Most Recent Minutes

November 17, 2025

PRESENT: Alan Jones, Griffin Jones, Mark Obbie, David Pierce, Beth Thomas, Seth Thomas, Deirdre Crofton, AJ Magnan, Tracey Howe. Absent: Brooke Finley, Special Guest: J Winnum

CALL TO ORDER: Tracey called the meeting to order at 6:33pm

MINUTES: October minutes

Beth motioned to approve, 2nd Griffin. All agreed. Moved

TREASURER REPORT: Dave reviewed Treasurer Report. Should we consider keeping our donation box and simply secure it. Great visual at events. We have funds to pay for the Church foundation repairs from both the Church and General Fund account. We will not need to withdraw funds from the Vanguard account.

Tracey motioned to approve, 2nd Dee. All agreed. Moved

SECRETARY REPORT: Board considering a candidate for the Secretary position. TBD

PRESIDENT REPORT: Thanked Dave P for Treasurer accountability and responsibility checklist provided. Shared fundraising postcard from a local non-profit group for consideration.

BLDGS & GRNDS: Church foundation repair complete. Waiting for Bristol Town Building Inspector / Code Enforcement to sign off. LED lights were installed to illuminate the stained-glass windows. Grange is winterized, water turned off.

MEMBERSHIP: Griffin shared first report from our JoinIt membership system to use as a benchmark and track gains, losses and trends. Look forward to deep dives to increase membership going forward.

PUBLIC RELATIONS: Mark requested authorization for $2k to order books to have on hand for upcoming events. Mark advised new leadership at Bristol Town Hall is very interested in preserving and showcasing local history. This could be a benefit to our organization. Discussion was held on pros and cons of the quarterly newsletter.

WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA: AJ advised nearly 100% subscribed. Looking at donations for next year now.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Beth and Tracey will continue to sell items from the Grange that are not specifically related to Bristol or South Bristol history and offer items with historical significance to the respective societies in our area.

FUNDRAISING: Revisited idea of Fundraising Committee. Goal decides the end purpose of restoring the Church, raise funds to that end and publicize our efforts for community engagement. Committee members will be Brooke (Chairperson), Mark, Beth & Seth. Sign posted at Church steps with See the Past Save the Glass campaign.

PROGRAMS: Burning Springs, last weekend in May 2026. Bristol Fun Days – 6/13-14 to coincide with 250th celebrations. Historian 2026 to do list: Ferris Hills, Art Gallery presentation, Little Switz, Methodist Episcopal Church, Costume Ball, Women of the Civil War picture book

NEW BUSINESS: Dec 8 Bristol Town meeting, agenda item to discuss a percentage of the sales tax may be earmarked for the 1846 Church.

The Jones Family will allow Beth to use the residential structure on their Burning Springs property as a headquarters for her genealogy work as well as Historical Society materials. Extremely, EXTREMELY, generous of the Jones Family and we can’t be more proud to have them represent us on the Board.