Wisconsin EMS Association
Board of Directors Meeting

July 10, 2005

 



Present: Allen, Barker, Bennett, Covelli, Hunjadi, McCarrier, Meeker, Schilder, TeStroete

 

Notified Absent: Teale

 

Guests: Hornby

 

Called to order by President Meeker at 12:00 PM.

 

Motion by Schilder second by TeStroete to approve the April 2005 minutes. Change inconsistency with last name all should be Barker – not Smith. All in favor. None opposed. Motion carried.

 

President: Meeker welcomed Fred Hornby as a member/guest and Board member applicant.

Motion by Schilder second by TeStroete to suspend the agenda to discuss the board applicant scheduled for new business at this time. All in favor, none opposed. A discussion was held regarding the applicant. Executive Board members have previously interviewed Hornby and recommend his appointment. Motion by TeStroete second by McCarrier to appoint Fred Hornby to the vacant board term expiring in April 2008. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.  Meeker reported on a recent meeting with Dan Williams and Meg Taylor with the state EMS office. Additional information on this meeting is reported in the current edition of EMS Professionals.

 

Vice President: Nothing

 

Secretary/Treasurer:  Schilder thanked the Board of Directors for the flowers that were sent to her father’s funeral. She requests a financial review be completed on the 2005 annual conference. This should be done by January 2006. Meeker appointed Schilder, TeStroete, Barker and himself to complete the review consistent with previous reviews.

 

Executive Director: Hunjadi reported that the association has applied for a SAFER grant to augment the 2006 statewide recruitment drive. If awarded, the grant will allow the association to include non-EMS fire organizations, complete additional training sessions and place billboards throughout the state in addition to all of the elements completed in the 2002 statewide recruitment drive program. In addition, a tentative agreement has been reached with the Wisconsin Outdoor Advertising Association for free billboard space. WEMSA would have to pay for creation, printing and installation only. About $30,000 of the grant is for this purpose. Hunjadi believes WEMSA is the only state organization in Wisconsin to have applied for a SAFER grant. Mike Schneider has been moved to a new part-time position of Media Services Manager. His abilities in this area far out-rank those of executive assistant. He has been responsible for the last two magazines, new web site, plus numerous other media projects. He has been working primarily from home 20 hours a week but does come to the office once or twice a week as needed. A new executive assistant will still be hired in a full-time capacity but will not be responsible for any of the electronic or media functions of the previous job description. In addition the executive assistant will work with Covelli and with the annual conference. Hunjadi stressed his goals of continuing to remove himself from all day to day tasks to be able to concentrate on a more global role, personnel and project oversight, more visibility and attendance at meetings, work on the office construction project, and in general a role more consistent with an executive director. He further voiced concerns for being able to continue the pace of 10-14 hour days especially during peak work times. Current financial information was provided. A revised organizational chart was provided showing all positions including full-time, part-time, contract and volunteer with stipend positions.

 

Sales/Public Relations Director Covelli reported on the Wisconsin State Fire Chief’s Association convention held in Green Bay. He reports they continue to purport to want to move forward with infrastructure changes as they had indicated to WEMSA over one year ago. The General Communications Group Buying Contract needs to be altered to allow for Minitor V pager pricing. Covelli provided pager pricing from a total of eight companies. General Communications is again the price leader. Their customer service and member satisfaction have been high. Motion by TeStroete second by Bennett to accept a one year term for General Communications group buying under the provided pricing. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried. Covelli reported on the Tri-Anim contract. He and Hunjadi met with them to discuss the first six months of the contract and concerns. This included input from a survey provided to Service/Corporate members. Tri-Anim has now dedicated a full-time person exclusively for Wisconsin. The contract list of items has been expanded by almost 100% with new and additional “on contract” pricing. He reports that since the last meeting’s contract approval for batteries, Alpha Source has lowered their original pricing for a limited amount of time and will then revert to the agreed contract pricing.

 

Conference: Meeker reported several changes with conference staff members including the conference director assistant position. He handed out current speaker/session information. Motion by Schilder second by Covelli to suspend the agenda to move the conference budget item up in the agenda. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried. Hunjadi and Meeker discussed the conference budget. Most significant is the continued fee increases from speakers. Many speakers new to the conference are requesting fees of $5,000 or more which is out of the price range based on current conference fees. The other area of high increases is with entertainment. The speaker line item is being proposed at $30,000 ($10,000 increase from last year). The entertainment line item is being proposed at $10,000. Discussion on the cost of entertainment whether it be DJs, bands, comedians, “dueling pianos” etc. Suggestion to raise the amount to $15,000 ($10,000 increase from 2005). A cloth “brief case” type item is being proposed as the premium item which necessitates a line item increase to $10,000 ($5,000 increase from last year). Total conference expense budget as amended is $302,500. Budget amounts do not include executive director, sales director or media services manager salaries which come from the general association budget. Motion by TeStroete second by Barker to approve the conference budget as amended. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.

 

Cruise: Hunjadi gave a brief report on the 2005 cruise because a written report, including survey results, had been previously provided and is available on-line. The final donation returned to the association following all expenses and complimentary cruises is $16,020. Both the cruise survey and web site surveys show less than 50% support for education being added to the EMS cruise. The destination with the most support for 2007 is the Southern Caribbean. Cruises are generally less expensive in this region. However, the reason is due to increased flight costs to San Juan making the final amount comparable to either the Western or Eastern Caribbean. It is too early to obtain information for a March 2007 cruise. Both the cruise survey and word of mouth appear to show support for a cruise to Alaska. Hunjadi has done preliminary investigation for an Alaskan cruise. The thought would be to offer the event as an additional or special cruise in August 2006 and then still do the traditional winter cruise in 2007. Information and pricing was provided to board members. Rates range from a low of $729 (plus port charges/taxes and air) to a high of $1,689 (plus port charges/taxes and air). Preliminary information appears to show Royal Caribbean as the leading contender in price, itinerary and a cruise line meeting the WEMSA demographic and needs. Complete package information including commissions, amenities, parties, etc. was not available. If the association should move forward with an Alaska cruise it would have to be announced sometime in the next 3-5 months for an August 2006 sailing. The “main” EMS Cruise for March 2007 would be announced in January 2006. Motion by Barker second by Covelli to pursue work on a 2006 Wisconsin EMS Cruise to Alaska. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried. 

 

OLD BUSINESS

 

Group Buying Program:  No additional information beyond that provided in the Sales/Public Relations Director’s report.

 

Bylaw Changes: Board members provided multiple changes for consideration to the bylaws. Sections included a written proposal for 3.1, added language regarding employees as board members in 3.0, and changes to 3.14 and 1.2.6. Discussion was also held regarding policy changes, board member requirements and other related items. Originally the issue was sent to a committee but when the committee failed to meet it was brought back to the entire board. The changes again appear too large and varied in scope to be dealt with by the board as a whole. President Meeker then appointed Schilder, TeStroete, Barker, Hornby and himself to meet and work on potential changes including those raised by board members.

 

Office Land Purchase: Hunjadi reported that the offer to purchase land at $110,000 was rejected unless we were willing to accept an inside lot. If we are interested in the corner lot the lowest the owner is willing to sell the land for is $120,000. Hunjadi has also obtained four separate bids for the building as currently drawn and has found all to be in excess of the proposed budget. Much of the problem stems from commercial construction design on a building not large enough to require or sustain this design. The use of a basement whether occupied or not is also hampering the price. Builders and consultants are suggesting changes to the design, elimination of the basement and to approach large scale home builders. These changes should allow for the budget amount to be met. Motion by Bennett second by Covelli to offer $120,000 for land purchase. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried. Hunjadi will communicate the offer to the owner but not complete the purchase until the building budget can be confidently met.

 

Scope of Practice: The Wisconsin EMS Association and the State EMS Office are the only two known state-wide organizations from Wisconsin to provide written comment on the second draft of the scope of practice. Confirmation on receipt of our statement has been received from the task force.

 

Midwest Airlines Partnership: Final negotiations are being completed with Midwest Airlines to become the official airline of the Wisconsin EMS Association including conference sponsorship. Midwest Airlines is also working on special pricing from regional feeder airports to provide transportation to the annual conference. LaCrosse, Wausau, Green Bay, Minneapolis, along with several other departure points are being considered. Round trip costs of under $99 are anticipated for the conference, making flying to the annual conference extremely attractive given current fuel prices. The deal should be finalized in the next 60 days.

 

Survey: Hunjadi hoped to have a draft survey completed, including questions from the state EMS office. Due to multiple reasons the draft is not available. The item is tabled until further notice.

 

Project USEMSA: Covelli reported on the large amount of activity following the release of the recent “Back to the Future” report from the George Washington University. Discussion followed regarding the potential for WEMSA to endorse a location for a federal EMS Administration. Board members had varying views on a location. Several questioned whether or not it was premature to name a location rather than continue to support the concept of a United States EMS Administration regardless of the appropriate “home” for such an administration. Covelli will work on a position draft in support of a stand alone agency with no mention attached of where it will be.

 

NAEMT Affiliation: Meeker spoke with NAEMT President Ken Bouvier regarding the potential for WEMSA to finally affiliate with the NAEMT. It was indicated that some changes may be taking place with the affiliation program. Meeker and Covelli will be attending the NAEMT annual meeting during the EMS Expo conference next month. No further action taken at this time.

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

Website Advertising: Discussion was held regarding the potential to begin offering advertising on the Wisconsin EMS Association web site. Additional discussion was held regarding offering job listings. Multiple positives and negatives were presented including the potential for lost revenue from magazine advertising, cluttering or “cheapening” the look of the web site, increasing information for members, offering more timely listings. No action taken and the item was tabled.

 

Board Stipends: Covelli raised the question regarding the current stipend structure for board members. Currently board members are paid $30 per meeting in addition to food/break items and where applicable overnight stays (in the case of multiple day meetings). The current cost of fuel was noted. The stipend has remained at $30 since it was instituted in 1997. Motion by Bennett second by McCarrier to raise the board stipend to $50 per meeting retroactively to January 1, 2005. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.

 

2007 Conference Rates: The Working Together conference rate has remained at $65/day for the previous six years. As noted during budget discussions, costs continue to rise substantially, including food, speakers, entertainment, etc. Board members wish to keep the annual conference as affordable as possible for volunteers. Currently, however, the Working Together conference is among the lowest cost in the state and the nation and includes a full sit down lunch, break items, exhibit hall, entertainment and handout items. Hunjadi suggests that the conference fee remain the same for the seventh year at the 2006 20th annual conference but that the fee is increased by $10/day starting with the 2007 conference. Along with the $10/day increase, Hunjadi recommends that the member discount be set at $10/day. A $20 membership would then allow members to break even if they attend only two conference days and double their return if they attend all four days. Corporate members would be eligible for a total of $400 in conference discounts for their $350 membership fee. These changes would result in a net increase of $5/day for members. The fee increase would allow the conference to begin to address increasing costs, provide greater financial value to members, and encourage anyone who attends the conference to become a WEMSA member even if they only attend two days. Motion by Bennett, second by McCarrier to increase the conference discount to $10/day and increase the Working Together conference fee by $10/day starting with the 2007, 21st annual conference. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.

 

Physician Advisory Committee: A brief discussion was held regarding the progress and recent effectiveness of the Physician Advisory Committee. Hunjadi and Hornby reported on the current situation. Many projects have been in progress for multiple years (on-line medical director’s course, ambulance service report card, interfacility transport guidelines, etc.) with many items never coming to completion. The issue was addressed in the recent meeting with Williams and Taylor of the EMS office. The item will be added to the October meeting for further review and action.

 

CEU in EMS Professionals: Barker raised the idea of adding a program of allowing for continuing education credits to be provided through EMS Professionals magazine. A brief discussion was held. Covelli will work with Barker and Schneider on the concept to include on-line testing and CEU awards for members.

 

Calendars & Other Items: Covelli raised several ideas for projects, products and service additions from the association. These include a calendar that would include scene photos from throughout the state. Limited discussion was held with concern for keeping in mind current strategic plan objectives and the amount of staff time, effort, energy, and money to support added new projects and the benefit these projects may bring to association members. No action was taken.

 

Motion by Allen second by McCarrier to adjourn. All in favor none opposed. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 4:40 PM.