1996-97 NVATA Board of Directors

NVATA Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
December 2-3, 1996

The NVATA Board of Directors conducted a board meeting on December 2-3, 1996 at the Cincinnati Marriott Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio. All members of the board and the executive director were present for the meeting including: Tom Heffernan, President (TX); MeeCee Baker, President Elect (PA); Marc Beitia, Region I Vice President (ID); Paul Jaure, Region II Vice President (TX); Duane Fisher, Region III Vice President (IA); Tom Kremer, Region IV Vice President (OH); Bobby Joslin, Region V Vice President (GA); Mike Cox, Region VI Vice President (VA); and Jay Jackman, Executive Director (VA). The minutes of the meeting are as follows:

Monday, December 2, 1996

  1. Welcome and Board Member Updates - President Tom Heffernan called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. and welcomed everyone to the meeting. Board members presented brief updates of their NVATA activities since the last board meeting.
  2. Adjustments to and Approval of the Agenda - After the board added some additional details to the meeting agenda, Duane Fisher moved, Bobby Joslin seconded, to adopt the board meeting agenda with flexibility to change as necessary. Motion passed.
  3. Approval of Minutes of July 1996 Board Meeting - A few corrections were suggested for the July minutes. Duane Fisher moved, Marc Beitia seconded, to approve the minutes, as corrected, from the July 1996 NVATA Board of Directors meeting. Motion passed.
  4. Approval of Minutes of September 1996 Special Board Meeting - Marc Beitia moved, Mike Cox seconded, to approve the minutes, as corrected, from the July 1996 NVATA Board of Directors meeting. Motion passed.
  5. Review of Board Book Contents - Jay Jackman talked the board through the board books for the meeting.
  6. Council Report - It was agreed that the report (copy in the board books) would be passed out at regional meetings during the convention. Members of The Council would be invited to give reports from The Council during the regional meetings. It was also reported that Rosco Vaughn would be giving a report from The Council at the second NVATA convention business session; he will present a check to NVATA for assisting with promoting the Professional Growth Series.
  7. Legislative Update - Jay Jackman presented the legislative update. He stated the top priority on the legislative agenda during the new session of Congress would be securing an appropriation for the competitive grants program, which was authorized by the new farm bill (the FAIR Act of 1996).
  8. Membership Report and Delegate Counts - Jay Jackman presented this report. He clarified that North Carolina should have one additional member, which would increase by one North Carolinašs delegate count.
  9. Unreported 1996-97 State Officers - Jay Jackman asked board members to work at getting the state officers lists in to the NVATA office as soon as possible so the Director of State Officers could be completed.
  10. Financial Update and Review - It was suggested that the financial report (the audit report) be formatted with categories identical to the NVATA budget categories. Further, it was suggested that the three-year budget show the previous yearšs actual spending rather than the budgeted amounts.
  11. NVATA Position on the FFA Alumni Council - Mike Cox moved, Marc Beitia seconded, to appoint Gene Starr from Florida to represent NVATA on the National FFA Alumni Council. Motion carried.

  12. National Pork Producers Council Task Force - The board members agreed to have candidates for this position fax their resumes directly to Jay Jackman no later than December 16, 1996. Jay was asked to distribute the resumes to the board for ranking and final selection. Those tentatively nominated included Bruce Lemmon (PA), Harvey Pool (GA), and Kevin Kremer (OH).
  13. Review Revised NVATA Policy Manual - The newly revised policy manual was handed out. Tom Kremer will review the policy manual at the Policy and Bylaws committee meetings. The policy manual will be incorporated into a new NVATA leadership notebook that will be available before the first of the 1997 NVATA leadership conferences.
  14. Review of 1996 National FFA Convention - Jay Jackman gave a brief report on the NVATA activities at the 1996 National FFA Convention. Bobby Joslin suggested that NVATA consider adding a second booth targeted to recruit students into the teaching profession; other ideas for such a booth included locating the booth in the college row section of the career show, have something to hand out to potential teachers that they would take back to their teachers, and encourage the students to ask their teachers about NVATA.
  15. Review of 1996 NVATA Convention -
    1. Sponsors List - it was suggested that all board members be provided a disk with the names and addresses of the sponsors (in ASCII format) to facilitate writing of thank you letters.
    2. Convention Schedule - The overall convention schedule was reviewed and accepted.
    3. Communications Plan - It was agreed that Marc Beitia, as public relations committee chair, would work with the photographer to coordinate the photography schedule.
    4. Day-by-Day Event Review - The daily convention schedules were reviewed and agreed to.
    5. Committee Agendas - The committee agendas were reviewed and agreed to.

      Regarding the finance committee agenda, Marc Beitia moved, Duane Fisher seconded, that the concept of two CDE representatives being provided travel expenses to attend the 1997 NVATA convention be forwarded to the finance committee. Motion carried.

      Regarding the potential for a postsecondary program award and teacher portfolio development, Duane Fisher will address these two items during the member services committee meetings.

    6. Regional Meetings - Common agenda items for the regional meetings were established as the move, AVA Ag Ed Division election, NPPC task force, dues increase, and PSA awards.

    Regarding the dues increase, Marc Beitia moved, Paul Jaure seconded, to accept the dues increase rationale as presented. Motion carried.

  16. Evaluation of Executive Director - Tom Heffernan will lead the board in a discussion of the executive directoršs annual evaluation at a later time during the convention. The board will deliver an evaluation to Jay Jackman on Sunday morning at the wrap-up board session.
  17. PSA Awards Program - Tom Heffernan suggested that the board get more active in ensuring that completed PSA award applications are sent in to the NVATA office no later than September 1. MeeCee Baker moved, Bobby Joslin seconded, that the PSA award dates be set to concur with the NVATA fiscal year and that applications must be post-marked to the NVATA office no later than September 1. Motion carried. It was further suggested that Jay Jackman compile the results of the PSA applications for dissemination to the board.
  18. USDE Ag Ed Team - Jay Jackman gave a brief report regarding Dr. Larry Casešs plans to establish a USDE agricultural education leadership team. NVATA will be invited to be a part of that team when it is established.
  19. Adjournment -- With no further official business to be conducted, Duane Fisher moved, Mike Cox seconded, to adjourn the board meeting. Motion carried. The board meeting was adjourned at 12:09 p.m. on Monday, December 3, 1996.