Members Present: Jane Kimball Foley, Carol Brush, Lindy Duval, Maureen Ferriter, Rick Hogan, Judi Look, Kristi Pierce.
Called to order by Jane at 10:23 AM.
Secretary's Report: No report was submitted from the conference. There was a discussion on the need to distribute the minutes and financial reports to the membership faster. Maureen suggested that both the minutes and the financial reports be sent to individual members as well as the programs.
Treasurer's Report: Judi informed us that not all of the bills have been received from the conference. We are still waiting on the cost for the food and the mailings. Becky Colannino sent copies of the 1995 budget and treasurers report to the meeting and these were distributed. Becky also sent a copy of the membership list, which Rick agreed to update, compile, and distribute. Carol suggested upgrading the SSS program designation in the directory to include the actual name of the program, i.e. SSS - Onward or SSS - ACE. Lindy suggested looking into a financial policy with regards to the MEEOA books, to include a periodic audit. The treasurer's report was tabled until more information is obtained with regards to the conference.
NEAEOPP Liaison Report: Kristi wanted to know how much NEAEOPP information the MEEOA membership wanted. Photocopying and mailing costs were a concern. At their December Board meeting they tried to start setting priorities for their Strategic Plan. Tasks groups were formed to start gathering information on objectives from the membership. The three areas being looked at are advocacy, professional development, and student services. They also discussed restructuring their membership fee and redefining a professional membership. We submitted nomination forms for the NEAEOPP executive board. Jane said that we should summarize the NEAEOPP minutes and include them in ours, along with a contact name. Maureen suggested having a NEAEOPP corner. Motion to accept NEAEOPP LiaisonĪs Report by Lindy. Seconded by Judi, passed unanimously.
Conference Report: The general consensus was that the conference at Bowdoin went well. Thanks were extended to Helen Pelletier for organizing the event. Jane mentioned that we should try to broaden interest in MEEOA by encouraging non-TRIO members to participate. Lindy endorsed the idea of forging links with other programs. Maureen expressed concern that was no plan to help new members feel included at the conference. We need to address the needs of the new members. Other topics discussed for the next conference included having more program specific presentations, an SSS roundtable, allowing each program to do a brief presentation on their purpose, and making sure that the presenters have a clear idea of who their audience will be before the seminars. One concern was the number of did not attends at some of the activities, especially the auction. The auction raised approximately $300 this year, but this amount has been on the decline. Anyone who would like a copy of the survey should contact Rick at the UMaine Upward Bound office.
Other Old Business: Lindy brought up the question of what to do with the old minutes. We agreed to think about it. Any member who needs a copy of our constitution should contact Rick. Lindy also said that there are still many copies of TRIO informational flyers left, although the board list on the back now needs to be updated. The figures inside are still accurate. It was decided to create new ones to send to the congressional delegations and create stickers to update the board listing on the others. Lindy also shared a project she has been working on to let the politicians know which constituents are involved in our programs. She has created maps showing the location of each program and the counties that are affected. She still needs contact names and figures from some of the SSS programs.
MEEOA's Budget Plan: The 95 budget was reviewed and explained. It was pointed out that the NEAEOPP contribution is not a membership fee, but money that we agree to donate. We also discussed car pooling to cut down on travel costs for the board. It was mentioned that we may not need money for the conference start up this year if it is not held at a hotel. Scholarships were not budgeted, although any requests that are received will be considered. Item #8 is actually the our cost to attend NCEOA Policy Seminar, $1800 of which is funded by the NCEOA. We are still waiting on the final numbers from the conference before budgeting for mailings and supplies. It is hoped that the programs will again lend their support in helping to keep these costs low.
Fundraising: Everyone was asked to bring possible ideas to the next meeting. Ideas that were tossed around included another road race, independent efforts at each campus, hosting paid dinners, and trying to unify several small fundraisers throughout the year, perhaps around certain holidays. It was generally agreed that we need more than the auction. One idea that generated alot of discussion was selling single-fold notecards with inspirational, educational sayings on the front and MEEOA on the back. We could offer them to teachers as well as the programs.
Public Policy Forum or State Public Policy Seminar?: It was agreed that the public policy forum was easier and less expensive to organize than a state policy seminar. The last forum went very well. It was also brought up that whereas our programs our federally funded, a national policy seminar may be more appropriate. It might generate more interest and publicity. The planning will be held off until we get more feedback.
National TRIO Day: February 22 and 23 in Worcester, MA. Jane is checking to see if she needs to deliver a proclamation. Maureen wanted to check to see if TRIO Days held any opportunity for SSS to participate.
NCEOA Public Policy Seminar: No information has been received yet. It is still up in the air.
Making Connections with other Educational Groups: The Maine Counseling Association meeting will be held in Samoset. We may want to set up a panel to present MEEOA. Helen Pelletier spoke to the board for Common Ground. The reception was very positive. We also discussed looking at connections with MAFSA.
Other New Business: The definition of a professional and student membership was discussed at length. A committee will be formed to look at the issue and the results will be presented at the next conference. It was also pointed out that the constitution does not mention anything about a program membership. This needs to be amended. It was motioned by Kristi that Rick be the second person on the checking account. Seconded by Carol, passed unanimously. Although the president is usually the second person on the checking account, it was agreed that a board member from the Orono area would be more convenient. We also need to start thinking about who should have responsibility for the archives.
Future Meeting Dates: 2/26 @ Orono, 3/25 TBA, 5/13 TBA
Meeting adjourned at 2 PM.
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