November 2003 Newsletter
Ken Adams, CDP
2003-2004 Region 5 President
Here it is November already. My how time flies when you are having fun. It is the time of year for AITP to be preparing for 2004. Elections at the chapter level should be done or hopefully will be done this month. Region 5 concluded the annual fall meeting in St. Louis and elections were held. National AITP election results are in. The new AITP Association Board of Directors and Executive Council are busy preparing a budget and plans for 2004.
AITP Dues to Increase
The Association Board of Directors (ABOD) passed a $25.00 per year dues increase to be effective in 2004. The dues increase is necessary due to decreasing revenues because of declining membership and to meet increasing expenses. In addition to the dues increase all expenses for 2004 will be cut by 10% and the Collegiate Conference will set a profit target of $65,000.
Much discussion of the dues increase has occurred since the conference due to response from the chapters and regions.
As Region 5 President I requested input from all Region 5 Chapter leaders and forwarded the responses to Mark Gilfand the Central District Association Director. I informed the ABOD that my major concerns wth the dues increase was that there was no definitive plan for what was to be done with the increased revenue to benefit the members. I suggested that a portion of the dues increase be distributed to the chapters and regions.
The ABOD had a conference call board meeting November 19. A motion was made to rescind the dues increase. The motion failed. Mark Gilfand made a motion to distribute $5.00 of the $25.00 increase to active chapters. Motion passed. Mark Gilfand made a motion to distribute $5.00 of the $25.00 increase to active regions. Motion was tabled for a future vote. Listed below are portions of the minutes from the ABOD meeting dealing with the dues increase:
3. - Dues Increase revisited (C. Kennedy)
MOTION: Rescind the dues increase passed in St. Louis ABOD meeting (Craig/Jerry) Board discussion focused on potential attrition, the Association’s financial status, the history of dues increases, inflation/costof- living, the role of the Association’s leadership, timing of dues increases, the need to enhance the value of membership, the role of the portal, the student membership dues increase implemented earlier in the year with the need to create equity among classes of membership.
MOTION DID NOT PASS (roll call vote: Sam Luke no, Brian Reithel no, Kevin Jetton no, Jerry Buckland yes, Craig Kennedy yes, Sue Morton no, Coney Barre no, Mark Kleine no, Beth Pirrie abstain, Mark Gilfand no)MOTION: Allocate $5.00 of dues per member and rebate that directly back to chapters that have met five times during the past year and have a current officer roster on file at Association headquarters (Mark Gilfand / Sam Luke)
PASSED UNANIMOUSLYMOTION: Allocate $5.00 of dues per member to active regions that have had at least one meeting in the past year, one educational event in the past year with independent members accounted for geographically as well in the region counts (Mark Gilfand/Sam Luke)
MOTION: Table (Brian / Coney) PASSED 9-1
4. - Interim Membership Dues
MOTION: Increase interim member dues by $10 per year across all tiers (Kevin/Beth)
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
Region 5 Annual Fall Business Meeting
The annual fall meeting was held in St. Louis October 22, 2003 at the Millennium Hotel in conjunction with the AITP National/Region 5 Conference. Election results for Region 5 Officers for 2004 are as follows:
| Office | Officer | E-mail Address |
|---|---|---|
| President | Ken Adams | kradams@eosinc.com |
| Vice President | Tim Williams | tim.williams.bgg0@statfarm.com |
| Secretary | John DeLauriea | john.delauriea@aitpchicago.org |
| Treasurer | Tony LaCrosse | TONYLACROS@aol.com |
AITP National/Region 5 Conference
The St. Louis chapter hosted the Annual AITP National/Region 5 Conference October 22-25, 2003. Chris Leja and John Zeman were the co-chairs of the conference and congratulations are in order to them. The conference was first class. It was held at the Millennium Hotel in downtown St. Louis. The only thing missing was a large contingent of AITP members registered for the conference. I am constantly asked what benefit is there in belonging to AITP. In my opinion he national conference is one of the largest benefits of AITP membership. However it is only a benefit if you attend. I renewed contact with many friends I have made over the years. I learned what is happening in other chapters throughout the country. The sessions were excellent. The conference is an excellent opportunity to meet the national leaders of AITP and let them know what is needed at the local level. The conference was also a financial success with a gross profit of $7,381. Region 5 will receive $2,214 with the St. Louis Chapter receiving a net profit of $5,187.
Web cast of National AITP Conference Tracts
Several Region 5 chapters hosted web cast of the AITP conference tracts. Capitol Chapter in conjunction with the University if Illinois Springfield hosted two tracts at the UIS campus. There were 25 attendees at the conference along with twelve volunteers from the chapters in attendance. The Milwaukee chapter in conjunction with Milwaukee Area Technical College hosted sessions on Thursday and Friday of the conference dates. Attendance at the Thursday sessions were 2 chapter members and 6 students. Attendance at Fridays sessions were 1 chapter member and 5 students. The Bradley University student chapter hosted the webcast in at Bradley University with two faculty and at least 2 students at several sessions both Thursday and Friday.
AITP National Elections
Results of this years AITP National non-election for officers and board members are as follows:
President for 2004 Sam Luke - Honolulu Chapter
Executive VP/President Elect 2004 Brian Reithel - Jackson Mississippi Chapter
Secretary/Treasurer 2004 Mark Gilfand – Twin City Chapter
Association Directors
EASTERN DISTRICT Craig Kennedy craigkenn@aol.com
CENTRAL DISTRICT Susan Morton smorton@datadash.com
SOUTHERN DISTRICT Kenneth McCardle Kmccardle.sfbcic.com
WESTERN DISTRICT Jim Henry and Beth Pirrie
Because there were no contested elections, ballots were not mailed and all positions were filled by acclimation by the ABOD. As a result of Mark Gilfand being elected as Secretary/Treasurer for 2004 his remaining term as Central District Association Director became open. The Central District Nominating Committee unanimously approved the appointment of Nita Adams Capitol Chapter to complete Mark’s term. Nita was ratified by the ABOD and will begin serving in 2004.