September 2012 Minutes

Minutes of the UAA Executive Committee Meeting
Thursday, September 20, 2012
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
TetraTech Office, Arlington, VA

 

Board Members Attending: Margaret Carpenter, George Hill, Jim Michel, Alex Shakow, Ann Van Dusen

Board Members Absent: Frank Almaguer, David Sprague

Co-Chairs Attending: David Cohen, Curt Farrar, Paula Goddard, Nancy Tumavick

Co-Chairs Absent: Brad Langmaid, Pam Mandel, Larry Smucker

UAA Executive Assistant: Kristina Short

 

1. Approval of the August Executive Committee Meeting Minutes: The Board approved the minutes from the August 2012 Executive Committee meeting. The minutes will be posted on the UAA website. As noted in the final version of the minutes, the UAA Board will confirm all regular points-of-contact for UAA – USAID collaboration.

2. AGM Assignments and Preparations: 

a. Nominations and Elections (Jim, Margaret, and Frank):

  • The Nominations Committee reported that 6 candidates are expected to run for the two vacancies on the Board. Not all these candidates will be able to attend the AGM.
  • It was agreed that online voting will begin on October 1st and close on October 15th to allow the online votes to be tallied and verified prior to the AGM.
  • The UAA Website will include an up-to-date listing of contributing members for easy alumni reference, to be maintained by Executive Assistant Kristina Short.
  • The UAA will send out a news update with information on the AGM, including candidate bios and the meeting agenda, before the end of September, and will follow-up with a “Remember to Vote” email on October 7th.

b. Liaison with Catering and Venue (George Hill and Kristina Short): George Hill and Kristina Short reported that they had met with Charla Young, NRECA event coordinator at NRECA on Monday, September 10th to discuss venue logistics and catering options.

  • The Committee agreed upon using the on-site kitchen and cold storage facilities to store pre-purchased drinks and dessert items. Margaret Carpenter offered to go to COSTCO for these items.  Catering for hot beverages, sandwiches, and salads will tentatively be provided by Panera. The Committee also agreed to use a classroom seating (that is, 6-7 chairs at rectangular tables) option in the main room.
  • The Executive Committee approved a $40.00 AGM charge to cover the cost of the venue and catering and will specify to this to attendees.
  • George Hill will contact Charla Young to find out when the NRECA building will open the morning of the AGM to permit early arrival by several Executive Committee members to help set up.
  • Ann Van Dusen will try to locate the UAA Banner.
  • Paula Goddard will try to locate the UAA Placard.

c. Morning of AGM Logistics: George Hill, Paula Goddard, and Nancy Tumavick volunteered to assist Kristina Short and Linda Whitlock-Brown with AGM morning logistics including member contribution and AGM payment collection, and board voting.

  • The Executive Committee confirmed that payments made at the AGM must be by cash or check.  George Hill will have small bills on hand to make change.
  • The Committee agreed to have three tables to ease traffic flow through the lobby: Membership Contributions; Meeting Cost; and Board Election Voting.

d. AGM Agenda: 

9:00 – 9:15: Co-Chair’s Report

  • The Co-Chairs will review the past year and highlight the 4 Committees, whose work feeds into the UAA Strategic Plan
  • All Executive Committee members were encouraged to send their thoughts on items to be highlighted to Ann and Alex;
  • Breakout session locations will be announced

9:15 – 9:25: Treasurer’s Report

9:25 – 9:40: USAID Engagement – Alex will preside

  • Curt Farrar as co-chair of Development Issues Committee will introduce Owen Cylke who will describe UAA engagement with USAID on Urban issues
  • David Cohen and or Pam Mandel will describe the   E&E mentoring program.A breakout group will be set for attendees interested   in participating in  the mentoring program. [David Cohen will speak with Roberta Mahoney regarding counterparts at USAID and what backstop codes mentors will fall under.]

9:45 – 10:30: Conversation with USAID Senior Staff (Susan Reichle and David Eckerson)

  • David Cohen will greet Susan Reichle and David Eckerson at the door, escort them to the podium, and introduce the speakers. Ann Van Dusen will handle the microphone (for questions from the floor) during the session.
  • Susan Reichle and David Eckerson will speak 10 minutes or less and the remainder of the time will be used for Q&A
  • Ann Van Dusen will make sure Susan knows that Larry Garber spoke at the UAA-DACOR Development Dialogue on October 2nd
  • George Hill and Kristina Short will make sure NRECA has handheld mics available and make arrangements if they do not.

10:30 – 11:00: Coffee Break

  • The Executive Committee agreed on the need for a housekeeping team to ensure food and beverage distribution runs smoothly
  • George Hill will contact Mary’s Cafe regarding coffee service and housekeeping

11:00 – 12:00: Open Committee Meetings – locations will be clearly designated

  • Co-Chairs will provide a brief description of each committee in their opening remarks using the four goals outlined in the Strategic Plan

12:00 – 1:30: Lunch and Keynote by USAID Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg

  • Ann will greet Deputy Administrator Steinberg, who will begin his speech at 12:30. The speech will last approximately 20 minutes, after which Deputy Director Steinberg will take questions for approximately 30 minutes.  We need someone to manage the floor mics.

1:30 – 2:30: Alumni Reflections Panel hosted by Janet Ballantyne

  • Margaret Carpenter reported that Janet was determining participants in the panel, which included Alex Shakow and Bob Dakan. Margaret will contact Janet for the final list of participants.
  • Ann Van Dusen has been in contact with Janet to determine if the 50th Anniversary book will be available at the AGM, and if it will be sold or given away gratis.

2:30 – 3:00: UAA Strategic Plan Discussion

  • The draft Strategic Plan will need to be revised to incorporate items emerging from committee breakouts..  A representative from each committee will report on the open committee deliberations during this wrap-up session.

3:00 – 4:00: Election Results and Networking, with Dessert

3. Update on Draft UAA Strategic Plan: Jim Michel provided Committee members with an update on the UAA Strategic Plan. The Plan, pending minor revisions, is ready for distribution to all registered alumni and will be sent via email on or around October 1, 2012.

4. Pre-AGM Meeting of the Executive Committee: The Executive Committee will meet from 10:30 am – 12:30 pm at TetraTech on Friday, October 12th to discuss final preparations for the Annual General Meeting

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