June 6, 2005
MITRE
Tysons Corner, VA

Attendees:

Kurt Cowles, President
Denise Henderson, Communications Director
Maggie Chan, President-Elect
Andrea Evans, Student Chapter Liaison
Lisa Forester, SHRM Foundation Rep & Scholarship Coordinator
Cindy Loison, Past-President
Amy Lourenco, Secretary
Evelyn Kaiser, Diversity/Workforce Education Director
Denise Hartman, Legislative Liaison
Sarah Cower, Registration Coordinator
Mary Saily, Vice President, Programs
Bonnie Little, Vice President, Membership

Via phone:
Lynn Padgett, Registration Coordinator (Alt)
Michaele Vestal, Certification Representative

Agenda:

The meeting was called to order at 6:05 pm.

Bonnie Little moved and Mary Saily seconded a motion to accept the May minutes. The motion was passed unanimously.

Programs Report:

Mary Saily reviewed the current schedule. We discussed options for October (disability month), including a demo on assistive technology and a panel to be led by Chris Carlson from Booz Allen. November is the only month open for both speakers and sponsors. We reviewed the survey results for possible topics of interest and brainstormed several topics (compensation, ethics, recruiting) & speakers (including Steve Zimmerman on personal growth/development for HR).

Membership Report:

We have 204 paid members. Bonnie Little has followed-up on several who submitted applications but no money, with good results. We need to get a revised list from SHRM and audit the affiliation they have for our folks. (Amy Lourenco received an "unaffiliated" letter from Leesburg SHRM.) Kurt Cowles wants to follow-up with those who don't renew and will work with Bonnie Little on this to better understand our retention.

Workforce Development Report:

Evelyn Kaiser was able to find a volunteer to do a PowerPoint presentation on ethics to be used in High Schools. Someone from Embry Rucker will be our community speaker in December.

Registration Report:

It was decided to set 6:15 as the cut-off time to hold seats for registered guests. After that time, we will give their seats away to folks on "standby". No-shows who are pre-registered will still be charged, even if we can fill their seats. We will post this policy on the website and send it along with the confirmation of registration starting with the July meeting.

Certification Report:

Michaele Vestal sent an e-mail detailing proposal for this Fall Study Group. The purchase of instructor's materials at $585 is required to get the reduced rate on student materials. HRCI has added a special module for SPHR test-takers. Michaele Vestal recommended a cut-off date for registration of August 31. We cautioned about the need to be flexible depending on the number who have signed up by that date, but decided not to have a firm maximum number of students as actual attendance varies week to week. We’ll monitor the overall class size as the class forms.

We discussed the fees for the class. Last year we charged: $700 for Dulles/NOVA/NLU members/students; $750 for national SHRM members; and $800 for all else. In addition, we charged a flat $150 administrative fee for those with current SHRM learning systems. Amy Lourenco mentioned the discussion from last year where we talked about raising the fees for non-members of Dulles/NOVA or NLU Students to drive more membership for Dulles. Amy Lourenco moved and Mary Saily seconded a motion for a fee structure of $700 for Dulles/NOVA/NLU members/students /$800 for national SHRM members /and $850 for all else, with $250 for the administrative only fee. Therefore the fee for Dulles, NOVA members and NLU students will remain unchanged. It was passed unanimously. Further, we clarified that the only local SHRM chapter to get the special rate is NOVA because they partner with us to promote the class.

Payment Processing Report:

Maggie Chan reviewed the research she had done on Cvent and PayPal. She reminded us to focus on what we really need (vs. nice to haves). We discussed whether we might be able to submit data manually through PayPal to accommodate folks who want to pay by credit card at the dinner (vs. online when they register). Cvent, as well as a similar product, Acteva, were considered, but we decided they offered more functionality than we require at this point. We can keep them in mind for the future, but the desire is to start small and build-up as we go along. We discussed the need for our current webmaster, John DuBois, to learn and work with PayPal and do some of the upgrades that we'd like if we go that way. Other alternatives were discussed if we need to pursue. Mary Saily moved and Denise Henderson seconded a motion to move forward with PayPal. The motion was passed unanimously.

President's Report:

Kurt Cowles presented an initial list of ideas for the appropriate use of our monies for funding additional initiatives aligned with our mission and goals. We discussed them and added to the list. Kurt Cowles will send the updated list to the Board for further consideration and additional items, and will be looking for feedback from us (via e-mail) to pick the top 3 or 4, with the objective to move forward with a vote at the August Board meeting.

We would like to schedule another Board social dinner given the success of last year’s event. Past Presidents as well as spouses/guest are welcomed to attend. Kurt Cowles put forth two possible dates -- July 9 or July 16 -- and will be canvassing folks for their preference as well as venues.

We were reminded that there is no Board meeting in July.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 pm.

Questions or Comments? Contact the President

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