Executive Board Meeting Minutes
December 3, 1996 at KVTC

Members Present: Carol Brush, Lindy Duval, Maureen Ferriter, Rick Hogan, Judi Look, Bridget Mullen.

Called to order by Carol at 1:15 PM.

Before any other business was discussed the Board reviewed the resignation of Jane Kimball-Foley as President. Jane submitted her letter of resignation on November 8, but due to communication difficulties the Board was not aware of the letter until the following week. Jane stated in her letter that due to growing family and work responsibilities she did not feel able to properly perform her duties as President. The Board would like to thank Jane for the leadership and service she has provided our organization in this and past years. In accordance with our constitution, Carol Brush as President-Elect will assume the duties of the President.

Old Business:

Secretary's Report: The scheduled meeting on November 8 was canceled in favor of a day long planning session for the conference, so no meeting minutes were sent out in November. Rick pointed out that in the minutes from October there was a misprint in the Treasurer's Report. It should read that there was $754.81 in the checking account and $3269.73 in the savings account.

Treasurer's Report: Judi reported that as of 10/31 there was $1334.59 in the checking account and $3294.54 in the savings account. Judi suggested buying a copy of Quicken for the treasurer's position so that the electronic books could be maintained. It was believed that this might be feasible if a software package could be found that was compatible with both Mac and DOS. Right now the accounts are kept on a Mac Quicken program, but the next treasurer may not have a Mac. With the problems Judi has been having with her laptop, the Board agreed it would be worth looking into possible packages and pricing. It was reasoned that the treasurer should not have to go hunting for the software if they have to install it, and if we are using the software we should own a copy of it. The Board also agreed that a professional auditor should be hired to go over our accounts to make sure everything is in order. Lindy was going to check on someone at UMPI she thought could do the job. It was agreed that the summer would be the best time for this.

NEAEOPP Liaison Report: The TRIO Day Celebration will be held on February 21 & 22 in Portland, ME. at the Radisson Eastland Hotel. Registration packets were mailed out on December 10. Featured events include college visits, the TRIO World Dance Party, a college fair, and a "March for Opportunity" through the city. Lynn Ploof-Davis at UMF UB is chairing the event. Four people attended the TRIO Reauthorization Teleconference at UM to listen to the key issues of the upcoming reauthorization of the TRIO grant. It is important that the TRIO community present a unified front to Congress, therefore input from TRIO personnel is crucial in the planning of the national position paper. The teleconference is available on video. If interested, contact Rick Hogan at 581-2522. The next meeting of the NEAEOPP Board will be on 12/12 at Regis College in Massachusetts.

Professional/Associate Member Clarification: During the last annual business meeting the membership directed the Board to look at the current definitions of associate and professional membership and try to solve the ambiguities between them. After lengthy discussion, the Board developed the proposed amendment that is enclosed with this letter. Associate membership has been amended to student membership and exists specifically for undergraduate students. It was reasoned that most undergraduates are transient members and not full-time employees of the programs, therefore this new definition seemed more appropriate. This amendment will be open for discussion at the annual business meeting on 1/10/97 before a vote is taken, so please review the amendment and bring any comments or concerns to the meeting. Also note that the amendment includes the addition of the program membership to the constitution, which are available for "TRIO Programs or other organizations committed to educational opportunity."

Note paper Fund-raiser: Lindy reported that the first batch of note paper with envelopes was almost sold out. Rick had contacted the printer and a second batch of 500 was done for $72. Enough money had been generated by the first batch to pay for the second. Carol suggested having samples at our conference and at NEAEOPP. Anyone interested in ordering either the note paper or the postcards can contact Lindy at 768-9620 or email to DUVAL@POLARIS.UMPI.MAINE.EDU.

MEEOA Memberships: As of the 11/22 deadline Rick had received enrollment forms for seven program memberships, ten associate memberships, and twenty-four professional memberships. A reminder to people that would like to be MEEOA members in 1997; you can still enroll by checking off the appropriate box under fees on the conference registration from and sending your dues with the conference fee. Lindy and Carol pointed out that we need to make a conscious effort to seek out other organizations (MeCA, MAFSA) that may be interested in obtaining memberships in order to stay apprised of happenings in the TRIO community.

New Business:

Deregulation of Upward Bound: Part of the Clinton-Gore Agenda during this next term is to downsize government. One of Vice President Gore's plans is to deregulate a certain percentage of federally regulated programs in order to meet downsizing targets.The Department of Education has chosen Upward Bound and McNair programs for deregulation because the grant competitions are at least a year away. Apparently the deadline for comments was 12/6, approximately ten days after the announcement hit the TRIO list server. If you want more information about this contact Paula at the Dept. of Education through her email address: PAULAJ24@aol.com.

MEEOA Elections: Carol suggested creating an ad hoc member position on the Board for the upcoming year. With Jane's resignation there would be nobody in the past president's position and there would be an even number of people serving on the Board. The ad hoc position would allow the number on the Executive Committee to remain at seven. This will be presented to the membership at the annual meeting. A handout listing the positions on the Executive Committee and their responsibilities is enclosed with these minutes. Nomination forms will be available in the conference packets or can be obtained by calling Bridget at 725-3559.

Conference Update: The deadline for conference registrations is Friday, December 27. Registrations must be postmarked by this date. (I apologize for leaving this off the form- Rick.) The final schedule has been drafted and all but the smallest of details have been set! Maine humorist Clyde Folsom will be joining us on January 9 at 8 PM to entertain us with his own style of Downeast humor. The Board agreed to pay $150 for his services plus travel. Recent additions to the 1997 MEEOA Auction: 2 adult tickets for Bar Harbor Whale Watching, 4 tickets to the Arcady Music Festival Winter Series, gift certificates to Margaritas and the Lemon Tree, and a wooden cider press. We are hoping that this conference will be our best ever!

Other New Business: Lindy indicated that over the past five years MEEOA has consistently closed out its yearly finances with approximately $4500 left over in the accounts. Both Carol and Lindy discussed using some of this money to offer workshops and professional training to MEEOA members during the year. The declining number of MEEOA members was also brought up as a concern. We will not have final numbers on this year until the annual meeting at the conference.

Next Meeting Date: MEEOA Annual Business Meeting, January 10, 11:45 AM @ Atlantic Oakes, Bar Harbor.

Meeting adjourned at 4:45 PM.

Happy Holidays
and Best Wishes for the New Year!
from
Carol, Lindy, Maureen
Rick, Judi, and Bridget

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