EEA Board Meeting Minutes Date: August 18, 2005 Location: Fernbank Science Center, Atlanta, GA

Transcription

1 EEA Board Meeting Minutes Date: August 18, 2005 Location: Fernbank Science Center, Atlanta, GA Board of Directors Present: Kim Bailey, Kitty Esco-Spivey, Karen Garland, Stacy Graison, Elise Hare, Sheri Henshaw, Amanda Kail, Walter Lane, Jennifer McCoy, Susan Meyers, Kim Morris-Zarneke, Trecia Neal, Richard Osorio, Sally Pamplin, Leslie Poythress, Carla Rapp, Cindy Reittinger, Deborah Riddleberger, Anne Shenk, Donna Stewart, Jessica Tanner, Theodosia Wade. EEA Advisory Committee Members Present: Mary Terry, Petey Giroux 1. Call to Order and Welcome Anne Shenk called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM. Anne noted one of the benefits of being on the board was being part of something larger. Anne distributed board member manuals to new board members who could not attend the May board meeting. 2. Parliamentary Procedure and Past Meeting Minutes Kim Bailey briefly reviewed Robert s Rules of order and distributed 6 Steps of a Motion handout to those who still needed them. Kim reminded EEA board members to make motion first before they start discussing it. This designed to save time by getting action items on the floor right away. Kim Bailey distributed copies of the February 2005 EEA board meeting minutes. These minutes were not approved at the last board meeting in May. Kim asked if anyone had any changes. Anne noted that the last sentence in item 1, We do have a license through the sheriff s office in Clarke County to hold the raffle. should be stricken. Anne explained this change needs to be made because it was later determined that EEA did not have a raffle license through the sheriff s office in Clarke County. Kim Bailey made a motion to approve February minutes as amended by Anne. Walter Lane seconded. Motion passed. Kim Bailey distributed copies of the May 2005 EEA board meeting minutes and asked if anyone had any changes. No changes were made. Kim Morris-Zarneke motioned to accept the minutes as presented. Susan Meyers seconded. Motion passed. 3. Treasurer s Report Carla Rapp made a motion to accept the Treasurer s Report (see Appendix A). Walter Lane seconded. Discussion: Carla noted that she tried to separate EEA general funds from MOAs and restricted funds. The group discussed questions about the budget. Carla explained negative balance for EEinGeorgia is an invoice to EPD in process of being paid. Carla will get with Deron to figure out what is going on with the EIC negative balance. Theodosia Wade called for the question.

2 The motion to accept the Treasurer s Report passed. 4. Vote on Recommended EEA Policy Walter Lane made a motion to amend the existing EEA policy as shown in the attached handout (see Appendix B). Carla seconded. Discussion: Walter explained the purpose is to formalize the relationship with EEA partners. 10% goes to cover EEA s expenses when EEA serves as a fiscal agent. The 10% does not apply to Monarchs Across Georgia or initiatives/committees of EEA. Petey Giroux asked if it would include all money handled by EEA (ex. registration costs) and not just grant or contract funds. The board suggested that EEA initiatives should be defined/clarified. They also noted that etc. is dangerous wording. The board questioned whether an MOA is needed first before contracts or grants made? Cindy Reittinger made a motion to table motion and let the EEA Executive committee discuss suggestions and questions presented by EEA board members. Susan Meyers seconded. The motion to table passed. 5. Membership Committee Report by Kitty Esco Kitty Esco reviewed the goals she submitted in the Membership Committee work plan. One goal is to create an EEA lifetime membership category. Kitty has researched how other organizations structure lifetime memberships. Kitty presented ideas included on the Suggestions and Ideas for EEA Lifetime Membership Category handout (see Appendix C) and collected the following comments and ideas from EEA Board members: Susan Meyers no permanent plaque needed (no place to display) Walter wonders if 10% discount to other EE centers is actually feasible Six board members thought dues of $250 were high enough. The majority thought more than $250 would be good. Carla Rapp thought $500 should be considered a donation. It should be high. She believes most lifetime memberships will be from people who have means to make such a donation. Questions about tax deductions were discussed. The value of the actual membership benefits must be subtracted before counting as a deduction. Kitty will do more research, collect feedback by and present a lifetime membership proposal to vote on at next board meeting. If approved it can be announced in the January EEA newsletter. Petey noted we should promote including EEA in wills, memorial funds, endowments, etc. Carla will share info for memorial funds. Kitty reviewed the Membership Committee s other goals: *Work more closely with Promotions and Marketing Committee to devise more creative ways to recruit and retain EEA members. *Continue to maintain EEA membership database, send and postcard membership dues renewal notices, provide current membership list to Newsletter, OCC, Conference, and other committees. *Work with EEA Web Site Committee to develop online membership management tools.

3 *Work with Heather Merbs to develop a manual/procedures for how to manage EEA membership. Kitty provided the following membership updates. Kitty will send renewals for members who have expired since 4/1/2005. Some renewal notices can be sent by . Others must be sent by mail (postcard). Current membership is 414 members. The membership expiration date is listed on the mailing label of newsletter. Should EEA consider having all members renew at one time of the year instead of by date? The Membership Committee will continue to work on membership issues. 6. Fundraising Committee Report by Petey Giroux Petey Giroux distributed the Fundraising Form for EEA Committees (see Appendix D). Please think of funding needs for 2006, complete the form, and get to Petey by October 1, Be sure to work to support EEA s strategic plan. 7. Web Site Committee Report by Richard Osorio. Richard Osorio gave the report at the request of Committee Chair Nikki Price who could not attend the EEA board meeting. Richard reported that the committee is moving forward but not as fast as hoped. The committee was held up in getting logo designs from designer. They have some designs but are not happy with results and are not ready to present designs to the board yet. They plan to go back to designer for round 2. There is no contract for services with DreamStudio yet. They working on developing one based on contract between DNR and DreamStudio, but need to modify it for EEA. It was noted that the Cloud Forest School Foundation in Sewanee, TN has a logo similar to EEA s. Board members noted that we need to know soon if credit card processing will be available. We need to know by early November before printing EEA conference materials but can actually start processing when EEA conference registration opens. EEA needs to know can we accept credit card payments at all, can we do online? It was noted that GSTA uses Paypal and Earthshare uses Groundspring. OCC needs to offer credit card purchases at their gift shop. Can we pass on charges to those who use credit cards? Carla will look into cost of EEA having its own merchant account. Using the Georgia Conservancy or Georgia 4-H merchant account does not work well. There are still disputed charges EEA is trying to get paid. Kim Morris-Zarneke noted that Nikki needed help making updates to the EEA Web site. You must have Front Page software in order to help. Karen Garland will ask her Mom if she can make updates if Susan Sams can t help Nikki out. 8. Newsletter Committee Report by Karen Garland The next newsletter will focus on evaluation of programs. Sept. 1 is the deadline.

4 The all conference newsletter issue will go out Jan. It will include board nomination info as well. The deadline is Dec. 1. Selling ads for newsletter? Karen will look into but that takes time. Karen encourages EEA members to write articles. If you are interested in writing EE activities, contact Karen. 9. Monarchs Across Georgia Committee Report by Susan Meyers and Trecia Neal Please see MAG Quarterly Report (Appendix E). Susan and Trecia highlighted they will be offering two weeklong trips to Mexico for teachers this year. MAG would like to link donations for School Supplies and Books with holiday giving programs. Susan will send out letter about this later. The board suggesting taking Spanish versions of PLT, WILD, WET, Natural Inquirer, AAS manuals, etc. You can bring items to Susan at the next EEA board meeting in November or at the board meeting in February. The Pollinator Garden Certification program will kick-off soon! Sign will be available for posting in garden. MAG just conducted their first workshop facilitator training. 10. Outdoor Classroom Council Committee Report by Karen Garland and Jennifer McCoy Thanks to Suki for working on the brochure and getting it mailed. 4,000 copies were mailed out. Needs: OCC still needs presenters for OC Creation Stations (make and take session) up to 50 participants. Exhibitor spaces are still available. Moderators are needed. Need help with advertisement pass out brochures, promote in newsletters, forward e- mail announcements, etc. 11. Conference Committee Report Kim Morris-Zarneke made a motion to accept the budget for conference. Walter seconded. Discussion: Kim presented the proposed budget and addressed questions from board members. $43,750 Income ($175 X 250) This price includes all meals but Friday dinner) + $5,000 Sponsorship from Georgia Power = $48,750 Total Income - $46,735 in expenses. This is everything including busses. = $2,015 Total profit

5 Kim noted that we need more sponsors. The conference committee is looking for a sponsor for the $20 per person Friday dinner at the Aquarium. The committee is also looking for a $2,000 sponsor for the giveaway. The committee is also looking for a $2,000 sponsor(s) for the Sat. social - sponsor a dessert table, other ideas? EEA needs to make $10,000 on the conference to cover its operating expenses throughout the year. The last conference at Unicoi (2005) made over $14,000. The 2004 conference at Lake Blackshear made around $6,000. The 2003 conference in Savannah made around $17,000. The board voted to approve the budget for the 2006 conference. Trecia Neal reported on the Saturday night social. Questions and Concerns: *Trecia reported EEA could have volunteers make the desserts for the social or get donations. She thought we d need at least 250 servings. If people bring desserts, we will need to check into refrigeration since most would have to bring things in on Thursday afternoon when they arrive for the conference. *Some people have expressed concern that we may lose participants by having the social/silent auction in separate location from dinner. *Do we need any kind of food serving license? The conference committee will continue to work out the details and make decisions concerning the Saturday night social. Green with EE: The Art, Science and Business of EE is the conference theme. Please see the draft Call for Presentations (Appendix F). The committee needs comments by next Tuesday, August 23. 5,000 call for proposals postcards from Franklin s (credit) will be printed on Aug. 29 and mailed to schools, EEinGeorgia.org postal mailing list, and EEA members on Sept. 1. Plus 2,500 additional post cards will be sent to board members to distribute to a target group, at an event, etc. Presentation proposals will be due Sept. 30, This due date was changed due to a later than planned mailing date. By Nov. 7, all members of the conference planning committee will get proposals to review. Review will be due by Nov. 17. Keynote Speaker still working on ideas for each of 3 strands. Please send any suggestions to Walter. Leslie Poythress is still seeking items (300 of each) for conference goody bags. So far 9 people/organizations have submitted goody bag pledge forms (See Appendix G). Leslie conducted a prize drawing from the 9 submitted and Paula Chamber won the prize.

6 The conference committee is also still in need of door prizes. Please see Conference Door Prize Pledge Form (AppendixH). 12. Public Relations Committee Report by Leslie Poythress The PR committee has created an EEA Certificate of recognition and EEA thank you cards. If you need either, please send a request to Leslie. The PR committee is also planning to revise and reprint EEA s brochure (once logo, mission, etc. are decided). In the meantime they are collecting photos and quotes. Please see the wanted poster (Appendix I). Where is the EEA Display Board? 13. Higher Education Committee Report by Theodosia Wade and Richard Osorio This committee was formerly known as College Affiliates and Preservice Teacher Ed. Theodosia presented the following goals of the Higher Education Committee: *Establish a how-to packet for creating an EEA College Affiliate that any EEA member can use to start a conversation with a college or university. *Target a couple of universities across the state to pilot the program and have a representative serve on the EEA board. *Advertise EEA as the professional group for EE in the state and its education and networking opportunities as a good way to find a job. (Work with the Link newsletter and Web site on this). *Provide information through the Link and Web site for college students to find out about internship opportunities across the state. Richard Osorio added that we need to make a place for higher ed. within EEA. The committee also plans to hold a 2-day conference at UGA (for all colleges and universities) next fall for Higher Ed. and EE. It could include educators, students, college professors, high school environmental clubs, etc. Please contact Richard or Theodosia if you are interested in helping. (Walter and Amanda want to help.) Also let Richard or Theodosia know of any EE contacts you have at colleges or universities, or high school environmental clubs that might be interested. 14. Nominations Committee Report by Deborah Riddleberger Deborah Riddleberger presented the goals of the Nominations Committee. Please see Appendix J. 15. EEA Advisory Committee Report by Mary Terry Mary reported she has been working on the strategic plan. She will pass on EEA board meeting minutes to the rest of the Advisory Committee. 16. EEA Strategic Plan Report by Richard Osorio and Mary Terry Please see Appendix K. Richard noted they received two more comments after sending the plan out to board again. They word-smithed, put the plan for review again, got a few more comments, and tweaked again. A glossary of terms will not be included.

7 After reviewing the final draft, Karen Garland suggested to number the bullets to make it easier to refer to - example: 3.A.1 Richard made motion to accept the strategic plan with the changes in format suggested by Karen Garland. Carla Rapp seconded. Motion Passed. The board approved the Strategic Plan. 17. EE Certification Program Update by Richard Osorio Richard reported that the pilot stage of the EE Certification program is now over after three years. The program is in its fourth year and he will be doing an extensive review and evaluation this fall. There have been three graduates of the program so far. Richard also reported he moved to the UGA College of Environment and Design effective July 1, This department offers new opportunities for technology such as downloadable readings prior to courses. He also now has the opportunity to work with the new Gwinnett County Environmental and Heritage Center. He will also be revisiting partnerships with EEA, EPD/DNR, etc. as supporters of the program. Richard reported he has made contact with the Professional Standards Commission and plans to meet with them about how to get EE added as an endorsement on teaching certificates. He is also working on a Masters of EE joint project with the Education College. A UGA committee will begin exploring an EE masters program starting this fall. It is a two year process to get a new program /courses. Columbus is looking at starting a Masters of EE program as well 18. Vote on Restoring Travel Stipends in EEA Budget Kim Bailey made the following motion: As funds allow, EEA will restore funding in its annual budget to provide registration costs and travel stipends for EEA board members to attend conferences or participate in other professional learning opportunities that would benefit EEA. The amount of funding will be determined and voted on by the board as part of the annual budget preparation and adoption process. The executive committee will establish the process for how funds will be allocated. Trecia Neal seconded. Discussion: Kim explained in the past EEA has budgeted funds to send board members to conferences such as NAAEE (North American Association of Environmental Education). The EEA conference scholarship committee would like EEA to restore this as a line item in their annual budget. The committee thought it would be best not to limit the funds to be used for NAAEE conferences only. Other opportunities may arise that would be of greater benefit to EEA. As part of establishing the process for how funds will be allocated, the exec. committee would require a plan that specifically addressed how EEA would benefit. Kim also asked the board if they thought funds should be limited for use by EEA board members as was done in the past (and as currently written) or if they thought we should open it to any EEA member?

8 Theodosia noted that it would be good to include enough funds for two people to attend a chosen event to get more out of it. Karen Garland noted that recipients of the travel stipend could be required to share information by writing an article for the EEA newsletter. Richard made a motion to amend the motion by striking as funds allow Jennifer McCoy seconded. Motion to amend passed. The board then voted to approve the amended motion: EEA will restore funding in its annual budget to provide registration costs and travel stipends for EEA board members to attend conferences or participate in other professional learning opportunities that would benefit EEA. The amount of funding will be determined and voted on by the board as part of the annual budget preparation and adoption process. The executive committee will establish the process for how funds will be allocated. 19. New Business No New business was brought up. 20. Adjourn Meeting was adjourned at 2:35 PM. Submitted by Kim Bailey, EEA Secretary

9 EEA Board Meeting Minutes Date: August 18, 2005 Location: Fernbank Science Center, Atlanta, GA Appendices Appendix A - Treasurer s Report Appendix B - Recommended EEA Policy Amendment Appendix C - Suggestions and Ideas for EEA Lifetime Membership Category Appendix D - Fundraising Form for EEA Committees Appendix E - Monarchs Across Georgia Quarterly Report Appendix F - Draft Call for Conference Presentations Appendix G - Conference Goody Bag Pledge Form Appendix H - Conference Door Prize Pledge Form Appendix I - EEA PR Committee Wanted Poster Appendix J - EEA Nominations Committee Goals Appendix K - EEA Strategic Plan