MEEOA Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
October 23, 1997


Location: Orono
Called to order at 12:30
Members PresenL Judi Look, Johanna Burdin, Bridget Mullen, Maureen Ferriter, Lynn Ploof- Davis

Secretary's Report: Minutes for September meeting were reviewed. Johanna motion to accepL Maureen second. Upcoming mailings to the membership were discussed. Bridget will send the Web site mailing form to each of the Maine TRIO programs for them to provide information and graphics to Leif Feige who is gathering material for the MEEOA Web site. A mailing listing the benefits of MEEOA membership will also go out to current members and to non-members to encourage them to enroll this year.. A membership directory will be drafted to be on "display" at the MEEOA conference in January so that people can update or make changes.

Treasurer's Report: Current balance in savings account $1056.56. Current checking balance= $167.17. Re-Reimbursement of $1800.00 had not arrived from NEAEOPP as of 10'22197 but a conversation with tile NEAEOPP treasurer reassured Johanna that the funds would be arriving asap. Upon receipt of the check, Judi motioned that $1000.00 be placed in savings and the remaining $800.00 go to checking. Bridget second. e Budget and expenses for the conference were discussed. The budget for last year's conference was carefully reviewed. Johanna will meet separately with Judi to prepare the annual treasurer's report for the conference. Bridget motion to accept Treasurer's Report. Lynn second.

NEAEOPP Liaison Report: Lynn discussed the highlights the September 25, 1997 meeting of the NEAEOPP Board.( A complete liaison report on the meeting was published in MEEOA's September minutes.) Of particular interest was the name change and the Leadership Development Institute. Both of these will be unveiled detail at the NEAEOPP annual conference in April. Members will have an opportunity to vote on the proposed name change (NEEOA) and will have an opportunity to apply to the first class of the Institute. Lynn reported our proposal that NEAEOPP consider providing seed money to Maine to start an Alumni Association lacked support from NEAEOPP at this time. Lynn was encouraged to bring the proposal forward at a later date. Lynn presented drafts of Fact Sheets on each of Maine's federal legislators. The one-page flyers included information about how to contact each of the state's Washington, D.C. representatives, including contacts at the local, branch offices. They looked great! A special thank you to Nancy Weld or helped compile the information in such a fine format! The completed Fact Sheets will be available at the January conference. Lynn has made contact with Senator Collins' office to request her presence at the conference. The office was unable to confirm the engagement at this time but things look good for either Collins or her education rep to attend.

Old Business: Membership: A mailing will go out to TRIO professionals who are not currently MEEOA members outlining the benefits of membership and encouraging their enrollment.

MEEOA Web site: Leif Feige is doing a terrific job of revamping the MEEOA Web page. He is requesting that programs complete a form and return it to him so that he can update information on each of Maine's TRIO programs. The form will offer you an opportunity to place a narrative about your program as well as any pictures of your program on the Web. The site will be accessible to anyone surfing the web and will be picked up via key words such as: higher education, low-income, financial aid as well as TRIO specific language.

Please do complete the Web site form when it arrives and return the information to Leif. Thanks Leif!

Conference Update: Maureen and the committee have done an excellent job of lining up speakers and workshops. Topics that will be covered: motivating students, technology and the financial aid process, stress relief, advocacy, information on the Conservation Corps, etc... The next thing on the agenda for the committee is planning the menu and entertainmenL . The format of this year's conference will be slightly different--there will not be keynote addresses over lunch and supper. Responding to evals from previous conferences, the committee has arranged for speakers to present after breakfast each morning and then move into workshops for the remainder of the day--with lunch on our own/ free time on Thursday.

New Business: Dory Award: A request for nominations from the membership for the Dory Award was mailed with the September minutes. Individuals interested in nominating a colleague for a Dory may contact any Committee member for details. To nominate an individual one should submit a narrative expressing how the nominee demonstrates the criteria for the award. Nominations should be submitted to the secretary by November 7, 1997.

A proposal for MEEOA to fund an upcoming NCEOA teleconference on changes to EDGAR was discussed. Concern regarding the cost vs the benefit to the membership was considerable. It was determined that MEEOA would not dedicate funds to the project at this time. The Committee invites input from the membership on the issue.

Slate of Officers: It is that time of year again... The Committee discussed the need to encourage leadership within MEEOA. Maureen and Judi will draft a letter to the membership. In the meantime, Committee members will work on developing job descriptions and time lines for their Committee work. The goal will be to have information available at the conference on each of the Executive Committee positions.

Executive Committee Structure: Discussion of the need to restructure the Committee bore some real fruit. The Committee will present a Constitutional amendment regarding the configuration and duties of Executive Committee members. As the Constitution mandates, the proposed amendment will be mailed to all members within 30 days of the annual business meeting. At the annual meeting, time will be allotted for discussion. The proposed amendment removes conference chair from the duties of the President Elect and creates another elected office--Conference Chair. The President Elect will assume the duties of Member-at-Large (i.e. chairing Dory Award committee, developing the slate of officers, and membership), thereby eliminating the need for a Member-at Large position. The number of Committee members will remain constant The major change resulting from the proposal will be to separate the role of chairing the annual conference from the role of President Elect This change is viewed as vital to the future of MEEOA. The Committee feels that future President Elects should concern themselves with working closely with the President on matters of interest to the membership and on facilitating communication with the membership. The Committee also feels that the annual conference is crucial enough to the Association that it deserves a dedicated position. The result should be a more efficient dishibution of labor as well as, perhaps, a greater willingness on the part of the membership to take on offices. The idea of serving as annual conference chair may be more appealing if one understands that it need not be a three year commitment Hopefully, it will also be more inviting to step into the role of President Elect, understanding that one need not take on the conference one year and all of the duties of the President the following year... The Committee is very interested in your thoughts on this matter.