OPEG Meeting Minutes

Minutes for meeting of OPEG Board of Trustees 12-2-05

NOTE: The next OPEG Board meeting is Feb. 10, 10 - 12 - conference call.

Present: Rob Fischer, Sandy Lock, Debbie Crawford, Rick George, Marsha Zabecki (no quorum)

Not present: Tim Champney, Mina Chang, Buck Buchanan, Rosemary Chaudry and Robin Fenn

Minutes: Minutes from the 10-13-05 Board meeting were reviewed. Some corrections were needed. Rob will make them and send the revised version out via email for final approval.

Treasurer's report: Sandy presented the October YTD budget for the organization (sent via email prior to the meeting) and stated the YTD net was $770. The group discussed the need to work towards a reserve equal to one year of the organization's annual budget in case of some financially catastrophic event. With current reserves at $13,000, we're doing well but still need to work towards $18,000 - $20,000.

TO DO: Sandy will look into OPEG's CD and assess how we can maximize income from those funds by possibly investing in a 6 or 12 month CD. The current CD renews monthly.

Sandy also presented a draft of the 2006 budget for review and revisions. The draft was based on last year's budget with some additions including the expense for conference calling for board/committee meetings. Debbie suggested that the Board assess and consider the growing administrative tasks that need to be managed for the organization and that Child Focus (Sandy and Shelly) have taken on many responsibilities. Sandy stated that we have gone from one event to two annual events and that membership is growing. In the future, if/when Sandy was to leave the Board, OPEG would have a difficult time handling these responsibilities. Other administrative tasks include getting and handling mail from the P.O. Box.

Board members also discussed the web site management costs as possibly being too high and a lack of certainty that we're getting what we need. There were questions about the domain name if we were to switch providers as well.

Sandy also shared that gross receipts for OPEG for FY 2004-2005 were $21,000+ and that $25,000 is the point at which the organization must file a 990 tax form which she does not feel comfortable doing. She estimated a cost to cover the filing of $200 to be added to the 2006 budget estimate.

TO DO:

• Sandy will add $1,500 for administrative services to the OPEG 2006 budget, and some other costs discussed above.
• Sandy and Shelly will write up all the OPEG administrative responsibilities from their perspective.
• Rob will contact AEA to find out what our options are regarding AEA affiliate administrative support including web site management options.
• Rob will send out a new 2006 budget draft via email to the group for approval.

Program Committee report: The group debriefed regarding the 12-1-05 workshop. Rob reviewed the CEU evaluation comments and identified a set of two reactions. Mental health attendees loved Bayard's presentation and appeared to have been unclear that the first two presentations were a part of the workshop. Another group of non-mental health folks felt the final MH segment was too specialized and was not relevant to them. Some folks mentioned that the workshop was too late in the year. We will wait to see the results from Tom Archer's on line evaluation process which should be available in the next three weeks.

In terms of financial success, Sandy reported that estimated expenses were at $5,000 and estimated revenues were at $7,000 and this does not include the new membership revenue. The event gained us 54 new members to bring OPEG's current membership at 240. Sandy noted that for future planning, we may need more physical space if the attendance continues to grow.

TO DO:

• Rob will send thank you letters to presenters.
• Marsha will handle getting presenter handouts posted on the OPEG web site - and will seek approval from Dr. Vasquez to put his on.
• Marsha will attempt to book next year's fall workshop for Nov. 13 and 14 (first choice) or Nov. 6 and 7 at the Fawcett to assure availability.

The program committee will meet via conference call on Wednesday, January 18th at 1:00 p.m.

Membership report: The goal is to get the membership mailing out this year by January 15. In order to do that, Sandy and Shelly need all materials by January 3. Mailing will include OPEG membership application, letter from Rob and a Save the Date/Call for Papers for the spring exchange.

TO DO:

• Sandy will review the OPEG member brochure to make sure no changes are needed.
• Rob will write the OPEG president letter, the Save the Date/Call for Papers for the May event and send to Sandy.

Other business:

• OPEG Elections will need to be addressed in the spring.
• Board members feel we need to get other committees going such as a finance and membership committee and that every board member should serve on at least one committee. The group agreed that getting more OPEG members involved was important and will help with succession planning for OPEG's long-term stability.
• Rob will send information to the group on the January 20th event co-sponsored with the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations. The cost is $15 - "Engaging an Evaluation Consultant."