Executive Committee Minutes s2

Southwest NAHRO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES June 27, 2011 Annual Conference Albuquerque, New Mexico

I. Meeting Call to Order at 4:37 p.m. by Katie Anderson, SWNAHRO President

II. Patrick O’Neil, Acting Secretary, called roll as follows:

Presiding Katie Anderson President

Officers Present Blake Farris Senior VP Alan Turnbo Treasurer Annie Botsford VP for Housing Jeanie Epperson VP for Professional Development Donna Lewis VP for Member Services Win Jacobs VP for Commissioners Larry Hopkins VP for CR & D

Members Present: Chapter Presidents Mary Crutchfield Arkansas Chapter President Cindy Martin Louisiana Chapter President Darrin Taylor Missouri Chapter President Dodi Salazar New Mexico Chapter President Blake Farris Oklahoma Chapter President

Absent: Bernadine Spears Texas Chapter President JoAnn Sutton Kansas Chapter President

Arkansas - Barbara Suber, Dub Wingfield, Homer Thompson Kansas - Roxanne Mason, Sheryl Swendson Louisiana - Richard Murray, Bobby Simmons Missouri - Thomas Barnett, David Hayes, Darrin Taylor New Mexico - Robbie Levy Oklahoma - Elton Spears, Kathy Bell Texas - Steve Shorts, Eva Shults

Past Presidents: Present: Donna Dunwoody, Daniel Strange Past Presidents Absent - Ralph Stone, Phillip Miller, Apolonia Flores, JD Foster, Alyce Terry, Alan Pollock III. Minutes A. Minutes from the January 28, 2011 Executive Committee meeting held in Dallas, Texas were presented for the Committee’s review and approval.\

Action Taken: A motion to approve the minutes as presented was made by Dub Wingfield and seconded by Homer Thompson. The following vote was recorded YEAS: All NAYES: None IV. Financial/Treasurers Report – Alan Turnbo Alan reported that a balance of $87,879.60 was added to Southwest NAHRO reserves at FYE 9/30/2010. Higher receipts combined with lower than anticipated expenses led to the funds being placed in reserves. FY 2011 financial records do not show any major issues to date. Action Taken: Alan made a motion to accept his report and Cindy Martin seconded. The following vote was recorded. See attached for Budget. YEAS : All NAYES: None V. Special / Ad Hoc Committees A. HART (Retirement Plan) – David Smotherman HART currently has 413 member agencies with 6,718 participants and approximately $371 million in assets. All funds have experienced positive earnings in 2011; however, May was an unkind month for markets which continued into June. Action Taken: Blake made a motion to accept David’s report and Cindy seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None B. Awards – Chris Simpson The committee met on June 27 with 12 members present. Honorable mention award winners will be recognized with their certificate at the awards luncheon. A request from the Steering Committee to consider adopting the Elizabeth B. Wells award requirements for Commissioner of the Year candidates was considered. After much discussion it was decided to table the issue until the Committee’s next meeting during the August, 2011 transitional meetings. Action Taken: Jeannie Epperson made a motion to accept the Awards Committee report and Cindy seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None

C. Annual Conference Planning – Dodi Salazar The Committee met to begin discussing the 2012 Annual Conference, which will be hosted by the Kansas chapter. Dodi shared that a smaller planning group provided better communication and less overlap in planning, and that overall the planning of the 2011 Annual Conference had been a positive experience. Action Taken: Dodi made a motion to accept her report and Larry Hopkins seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYS: None D. Budget & Finance – Dub Wingfield The Committee met on June 27, with Katie, Blake and Shelli also in attendance. The Committee discussed placing a cap on the reserves which are held by SW NAHRO and reached a consensus to recommend the following to the Executive Committee: a maximum cap of $200,000 be placed on reserves, with a floor of $100,000; and, reserve funds in excess of $200,000 be returned to the membership in a manner to be determined by the Executive Committee. Action Taken: Dub moved to place a cap of $200,000 on SW NAHRO reserves, with a floor of $100,000. Elton Spears seconded. Alan Turnbo asked for further clarification on the need for a reserve floor. Dub explained that it was the Budget & Finance Committee’s intent for the $100,000 reserve floor to be a point when the Committee would begin searching for other revenue to replenish the reserve. Only funds above the $200,000 cap would be returned to the membership. Dan Strange asked how the proposed cap number was reached. Dub explained that although the number was somewhat arbitrary, it was what the Committee felt would be sufficient to support SW NAHRO for 12 months with no additional revenue, if needed. Katie called the question on the motion; the following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None Dub stated that the Committee had also discussed re-instating the travel budget for the position of Immediate Past President (IPP). Action Taken: Dub moved that the travel budget for the IPP be re-instated; Dub subsequently amended the motion to include the amount of $2,500 as the IPP travel budget if approved by the Executive Committee. Annie Botsford seconded. Katie added that a travel budget for the IPP had previously been part of the budget; however, the line item had been removed from the budget when revenue was not sufficient to cover expenses and reserve funds had been required to be used. The IPP is required to attend National NAHRO meetings and events, and cannot have a representative attend on their behalf. Katie called the question on the motion; the following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None Dub reported that the Committee had discussed increasing the travel budget for President, Senior Vice President and the five Standing Committee chairs. Action Taken: Dub moved that the travel budget for 2012 be increased by $1,000 for each position. Larry Hopkins seconded. Steve Shorts expressed concern that the increases would use much of what was in reserve over $200,000. Robbie Levey stated that the increase would allow for a greater presence at the national level. Jeannie stated that she would like to consider adding travel funds for Committee Vice Chairs before increasing Standing Committee Vice President’s travel budgets. Winn Jacobs suggested allowing VP’s to release their unused travel funds to the vice chairs. Katie stated that this issue had been raised previously and that this was not allowed under the current by-laws. Katie called the question on the motion; the following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None A proposed contract for financial services has been made, with an increase of $1,000 over the previous year. Dub stated that the proposal was still lower than the cost of other providers. The Committee also recommended approval of the FY 2012 Budget.

Action Taken: Dub moved to accept the proposed FY 2012 Budget with all changes previously approved by the Executive Committee. Alan Turnbo seconded. Katie called the question; the following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None E. By-Laws – Donna Dunwoody The Committee met without a quorum. Voting in between meetings, such as electronic voting, was discussed. This is not addressed in the by-laws and may need clarification. The Committee also discussed revising the by-laws so that future changes to the SW NAHRO fee structure would not require by-law revisions. Donna also asked that if any member had concerns or suggestions for revisions to the by-laws that they be brought to the Committee’s attention as soon as possible so that they can be included with other revisions for faster enactment.

Action Taken: The Executive Committee received the report; no other action required. F. Exhibitors – Barbara Suber The Committee met with 3 members and 1 guest present and discussed ways in which the Committee could be of assistance to the Service Officer. Action Taken: Barbara made a motion to approve her report and Dub seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NEAS: None G. Farris Award – Blake Farris No report presented. Action Taken: No action taken. H. Housing Benefits Plan – Jack McCord Steve Shorts presented the report. 1,250 members from 200 housing authorities are currently members of the plan. This is an increase of 6.5% over 2010. A rate increase of 4% was enacted for 2011. Action Taken: Steve moved to accept the report. Dan Strange seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None I. Maintenance – Mary Lynn Thibodeaux The Committee met on June 27 with 9 members and 6 guests present. The 2012 Maintenance Conference will be held February 27 – March 1, 2012, in Louisiana. CPR will be added as an ongoing training at each conference. Other sessions for 2012 will include ethics and conflict of interest training, drug awareness training and others. The Committee is also looking for door prize donations and nominations for the Williams S. Clements award. Action Taken: Steve Shorts moved to accept the report and Cindy Martin seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None J. Scholarship – Sharon Gargas The Committee met with 8 members present and discussed and agreed to make the following changes to the scholarship application process: allowing typed essays as part of the applications (did not previously allow typed), change on-line applications to fillable PDF’s, require head of household age on application, and submit SAT/ACT scores. The next deadline for scholarship applications will be March 15, 2012. The Committee will be awarding over $11,000 to 22 recipients in 2011. Action Taken: Homer moved to approve the report and Alan seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYS: None K. Site Selection – Blake Farris No repot given; all sites have been selected through 2015.

Action Taken: No action required. L. Legislative – Blake Farris The Legislative Committee will meet on June 28, 2011. Blake encouraged all members to attend and to be active in contacting their legislators. The 2012 Housing America campaign will also be a topic of discussion at the Legislative meeting. The Legislative Committee will continue to meet regularly via conference calls, which are currently scheduled for the 3rd Tuesday of every other month. Action Taken: No action taken. M. Nominating Committee – Donna Dunwoody The Committee met June 27, 2011, with 6 members present and 1 guest. Most of the Committee’s work was conducted earlier in the year in identifying candidates for the 2011-2013 term. One nominee was forced to withdraw their name from consideration after the slate had been set, leaving an open position for VP of Housing. A notice was sent to members informing them of the way the position could be filled by the general membership and reminding that nominations cannot be accepted during the general Business Meeting. The Committee also discussed ways to increase awareness of committee member responsibilities for all members and to stress the importance of attending meetings so that quorums can be met. Action Taken: Donna made a motion to accept her report and Annie seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None VI. State Chapter Reports A. Arkansas – Mary Crutchfield The Arkansas chapter held its Spring conference April 13-15, 2011 in North Little Rock. New officers were elected for the 2011-2013 term. Training was provided by Dennis Morgan of Morgan & Associates, Terry Provance of NanMcKay and others. Jim Coleman of the Camden Housing Authority was presented with the Mary Kay Nenno award at the National NAHRO Legislative Conference held in March in Washington, D.C. Members are encouraged to visit the website at www.arnahro.org for more information and for a complete listing of new state officers. Action Taken: Mary made a motion to accept her report and Jeannie seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None B. Kansas – JoAnn Sutton Larry Hopkins, state Senior VP, presented on JoAnn’s behalf. The Spring conference was held May 10-12, 2011, in Salina, KS. Although attendance was down, the conference was productive as well as profitable for the state chapter, with over $10,000 in net proceeds. Highlights of the conference included Commissioner training by Katie Anderson, SWRC President. A new slate of officer was also elected at the Spring conference; transitional training will be held in July or August. A new Kansas NAHRO logo was also adopted at the conference, and the chapter continues to prepare for the 2012 Southwest NAHRO Annual Conference. “Traveling Trainings” are in the process of being scheduled to increase revenue in anticipation of 2012 Annual Conference and to provide training in place of the 2012 Spring Conference, which will not be held due to the proximity to the Southwest NAHRO Annual Conference. Action Taken: Larry made a motion to accept the report and Cindy seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None C. Louisiana – Cindy Martin New officers have been elected for the upcoming term. The chapter provided legislative and HUD training at its most recent conference, and presented scholarship awards of $16,000 to 10 recipients. Executive Director training was held in Lafayette and the first Commissioner Fundamentals training will be held in July. The annual Maintenance Conference will be held in August. Action Taken: Cindy made a motion to accept her report and Larry seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None D. Missouri – Darrin Taylor The Spring conference was held March 16-18 in Independence, MO, with 112 attendees. Derrith Watchman-Moore, new Regional Administrator for HUD’s Region VII, spoke at the conference’s opening session. Trainings included Public Housing and VASH voucher roundtables, PIC Building and Unit Status, healthcare reform, PHAS and others. A slate of officers was presented by the Nominating Committee and elected for the 2011- 2013 term. A Section 8/Public Housing Workshop was also held May 9- 11, 2011 with 142 attendees. The web-site continues to be a success and can be viewed at either www.monahro.com or www.monahro.org. Action Taken: Darrin made a motion to accept his report and Jeannie seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None

Darrin read a letter from Matt Moran, Executive Director of the Joplin Housing Authority, which suffered extensive damage from a tornado in May. Matt thanked everyone at NAHRO for their support and their thoughts, and encouraged all to value their time together. E. New Mexico – Dodi Salazar Dodi reported that the state chapter had been busy preparing to host the Southwest NAHRO Annual conference. The state annual conference has been moved from April to September; attendance is expected to be lower than usual. Training has taken place in conjunction with HUD and with the New Mexico Finance Authority. New state officers have been elected, with Chris Herbert being elected the next state chapter President. The state will award scholarships soon. Dodi encouraged all members to view the revised New Mexico NAHRO website and the state’s first chapter newsletter in several years. Action Taken: Dodi made a motion to approve her report and Jeannie seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None F. Oklahoma – Blake Farris Blake reported that Oklahoma NAHRO had elected its new slate of officers. The Hugo Housing Authority was awarded the Robert J. Vasquez award by the Oklahoma City HUD field office. Oklahoma also received recognition from both the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate for it’s efforts in the 2010 Housing America contest. Additional information about the chapter, including the list of new officers, can be obtained by visiting www.oknahro.org Action Taken: Blake made the motion to approve his report and Elton Spears seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None

G. Texas – Bernadine Spears Shelli presented the Texas chapter report. Election of officers was conducted at the Annual Conference, April 18-21, 2011. There were 408 registered attendees, speakers and trainers and 43 exhibitors at the conference. $25,000 in scholarships were awarded.

Action Taken: Eva Shultz made the motion to accept Shelli’s report and Blake seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None VII. Standing Committees Reports

A. Commissioners – Win Jacobs There were 6 members and 6 guests present when the Committee met on June 27, 2011. Win stressed that the Committee was still trying to attract members to attend meetings. The Committee continues to maintain a database of Commissioners in the region. The “Train the Trainer” program continues to be successful and has increased the number of certified Commissioners in the region to 35. The Sam McKay scholarship fund has reached an all time high; there will be 3 - $1,000 scholarships and 2 - $750 scholarships awarded. Action Taken: Win made a motion to accept her report and Cindy seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None

B. Community Revitalization & Development – Larry Hopkins The Committee met on June 27, 2011, with 5 members and guests present. Larry reported that the New Mexico chapter was represented at the Committee meeting for the firs time in several years and encouraged continued participation. The Committee discussed increasing CR&D membership and participation in Southwest NAHRO. Action Taken: Larry made a motion to accept his report and Mary Crutchfield seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None

C. Housing – Annie Botsford The Committee met on June 27, 2011, with 12 members present, as well as David Lange, nominee for incoming VP of Housing. Quorum was not met; however, the Committee did discuss several current issues, including changes to the SEVRA proposal, non-smoking policies in Public Housing, and several cost-cutting measures that can be used in light of recent budget cuts. Among cost saving measures suggested were: four-day work weeks, converting HAP checks to direct deposit, eliminating certified letters and utilizing hybrid vehicles. Action Taken: Annie made a motion to accept her report and Steve Shorts seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None

D. Member Services – Donna Lewis The Committee met on June 27, 2011, with 17 members present. The Committee is focused on raising funds for the scholarship fund and will be selling merchandise as well as tickets for the 50/50 raffle and State baskets and sponsoring a “Crazy Hat” contest during the vendor’s reception. A new feature of the state basket contest is that tickets will be sold for individual baskets, with the state with the most tickets sold for their basket receiving a traveling plaque. Action Taken: Donna made a motion to accept her report and Jeannie seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None

E. Professional Development - Jeannie Epperson The Committee met on June 27, 2011, with 14 members and 3 guests present, including Darrin Taylor, candidate for incoming VP of Professional Development. The Committee reviewed accomplishments of the 2009-2011 term, including increased communication with the Service Officer and increased input in conference training tracts. The Committee also shared information with Darrin to assist him in the transition to the 2011-2013 term. Jeannie thanked the Executive Committee for the opportunity to serve as VP of Professional Development. Action Taken: Jeanie made a motion to accept her report and Donna Lewis seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None VIII. Service Officer’s Report -Shelli Scrogum Membership dues for 2011 are at $75,908, approximately $6,000 more than budgeted. There are a total of 599 agency members, 19 CR&D agencies and 68 affiliate members. Members are encouraged to continue visiting the website; Southwest NAHRO is also now on Facebook. Transitional meetings will be held in Springfield, MO, August 11-12, 2011. The Annual Maintenance conference had 140 attendees and generated $11,376 in net revenue. There are 249 registered attendees for the Annual Conference with 48 vendors. Action Taken: Homer Thompson made a motion to accept the report and Donna seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYS: None IX. President’s Report – Katie Anderson a. Scholarship Committee procedure document: Katie explained that the procedure document, which was provided to the Executive Committee for review prior to the meeting, was needed to clarify the steps taken in awarding scholarships. The written procedure will provide guidance to the Scholarship Committee in the event of a change in leadership or turnover of Committee members.

Action Taken: Larry moved to accept the Scholarship Committee procedure document as presented and Darrin seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYS: None b. Update of Hospitality Room: Katie explained that a hospitality room would be provided for one night of the conference with a cash bar provided by the hotel. This is in accordance with the wishes of the host Chapter; the Committee will wait to make decisions on further conference hospitality rooms after seeing how this conference’s hospitality room is received by the membership. c. National Conference Planning Committee update: The Southwest Region will be the host of the 2011 National NAHRO Annual Conference (St. Louis, MO), with Katie serving as Chair of the Planning Committee. Katie and Shelli continue to work with the Committee and have decided on a gift for the Board of Governors event, which is provided by the host region. d. Update on Fellows candidate support for Ritchie Harrington during Winter Meetings Executive Committee meeting: Katie reminded everyone that because quorum was not met at the time the vote to offer support for Ritchie’s candidacy was taken, the vote was voided. Quorum was lost during the meeting due to members leaving early; Katie stressed the importance of members remaining for votes to be taken. X. Senior Vice-President’s President’s Report – Blake Farris Blake reminded members that a forum for National Sr. Vice President candidates would be held during the Opening Ceremonies luncheon on June 28: Blake asked that members submit questions to him that they would like asked of the candidates.

XI. Old Business a. Service Officers Task Force Committee Report and Recommendation: The membership was asked to consider the recommendations made by the task force that were provided to the Committee for review prior to the meeting. The recommendations will provide incentives to the Service Officer based on performance. Action Taken: Jeannie moved to accept the task force’s recommendations as presented and Larry seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYRS: None b. Update on Endorsement of Candidate for National NAHRO Senior Vice President: Candidates will take part in a forum during the Opening Ceremonies luncheon on Tuesday, June 28; Endorsement of Candidate will be considered under New Business during the June 30, 2011 Annual Business/General Membership Meeting. XII. New Business a. Southwest NAHRO Accounting Services Contract Renewal: A brief review of the discussion during the Budget and Finance Committee report was provided. Action Taken: Jeannie moved to accept the proposed Accounting Services Contract Renewal. Annie seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None b. Review of S&S Unlimited, Inc. (Service Officer) Contract: The current contract expires June 31, 2011. The renewal contract calls for a fee increase of 5%. Action Taken: Dan Strange moved to accept the proposed S&S Unlimited, Inc. contract. Robbie Levey seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None c. Distribution of Excess Reserves to Membership: Katie explained that the Committee needed to determine what manner to distribute reserves in excess of $200,000 to the membership, due to the $200,000 reserve cap approved earlier in the meeting. Katie suggested decreasing or waiving some registration fees and attaching some form of reduced or no cost training with certification to the 2012 Annual conference. Sherry Swenson suggested that any motion for reduced or no cost stand-alone training require that the attendee be a paid conference attendee.

Action Taken: Cindy Martin moved to utilize reserve funds in excess of $200,000 by waiving registration costs for attendees of the 2011 Transitional Meetings, August 11-12, 2011, and to provide a reduced cost or free stand-alone training with certification in conjunction with the 2012 Annual Conference, provided the training attendee is a paid attendee of the Annual Conference. Larry Hopkins seconded. The following vote was recorded. YEAS: All NAYES: None

XII. Adjournment A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 7:07 p.m.

______Katie Anderson, President

______Vonda Waskom, Secretary