The Annual Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, September 21, 2008 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in the Arts Building. We encourage all of our members to participate. The Annual Meeting has been held for the past two years in Everett with very poor attendance. The Annual Meeting is where all elections and changes to the constitution take place and other additions or changes relevant to the Snohomish Tribe of Indians are ratified by voting members of the Tribe. Last year we just squeaked by with 25 eligible voters.
This year’s meeting is especially important. Our suit for Federal Restoration has been initiated. Our Tribal Chair, Mike Evans, provides more information on this topic on the home page. Now that we have initiated Federal Restoration proceedings, our current financial resources will be stretched to the limit. We are looking for ways to increase our financial assets. We are organizing fund raising events and trying to lower operating costs as best we can.
The Annual Meeting Committee is committed to making every effort to obtain donations to help offset costs. Please review our list of suggested donations. If you can help in any way it would be greatly appreciated! All donations to the Annual Meeting increases the funds available for Federal Restoration by reducing our operating costs.
Set-Up and Clean-Up: We can save $50 in both set-up and clean-up fees if we have participants to help set-up tables, take down the tables, set-up the potluck and clean up the kitchen. Please let me know if you can help in any of these areas. If you would prefer to provide a donation of $50 to cover either the set-up or clean-up fees, please feel free to do so.
Beverages: The Tribe will provide coffee, tea and bottled water. We will no longer supply soda or juice. If you’d like to provide a case or a six-pack (pop, juice) please bring it to the meeting to share with other potluck participants. If you’d like to provide a case of bottled water, or $10 to go toward the purchase of bottled water, coffee or tea, please let me know.
Frybread: We would love to be able to provide frybread for the participants. We have the appropriate deep-fry cookers but need individuals who are willing to make and cook the frybread during the morning session of the meeting. It would be especially nice if we could start early, around 9 am, when the set-up begins so that people who become ravenous can get their fill of frybread and be content. Maybe the lure of frybread will increase attendance! It won’t all be fun and games; we expect help with the clean up as well. Can you volunteer? If you can’t volunteer, would you be willing to provide $10 toward the purchase of the frybread ingredients or maybe you’d like to provide some of your homemade jam or jelly. Please let me know.
Salmon Fund: We are hoping for a good turnout so we will need about 20 lbs of salmon fillets. That will be about 4 oz of salmon for 80 people. Yes, I know I dream big. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had a turnout of 80 people! True, 4 oz is not a lot of salmon to eat but it’s better than nothing. If we have donations we could actually provide more salmon. Here is what we’re looking for: Donations of cash to purchase the salmon fillets, estimated at about $8/lb. If you’d like to bring a cooked salmon fillet to the potluck, as your potluck donation, please let me know. If you would be willing to cook and bring a fillet supplied by the Tribe to the meeting, let me know.
Salmon Barbecue: The Fairgrounds has indicated we can use their barbecue for $50. If we receive the following donations we can proceed with using the barbecue for the potluck salmon: A donation of $50 to cover the rental of the barbecue, a donation of wood, cut to the appropriate dimensions, to be used in the barbecue, individuals who would just love to show off their barbecue skills and grill our salmon for the potluck. Remember, you may have to provide raingear. This is a big barbecue they use for fundraising events at the Fair and must be used outside.
Facility Rental: Our facility rental will total $368 without the set-up, clean up or barbecue rental. We’d be happy to collect any donation to help offset the cost of the facility rental.
Cordless Microphone & Speakers: We rent the sound system for about $80. Anyone have a good sound system they can donate to the Tribe for use at the Powwow, Annual Meeting and other fundraising events? Anyone want to donate money for the rental, just let me know! Maybe someone would like to purchase a system for the Tribe!
Printing of Annual Meeting Packets: Over the last several years we have introduced Annual Meeting packets that contain our printed reports, the previous year’s Annual Meeting minutes, and other pertinent information for tribal members. The cost will be approximately $200 this year. If you’d like to donate cash for the printing of the packets it would be wonderful. Last year Mike Schultz provided a printed copy of the Constitution. He intends to provide all Tribal members who attend this year with a copy if they did not receive one last year. Mike personally paid for the printing and assembly because he believes all Tribal members should know about their governing structure. If you’d like to provide a cash donation for this year’s printing, please let me know.
I look forward to hearing from you on how you can help with the 2008 Annual Meeting and with ideas on how we may best go about increasing participation. I’ve created a special Internet email account where you can reach me.
My email is heritagesally@yahoo.com, and phone is 425-396-5226, please leave a message if no answer.
For an overview of the Fairgrounds and directions see this website: http://www.jeffcofairgrounds.com/index.htm
If you wish to provide a cash/check donation that would be wonderful. Send a check payable to the Snohomish Tribe of Indians, indicate on the check how you want the cash applied and send it to the tribe’s address on page 1. Please provide your contact information. Of course, we will gladly accept cash donations at the Annual Meeting as well.
Okay I’ve provided you with some things to think about. Please participate at the meeting even if you can’t provide any help with my suggestions. Your participation at the meeting is just as important as a donation, maybe even more so since you not only have a vote when you participate at the annual meeting, you also show support for your tribe! Thank you!
Sally Butler, 2008 Annual Meeting Coordinator