Region III Summary

July 20 – 23, 2009

Of the National Executive Board (NEB) Meeting

 

This summary is not the official minutes of the NEB meeting but my compilation of pertinent subjects discussed during the meeting.

The NEB convened at 0900 on July 20, 2009. All members were present and following the opening preliminaries, the business session began. The first order of business was to amend the agenda to include a joint session with the Federation Presidents on Wednesday, July 22, 2009, and a presentation by Dan Adcock, Legislative Director, on the subject of Health Care.

Each of the National Officers and Regional Vice Presidents expanded on their reports that had been submitted to include any updates prior to the meeting.

The midyear budget review was the next order of business. After the review of adjustments made in each Department’s budget, an overview of the audit report and the progress of our investments were presented. At the beginning of 2009, the investment portfolios did not look good; however, in the past 5 months over 11 percent has been recovered and it is expected that the investments will continue the recovery. A motion was made to accept the revised budget as prepared. The motion was unanimously accepted.

The next discussion pertained to the subject of WEB conferencing for the NEB meetings. This subject was a carry-over from a previous discussion. The implementation and cost of Web conferencing had been researched by the Information Technology Department and a presentation was made to the NEB. If this project materializes, it will be a considerable saving in the cost of NEB meetings. (This procedure is presently being used very effectively in the NY Federation.) A motion was made to study the possibility of video conferencing and the purchasing of necessary equipment prior to implementing a trial program for converting selective NEB meetings to Web conferencing. This motion was made by RVP Thissen and seconded by RVP Hatfield. Motion carried.

A discussion was held on the possibility of including the recipient’s membership expiration date on their NARFE Magazine label. Action on this proposal was postponed until the National Resident Officers and Staff could investigate the cost and problems to be encountered with this change.

The NEB meeting was adjourned to prepare for the Icebreaker with the Federation Presidents prior to their meeting on July 21-22, 2009.

The NEB reconvened at 0900 on July 21, 2009, after having welcomed the Federation Presidents to their meeting.

The first order of business on this date was the Membership Plan update was given by John Clements, Membership Director. As each of you are aware, our recruiting has declined some in the past year. The one feature that is very obvious is the percentage of members being recruited by NARFE Headquarters. This percentage has greatly increased over the percentage of members being recruited by our chapters and members. A review of the results being derived by the membership contest being conducted by NARFE was presented. The results will be disclosed at the 2010 Convention. Each Chapter President has been given a copy of the rules for this contest.

The next discussion covered whether or not the finder’s fee could be equal for Active Federal Employees as well as Retirees. This proposal was postponed for further discussion at a future meeting.

The possibility of establishing a Retention Chair Position is to be investigated by the Secretary and Treasurer to add a retention function to the F-7 and updating publications reflecting the retention duties.

A discussion was held concerning the availability of insurance benefits information to be given to attendees at Health Fairs. A study will be performed to determine the possibility of including this information on the Web Site to allow chapters access for reproduction.

The discussion on the Dues Withholding Application was placed on hold until the November 2009 NEB meeting.

The M-112 and M-114 are two separate reports and are run on different programs. The two reports cannot be reconciled based on the programs used by Headquarters.

Since the 90th Anniversary of NARFE will be in 2011, a presentation will be made at the 2010 National Convention to promote the anniversary of NARFE during February 2011. RFP Hatfield made the motion that the NEB support a celebration of the Association’s 90th Anniversary beginning at the 2010 National Convention. The motion was seconded by RVP Ross. Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned.

The meeting reconvened at 10:30 on July 22, 2009. The later time was a result of meeting with the Federation President’s and a presentation by given by Dan Adcock, Legislative Director, on the current status of the National Health Bills being proposed. The presentation is available on-line at NARFE.org.

A variety of items was discussed by NEB concerning old business of a general nature including the feedback being circulated via the internet on the proposed referendum.

No action was taken on any of the items discussed and the meeting adjourned early to meet with the Federation Presidents to listen to their concerns and requests for NEB actions.

The NEB reconvened at 08:30 on July 23, 2009.

Items of discussion were the issues provided by the Federation Presidents. Other than some minor operational questions, the following items were discussed:

Blogs and Face Book: The NEB does not support Blogs. With the amount of erroneous information being circulated on the internet, the only reasonable Blog Site would require a gatekeeper to ensure the appropriateness of the comments appearing on the net. Face Book is a personal social networking internet procedure and the NEB is not opposed to members using it as a means to promote greater awareness of NARFE.

GEM Messages: The inability of determining the sender of same. GEM messages sent by Headquarters always indicate that it is sent by Headquarters. Regional Vice Presidents and Federation Presidents are responsible for ensuring that their GEM messages are consistent with the requirements and identification of the sender.

Timeliness: The timeliness of making record changes submitted by a chapter or federation was a great concern from the presidents. One reason for the delays is that the reports are being sent to the wrong office. NARFE will review the procedures for making changes to member records to ensure timely processing. Information will be disseminated to the chapters and federations in the near future covering address for submitting changes/updates.

The NEB adjourned.

NOTE: At the conclusion of the Federation Presidents meeting, I met with the Presidents from Region III. Four of the five Federation Presidents were first time presidents. The consensus of the group was that the time and effort spent in attending the Federation Presidents meeting was very beneficial and would help them in their decision making to support their federation.


Bob Harrell

Region III VP