Current Board Meeting Minutes

DULLES SHRM BOARD MEETING MINUTES
ARTEL, Inc.
March 12, 2007

Board Members Present:
Ben Kane, SHRM Foundation Representative
Maggie Chan, Past-President
Sarah Cower, President Elect
Andy Drescher, Assistant Registration Coordinator
Joseph Gregory, Assistant Vice President, Membership
Denise Henderson, Communications Director
Cindy Loison, Director, Discussion Group
Amy Lourenco, Registration Coordinator
Jamey McNamara, Secretary
Lynn Padgett, Vice President, Membership
Craig Petry, Legislative Liaison
Mary Saily, President
Tina Strasheim, Treasurer
Chas Sumser, Certification Representative
Judy Carter, Vice President, Programs
Evelyn Kaiser, Diversity/Workforce Education Director
Nidhi Kanungo, Student Chapter Liaison & Scholarship Coordinator

Board Members Absent:
Teresa Buchholz, Vice President, Sponsors
 
Agenda:
The meeting was called to order at 6:08 p.m. 

Treasurer:
Tina Strasheim presented the Treasurer's report dated March 12, 2007.  Our checkbook balance as of March 12th is $9,730.17. In addition, we have $31,933.76 in a separate cash management account.

It was reported that 100% of dinners were paid for at the February 21 Chapter Meeting.

Secretary:
The February 12, 2007, Board Meeting minutes were approved with one correction, i.e., Judy Carter and Evelyn Kaiser were absent from the meeting.

Student Chapter Liaison & Scholarships:
Nidhi Kanungo outlined her goals for 2007:

1. Increase student attendance at Chapter meetings.
   Facilitate student Chapter activities and encourage student participation.

2. Convert Student members into Professional Chapter members after they have graduated. Work with Membership on this by inviting Students to the Chapter Orientation meeting and providing information about the same at the Student Chapter meetings.
3. Continue the Guest Lecture Series at the Student Chapters.
4. Participate in the student HR games and other promotional events.
5. Reactivate one inactive student Chapter.
6. Spread the word about Dulles SHRM’s scholarships at Chapter meetings, in the Chapter newsletter, and among the Student Chapters.
7. Award two Chapter scholarships annually.

Programs:
Judy Carter reported that speakers are now in place for all of the 2007 Chapter Meetings.  She received strong references for the speaker scheduled for October 2007 (when the topic will be compensation & benefits).  Judy Carter has been following the process used by Mary Walter Midkiff for selecting speakers.  She would like the Board’s suggestions for and help in vetting speaker candidates for 2008.  Judy Carter will begin looking for speakers after she receives the 2007 member survey results.  She will summarize prospective speakers’ information in a spreadsheet and will circulate to all of us for our review and feedback.  Judy Carter’s goal is to have all of the 2008 speakers in place within a couple of months of the member survey results. 

Judy Carter mentioned that she has been contacted by prospective speakers.  Amy Lourenco suggested not only credentialing speaker but also getting references on them, as speakers, ideally from another SHRM Chapter.  Amy Lourenco also raised the issue of perceived conflicts of interest between speakers and sponsors, i.e., when there is overlap between speakers and sponsors there is the possibility of the appearance that people who sponsor our Chapter Meetings may receive preferential treatment in the speaker selection process.  This is not necessarily a problem, but members may assume that we pay our speakers.  In the past when there has been overlap, we have tried to separate the events by at least a couple of months.  Mary noted that sometimes we pick the speaker first, and later the person’s company becomes aware of the Chapter and decides to pursue sponsorship.  She suggested that we place an article in an upcoming newsletter explaining how we select speakers and stressing that speaking at a Chapter meeting is not a “selling opportunity.” 

Judy Carter reported that the speaker for the March 21st Chapter Meeting is Greg Justice, a professor at Virginia Tech.  She inquired whether anyone had a personal connection with Greg since she will not be able to attend the meeting and needs to find someone to introduce him.  Maggie Chan volunteered to introduce Greg.

Member Survey:
Mary Saily announced that the member survey will be released on the HumanR survey website on either Wednesday, March 14th or Thursday, March 15th and will be up for two weeks.   Amy Lourenco inquired whether news members who have signed up receive the survey.  Mary Saily said that they can access the survey and HumanR staff will confirm that the individuals are members.  Amy Lourenco added that this is a good idea since the new members may have ideas of what they would really like to see (in terms of Chapter programs and activities). 

SIG Discussion Groups:
Cindy Loison discussed the status of the SIG Discussion Group activity and outlined her goals for 2007:

The program has been a success but she is starting to run out of conference room space.  Chas Sumser volunteered that he has conference room space available for 100 at his place of business, and that it is always available.   On the subject of topics, Cindy Loison is trying to stay timely with what the group wants, e.g., the topic of coaching is on the schedule for April.  The schedule for 2007 is now filled up.  If member interest exceeds apace limitations, we can add another “just in time” program. 

Nidhi Kanungo asked whether the meetings could be granted certification credits.  Maggie Chan explained that HRCI initially approved, but then 5 or 6 months later came back and said that certification credits could not be granted.  The rationale is that the meetings are facilitated discussions and do not involved the transfer of knowledge from one expert to others.  Mary Saily noted that even for Chapter Meetings we have to get approval for both the topic and the speaker (as an expert).  Chas Sumser reported that he looked into the possibility of obtaining credit for the discussions last year, but concluded that, based on the HRCI requirements, the sessions would likely lose the charm of an informal roundtable discussion.  Amy Lourenco reminded the Board that the original spirit of the Discussion Groups was for members to learn from their peers what they are doing in the topic area.
Cindy Loison sought the group’s suggestions on what to do about the five persistent “no-shows” at each monthly Discussion Group meeting.  Mary Saily asked if the no shows have been a real problem, and Cindy Loison said that it has not really been a serious problem since others who did not RSVP have typically shown up.  Amy Lourenco suggested that one approach might be to stop allowing a member to RSVP if he or she has not shown up 3 times.  Cindy Loison said that she has not cut off reservations at 25 since there typically are no shows and others have shown up and filled their seats.

Communications:
Denise Henderson reminded us that we should check the job descriptions for our Board positions.  She thinks that many of the descriptions are out of date.  Mary Saily mentioned that she recently updated the SHRM Foundation Rep job description in anticipation of filling the current vacancy, and in so doing transferred the Scholarship duties to the Student Chapter Liaison & Scholarships position.  Mary Saily is going to put this issue on the agenda for the April 9th Board Meeting. 

Denise Henderson just received a bill from the consultant for his work on the Dulles SHRM website.  The bill was $560 for January, February, and part of March.  The Board agreed that this seemed reasonable.  Denise Henderson added that the consultant is doing work off hours to accommodate us.
Denise Henderson then outlined her goals for 2007:

WEBSITE 

• Continue to update information on the website. Work with individual board members to ensure pages pertaining to their position are current and correct.
• Continue to post Chapter events on the website.
• Continue to update the database as possible so there is no cost to the Chapter.
• Continue to test and monitor the website for stability and functionality and investigate website problems. When necessary, work with webmaster to ensure any problems are resolved.
• Continue to update the website, as possible, utilizing Dreamweaver so that there is no cost for the webmaster.  This includes updating newsletter, Chapter meeting info, Chapter discussion group info, job postings, HR news updates, and more.
• Continue to add SHRM National relevant links, including surveys, salary info, a web cast link to the home page (or education page) (http://www.shrm.org/webcast/).
• Work with Board of Directors to have all board member job descriptions updated on the site.
• Possibly add a FAQ Section (like NOVA SHRM) including membership information.

MAILERMAILER 

• Continue to send mailers that relate to Human Resources as it affects our Chapter and our local area.
• Continue to send mailers in HTML and Text format.
• Currently sending 3 mailers for Chapter Discussion, 3 mailers for Monthly Meeting. (Mailers go out for surveys, community events/volunteers, training, etc.)

NEWSLETTER 

• Continue to compile, edit, design, lay out and produce the monthly Chapter newsletter. The deadline for the Chapter Newsletter is the Thursday before the Chapter meeting.  Goal: To get items two weeks prior to the meeting. Continue to post newsletters on website following monthly meeting.
• Continue to keep pertinent, timely information in the newsletter as it relates to Human Resources as it affects our Chapter and our local area.
• Decide if we should add Board member information to the newsletter.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

• Continue to represent the Chapter in the human resources community and beyond.
• Continue to work with Legislative Liaison and SHRM National to spread the word of HR Voice and encourage members to get involved when it comes to legislation affecting the workplace.
• Continue to volunteer as needed and able on committees, volunteer panels and more as it relates to the Human Resources community.
• Continue to serve as a liaison with other SHRM Chapters, organizations, and internal Dulles SHRM areas.
• Continue to encourage students and transitioning military that have an interest in Human Resources to research SHRM and, possibly join SHRM and a local Chapter.
• Continue to attend Chapter meetings, discussion groups and Board of Directors meetings.

Membership:
Lynn Padgett reported that there will be a new member orientation immediately before the March 21st Chapter Meeting.  There are many new members.  Cornelia Gamlen will lead the orientation. 

Joseph Gregory reported there are 178 paid Chapter members as of March 12th – an increase of 35-40 new members since the last Board Meeting.  At the end of the first quarter of 2006 there were only 145 members, so we are 23% above that number.  This growth is occurring mostly as a result of positive word of mouth, and not as the result of significant advertising, although Lynn Padgett did send one “blast e-mail” to at-large SHRM members.  When asked how they found us, one new member responded:  “We’re the Chapter to join.” (This quote has been added to the new member orientation PowerPoint slides.) 

Mary Saily inquired about the new Ambassador program.  Lynn Padgett reported that she is doing the established-new member matches.  New members are asking for established members with whom they’ve been matched at the Registration table. 

Registration Practices:
Mary Saily asked Amy Lourenco to revisit our policy on guaranteeing meals with the hotel for Chapter Meetings.  We have typically guaranteed for 10% less than the registered number, but since more people are walking in (without registering), we need to reconsider the policy.  The Sheraton rallied to come up with enough dinners at the February Chapter Meeting when we had 86 attendees versus a guarantee of 68.  We considered the possibility that the January and February meetings were aberrations in terms of attendance and consensus formed around the idea of trying a guarantee of 5% less than the registered number. 

Amy Lourenco raised the question of whether there is a time when we will let in a walk-in attend in place of a pre-paid attendee.  Maggie Chan said that Kimberly Esch had done so at 6:00 pm.  Amy Lourenco also raised the possibility of extending the registration deadline from Friday to Monday (two days before the Chapter Meeting).  Maggie Chan said that the Friday deadline was Kimberly Esch’s decision based on the Marriott’s space limitations and deadline.  Amy Lourenco asked the Board for its input based on our knowledge of the practices of other groups to which we belong (such as ASTD).  Amy Lourenco said that it is possible to get all of the work done in time for the Sheraton’s deadline, but a later registration deadline would tighten the timeframe in which it must be accomplished. 

Replacement of SHRM Foundation Rep on Board:
Ben Kane resigned his position as SHRM Foundation Rep in mid-February because he is relocating to Atlanta.  Mary Saily circulated to the Board via e-mail on March 7th Willingness to Serve forms from two enthusiastic prospective replacements.   The Board discussed the merits of each person’s candidacy and Denise Henderson made a motion in favor of selecting Marlene Mouanga for the position.  The Board voted unanimously to accept the motion. 

Andy Drescher asked whether there might be a way to utilize the services of both volunteers, and the Board discussed different volunteer needs.  Mary Saily is going to ask the other candidate whether he is interested in helping with Membership activities.

Certification Class:
Chas Sumser provided an update on the cost of allowing the person who withdrew from the 2006 SHRM certification study class for personal reasons to repeat the class in 2007.  He reiterated that this was an extreme circumstance otherwise he would not have brought it to the Board for its consideration.  Specifically, the class brought in $2,000 and there essentially is no cost to the Chapter in allowing the person to repeat it, since the instructor is paid based on the pass rate, not per student.  Chas Sumser made a motion to waive the cost of the study class for the affected student.  Amy Lourenco seconded the motion.  It passed by a vote of 14-2.

Chas Sumser also reported that three of our members are participating in the mentoring program which we are now co-sponsoring with NOVA SHRM.  A kick-off meeting will be held the week of March 19th which Chas Sumser plans to attend.  Chas Sumser will serve as liaison to NOVA SHRM for this program and will help ensure that it goes well. 

Helios Awards: 
Helios HR Consulting is sponsoring an awards program to recognize the achievements of corporate CEOs in support of Human Resources.  Dulles SHRM was asked to be a “partner” in this program.  An independent jury will make the award selections.  There is no cost to Dulles SHRM to be a partner.  Mary Saily added that she had spoken with Kathy Albarado of Helios and Kathy had assured her that we would not have to provide our membership list in order to participate.  Craig Petry asked if National SHRM would have any issue with us partnering with Helios on this program (it is his understanding that ASTD, for example, would not do it).  Amy Lourenco made a motion that we become a partner.  Denise Henderson requested that whatever we need to do in terms of promoting the awards on our website be done in a technologically feasible manner, i.e., not posting a PDF file.  The Board voted to approve the motion by a vote of 15-1.

Quick Updates:

• The next State Council meeting is April 26th in Richmond.  The meeting will be held in conjunction with the Workforce Readiness Forum.  Denise Henderson and Tina Strasheim will attend both the State Council and Workforce Readiness Forum.
• Amy Lourenco raised the issue of the Community Speaker at the February Chapter Meeting.  Amy Lourenco does not feel that the selection of a private ergonomics consultant is consistent with past speakers from community organizations, and that the consultant was better suited to be a sponsor of a Chapter Meeting.  Mary Saily said that she has discussed the issue already with Evelyn.
• Mary Saily mentioned that the feedback from the February Chapter Meeting gave high marks to the food served by the Sheraton.
• Amy Lourenco commented on the short presentation by the February speaker (30 minutes).  She reminded us that SHRM certification credit requires one hour presentations (45 minutes for presentations and 15 minutes for questions and answers) and that we could be audited by someone from SHRM National, especially since they can attend our events.
• Andy Drescher presented information regarding wireless microphone options for use at Chapter Meetings.  The Fender model is $229.50 plus tax and shipping).  It is compatible with our existing equipment and necessary given the larger size of the rooms at the Sheraton.  The group agreed that the price seems reasonable.  Andy Drescher made a motion to buy the Fender system.  Craig Petry seconded the motion and the Board approved it unanimously.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:58 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jamey McNamara
Secretary