June 12, 2007

NAB Meeting
June 12, 2007

Members in Attendance:
Megan Baker, North East Region President
Sarah Edens, Southern Region President
Tommy Inglis, Western Region Representative and NAB Chair
Amber Mathisen, Western Region Second Year NAB
Jasmine Honore, Business Manager
Amy Schwertner, Secretary
April Mendenhall, Conference CoordinatorChristy Clary, Advocacy Team Liaison
Jessica Falkenthal, Web Team Liaison

Members not in Attendance:
Kristi Storms, North Central President
Beth Bray, North Central Second Year NAB
Vanessa Cerny, North East Second Year NAB
Antoine Jefferson, Southern Second Year NAB

The third meeting of the 2007-2008 National Action Board was called to order at 9:21 PM (CTS) by Tommy Inglis. Schwertner announced that the minutes from the last meeting were posted to the blog. Edens motioned to accept the minutes, and Baker seconded. All approved.

Honore reported that there was no change in the Business Mangers report and the balance remained at $2,033.38.

Under old business Inglis announced that the only Strategic Plan update that was missing was from the Partnership Section. Baker was not assigned to any section of the Strategic Plan, so she was asked to partner with Storms, Cerny, and Inglis on the Partnership Section. All other sections of the Strategic Plan had their progress reports turned in. Inglis encouraged everone to use the NAB conference call number to communicate with their groups about their individual sections of the Strategic Plan. This can also be a way to help new members understand the goals of the Strategic Plan.

Falkenthal then gave a brief update on the website database. It is expected to be completed by August 1. After it is up and running, clubs from each region will be asked to fill out a form. NAB can then contact clubs that are not on the national listserve.

The two leadership grant applications that were submitted by the 2008 National Conference Planning Committee and the University of Maryland were then reviewed and discussed. Baker spoke on behalf of the University of Maryland. She said that the University of Maryland is requesting the leadership grant because they are a new, small club with very little funds. They are planning the 2007 North East Conference and they plan to divide the money up for workshops, paper/handouts, and to help lower the cost of conference in hopes of getting more delegates to attend. Currently they are charging delegates $100 per person to attend conference, and are expecting 20-40 delegates to attend. She also informed the NAB that their Student Government will not assist in funding, because they do not a 20+ member Collegiate 4-H club and are not recognized as an organization by the University of Maryland Student Government.
Mendenhall spoke on behalf of the 2008 Conference Planning Committee. She said they would like the leadership grant to bring in a professional conference coordinator to teach individuals about putting on a national conference. Currently there is no record of how to organize a national level conference/event for the National Collegiate 4-H Organization, and this would be a professional way to gather materials and information. The money from the leadership grant will be used to cover the cost of printing materials and handouts that the coordinator will have. She also announced that they are estimating between 250-300 delegates at the National Conference. After discussion, the NAB asked both groups to write and send in a budget of how they will be using the leadership grant. Discussion was then tabled to the next meeting.

Clary then gave a report on the newsletter. She said she should be receiving an article from the Southern Region by Thursday, June 14. The only other article she lacks is one regarding the North Central Region Conference. The newsletter will be sent within the next week.

Since the last meeting, Schwertner had received a Web Team Application from Heather Gottke, The Ohio State University. NAB reviewed the application. Mathisen motioned to accept the application. Edens seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Schwertner then discussed the possibility of setting time limits for each item of the agenda. She informed the NAB that the 2006-2007 NAB had put time limits on agenda items so that meetings did not run too long and discussion was brief yet informative. There was discussion on the topic. Members agreed that this was a good idea. Inglis said that he would begin assigning time limits to agenda items. Honore volunteered to act as the “Sergeant at Arms” and keep time. NAB agreed that meetings would be kept to one hour.

Mendenhall then gave a brief National Conference update. She said that surveys for the ski trip went out this week so that can receive feedback and start compiling packages. Registration forms will be out by September 1 and will contain workshops that will be presented by professionals. If any Collegiate 4-H member would like to present a presentation at the national conference, Mendenhall requested that you send in an application as soon as possible. Applications can be found on the National Conference Website at http://nationalconference.collegiate4h.org/

Falkenthal gave a web team update. She said that she has been updating and requesting links for the website. She does need help generating discussion on the message boards, because traffic is decreasing. To create more traffic on the message boards she asked members to create new posts. Posts can include information about individual clubs, questions about what other clubs are doing, etc. She also announced that she is planning a “look redesign,” and she is working with the advocacy team to create a section on the website titled “How to create a new club.”

Inglis also asked regions to get their regional websites updated. Falkenthal volunteered to help regions put together their websites.

Baker then motioned to adjourn the meeting. Edens seconded the motion. Motion passed.

The third meeting of the 2007-2008 National Action Board was adjourned at 9:56 PM (CST).

Respectfully,
Amy Schwertner
National Action Board Secretary