From the Board of Trustees
by Marie Dupree, Treasurer

Board of Trustees: what we do!

We meet once a month on the 2nd Thursday of the month. Our meetings start at 7:00 p.m. with a reading and lighting the chalice and check-ins! We follow an agenda received beforehand.

Sometimes we will have a Zoom meeting between meetings if there is something that cannot wait for the next board meeting.

We have already received the reports and if we have any questions or additions, we will ask. Then we get into the work we need to do. Sometimes it is related to the budget, building and grounds, issues that need to be addressed, planning for special events, requests and any other issues. We try to get finished by 9:00 or 9:30 p.m. Someone takes notes, and we have a timekeeper to keep us within the time we have allocated for each area!

So, that is what we do as a Board.

The Board is responsible for the staff salaries as well as hiring additional staff or cutting back. The payroll aspects are handled by the Treasurer with help from the Finance Committee and the President.

The Budget is prepared by the Finance Committee with input from the various committees. The balanced budget is then presented to the Board of Trustees in the May meeting. It is adjusted by the Board and approved by the Board. The head of the Finance Committee presents the budget report and answers any questions.

The Board also deals with any issues that need to be addressed with various committees, however the decisions are made by the committees and the Board serves as a sounding board.

UUCD’s Board has always been responsible and is committed to ensuring that UUCD is functioning as a religious organization. We, the Board, are an integral component to the activities of UUCD.

So some personal history! Keith and I have attended and have been members for 53 years. When we began attending, the congregation originally had a minister, but he left shortly after. We were then a lay-led religious community. I was Treasurer in 1971 when our budget was around $16,000.

The church moved to Pickets Ridge Road in Redding CT in 1972. Keith was President in 1973. I was Treasurer off and on and I became President of the Board in 1987. The month after I became President the RE (Religious Education) house in Redding burned down! We spent two years rebuilding the RE building. I have never been President again but have been Treasurer many times!

Keith and I raised our two children in the RE program. This community and UU religion has been instrumental for our marriage and our children.

We have seen the UUCD grow and change always with the religion and friends and members coming first. We are a strong religious community!