UIC Chapter of SUAA Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting November 9, 2004

A regular meeting of the SUAA/UIC Board of Directors was called to order by the President, Frank Tachau, at 2pm on Tuesday, November 09, 2004 in the conference room opposite the SUAA office, room 146F PPB . Other directors present were Merrill Gassman, Joan Hladek, Roslyn Hoffman, Dick Johnson, Wally Wadycki, Ralph Westfall, and Judy Curry, who also represented the State SUAA Executive Committee. The Minutes of the previous meeting were not available. The Board expressed its best wishes to Susan Levy for a speedy recovery.

Directors approved by unanimous vote a resolution to "express sincere appreciation to Art Savage and Mark Donovan for their successful efforts in securing new office space for SUAA, a dedicated phone line, and use of a computer."

Treasurer's Report: Treasurer Wally Wadycki was welcomed back. The Board and Wally thanked Frank for standing in as treasurer in recent months. Wally reported a balance on hand of $32,118 with no outstanding expenses. The report was received and placed on file. Wally will look into the possibility of using PayPal in the future to collect fees at Chapter events (eg. luncheons) .

Membership: Frank reported on behalf of Gerry Piorkowski, who could not be present. UIC Chapter membership is at an all-time high of 1134 members. The summer campaign coordinated by Gerry and graduate student Kevin Navratil, in which personalized letters and targeted email were sent to retired UIC colleagues, recruited 84 new members. Money well spent!

Programs

• Program chair Roz Hoffman recommended inviting U of I President-designate B. Joseph White to speak at SUAA's April meeting. Roz will follow up.
• The Board discussed a membership strategy of offering a free lunch to members who bring new members to the April meeting/lunch or to guests who sign up for membership at the meeting or to both. No decision was made.
• Dick Johnson recommended honoring retiring U of I President Jim Stukel at a reception to be held in January or February 2005. He will talk with Sue Sindelar about possible dates. No decision was made on the nature of the event.
• Irv Miller's first speaker/discussion series drew 25 - a success! A second program on the "problems and prospects of stem cell research" will be held at CIU on December 7.
  

New Business

Directors-at-Large: The Board approved President Tachau's nominations for the appointments of Marsha Borders, Irving Miller, and Jacob Starks to fill the expired terms of Alberta Bowles, Anita Tatone, and Bob Kriz for the remainder of the 2004-05 year. The Board expressed its thanks to the retiring members. The Nominating committee will consider regular 3-year at-large replacements with staggered terms when the Committee puts forth 2005-2006 nominations.

October SUAA/State Board Meeting: The three SUAA/UIC directors who attended the October meeting expressed concerns similar to those noted by directors attending previous State meetings. The directors met recently with Judy Curry of the State Executive Committee, and the Board today dedicated much of its meeting to the discussion of these concerns.

In brief, the presentation in October by Jim Hacking and the remarks of the luncheon speaker were informative and valuable to the SUAA/UIC chapter. However, the lengthy discussions of community college benefits and of SUAA legislative goals were not structured and did not produce recommendations for action. The PIC white paper, presumably key to SUAA's long-term legislative strategy, was not distributed nor was it discussed. The time allotted for the review of distributed written reports during the business meeting was too long and might have been used more productively. Time dedicated to discussion of the Foundation was of no value whatever. Frank will summarize these issues and circulate among directors for review. This summary will be sent to David Hilquist, State SUAA President, with a request to meet with this Board.

UIC Goals/Strategies

• Balance needed - The UIC chapter exists to advocate for the legislative interests of members and to offer services, information, and worthwhile cultural and educational programs. Written materials are needed to outline these goals to potential and current members.
• Unique geographic legislative strategies needed -Rural and downstate SUAA chapters inherently have closer ties to legislators. UIC and other SUAA chapters in northeast Illinois should consider adopting different strategies for influencing State legislators.
• UIC's role - Although the chapter has unique needs, it also has obligations to the State organization - how to relate?

SUAA/UIC Name - Directors resumed discussion of changing the name of the SUAA/UIC chapter. The "UIC Chapter of SUAA" has disadvantages, including a narrow focus on annuitants and a lack of common understanding of both the nature of the organization and of the word "annuitant." Another option, "UIConcerned", promotes outreach to active employees and focuses on promoting benefits but would require fairly extensive marketing of a new name among both existing and potential members. Others suggested marketing the mission rather than changing the name. Judy will locate former SUAA/UIC brochures used to describe and promote the organization and will circulate them to directors. The topic will be taken up again at the next meeting.

SUAA/UIC Manual - This document has been circulated repeatedly to directors and staff for editing - Judy volunteered to review and circulate a final version to directors. The edited version will be posted on the SUAA website and distributed to members and potential members in hard copy and/or CD.

Auditor's Report - The internal auditing committee, comprised of Ralph Westfall and Wayne Wolf, found all of the accounts and reports to be in good order. The June 30, 2004 report was received and placed on file at a previous meeting. The Board approved a motion by Ralph that the Auditing committee's favorable recommendation for the 2004 Annual Report of the Treasurer be accepted.

Website - Merrill will put the SUAA/UIC Constitution, Bylaws, and the Manual on the website. He is reviewing the website for appearance, ease of use, and content.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 4PM. The next meeting will be held on December 7 at 10AM in the PPB conference room.

Respectfully submitted by Judy Curry, Acting Secretary

to the Chapter's home page