MINUTES OF THE 126th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
FEBRUARY 4, 2011
L'Olivier Restaurant, San Francisco, California

The meeting was called to order at 6:20 PM.

President’s Greeting

Before starting the meeting, President Ruedi Sandmeier remembered two former presidents and long time members who passed away: Jacques Iselin, deceased two days ago, and Joe Bieri in December. He invited the audience to also remember other members who recently passed away with a moment of silence.

Ruedi Sandmeier extended a warm welcome to this year's guest of honor, Consul General Julius Anderegg. He also welcomed all members present and several past presidents and board members such as Hermann Attinger, Pius Kampfen, John and Linda Maillard, and Susy Lutsky. In addition, he was excited to welcome scholarship recipients Elizabeth Schlaepfer, Alessandra Schmitz, Christoph Neyer and Noel Bartholomew.

Our records show that we have 170 dues-paying members at this time. 10%, or 17 members, represent a quorum. In addition to 38 members present - a very good turnout - we received 37 proxy statements.

Copies of the minutes of the 2010 Annual Meeting have been placed on each table. They are posted on the SBS website. A motion to approve the minutes was approved by unanimous vote.

Committee Reports

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer John Zeiter proceeded to read the details of the financial profit and loss statement and endowment balances.

Auditors Report

Hans Surber presented the report of the audit that he conducted for the period from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. He examined on a test basis the evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures to obtain reasonable assurances that these statements are free of material misstatements. He found that the balance sheet and the statements of operations fairly present the financial position of the Society and that the books are kept in an orderly manner.

Investment Committee Report by Andy Eggler

One year ago, Andy reported on the difficulties and frustrations which bond investors were dealing with throughout 2009. One year later, we are faced essentially with the same dilemma. Interest rates and fixed income securities from CD’s and treasury bills to long-term bonds, fell to levels not seen in 75 years. Due to this reality and because our investment policy requires that we maintain roughly a 50/50 ratio of fixed income securities to equities in our portfolio, the overall return on our investments was impacted accordingly.

On the equity side, however, the picture is much brighter. On a total return basis, i.e. price appreciation plus dividends and capital gains distributions, our mutual fund positions are up 12.7% year over year, a gain which compares favorably to the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones 30 Industrials performance of 11% and 9.4%, respectively.

Welfare Committee Report

Melanie Facen reported on several cases where we are providing assistance, in particular a man living on SSI and unable to pay his medical bills. For Christmas, we mailed gift certificates to 3 people who we felt could use some extras for the holidays. Melanie reiterated her plea that if anybody knows of anyone in need of assistance to please let her know. Melanie also expressed her gratitude to Consul Adrian Sieber and the consular staff for their support.

Scholarship Committee Report presented by John Andrew

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues on the Scholarship Committee, Melanie Facen and Marianne Strotz, John was pleased to report that in 2010 the Society helped facilitate the college educations of 18 young Swiss in Northern California with a total of $31,500 in scholarships.

A total of 31 applications were received. We were able to award these grants from the Amstutz, Canonica, Iselin and Isler Funds, the balance being from the General Fund. The recipients are studying a wide range of majors, from bio-engineering to social welfare and represent an equally wide range of institutions, from the College of Marin to Harvard. Eleven students attend a campus of the University of California.

During 2010, the Board also lifted the "150 mile” requirement (i.e. that a student must reside within a 150 mile radius of San Francisco’s City Hall) for scholarship eligibility.

John expressed his appreciation for the membership’s generous donations and entrusting the Board with the investment of those donations in the next generation of Swiss.

Membership Report by Melissa Lindt

One of the major projects in 2010 was to convert the existing database into a web-based database. We are continuously updating the membership contact information and also grow our email list.

Some numbers and insights:

From 2009 to 2010 we noted a slight decrease in contributing parties (from 180 down to 166).

• 85 of them contributed in 2009 as well as in 2010 (our loyal core)
• 95 members contributed only in 2009 and not in 2010
• 81 members contributed only in 2010 and not in 2009.

The goal for 2011 is to increase the number of yearly recurring payees, hence grow the loyal core and contributions. One way to start is to survey the 2009 contributors who chose not to contribute this year. Analyzing the data in this manner helps SBS not only grow the database and its contributions but also maintain a higher number of core memberships.

Fundraising report presented by Esther Scott

Esther Scott explained the workings of charitable gift annuities as a way to make a donation and still receive income and tax benefits. This is especially interesting in view of the record-low interest rates that people are earning on savings and CD’s. For example, a 72-year donor contributing $25,000 to a charity to establish the gift annuity would receive $1,475 in income annually (5.9% gift rate based on age) from the organization, and may also receive a current income tax charitable contribution deduction of $10,390 for his contribution. Further, 68% of the income he receives each year during his life expectancy will be considered tax free.

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Ruedi Sandmeier's President's Report

Last year, I took over a smoothly running society from Hermann Attinger: our finances are in good order; we have a solid donor base as well as excellent support from the Swiss government. We celebrated the traditional Seniors Party and Spring Dance with slightly over 100 participants. My only concern is our membership – this is not new, but we are losing more members than we recruit new ones.

I have an excellent Board to help me run the various tasks of our society. With regrets, Melanie Facen is leaving the board after 28 years of service! Thank you, Melanie!

We had a hard time finding a replacement for helping with Welfare. We finally found an ideal person in Lisa Brinkman; thank you, Andy Eggler for "volunteering” your fiancée. Let me introduce Lisa: she is a native San Franciscan. She earned bachelor degrees from San Francisco State in German and Marketing, and a MBA from Thunderbird University. Lisa has worked in the treasury departments of various technology companies and most recently at Autodesk as a director of new product introduction. She is currently going back to school to pursue a master's degree in gerontology at USC. Unfortunately, due to her other time commitments, which already include two boards, Lisa cannot join our board, so I will represent Welfare on our Board.

This leaves one Board position open. If you are interested or know someone who is, please contact me. Since the present officers and Marianne Strotz are not up for re-election, the Board has decided on the following officers:

• President – your humble servant Ruedi
• Vice President – Marianne Strotz
• Treasurer – John Zeiter
• Secretary – Marianne Aubert

This year is a special year as we celebrate our 125-year anniversary. We plan to celebrate this with a Gala Dinner and Ball on September 10 at the Westin St Francis. Please keep that date and the April 17 Spring Dance reserved for SBS. Also, we have submitted an article about our society’s history to appear in the June issue of the Swiss Review, the journal going to all registered Swiss in the US. Thanks to John Maillard who provided me with the draft based on his history of SBS.

At this point, are there any questions or comments about what you have heard?

Since no matters to be voted on were submitted from the floor, we can now proceed to the elections.

Under our By-Laws, the Directors are elected based on a system of rotation over a three-year period. Three Board members are up for re-election, as well as the auditors.

Now it is time to hand over the meeting to Consul General, Julius Anderegg.”

Election of the Board conducted by Consul General Julius Anderegg

As mentioned earlier, Melanie Facen is stepping down after 28 years of service, the last one as Vice President of the Society.

Re-election to the Board for three-year terms:

• John Andrew, Board member since 2008, head of Scholarship Committee
• Bernhard Daniel, Board member since 2005, Public Relations
• Esther Scott, Board member since 2006, Fundraising

Election and Re-election as Auditors for a one-year term:
• Hans Surber, re-elected
• Pius Kampfen, new Auditor

Pius is a past Board member of SBS, past President and current Board member of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce.

Approval of the elections was done by acclamation

Ruedi Sandmeier expressed his appreciation to Mr. Anderegg for conducting the elections so efficiently and for the spirit of cooperation and assistance demonstrated by the Swiss Consulate.

I would also like to express our deep appreciation for the steadfast support we have been receiving from the Consulate. It has been a pleasure working with you and we look forward to a continued close cooperation.

Our by-laws have a hitherto overlooked paragraph about honorary membership; it says that the Board can bestow honorary membership to individuals who have contributed significantly to our society. It is bestowed automatically to Board members who have served more than 10 years upon retirement from the board. Melanie Facen is retiring after more than 20 years on the board, and I am happy to make her herewith an honorary member.

The Board took this occasion to consider other former Board members who have served more than 10 years and continue to support the society with their efforts. It is my pleasure to bestow honorary memberships to:

• Susy Lutzky
• Ernest Plattner
• Silvia and Jacques Iselin
• John Maillard

Other Business, questions from the audience

Mrs. Silvia Iselin pledged ..... an additional sum ... to her fund, an announcement received with great pleasure and gratitude.

Pius Kampfen requested the names of the welfare recipients.

Ruedi Sandmeier responded that these names are not divulged

Pius Kampfen suggested that SBS initiate the same procedure to collect membership fees as the Chamber, i.e. bill the members on a monthly basis via their credit card. John Zeiter responded that we could initiate that members can pay via PayPal. No resolution to this subject.

This brings the Meeting to a close. Do I hear a motion to adjourn?

Thank you, the meeting is adjourned.”

Meeting closed at 7:10 PM.

(SBS members may request a written copy of the minutes by contacting the Secretary)