NHAVA

Membership Meeting

July 12, 2006

Conservation Center

NH Society for the Protection of NH Forests

Business Meeting Minutes

President David Poisson called the meeting to order at 9:35 AM. David welcomed members and guests. The following new members, former members and guests introduced themselves: Amy Moy, Nancy Berringer, Maureen Skelly and Pat Lincoln, Girl Scouts of Swift Water Council; Dawn Seeley, Families in Transition; Susan Rivet, Red Cross; Pat Zambri, Area Agency Nashua; Carol Stewart, NH Mediation Program; Jennifer Koos, Cocheco Valley Humane Society; Zach Pease, NH Food Bank; Janice Borghoff, Strafford County Fixit Program; Deborah Liskow, Adult Tutorial Program of Strafford County; Deborah Casey, Strafford County CAP and Susan Allen, Crotched Mt. Foster Grandparent Program. David stated how valuable the education and networking that NHAVA provides helped him when he was new to the field of volunteer management.

David thanked Trish Churchill, our host, who spoke briefly about the Conservation Center.

Secretary’s Report – Lynne Saltonstall

Lynne called for a motion to accept the minutes of the April 26, 2006 Membership meeting. Motion made, seconded and the minutes were unanimously accepted.

Treasurer’s report – Robert Bussey

Balance forwarded: $2,980.97. Printed report lists all transactions including the $500 sponsorship to Volunteer NH! for the Governor’s Conference. The current balance is $2,388.02. Motion was made to accept the report as read. Motion seconded – treasurer’s report accepted unanimously.

David announced that Bob Bussey will not be continuing as treasurer.

Old Business: No old business.

New Business:

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Program Committee – Chair, Donna Wright

Donna reported that the committee is working hard to provide programs to meet our needs. Today’s speaker will address demographics. Currently, the committee is developing a program for the Annual Meeting in October.

Membership Committee – Chair, Lisa Perry

Lisa reported that data is being transferred to her as she is new to

this position. She apologized for some members being left out of the mailings. David added that application forms are available on the table in the lobby or in the newsletter. Also, there will be a mailing of the forms. David stated that the charge for the Annual Meeting lunch will be $10. Organizations that pay the membership fee may not wish to include the lunch cost so a separate personal check made payable to NHAVA may be included. Please be sure to check that your mailing address is correct.

Communications Committee – Chair, Lois Meredith

David announced that most of the bugs have been worked out of the website.

Lois Meredith was not present but David thanked her for her work

on the newsletter. The next newsletter will be mailed in September.

Articles must be sent to Jean Desany who will be doing all the

editing before sending it to Lois.

Legislative Committee – Chair, Judith Lonergan

Judith stated there is nothing new on the bills of interest to NHAVA. The Limited Liability Law for Volunteers 508:17 remains the same. Judith reminded the members that it is very important for volunteer managers to be on top of risk management and that it is part of the

work of the Legislative Committee. If anyone is interested in joining

this committee or has questions, please call Judith.

Nominating Committee – Chair, Jolee Chase

Jolee announced that Nomination Forms are available on the table

in the lobby. Nominations are needed for treasurer and other

positions.

David added that people may find it difficult to make time for

Board meetings. There are 4 meetings per year plus a retreat,

which is a day long meeting focusing on immediate and specific

goals. The other four meetings are held in Concord from 9:00 to 11:30 AM, usually a month prior to membership meetings. The next

Board meeting is scheduled for September 14 and will be devoted

to learning about specific Board positions or “jobs”. The Board needs experienced and non-experienced members and we urge members to consider joining. David’s term on the Board is also

ending and he asked anyone who is interested to call him.

Other:

Donna Wright reported that certain topics were discussed at the

Board retreat in June that would require changes to the bylaws. At

the September Board meeting, the members will be discussing the

following changes:

§ Decreasing term of Board members from two years to one year

§ Increasing the maximum number of years serving on the Board from four years to six years

§ Limiting the term of the immediate past president to one year

A question was asked about time commitment of Board members. Donna explained that it depends on the Board member’s position.

She stated that much of the work is done by email to accommodate busy schedules. Donna stressed the need for all members to support NHAVA.

David stated that people might be reluctant to commit to the current two year term. Many other Boards have one year terms.

The NHAVA Annual Meeting will be held on October 11, 2006

Meeting adjourned at 10:05 AM. Susan Brown introduced the speaker,

Peter Francese.

Lynne Saltonstall, Secretary