OPEG Meeting Minutes

January 2003 Meeting Minutes

Steve Albanese convened the meeting at 10:45 a.m. Present: Steve Albanese, Tom Archer, Rosemary Chaudry, Debbie Crawford, Bobbie Darden-Arewa, Bob Fine. Not present: Robin Fenn, Sandy Locke (unable to drive due to weather/snow in SW Ohio, informed Steve), David Julian, Craig McGuire (out of town, informed Steve), Roland Winburn.

Minutes from the last meeting (12/4/02) were approved with corrections to the table of OPEG Board contact information.

Vice President's report on Evaluators' Exchange and SAMSHA grant application: Evaluators' Exchange- The Board reviewed the email about the upcoming Evaluators' Exchange that was sent by Craig (1/15/03, attached). Craig reserved the Fawcett Center for May 30^th. The Board supported Craig's request that $2,200 be allocated for the 2003 Exchange (this is the same amount as for the 2002 Exchange). The Board reviewed the timeline and suggested that Craig make following changes: 1) the second call for papers should be moved up to Feb. 28; 2) the deadline for proposals should be moved up to March 14. The first call for papers would be included in the membership mailing schedule to go out by February 1; the call could be printed on different colored paper so it is easily recognizable as separate from the other information.

After reviewing the call for proposals, the Board suggested these changes: 1) add (OPEG) after the organization's name in the first line; 2) delete the word "give" from the second sentence; 3) delete the word "paper" from the opening sentence of the third paragraph; 4) clarify if proposals can be sent in hard copy, by fax, or by electronic transmission, and verify where these different transmission should be sent; 5) verify if "500 word abstract" is necessary. Rosemary will contact the webmaster [copying Craig] to learn what would have to be done to set up electronic transmission option via the web page with a linkage for transmission. Craig will need to make any revisions to the call, and email it to Sandy for inclusion in the Feb. 1 membership mailing.

Bobbie suggested that it would helpful for the Exchange to have a theme to help announce it, foster interest, etc., and the theme should be general. Steve noted that a general theme would be important because the call for papers is meant to attract a broad spectrum of speakers- not any particular discipline. The group agreed. Steve asked that Board members send ideas for themes for the Exchange to Craig.

There was discussion about evaluations of the exchange. Tom described a program that he has used for processing electronic evaluations and producing various data for reporting the results. Tom will be the liaison if the Board decides to offer an option to attendees to submit their evaluations electronically. Bob said he would work with Craig again this year to set up the hard copy of the evaluation, and offered to analyze the data (if the electronic option is not used), but he noted that he could not do analyses until the fall due to other commitments. Rosemary will contact the webmaster [copying Craig, Bob, and Tom] to learn what would have to be done to set up electronic transmission option via the web page with a linkage for transmission.

Bob distributed the results of his analyses of the 2002 Exchange evaluations. The results were very positive.

SAMSHA grant application-There was discussion about the importance of this activity given OPEG's other challenges re: recruiting members, member-related activities, etc. There was discussion that the grant opportunity would allow OPEG to provide a membership service, would require minimum effort for the organization this year, and would give OPEG an opportunity to work in collaboration with other organizations in the state who have an interest in mental health services and evaluation. Bob offered to talk with Craig about potential contacts to solicit financial support for making the required 25% match to the 75% federal drawdown, as required by the grant. Rosemary suggested the possibility of contacting foundations that might be interested in this topic, as a source of funding. Steve asked the Board members end any ideas for financial support to Craig. Steve will contact Craig for further discussions about this grant opportunity.

Treasurer's report: Tabled; Sandy was not able to attend the meeting.

Membership- Debbie distributed copies of the draft of the membership survey. Steve asked members to send comments to Debbie; Debbie will make final revisions and Steve will proofread the final draft. Debbie will send the final version of the survey to Sandy for inclusion in the mailing. Rosemary stated that she would accept electronic transmissions and faxed versions of the survey at her work site. (If fax transmissions are an option, the survey should include a reminder to fax all 4 pages of the survey.) Rosemary will contact the webmaster [copying Debbie and Steve] to learn what would have to be done to set up electronic transmission option via the web page with a linkage for transmission. Debbie plans to use Excel for analyzing survey data; Bobbie will help Debbie with these analyses.

Steve distributed the draft of the newsletter and Debbie distributed the draft of the membership article for the newsletter (or survey?). Members suggested that the newsletter be altered to provide information up front about what's in the mailing (newsletter, membership application, call for papers, and membership survey). This would help recipients give full attention to each of the documents in the mailing. Bobbie suggested that Debbie's article be revised to generate more interest among experienced evaluators. For example, the sentence in the newsletter about "Logic models, GPRA, etc." could be moved to Debbie's article. Debbie also noted that she was uncertain about the benefit of including such a lengthy article at the beginning of the survey. Steve asked members to send input to him and Debbie about this, so they can make revisions and send a final copy to Sandy for the mailing.

Sandy's agency, Child focus, will be assisting with the mailing.

Communications- Web site: Rosemary reported that she has been in contact with Randal, the webmaster. She reported that: Randal offered some suggestions that the Board could consider for the web page, including a discussion link/message board, and FAX section about OPEG, monthly updates, links to timely articles, and a contact page. She will continue to send him minutes from Board meetings after they are approved, for posting to the web. Steve asked that names and emails of Board members be included. Rosemary will contact Randal about various items (uploading and providing response linkages for member surveys, electronic submissions of abstracts for the Exchange, evaluations from the Exchange; adding Board members email addresses; removing Melissa Senter's name for contacting the webmaster; providing the OPEG president's picture for posting to the site.

Other business- Debbie reported that she has joined AEA; Steve noted that OPEG will cover $50 toward the membership. The Board asked Bob to proceed with discussions with Steve regarding a slate of candidates for elections for the following positions: president, treasurer, and three members-at-large. Bob will check with Sandy about the database of active members for developing the slate and for distributing ballots.

Next meeting: Two dates were selected, with the hope that other Board members might be able to attend on e of the days. Rosemary will send a message with the transmission of the minutes, asking all Board members to respond regarding their ability to attend on either day, so Steve can select the better day for the meeting. The meeting (either day) would be held at Maryhaven. The two days, in order of preference, are: Friday March 21 from 10:30 - 12:30, and 2) Thursday March 20 from 11 - 1.

Adjournment: Steve adjourned the meeting at 12:45.