June 10 2006 minutes

Serving county extension councils across Iowa

MINUTES OF THE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

IOWA ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY

EXTENSION COUNCILS

June 10, 2006

Those present: Sue Boettcher, Gary Smith, Margaret Mordan, Ralph Lents, Debra Nelson, Ron Fransen, Pat Griffin, Sybil Soukup, Connie Cannon, Tori Grantz, Russell Kurth, Kenny Hennings, Joe Van Ginkel, Tom Ullrich, Jayne Lupkes, and Brian Waldstein. Also present: Jack Payne, Michael Ouart, Alan Ladd, Lois Hunt, Chuck Morris, Sherry Glenn, JaneAnn Stout, Mark Settle, and Julie Baumler.

Sue Boettcher called the meeting to order. Introductions of current and new board members were made.

No additions were made to the agenda.

Sybil moved to approve the appointment of Debra Nelson to fill the remainder of Allen Ricks’ term, representing the northeast area. Gary seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Margaret moved to approve the minutes from the January 28 board meeting and the May 22 executive committee meeting. Ron seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Ralph presented the treasurer’s report. There is an overall balance $17,388.67. Pat moved to approve the treasurer’s report and expenses since the last board meeting of $2,399.54. Joe seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Gary reported that the marketing committee selected the following scholarship winners:

Jodi Ebert, Washington County, Southeast Area

Valerie Carlson, Story County, Central Area

Hillary Horst, Butler County, Northeast Area

Kerry Kirschten, Sioux County, Northwest Area

Corey DeVore, Lucas County, Southwest Area

They were presented at the high school awards ceremonies for each student, with the exception of Corey DeVore. His scholarship certificate will be presented at the Lucas County Extension Council meeting.

Nominations for the Distinguished Council Member and Outstanding Program awards are starting to come in. They are due June 15.

Sybil Soukup summarized the legislative committee’s activities since the previous meeting. The Fifth Annual Legislative Day was held on March 8. About 100 extension council members and supporters from 32 counties attended. The PILD (Public Issues Leadership Development) Conference was held in Washington, D.C. in April. Margaret, Sybil, and Sue attended representing IACEC. It was an excellent experience which culminated in meeting with our congressemen and/or their staffers.

Pat presented a summary of the activites of the Finance & Policy Committee for the year.
The committee has spent a good deal of its time working to shore up the financial reports to help the board members understand where we are financially so they might be able to make better decisions. IACEC is not registered as a non-profit organization and there is probably not a real need to be registered. The finance and policy committee is continuing to look into the travel policies.

Sue gave the Executive Committee Report. She referred board members to the Overview in the packets. We had a record 99 members this year. IACEC members were kept informed of the search process for the new vice-provost. Establishing the legislative liaisons in all counties to be linked by e-mail has been a huge asset to increasing our communications with the board.

Gary reported on the Board Elections. Members were referred to a handout in packet outlining voting results and current make-up of the board. The board discussed voting procedures and why there was lower voter-turnout. This is something that should be addressed for next year. Somehow we need to help council members understand the value of this organization and improve what we can provide to our county extension councils. The board discussed using the liaisons more and re-writing the nomination forms to ask questions which will help council members get to know the nominees better.

Michael Ouart presented a highlight of state & other budget component trends & indicators. ISUE has been able to grow their budget over the years ($86.5 million in 2004-2005). Grants and user-fees have made up the lion’s share of this growth. We’ve taken cuts in federal and state dollars. The budget for FY05 is $86.6 million. We’ve done a good job of diversifying our “portfolio” with grants and user-fees.

Jack Payne noted that right now our state legislature doesn’t buy in to the higher education mission. ISU’s portion of the regents’ budget was $4.4 million. We need to keep working with our legislators. They need to hear when their actions are not acceptable. Without a strong ISU, there is not a strong ISUE. He noted that grants are great, but they are restricted dollars.

Sue asked the program directors to share some brief highlights for the board: JaneAnn (Families), Chuck (4-H youth development) and Jerry (ANR) provided an overview of issues and new efforts.

Reports of Area Meetings were made by all board members.

The newly-elected 2006-07 Board members were introduced: Debra Nelson – Floyd County, Tori Grantz – Clinton County, Kenny Hennings – Bremer County, Thomas Ullrich – Woodbury County, and Russell Kurth – Harrison County.

Recommendations from members going off the board were given:

· Continue the positive gains in talking to our legislators.

· Council members would do well to not think about the county as an island – think about extension as a whole – look at what we can do to make extension a player in Iowa.

· We need to work in our own areas to make people feel connected to IACEC and feel like we are providing the service that they need. We need to be ready to prove to them that their $100 dues are a good investment,

· We need to continue to invite our legislators to local extension activities. We also need to do a better job working with our congressmen when they are present locally.

· Board members really need to visit the counties

· Keep reviewing the strategic plan and working on it

· Don’t be afraid to take a position on the board and work with it – there’s a lot to learn and to be gained,

· After doing the PILD conference, it would be good to follow up with the congressmen/staffers at the local office

Jack Payne, Vice Provost for Extension and Outreach shared comments with the board.
The listening tours are now completed. Jack went to all 5 areas. Comments and opinions were recorded. These comments will be shared back with stakeholders. He is continuing to work on ISU President Geofrey’s 4 mission-critical objectives – more Extension involvement in the recruitment to the university, examine Extension’s financial exposures, control campus budgets, and grow continuing education to world-class levels.

Partnering Opportunities between Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Program and ISU Extension were discussed. Brian moved to have the IACEC president appoint someone to representative from IACEC to meet with RC&D council. Sue seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Sue, Sybil & Margaret reported on the PILD Conference.

Election of Officers (President, President Elect, Secretary, Treasurer) was held. Brian nominated Gary for president. Joe seconded the motion. Tom moved nominations cease. Joe seconded the motion. Both motions carried. Debra Nelson moved to nominate Sybil for president-elect. Brian seconded the motion. Sue moved nominations cease. Tom seconded that motion. Both motions carried. Ron moved to nominate Denise for secretary. Sue seconded the motion. Brian moved nominations cease. Pat seconded the motion. Both motions carried. Brian nominated Pat for treasurer. Joe seconded the motion. Sue moved nominations cease. Tom seconded the motion. Both motions carried.

Board Process Issues were discussed and revised. Joe moved to allow replacement board members to vote if they attend in a board member’s place. Pat seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Sybil moved to approve the Board Process Issues as amended. Ron seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Pat moved that the checking account remain with Wells Fargo. However, when investing additional money in CDs, the treasurer will check with at least three FDIC-insured institutions to determine the highest rate. Sybil seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Standing Committees were appointed as follows:

Legislative

Joe Van Ginkel – chair

Cindy Shelley

Sybil Soukup

Denise Maier

Ron Fransen

Tom Ullrich

Debra Nelson

Tori Grantz

Marketing

Connie Cannon – chair

Sue Boettcher

Kenny Hennings

Russ Kurth

Policy & Finance

Brian Waldstein– chair

Gary Smith

Pat Griffin

The committees met.

Brian reported for the Policy & Finance Committee. The travel policy was discussed. They reminded the board that mileage will be reimbursed for attending regular meetings, board of regents meetings, and to present a scholarship. Brian moved to make the following changes to the travel policy:

· When an overnight stay is required, IACEC will pay up to $50/night

· The mileage reimbursement rate will be set at the ISU level (currently $.445/mile), as of July 1 of the fiscal year.

Tom seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Sybil moved to approve expenses of $1,502.11 for mileage and promotional items. Russ seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Joe reported that the Legislative Committee would like to hold a legislative day again this year. They have set a goad to get the liaisons more involved in recruitment for legislative day. They requested a budget of $1,000.

Connie reported that the Marketing Committee would like to continue the newsletter, website, and scholarship. The committee would like to propose a challenge to all county extension councils to either expand a program to meet a new audience or to develop a program for a new audience (in lieu of financial support for Extension Week activities) by providing mini-grants at one $500 grant/area. This should be an on-line application process. Brian moved to approve the mini-grants for program at $500/area. Ron seconded the motion. The motion carried.

The next meeting date is set for Monday, Sept. 11at 4:00 p.m. This is during annual meeting.

President Gary Smith adjourned the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Denise Maier, Secretary

Board Process Issues

Number of Meetings

· It was agreed to have 3-4 face-to-face meetings in the following year. There will be a minimum of 4 meetings of the Board per year. Additional meetings will be scheduled as needed (adopted 6/11/05).

Role of Executive Committee

· The Executive Committee will have the following powers. It may take actions to implement motions made by the Board of Directors; pass motions to disburse up to $2000 (adopted 6/19/04) of the Associations available funds; will serve as liaisons with committees of the Board.

Define a Board quorum

· A quorum consists of 8 or more Board members – attendance may be in person or by electronic means.

Board Committee Structure

· Standing Committees (adopted 6/11/05)

- Policy & Finance

- Legislative

- Marketing

IACEC Board meetings will be open to the public:

· The IACEC Board of Directors will honor the intent of the Iowa Open Public Meeting Law, Chapter 22A of the Iowa code, at all of their meetings.

How to develop the Board meeting agenda?

· The Executive Committee will determine meeting agendas at least 20 days prior to any regularly scheduled meeting. All other Board members may submit agenda items to the President at least 10 days prior to a meeting for inclusion on the agenda, or may amend the agenda at the start of any meeting.

How will officers be nominated & voted

· An open nomination process and open ballot will determine officers. The President may name a nomination committee prior to elections to seek out interested candidates.

Board Replacement Policy

· Board members may send another Extension Council member to attend board meetings as a voting participant. (adopted 6/10/06)

[Agendas] [Minutes] [Area Meetings] [IACEC Home Page]