Members Present: Jane Kimball Foley, Carol Brush, Maureen Ferriter, Rick Hogan, Judi Look.
Called to order by Jane at 10:25 AM.
Secretary's Report: Minutes from the last meeting were distributed. Motion to accept the minutes by Maureen. Seconded by Judy. Passed unanimously.
Treasurer's Report: Judi submitted a written report of our current expenditures and balance as of 5/13. At that time there was $648.19 in the checking account and $3,237.11 in the savings. If you would like a copy of the Treasurer's Report, contact Rick. Judi will be filling out the paperwork in order to be reimbursed for sending our alumnus to the policy seminar. Motion to accept by Carol. Seconded by Maureen. Passed unanimously.
NEAEOPP Liaison Report: The NEAEOPP Board Meeting will be held on June 3 and 4. At the conference in Burlington Diane Dickerson was elected president and Tom Putnam was chosen as president-elect. The next conference is scheduled to be held in Connecticut. Hartford and Mystic are the two areas being looked at. There is a concern right now about whether the increased cost of rooms in Connecticut will affect attendance. Offsetting the room costs by lowering some of the other costs may be an option. Jane also reported that NEAEOPP will be taking a much stronger stance on the planning stages for conferences happening five years in advance in order to guarantee better rates. It was also noted that the NCEOA Board Meeting was held last week on Nantucket Island, MA. It was the first time in a while that this meeting was held in the New England area.
National TRIO Achiever Nomination: Mayor John Jenkins of Lewiston, ME. has been submitted as a nominee. He is an alumnus of the Upward Bound program in Princeton, NJ. and has an impressive list of personal achievements. Jane has the details.
Fundraising: Rick reported that he was quoted a price of $35 for 500 postcards. Including envelopes this would be a production cost of 13 cents per card. A second printing of 500 would cost closer to $24. The Board asked that Rick look into the cost for fold-over notecards and the contact them about the cost. Improving the MEEOA Conference Auction was also discussed. It was agreed that better products and prizes may stimulate more interest and better attendance. With the number of celebrities that come to Maine during the summer, it was hypothesized that MEEOA members might be able to obtain some autographed items for the auction. We would also like to encourage members to watch for interesting regional items, from Maine or elsewhere, that may spark interest, such as the baskets of Aroostook County products that are so popular. Also check with local Chambers of Commerce. They are often willing to donate products in order to promote business, much as the Burlington Chamber of Commerce did at NEAEOPP. Perhaps bigger prizes could be put into a raffle? Please contact any member of the board if you have suggestions. We would really hate to see the auction die out.
Public Policy Forum: Helen Pelletier at the Bowdoin Upward Bound program told Jane that in conjunction with their 30th anniversary, many local and state politicians have been invited to come to the program and speak. Some of the events could focus on public policy. Helen said that all other Maine programs would be welcome to attend. Motion for MEEOA to participate in the public policy events at Bowdoin this summer rather than organizing a separate forum. Motioned by Carol. Seconded by Judi. Passed unanimously.
1997 MEEOA Conference: The conference has been scheduled for January 8,9, and 10 (W,Th, F). There are currently three locations being looked at: Atlantic Oaks in Bar Harbor, The Samoset, and the Ramada in Portland. Carol will checking to see which site has the best rates and access to meeting rooms and AV equipment. Anyone who would like to serve on the conference committee, has suggestions for speakers, or has issues that they would like to see covered at the conference should contact Carol Brush at 1-800-528-5882 ext. 5020. Carol would like to have the committee together by June 25, but any help at any time is appreciated. Possible speakers that have been suggested are Arnold Mitchem and Fr. Jim Nadeau.
Carol's Ticket: Due to extenuating circumstances, Carol Brush was unable to attend the NCEOA Public Policy Seminar. Because of the confusion that was caused at the time, the Board agreed to reimburse Carol the $50 reissuing fee for the plane ticket. Motion to reimburse Carol for the reissuing of the plane ticket by Maureen. Seconded by Judi. Passed unanimously.
Board Directory: The telephone and address listings for the members of the Board were circulated and updated. A copy will be sent to Bridget Mullen.
Inactive Members: It was mentioned by Rick that although there are only 76 active members in MEEOA, the database contains over 200 names and addresses. The other members of the Board asked that they get copies of the list so that they could see if any of our inactive members could be brought back to active status.
Next Meeting: September, site TBA.
Meeting adjourned at 1:06 PM.
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