle at 800-323-8039 ext. 291 or annualconference@brethren.org; or write to the Annual Conference Office, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120.

Source: 1/18/2006 Newsline
top