WEST VIRGINIA RURAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION

West Virginia Rural Health Association

Board of Directors Meeting – Conference Call

= April 28, 2008

(Approved 5/19/08)

Members Participating by Phone: Hilda Heady, Michael Thompson, Patti Crawford, Jeff Graham, Sally Richardson, Elaine Mason, Lynn McCormick, Jill McDaniel, Alicia Tyler, Laura Welch, Lew Holloway, Sandra Pope, Lisa Scarberry, Norma Bowyer

Not Participating: April Vestal

Agenda Items

Discussion

Board Actions

Call to Ord= er

Michael Thompson called the meeting to order at 10:02am

Roll Call

There were 15 members in attendance

Minutes

Minutes of the 3/24/08 meeting were presented.

Motion to approve minutes

(Richar= dson/Heady)

Motion passed

Treasurer&#= 8217;s Report

The M= arch 2008 financial report was reviewed and approved. Elaine Mason, Treasurer mentione= d that the budget portion of the report had been adjusted by $1,000 in lines 3 a= nd 8. Further information is located at the bottom of the report. Also, the = $45 charge in the “Supplies” line was for the purchase of an endo= rsement stamp by the fiscal agent, Sherri Ferrell – WVPCA. Elaine also mentioned that the i= ncome from the Rural Health Conference should appear in the budget in the next = 1-2 weeks.

There= was a brief discussion regarding the fees for face-to-face meeting luncheons th= at are taken from the TA line. Elaine asked if we should be providing TA at = the meetings to justify this expense. Patti Crawford said that the participation of the group’s president in (NRHA) state council meetings and his ability to report on w= hat occurs at our meetings has traditionally constituted TA. It was suggested that we begin to bring in speakers and provide trainings during the scheduled face-to-face Board meetings.

Motion to approve report

(Tyler/Richardson)

Motion passed

Old Busines= s:

Mid Atlantic Roundtable Update

Hilda Heady reported that she had attended the second meeting of the Roundtable Group in Annapolis (notes should be available soon), but would be willing to step aside if someone else is interested in attending the meetings. The Roundtable meetings currentl= y are attended by representatives from PA, WV, VA, MD, DE and NJ. She senses that MD, DE and NJ are coming to the table with different needs from the rest of the group. Hilda says that she has represen= ted WV at these meetings on a personal level, but in no way has she spoken for t= he needs of the Association. I= t was noted that many representatives attending these meetings are from their respective states’ Office of Rural Health. WV’s Office of Rural Healt= h was also invited to participate.

At the first meeting of this group, a model for shar= ing resources was presented. This would involve an office in Maryland that would be available to = assist each participating state. There was also talk of holding regional rural health conferences. Hilda mentioned that the group is in the process of developing a “menu of needs” to be addressed as not all parties were interested in shared resources and she is not sure how an office in Maryland would truly benefit WV. Hil= da and Michael both felt that there needs to be significant benefit to WV in ord= er for our Association to join. Hilda felt that a regional conference would detract from WV’s existing conference. WV is interested in attending educational meetings/summits, barring problems wi= th location and/or costs.

The next Roundtable meeting will be held during the = NRHA conference.

Membership = List Update

Lew Holloway reported that he and April Vestal worked diligently to prepare a list, based on ’06 and ’07 info, that reflected current membership both paid and unpaid. Michael Thompson used this infor= mation in order to have invoices created for those that were apparently in arrears. Some members (Graham/Pope/Mason) received invoices; although they did attend last year’s Rural Health Conference and they are certain that they had marked the box regarding membership.&nbs= p; Sandra Pope feels certain that she can provide an accurate list of current members as her office keeps a master listing.

It was noted that there are a lot of recurring probl= ems with the registration system as it now stands. The State’s Rural Health o= ffice takes months to get the reports out to the WVRHA and when they do they are often incomplete. This year’s list they sent only contained 36 email addresses, no names.<= /p>
Sally Richardson suggested that we sit down with the= State people and work things out. Jeff Graham felt that our Association should be taking steps to collect the information ourselves at the conference so that we can properly invoice.<= /p>
Sally Richardson suggested that we utilize some of t= he funds currently designated for conference support to work on the developm= ent of a better registration process. Michael stated that the end result should be clear membership data= and payment to the Association. A motion was made to put a task force together to address this issue and th= at the task force should present a proposal to the group at our May meeting regarding action steps to be made.

Motion to create task f= orce

(Mason/Welch)

Motion passed.

Strategic D= irection Update

Michael Thompson mentioned that earlier in the meeti= ng, during the discussion on the Treasurer’s report, we had touched on = the possibility of bringing in speakers and facilitators. He asked that we forward any ide= as or information on potential speakers to him.

A question was raised regarding where our focus shou= ld be at this time. Patti Crawford stated that she felt membership and communication seem to be our weakest points. She went on to mention a speaker that the AHEC had used who prese= nted information on marketing and branding of an organization.

Michael felt that bringing in a speaker to deal with= a topic of need would be of benefit to the group – possibly a talk to= be held during the face-to-face meeting lunch hour at our May meeting.

Jill McDaniel mentioned that as a volunteer organiza= tion, we seem to spend a lot of time dealing with administrative issues instead= of developing mission, policy, etc. Patti Crawford said that some state associations have a full-time executive director. Hilda H= eady stated that some states have an “Operations” committee. Michael T. felt that is the dire= ction in which we should proceed; however, we may need more definition about wh= at we need as a supplement to a strategic planning session.

=

WV Rural He= alth Conference

The last planning meeting was canceled, per Michael. Nothing to report. Hilda as= ked if the Association is interested in having Paul Moore, current NRHA Presiden= t to come speak at the conference, WVU would co-sponsor the expense. As a pharmacist, he would also b= e able to address the pharmacy program. Patti Crawford thinks it would be a great idea, and thinks that as head of the Policy tract, Norma would agree. Hilda wanted to make certain the Conference planning committee had this on their radar. Hilda feels the NRHA President s= hould be a plenary session at the conference. Hilda mentioned that we need to supply the dates to him as soon as possible. Patti suggested that someone ema= il Shawn B. and Nancye Bazzle to get the ball rolling with the State –= Norma will contact them.

Norma will contact Shaw= n B. and Nancye B. regarding a plenary session at the WVRHC

Support Sta= ff (.2 FTE) Update

Will be addressed after Michael Thompson has more information from Sherri Ferrell of the WVPCA.

MOU With WV= PCA Update

MOU has been signed and is in place.

NRHA Skill<= /st1:PlaceName> Building Workshop (August 15-16)=

Very expensive to attend. Michael has asked Lew Holloway to attend, thinks that TA funds could be used to fund a portion of this. Patti mentioned that there is a = scholarship available from a national group. Patti asked if the .2FTE support staff funds could be used towards this. Elaine mentioned that we should = not take out of budget due to other shortfalls that need to be addressed. Pat= ti will be sending a copy of $9500 grant to Elaine.

New Busines= s:

NRHA Annual= Meeting (May 7-10)

Mich= ael will be attending the annual national meeting, in addition to Hilda, Sandra, Patti, and Laura. The WV gr= oup will meet on May 8^th. Michael put together a WV gift basket to take to the conference containing WV handmade items. It was $155, plus shipping costs. The group leaned toward the idea of sending the Together = Rx leads to more appropriate in-state organizations.

Open Discus= sion

Committee R= eports

Membership/= Communications

Addressed by Lew Holloway earlier in the meeting. He added that he has been in con= tact with Brock Slabach, Senior VP of Member Services of the NRHA regarding he= lp with our membership issues and the possibility of dual memberships. They = are willing to provide names of national members who are from WV for our reference. In addition, we = could look at ways for dual membership for both national and state organization= s.

Communicati= on Chair Resignation

Michael said that Alicia Tyler had resigned as chair= of the communications committee. A= nother chair needs to be appointed. Michael will send an email out to the Board asking for a volunteer= . If he does not receive any respo= nses, he will work to appoint a chair for the committee.

Michael will send an email out to the Board asking f= or a volunteer. If he does not r= eceive any responses, he will work to appoint a chair for the committee.

Fundraising=

Jeff Graham was unable to stay on the call until this time. No report at this tim= e.

Nominations= & Election Process

Michael Thompson volunteered to serve on this commit= tee; however, Patti Crawford stated that traditionally, the committee has been comprised of the past and present presidents of the organization.

Adjournment=

Meeting adjourned at 12:00 pm.

Motion to adjourn

(Thompson/Heady)

Submitted by Lisa Scarberry (for April Vestal)

Future Meeting Dates: May 19, 2008<= /st1:date> (Face-to-Face at Braxton LRC) Conference Call at 10 a.m.

Agenda Items	Discussion	Board Actions
Call to Ord= er	Michael Thompson called the meeting to order at 10:02am
Roll Call	There were 15 members in attendance
Minutes	Minutes of the 3/24/08 meeting were presented.	Motion to approve minutes (Richar= dson/Heady) Motion passed
Treasurer&#= 8217;s Report	The M= arch 2008 financial report was reviewed and approved. Elaine Mason, Treasurer mentione= d that the budget portion of the report had been adjusted by $1,000 in lines 3 a= nd 8. Further information is located at the bottom of the report. Also, the = $45 charge in the “Supplies” line was for the purchase of an endo= rsement stamp by the fiscal agent, Sherri Ferrell – WVPCA. Elaine also mentioned that the i= ncome from the Rural Health Conference should appear in the budget in the next = 1-2 weeks. There= was a brief discussion regarding the fees for face-to-face meeting luncheons th= at are taken from the TA line. Elaine asked if we should be providing TA at = the meetings to justify this expense. Patti Crawford said that the participation of the group’s president in (NRHA) state council meetings and his ability to report on w= hat occurs at our meetings has traditionally constituted TA. It was suggested that we begin to bring in speakers and provide trainings during the scheduled face-to-face Board meetings.	Motion to approve report (Tyler/Richardson) Motion passed
Old Busines= s:
Mid Atlantic Roundtable Update	Hilda Heady reported that she had attended the second meeting of the Roundtable Group in Annapolis (notes should be available soon), but would be willing to step aside if someone else is interested in attending the meetings. The Roundtable meetings currentl= y are attended by representatives from PA, WV, VA, MD, DE and NJ. She senses that MD, DE and NJ are coming to the table with different needs from the rest of the group. Hilda says that she has represen= ted WV at these meetings on a personal level, but in no way has she spoken for t= he needs of the Association. I= t was noted that many representatives attending these meetings are from their respective states’ Office of Rural Health. WV’s Office of Rural Healt= h was also invited to participate. At the first meeting of this group, a model for shar= ing resources was presented. This would involve an office in Maryland that would be available to = assist each participating state. There was also talk of holding regional rural health conferences. Hilda mentioned that the group is in the process of developing a “menu of needs” to be addressed as not all parties were interested in shared resources and she is not sure how an office in Maryland would truly benefit WV. Hil= da and Michael both felt that there needs to be significant benefit to WV in ord= er for our Association to join. Hilda felt that a regional conference would detract from WV’s existing conference. WV is interested in attending educational meetings/summits, barring problems wi= th location and/or costs. The next Roundtable meeting will be held during the = NRHA conference.
Membership = List Update	Lew Holloway reported that he and April Vestal worked diligently to prepare a list, based on ’06 and ’07 info, that reflected current membership both paid and unpaid. Michael Thompson used this infor= mation in order to have invoices created for those that were apparently in arrears. Some members (Graham/Pope/Mason) received invoices; although they did attend last year’s Rural Health Conference and they are certain that they had marked the box regarding membership.&nbs= p; Sandra Pope feels certain that she can provide an accurate list of current members as her office keeps a master listing. It was noted that there are a lot of recurring probl= ems with the registration system as it now stands. The State’s Rural Health o= ffice takes months to get the reports out to the WVRHA and when they do they are often incomplete. This year’s list they sent only contained 36 email addresses, no names.<= /p> Sally Richardson suggested that we sit down with the= State people and work things out. Jeff Graham felt that our Association should be taking steps to collect the information ourselves at the conference so that we can properly invoice.<= /p> Sally Richardson suggested that we utilize some of t= he funds currently designated for conference support to work on the developm= ent of a better registration process. Michael stated that the end result should be clear membership data= and payment to the Association. A motion was made to put a task force together to address this issue and th= at the task force should present a proposal to the group at our May meeting regarding action steps to be made.	Motion to create task f= orce (Mason/Welch) Motion passed.
Strategic D= irection Update	Michael Thompson mentioned that earlier in the meeti= ng, during the discussion on the Treasurer’s report, we had touched on = the possibility of bringing in speakers and facilitators. He asked that we forward any ide= as or information on potential speakers to him. A question was raised regarding where our focus shou= ld be at this time. Patti Crawford stated that she felt membership and communication seem to be our weakest points. She went on to mention a speaker that the AHEC had used who prese= nted information on marketing and branding of an organization. Michael felt that bringing in a speaker to deal with= a topic of need would be of benefit to the group – possibly a talk to= be held during the face-to-face meeting lunch hour at our May meeting. Jill McDaniel mentioned that as a volunteer organiza= tion, we seem to spend a lot of time dealing with administrative issues instead= of developing mission, policy, etc. Patti Crawford said that some state associations have a full-time executive director. Hilda H= eady stated that some states have an “Operations” committee. Michael T. felt that is the dire= ction in which we should proceed; however, we may need more definition about wh= at we need as a supplement to a strategic planning session.
=
WV Rural He= alth Conference	The last planning meeting was canceled, per Michael. Nothing to report. Hilda as= ked if the Association is interested in having Paul Moore, current NRHA Presiden= t to come speak at the conference, WVU would co-sponsor the expense. As a pharmacist, he would also b= e able to address the pharmacy program. Patti Crawford thinks it would be a great idea, and thinks that as head of the Policy tract, Norma would agree. Hilda wanted to make certain the Conference planning committee had this on their radar. Hilda feels the NRHA President s= hould be a plenary session at the conference. Hilda mentioned that we need to supply the dates to him as soon as possible. Patti suggested that someone ema= il Shawn B. and Nancye Bazzle to get the ball rolling with the State –= Norma will contact them.	Norma will contact Shaw= n B. and Nancye B. regarding a plenary session at the WVRHC
Support Sta= ff (.2 FTE) Update	Will be addressed after Michael Thompson has more information from Sherri Ferrell of the WVPCA.
MOU With WV= PCA Update	MOU has been signed and is in place.
NRHA Skill<= /st1:PlaceName> Building Workshop (August 15-16)=	Very expensive to attend. Michael has asked Lew Holloway to attend, thinks that TA funds could be used to fund a portion of this. Patti mentioned that there is a = scholarship available from a national group. Patti asked if the .2FTE support staff funds could be used towards this. Elaine mentioned that we should = not take out of budget due to other shortfalls that need to be addressed. Pat= ti will be sending a copy of $9500 grant to Elaine.
New Busines= s:
NRHA Annual= Meeting (May 7-10)	Mich= ael will be attending the annual national meeting, in addition to Hilda, Sandra, Patti, and Laura. The WV gr= oup will meet on May 8^th. Michael put together a WV gift basket to take to the conference containing WV handmade items. It was $155, plus shipping costs. The group leaned toward the idea of sending the Together = Rx leads to more appropriate in-state organizations.
Open Discus= sion
Committee R= eports
Membership/= Communications	Addressed by Lew Holloway earlier in the meeting. He added that he has been in con= tact with Brock Slabach, Senior VP of Member Services of the NRHA regarding he= lp with our membership issues and the possibility of dual memberships. They = are willing to provide names of national members who are from WV for our reference. In addition, we = could look at ways for dual membership for both national and state organization= s.
Communicati= on Chair Resignation	Michael said that Alicia Tyler had resigned as chair= of the communications committee. A= nother chair needs to be appointed. Michael will send an email out to the Board asking for a volunteer= . If he does not receive any respo= nses, he will work to appoint a chair for the committee.	Michael will send an email out to the Board asking f= or a volunteer. If he does not r= eceive any responses, he will work to appoint a chair for the committee.
Fundraising=	Jeff Graham was unable to stay on the call until this time. No report at this tim= e.
Nominations= & Election Process	Michael Thompson volunteered to serve on this commit= tee; however, Patti Crawford stated that traditionally, the committee has been comprised of the past and present presidents of the organization.
Adjournment=	Meeting adjourned at 12:00 pm.	Motion to adjourn (Thompson/Heady)