Current Board Meeting Minutes

DULLES SHRM BOARD MEETING MINUTES
ARTEL, Inc.
April 9, 2007

Board Members Present:
Maggie Chan, Past-President
Joseph Gregory, Assistant Vice President, Membership
Denise Henderson, Communications Director
Cindy Loison, Director, Discussion Group
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
Marlene Mouanga, SHRM Foundation Representative

Board Members Absent:
Sarah Cower, President Elect
Andy Drescher, Assistant Registration Coordinator
Amy Lourenco, Registration Coordinator

Board Member Participating by Phone:
Teresa Buchholz, Vice President, Sponsors

Agenda:
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. 

Treasurer:
Tina Strasheim presented the revised Treasurer’s report dated April 9, 2007, where she added the PayPal balance and check from the sponsor.  She confirmed that we did get the lapel microphone and that it is in Craig Petry’s hands. 

There are no pending transactions.  The checkbook balance was $4,662.77.  The cash management fund earned $111.15, bringing the total balance to $32,141.92.

Membership:
Lynn Padgett and Joseph Gregory presented the membership update as of April 8, 2007:

Of the 223 total registered members, 130 are renewals and 93 are new.  196 have paid for their membership, of whom 116 are renewals and 80 are new.  Last year’s total membership number was at 262.  With 116 paid renewals, the renewal rate as of 4/8/2007 is 44%.  Joseph Gregory thinks the renewal rate number is low because of the volatile nature of this region’s demographics, where many are brand new to the area and in transition.  For example, in the most recent New Member Orientation, there was a record number in attendance and 13 were new to the area. 

When asked if it was worth contacting members who did not renew their membership, Lynn Padgett said that these members have been contacted and their contact information either no longer works; they said that have opted for NOVA SHRM for a closer commute; or there was no response.  Mary Saily said that it would be interesting to see the stats of other Chapters, such as NOVA SHRM’s, on their renewal rate.  Lynn Padgett will contact NOVA SHRM to find out membership stats including their membership renewal rate.

Secretary:
The Board reviewed and unanimously approved the minutes of the March 12, 2007 Board Meeting.

Communications Update:
Denise Henderson can post information such as the monthly Chapter newsletter to the Dulles SHRM website either as HTML links or as PDF files.  She inquired whether the Board has a preference, and the pros and cons of each approach were discussed.  Some believe that the “surfability” of HTML format is easier, while others think that PDF files are preferable.  For now, Denise Henderson will continue to post documents in HTML.

Nidhi Kanungo inquired whether it is possible to send the monthly newsletter by e-mail rather than printing it.  Maggie Chan said that she has heard mixed reviews from people who receive newsletters by e-mail.  It would be cheaper to disseminate electronically than by printing, but the readership may decline if we distribute it only electronically, since our members receive and read the printed newsletter at Chapter Meetings.  Denise Henderson said that she will continue to have the newsletter printed and also post it to the website, so members can read it either way.

Legislative Update:
Craig Petry informed us that we need to select a date for the annual trip to Capitol Hill.  He has put this item in the newsletter, but there has been no response.  He thinks that the best course of action is to select a date working with his contact at SHRM National, and then publicize it at Chapter Meetings.

Registration Practices:
At the March Chapter Meeting, 72 meals were served.  There were nine “no shows” and seven “walk ins.”  Mary Saily’s sense is that guaranteeing five percent less than the RSVP number worked well.

Student Liaison & Scholarships:
Nidhi Kanungo reported that there is an issue with the George Mason University (GMU) student chapter.  Nidhi Kanungo spoke with someone at the HR Games who told her that they have not held a meeting yet this term and that they may need to disband due to low attendance.  Nidhi Kanungo wants to discuss this with Paige Wolfe, the student chapter advisor at GMU.  Chas Sumser shared that when he has gone to speak to students only a few people show up, e.g., at George Washington University five students attended.  Also, since there is no connection between meeting attendance and grades earned in courses, there appears to be less incentive to attend.  Apparently Virginia Commonwealth University and James Madison University tie meeting attendance to course credit, and thus get better participation.  Meredith Dwyer suggested to Nidhi Kanungo that she send an e-mail to Paige who appears to be disengaged (she did not attend the HR Games).  Chas Sumser offered to speak with her; he suggested that since he has spoken to her classes five times, he might be able to make some progress.  He also will speak with Melanie Ott, a Dulles SHRM member who teaches at GMU.

Member Survey Results:
Mary Saily distributed and the Board reviewed and discussed the results of the recently-completed member survey.  The results will be reported in the Chapter newsletter and posted on the Dulles SHRM website.  Board members shared their reactions to the results.  Joseph Gregory’s observed that comments in the survey regarding introductions at Chapter Meetings suggest that the growth in attendance at these events may make it necessary to alter the format to allow enough time for networking and the program.  Mary Saily asked for suggestions on how the format could be altered; a suggestion was offered and agreed to that when Chapter Meeting attendance exceeds 70, we do introductions at each table rather than “around the room.”  Cindy Loison asked what the essence of what people like [about the introduction].  Mary Saily offered that people appear to like to learn about the companies for which their fellow members work.  Evelyn Kaiser asked about doing more “structured networking” to help attendees maximize this opportunity; Mary Saily volunteered to lead this activity at future meetings. 

Program Update:
Judy Carter reported that the speaker for the May Chapter Meeting has cancelled.  The speaker initially said that she would provide a substitute but that did not work out.  Judy Carter and Mary Walter Midkiff scrambled to find a replacement – since HRCI credit has already been approved – and a substitute has now been identified.  Judy Carter will share the new speaker’s information with Chas Sumser to determine if the program must be resubmitted to HRCI.  The topic of speaker cancellations was discussed, including the idea of developing a “commitment letter” clarifying that there is no fee paid for speaking and that cancellation requires a specific amount of prior notice.  Her inclination is to do this through an informal e-mail, but highlighting the points identified above.  The Board agreed that this would be a good approach.  Last year we had two cancellations and this year we have two so far.  The Board discussed the idea of having backup speakers identified and Judy Carter explained that she has people identified for this role.  Chas Sumser offered that this is a good idea, but it still remains problematic if the substitution occurs less than four weeks before the event, due the HRCI credit approval requirements.  Denise Henderson reminded the group that if we post that HRCI credit will be granted for a program, and the program does not qualify, we will be penalized and not allowed to offer HRCI credit again for a year.  It is believed that the May program will most likely qualify, but we are still awaiting his bio and objectives.  No information regarding HRCI credits has been posted at this point.

Judy Carter reported that she will begin working on a “speakers’ spreadsheet” for 2008 now that this year’s member survey results are known. 

Workforce Initiative:
Evelyn Kaiser reported on a grant proposal focused on engineering of devises to improve workplace accessibility for individuals with disabilities.  This issue is particularly critical for returning veterans with multiple disabilities.  Outreach is being done to businesses to obtain letters of support.  Evelyn Kaiser believes this project will have an impact on Northern Virginia businesses.  She provide a sample letter; she thinks there is another letter that is better which she will circulate it by e-mail.  Letters need to be received by April 12th.

Evelyn Kaiser reported that she has made calls to educators and WEBs regarding the upcoming workforce forum.  She is not sure how much response she will get.  Tina Strasheim and Denise Henderson will be attending the event on April 26th.  Evelyn Kaiser is organizing a steering committee to develop strategies for supporting ODEP and National SHRM’s initiative regarding the employment of persons with disabilities.  The first meeting will be held on May 1st at 2:30 p.m.  Mary Saily offered congratulations to Evelyn Kaiser on behalf of the Board for forming the committee and getting a good number of people to participate.

Sponsoring Seminars:
After Greg Justice’s presentation at the March Chapter Meeting, the topic of Dulles SHRM sponsoring seminars was raised.  Mary Saily explained that since members tell us that they value education so highly, perhaps we might want to explore identifying a topic of significant interest that would be suitable for a seminar.  Mary Saily solicited whether anyone would be interested in gathering suggestions for potential seminar topics.  She noted that HRLF did a seminar last year and it was very successful, especially financially.  Judy Carter related that NOVA SHRM is sponsoring a two-hour professional development seminar with Larry Singleton (our April speaker).  We discussed the possibility of doing a seminar once a year since they are a lot of work to organize.  Maggie said that NOVA SHRM used to do four per year and they had a Board member whose job was to plan these programs.  Chas Sumser said that he could see his current Board position evolving to include this responsibility, but he could not take it on at this point in the year.  Mary Saily reiterated that’s she just wanted to raise the idea at this stage and that it is worth discussing since it would potentially address the needs of our growing members in our growing Chapter.

Announcements:

• Mary Saily again raised the topic of Board member position descriptions and assigned us the task of reviewing our own position descriptions before the May Board Meeting.
• Mary Saily announced that Madeline Taylor, president of Virginia SHRM, is going to attend the April Chapter Meeting.  She is attempting to visit every Chapter in the state to see what they are doing.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jamey McNamara
Secretary