MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The board of trustees of Augsburg Fortress, Publishing House of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), heard good news and bad news at its Oct. 22-24 meeting here. "Augsburg Fortress has areas of concern and future challenges," said board chair Todd P. Engdahl of Denver, "but it's operating at stable, secure levels now and is in a good position with cash available for operations."
That hasn't always been true in recent years. Board members were told that year-to-date sales through August were $36 million, up 2.3 percent from 1997 figures. A growth in book sales offset a decline in education resources. Operating expenses so far for the year are below budget, and the publishers show an operating profit of nearly $1.9 million.
Timothy I. Maudlin, audit committee chair, Eden Prairie, Minn., said of the audit process, "It's delightful to talk about a profit plan rather than about an operating loss."
Caution still is needed, however, because the three Canadian locations have experienced significant foreign currency translation losses. In addition, inventory that's not salable constitutes nearly a third of total inventory.
Augsburg Fortress is working on the inventory issue with help from an outside consultant, the Manchester Companies. In a closed board session, Mark Sheffert from Manchester discussed the continuing work on an action plan for disposition of the excess inventory and steps to prevent its build-up again in the future. Augsburg Fortress and Manchester will develop a detailed business plan for meeting future challenges that will be brought to the spring 1999 board meeting.
The board committed itself to anti-racism training for the fall of 1999 when new board members will be in place. Augsburg Fortress, in conjunction with the ELCA's Commission for Multicultural Ministries, is developing a process for such training.
Discussion on anti-racism training included the topic of staffing at the publishing house. Board member Paul Wee asked, "Are you setting any target goals? I encourage you to set goals on recruitment, or this could be just a lot of pious talk."
The Rev. Robert N. Bacher, executive for administration in the ELCA's Office of the Bishop, pointed out, "There are several elements to diversity training: recruitment, the sensitivity of staff and multicultural resources."
Board member Dorothy F. Ricks of Philadelphia underscored staff sensitivity. "If [current staff] don't overcome their racism, recruitment won't work. You have to have a good atmosphere for people coming in so they know they have a place."
In other business the board:
+ Reappointed the firm of Deloitte and Touche as accountants and auditors.
+ Heard a report on the Capital Reserve Fund by Tom Hussian of Lutheran Brotherhood -- which manages the fund -- pointing out that the fund performed well despite recent stock market declines.
+ Visited the newly opened Augsburg Fortress/Luther Seminary Partnership Store on Luther's campus in St. Paul, Minn. Discussions continue with other ELCA seminaries about the possibility of partnering in seminary stores.
[*Sonia C. Solomonson is senior editor for The Lutheran, magazine of the
ELCA.]
For information contact:
Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Director (773) 380-2955 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
