The meeting was called to order at 2:15 pm.

There were no minutes from the last annual meeting, but it was recalled that:

1. The board had voted to hold meetings annually, along with additional meetings as needed.
2. The board had voted to revise the "standards of conduct" as non-binding "community standards" (a copy of which was available); and
3. The board had voted to revise the "by-laws" as needed to reflect the above decisions.

To make sure that there were no questions regarding the decisions made at the last annual meeting, the board unanimously voted to reapprove the changes mentioned above.

Officers: At this time, the only offices still filled are President: Fred Griffith and Treasurer: Flo, each of whose terms will end at the end of 2005. The board nominated and elected the following officers: Vice-President: Leigh Griffith; Recording Secretary: Susan Leavitt; and Cooresponding Secretary: Eric Robbins. Each of these terms will run through the end of 2008.

The position of Interfaith Coordinator has been ably filled by Cynthia Jane Collins, who unfortunately was unable to attend the annual meeting. The board unanimously voted to ask her to continue her efforts. The President will email her to request an article for the newsletter outlining her activities for the entire membership.

The position of Newsletter Editor has been ably filled by Marigold, with Fred Griffith filling in to format the articles and graphics on the computer. The board has been very pleased with the quality of newsletters coming out under Marigold's direction. There was concern raised, however, about problems that have kept the newsletter from being mailed out in a timely fashion. Problems included the loss of a newsletter formatter, late receipt of articles by the editor, lack of notice to members advising them as to deadlines for articles, lack of input from members, late formatting of the newsletter, breakdowns at the printer's, etc.

Regarding the printing, it was determined the board would prefer to continue to use Bradford Printing if at all possible, both because it is Pagan owned and because they provide high quality printing at an excellent price. Fred Griffith will contact Bradford Printing a few days before finishing formatting the newsletter and check on likely turn-around times. If, and only if Bradford Printing does not look like it will be able to provide a 1 - 2 day turn-around on the printing job, then the newsletter will be printed elsewhere.

Eric and Rita promised to check out prices at "Screamin' Machines" printing in Winthrop. Fred has already checked out prices at Staples. Although it would cost more at either of these locations, the board felt it would be worth it to be able to get the newsletters out in a more timely manner.

Marigold proposes a schedule that would enable newsletters to get to members mailboxes a full two weeks prior to the sabbat and the events mentioned in the issue. Marigold, or Fred will post deadline reminders on the EPN online listserve prior to each newsletter. Members will be asked to write articles on: Their travels to sacred sites; Their experiences and practices; Ideas related to spirituality; Books Reviews; Calendar of Events being held by Pagan groups throughout the state and to continue the Garden Witch, Kitchen Witch and Starcat's Corner articles.

Marigold also felt a need to get more feedback from Maine Pagans regarding topics they would like to see in the newsletter. The board decided to survey customers/members at the EPN booth at Common Ground Fair each year to determine what their interests are.

The board discussed the possibility of being able to include newsletters online as part of the EPN Website. Fred will contact Jane Raeburn to arrange for EPN to take over the cost of the Website, and to get the access codes/password needed to do more frequent updates to the site.

Eric proposed that we seek to include an "RSS feed" and an EPN "blog" on the Website as well. He felt that this would broaden our readership and enable us to get more immediate feedback from the entire Maine Pagan Community. Fred will investigate these possibilities and begin to work on updating the Website.

It was decided that the next annual meeting will be held on a date between Yule, 05 and Ostara, 06 at a location yet to be determined.

The meeting closed at 4:15 pm.

Thanks to Sue Leavitt for taking excellent notes and enabling us to publish the minutes for our members!