In this issue:  
Letter from the President
Annual Members' Business Meeting      
Proposed Bylaw Changes   
Slate of Officers for 2020-2021 and Nominations  
Special Award to PAA  
   
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
 
Dear (Contact First Name),
 
It has been both an honor and privilege to have served the Plano Art Association (PAA) for two years as your Vice President during 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, and for one year as your President during 2019-2020. I am now looking forward to being your Past President for 2020-2021.
 
My heartfelt thanks goes to the Executive Committee for 2019-2020.

 
To President E
lect Karla Keese,
thank you for your perseverance when your full-time pharmacy job turned into a time-and-a-half job. I feel strongly that your support and engagement with the art shows, events and Executive and Board meetings have prepared you for your year as President. Thank you for your generous donation of time and money, and for funding PAA's membership for the Plano Arts Coalition. I am thrilled to be passing the torch to you, and I know you will light the path for others to follow with confidence and prosperity in the coming year.
       
 
To Treasurer, Grace Tang,
thank you for being an excellent
steward of our funds. Your quarterly reports and cash flow forecasts helped us make sound plans and this was so appreciated by the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors. Thank you for your encouragement in getting PAA involved with the North Texas Giving Day campaigns, and for attending the Cultural Arts Commission meetings, as well as some of the Plano Arts Coalition meetings. And thank you for collaborating with Development Chair, Jan Leek, to get our grant application submitted to the City of Plano. There are countless other tasks you performed, too many to mention here, for which I am very grateful.
To Secretary, John Van Ness,
thank you for providing excellent minutes and records of all our meetings throughout the year. Your faithful attendance and reliable work has helped to maintain our solid foundation. Thank you for enhancing our member services by conducting ART SHARE AND CRITIQUE MEETINGS. Thank you for agreeing to continue serving PAA for one more year as Secretary. You bring a valuable experience to the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors
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Thanks to all the volunteers, committee chairs and committee members, as well as the behind-the-scenes-workers. Your focused energy and many contributions have enriched PAA and have helped our organization to evolve into one that is recognized for our contributions to the arts throughout the community.
 
To the Board of Directors, thank you for being a devoted hands-on working board. You have all stepped up to become the chairs and members of our newly formed committees.
 
To the Advisory Council, thank you for your attendance at the Board meetings and for all your contributions. You are the ambassadors for PAA and you bring a unique perspective to us from your amazing experiences and various areas of expertise.
 
To our Intern, Aiza Shah, thank you for offering your services to PAA. It was lovely to get to know you and we so appreciated having you efficiently enter data into our database.
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Thanks to Past President, Gene Dillard,
for providing me with ongoing consultation and support throughout my term as President, and for sharing your expertise with PAA from your many years in the marketing communications profession.
 


And to all those members of PAA who donated your s ervices with such tasks as printing, sending press releases, greeting guests, taking supplies to meetings, staffing events, installing artwork, presenting programs, bringing food, working on the grant, and much, much more, a great big THANK YOU! 
 
 


Sincerely,
Linda McCarley, President
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ANNUAL MEMBERS'
BUSINESS MEETING
Tuesday, May 26, 2020, 6:30 PM  
Due to the continued need for social distancing, the Members' Annual Business meeting will be held with Zoom. Details to join this meeting are posted on the
  Evites have also been sent to members. During this meeting we will see a PowerPoint with photos of PAA's 2019-2020 events and meetings throughout the year. We will also review and approve
and elect and install officers for 2020-2021. 
 
SLATE OF OFFICERS FOR 2020-2012 AND NOMINEES
President: Karla Keese
Karla is a full-time pharmacist and a glass artist. She has served as President Elect for 2019-2020 and prior to that, she served as a volunteer for PAA. Her experience as a volunteer, and President Elect, will help bring continuity and stability to PAA. She plans to present her vision for 2020-2021 during the Members' Annual Business Meeting. 
 
President Elect: Pamela Crosby
Pamela brings to PAA a blend from her former life as a paralegal and her discovery of the healing powers of art. She explains this beautifully with her own words:

In my former life as a paralegal, I had no time to "indulge" my love of art except when decorating my office with paintings, books, and sculptures. There was no time for dabbing paints with a brush prior to swiping the loaded brush across paper or canvas... and my life suffered all the more for the lack. I was constantly in a rush to create and update databases, scour depositions, databases, and documents for evidence. All must be ready for trial. At various times during my career I crafted demand letters, petitions, motions, and briefs. I labored over hundreds of affirmative action plans and provided support during OFCCP audits. I researched the law, attended trial, and programmed computers to assist me with my work. I automated incorporations, estate plans, personal injury cases, and real estate loan documentation. I proofread correspondence, briefs, and case law arguments. I was always too busy to rest or do what I secretly longed to do: paint. I ignored the call of creation and allowed myself to be distracted by databases and documents. "Someday..." I thought, "Someday I'll try my hand at it. Someday when I have time." Someday arrived when I was broken and grieving; a time when I thought nothing could pull me from my anguish and despair.
 
The day my life changed and I set brush to canvas, was the thirtieth day after my youngest son died. I could no longer live without a way to vent the pain and misery I felt. I was numb, yet I was weeping...and I took up the sword every artist carries within, set brush to canvas, and created.

PAA is blessed to have Pamela step forward to become President Elect.
 
Treasurer: Joan Kaiser, PMP, CPA
 Joan is uniquely qualified for this position. In addition to being a local artist, she is a licensed Texas CPA with 30 years' experience in budgeting, cost tracking, and financial reporting. She is also a Project Management Professional and works as an IT Project Manager. She manages a $20M budget for her firm's IT department. She is adept at Excel and many other tools including PowerPoint and Zoom. She looks forward to using her skills and experience to improve the member and officer experience for the Plano Art Association. PAA is fortunate to have someone with this specialized set of skills step forward to take on this important function for our organization.
 
Secretary: John Van Ness
A long-time member of PAA, John Van Ness is a painter and a retired math professor from UTD. He has served PAA as Secretary during this past year (2019-2020). As Secretary of PAA, he has provided excellent minutes. During the coming year, he will continue to help bring continuity and stability to PAA. This will be a highly valued asset for the Executive Committee, Board of Directors and Advisory Council.
 
Additional nominations for President Elect, Treasurer, and Secretary may be made at the Members' Annual Business Meeting prior to voting. Following the voting, the new officers will be immediately installed.
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 PAA TO RECEIVE SPECIAL AWARD 
The Plano Art Association has been selected by the ArtCentre of Plano to receive the Organization award for 2020 at their annual For the Love of Art auction in November, 2020. We look forward to receiving this award in recognition for our work and contribution to the arts community.
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MISSION STATEMENT: The Plano Art Association is dedicated to encouraging the visual arts development of the membership, and inspiring awareness of the visual arts by sharing the joy, passion and beauty within and beyond our Plano community.
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You shop, Amazon gives. AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of your purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice. You just need to designate the Plano Art Association as your preferred nonprofit organization to receive the donation.
This month PAA received a donation from the AmazonSmile foundation, because some of our members have designated PAA to be a recipient of .5% of everything they ordered from Amazon.
It does not cost you anything to designate PAA to be a recipient of the AmazonSmile foundation. Every item that is available for purchase on www.amazon.com is also available on AmazonSmile
at the exact same price. You will see eligible products marked "Eligible for AmazonSmile donation" on their product detail pages.

Signing up is so easy! Here's how to shop AmazonSmile:
1. Go to smile.amazon.com
2. Sign in with your existing credentials.
3. Choose Plano Art Association to receive donations from Amazon, and
4. Start shopping!

Thanks in advance for your continued support of the Plano Art Association.
 
If you have questions, just contact  [email protected] .
                        Plano Art Association
P.O. Box 861508
Plano, Texas 75086