042 Sitterson

Present: Fran Allegri, Jo Bell, Linda Carl, Jim Curtis, Kathleen Dulaney, Peter

DeSaix, Phill Lyons.

Treasurers Report: Jo Bell distributed the Treasurer’s report. The report shows 13 months but the report is actually an annual report. Jo Bell indicated that she would not consider transferring funds to a money market account until after the April meeting. Considering the return UMA has had on its money market fund, it may not be wise to transfer funds to a money market account.

President’s Report:

Letter Regarding Employee Appreciation Event: Phil sent a letter on January 2, 2003, to Laurie Charest of Human Resources, with the Board’s suggestions for employee appreciation events.

UMA theme: Phill is working on the UMA theme.

Audit: Phill will contact at least two of the following people to audit UMA accounts: Steve Weiss, Hilda Durham, Lydia Lewis. Phill will then put the auditors in contact with Jo Bell.

Bull”s Head Bookstore Offer: The Bull’s Head Bookstore has offered to do special promotions and offer at a 30% discount on First, Break all the Rules for the June book discussion. The Board applauded this offer. Phil will work with Ron Kramer to take advantage of this offer.

Communications: Kathleen Dulaney reported that in a virtual meeting, members of the Communications Committee had designed tasks and would soon set a deadline for implementation. She has updated various sections of the website including the names of the Board, and the minutes. Even though she has taken the Dreamweaver course, she is entering data by hardcode. She would like to work at home on the web site. Peter will help her make this possible. Phill thanked Kathleen for the work she has done on the site.

Nominations: No one responded to requests made at the last program and at the December meeting to fill Ann Aldridge Webb’s position. Board members suggested that Norm Loewenthal be appointed to this position. If he did not accept, Barbara Marishaw will be asked. Additionally the terms of Linda, Phill, Anne and Libby are open. Board members can serve only two terms and should let Fran know if they would like to continue to serve on the Board. Board members should also go to the web site and review the membership list so they can nominate new members. These names should then be sent to Fran who will ask the person identified if they would like to run.

Fran distributed announcements requesting nominations to be placed in the University Gazette and on the UMA listserv. Board members made suggestions for revisions. Fran will contact Scott Ragland as soon as possible to make sure the announcement gets to the Gazette before UMA’s deadline for deciding who will run.

Program Committee: Jim Curtis distributed a list of the programs for the remainder of the year. Since several individuals (Katrina Coble, Sharon Grubb) were no longer able to serve on the committee, he will call a committee meeting to tie up loose ends regarding remaining programs. Linda will take care of food; bills should be sent to Jo Bell.

The January 30 program will include Drake Maynard, Barbara DeLong, and Claire Miller. The February meeting will feature Steve Allred and Tom Stevens. Jim asked for additional support with the annual April meeting. Cindy Wolf Johnson will be contacted to confirm her participation. The Board suggested that the President recognize Board members, but that they only present their reports in a written fashion and then open the floor for questions on the reports. The manager of the year will be chosen by Morale and Recognition.

Peter announced that Rob Kramer would be out of town for the date that the book discussion meeting has been scheduled. Peter will work with Rob to see if the Chancellor can do the program at another date. If not, another person will need to work with Rob to make arrangements for the program.

Attendance at meetings: Phill raised a concern about low attendance at UMA programs. The board felt that members were so pressed for time even though they had good intentions about attending programs they often couldn’t get away. There was a feeling that the usually popular December meeting had a low attendance because the ice storm wrecked havoc with everyone’s schedules. Other explanations for low attendance included insufficient publicity, offering too many programs, time of day that programs were offered, and no longer requiring RSVPs. The Board suggested that RSVPs may encourage UMA members to make a commitment to a program, and thus thought RSVPs should be reinstated. It was also suggested that a quotation be put at the end of each program announcement about how good a previous program was. For example, “I have been to all the seminars for managers. I have never gone to a management seminar that I didn’t learn something new.” Or, “I feel sorry for the folks who missed this seminar – they missed a once in a lifetime opportunity.”