Current Board Meeting Minutes

DULLES SHRM BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Transition Meeting
Worldgate Marriott
December 13, 2006

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

Board Members Absent:
Teresa Buchholz, VP, Sponsors
Andrea Evans, Former Assistant VP, Membership
Nidhi Kanungo, Student Chapter Liaison & Scholarship Coordinator
Wendy Mack, Former Assistant Vice President, Programs
Mary Walter Midkiff, Former VP Programs & Sponsors

Agenda:
Mary Saily called the meeting to order at 6:26 p.m.  After brief opening remarks, including appreciation for the contributions of 2006 Board of Directors and a welcome to new Board members, each member introduced him/herself.

REPORTS

President:
Maggie Chan recognized the members of the 2006 Dulles Chapter Board for their hard work and accomplishments.  In particular, she thanked Kurt Cowles, the 2006 Past-President, and Mary Saily, the 2006 President-Elect, for their assistance and support throughout the year.

Treasurer:
Sarah Cower distributed a Treasurer’s Report, dated December 11, 2006.  The Chapter’s checking account balance is $9,675.83 and cash management account balance is $31,695.16.  Sarah Cower recently transferred $15,000 from the checking account to the Cash Management account to take advantage of a better interest rate.  The Chapter is “on budget” for the year, and Sarah Cower encouraged all Board members to submit any expenses or bills as soon as possible so that she may finalize numbers for 2006.

Legislative Liaison:
Judy Carter related highlights of the 2006 SHRM National Leadership Conference, which was held November 9-11, 2006, in Crystal City, Virginia.  Judy Carter’s experience was very positive and she highly recommends attending future conferences.  In particular, Judy Carter cited the quality of the breakout discussion sessions, and the attendance of numerous SHRM headquarters staff.  Maggie Chan, who attended the conference in the past, was impressed by the resources available to local Chapters from SHRM National.

Membership:
Lynn Padgett and Joseph Gregory distributed metrics data and reported that the Chapter currently has 251 paid members.  Metrics show that the vast majority of members signed up during the first quarter of the year, and registration then tapered to 8-15 per month.

Lynn Padgett and Joseph Gregory discussed surveys that they conducted during the year and their analysis of participation trends and members’ interests.  For example, 54 members who had attended only one event during the year were surveyed by e-mail and telephone.  No reply was received from 32 members.  Following the survey, 16 of the members surveyed attended a meeting between September and November.  Among respondents, the reasons most commonly cited for non-attendance were busy schedules and work demands.  In terms of reasons cited most often for joining the Chapter, respondents listed networking, program topics, and discussion groups.  Survey respondents also provided suggestions for topics that would appeal to them, including programs geared toward senior-level HR professionals (metrics indicate that the members’ average experience level is 10+ years); employment-oriented topics; and breakfast meetings. 

Lynn Padgett and Joseph Gregory discussed the possibility of having established members “mentor” new members (or first-time program attendees) starting in January.  Amy Lourenco asked whether this would be similar to prior efforts used to identify new members or attendees at events, such as placing stickers on nametags.  Lynn Padgett explained that the mentoring concept could involve having members contact new members prior to meetings.  The Board discussed the topic and consensus formed around exploring this idea further, but suggestions were made for a new name in order to avoid confusion with established professional mentoring programs.  Suggestions included calling it a “Welcome” or “Ambassador” program.

PLANS FOR 2007

Theme:
Mary Saily plans to continue the Chapter’s 2006 theme in 2007:  “Your Chapter of Choice:  Building Your Network and Increasing Your Knowledge.” 

Board Meeting Logistics:
Board meetings will be held each month on Mondays, nine days prior to the Chapter meeting.  (the December Board transition dinner is an exception).  Meetings will be hosted by Denise Henderson at ARTEL in Reston.  If Denise Henderson is unable to host a meeting, it will be held at HumanR in Herndon.  Board members were asked to volunteer each month to pick up the light dinner that is provided.  Tina volunteered to pick up dinner for the Board meeting on January 8.

Board Meetings:
Board members who cannot attend a meeting may participate by phone.  Agenda items should be sent via e-mail to Mary Saily at least one week prior to the meeting, and supporting materials should be copied and brought to the meeting by the presenter.  The Treasurer and Secretary will present reports and minutes, respectively, at each meeting for the Board’s review and approval. 

Mary Saily presented guidelines for meeting preparation.  In her model, there are four types of agenda items:  1) information giving; 2) information gathering; 3) problem solving; and 4) decision making.
Mary Saily also stressed the importance of time management during meetings; topics will be assigned an amount of time, and a timekeeper will help guide the meeting. 

Chapter Meetings:
Mary Saily set out expectations for Chapter meeting attendance and participation by Board members.  Specifically, Board members are expected to attend as many meetings as possible; arrive in time to network and greet newcomers; make sure that all tables include a Board member; and help out wherever needed, e.g., registration.

2007 Goals and Presentations:
Board members broke into small groups to share knowledge between outgoing & incoming members, discuss plans for the year in their areas of responsibility and then reported out to the group.  Each area will be expected to make a formal report (goals, progress, challenges) to the Board several times during the year.  The initial schedule is:

• January:  Treasurer, Membership, Registration, and Diversity/Workforce Education.
• February:  SHRM Foundation, Communications, Legislative, and Sponsorship
• March:  Student Liaison/Scholarship, Programs, Certification, and SIG/Discussions Groups.

Significant Activities and Events:
Mary Saily mentioned the dates of significant Chapter activities and SHRM events scheduled for 2007, including: 

• the Chapter Achievement Plan, which is due January 31;
• the Virginia State Conference (October 3-5); We were reminded that this event needs volunteers to solicit sponsors and speakers, provide staffing, etc.; the involvement of several Dulles members, including Mary Walter Midkiff, Cornelia Gamlem, Kathleen Ferris, and Nidhi Kanungo was noted.
• the SHRM National Conference (June 24-27); and
• the Virginia State Council Meeting in Virginia Beach (January 26) - Andy Drescher and Craig Petry volunteered to represent the Chapter at this meeting.

Miscellaneous:

• Plans for the 20th Anniversary Celebration, to be held during the January Chapter meeting, were discussed.  There will be commemorative pins, a banner, and lots more.  All past Presidents will be invited to attend.  We anticipate that these festivities will take up approximately 30 minutes of the January meeting. 
• A draft agenda for the January 8 Board meeting was distributed.  Chas Sumser requested that the NOVA Chapter's mentoring program be added to the agenda.  He will invite Mary Kitson, the NOVA leader of the program, to the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Jamey McNamara
Secretary