MINUTES LIA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MEETING, MARCH 13, 2012, 5:00 P.M.
RALPH & KACOO’S RESTAURANT
BATON ROUGE, LA
The meeting began at 5:15 P.M. with President, Wayne Orton welcoming everyone and asking them to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Voting members present were: Wayne
Orton, Marianne Joye, John R. Kavanaugh, Curt Bowman, Jack Hopper and Julie Mouch Broussard. Visitors present were Andy Blumberg and Ansel Rankins. Non-voting Board Member was Severn C. Doughty, Sr. Four voting Board Members present represented a quorum and six were present.
Wayne asked the Board to review the Minutes of the last Board Meeting and if acceptable, move that they be accepted. Julie Mouch Broussard moved, seconded by John R. Kavanaugh, to accept the minutes. Motion carried.
Wayne asked the Board to review the Minutes of the Annual Meeting and if acceptable, move that they be accepted. Jack Hopper moved, seconded by Marianne Joye, to accept the minutes of the Annual Meeting. Motion carried.
Wayne asked Severn C. Doughty, Sr. to provide the financial report. Severn indicated that he had the 2011 year end report and the income budgeted was $27,110.00. The actual income was $35,659.24. The expenses budgeted were the same as for income but the actual expenses totaled $36,705.45. That meant that we were over budget by $1,046.21. Wayne stated that for the first time of developing a budget (2011) he felt we did exceedingly well with being over by only just $1,046.21. He further stated that we misjudged the amount of expenses we needed for Recertification training and books, we authorized an update for the website and we hired an Administrative Assistant all of which was not anticipated for 2011. Severn mentioned that the PayPal account balance as of March 13, 2012 was $2,398.75 and the un-deposited checks amounted to $1,800.00.
There being few questions Jack Hopper moved, seconded by Julie Mouch Broussard to accept the financial report as presented. Motion carried.
Wayne asked Severn for the Membership Report. Severn handed everyone an updated member Excel list for 2012. There was a correction to be made and Severn took care of that. Further Severn stated that we had 86 members as of March 13, 2012.
Wayne asked Severn to report on the Website. Severn stated that after Sophie redesigned the site, we were getting much more activity. From the stats that Sophie pulled for January and February 2012, we had 10,906 page views and 2,573 visitors to our site in January and in February we had 8,661 page views and 2,156 visitors. Prior to the upgrade we were lucky to have 2,000 page views in any month. Eighty six percent of the visitors were from the U.S., peak hours of visitor activity were 1:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M., peak day of the week for visitor activity was Mondays and the most popular sections of the site visited were member login, classified, news, meet the Board and Minutes of the Board Meetings.
Wayne asked Andy Blumberg for a Blumberg and Associates insurance report. Andy stated that it must have been an oversight that LIA didn’t receive any service fees for 2011 and asked Severn if he invoiced them. Severn indicated that he never had invoiced them in the past but if they wanted him to, to let him know. Andy said that there had not been much LIA activity in 2011 but he said that he would contact LIA members to keep the Blumberg name in front of them.
Andy then made a proposal for the Directors & Officers Policy and for the Dishonesty Bond Policy that Severn had asked him to present. Severn stated that according to LIA By-Laws, the Executive Secretary was to have this policy since he handled all the money and it was a policy to insure that if something happened to the money, it would be covered by insurance in the amount of $25,000.00. Andy then explained that the Directors & Officers Policy was a liability insurance policy to cover Officers and Board Members in the event of a law suit filed by a member or non-member.
After little discussion Jack Hopper moved, seconded by Marianne Joye, to purchase the Dishonesty Bond Policy from Blumberg and Associates at $767.00 for three years. Motion passed.
The Board then discussed the Directors and Officers Policy at a cost of $3,801.00 for a three year policy. After some discussion it was mutually decided not to obtain the policy at this time but to revisit the subject in five (5) years.
Wayne asked Ansel Rankins with LDAF to provide his agency’s update. Ansel stated that Jack Hopper was appointed to a four year term on the Horticulture Commission to represent Landscape Irrigation Contractors. Last year LDAF made 137 investigations and the Horticulture Commission met quarterly to determine the outcome of the investigations. Craig Roussel, Director of the Horticulture Commission, retired December 31, 2011 and Tad Hardy was promoted to that position in January 2012. In 2011 there were 359 active licensed Landscape Irrigation Contractors in Louisiana and 11 more were licensed in 2012. Wayne asked Ansel if we could get the names and addresses of the new licensees so Severn could send them a letter of invitation to join LIA. Ansel said he would.
Next, Wayne asked Severn to provide Board of Directors training. The training was intended for new Board Members but Wayne felt that since we only had one new Board Member, it would be prudent for the entire Board to receive training. Then as new Board Members were elected, New Board Member Training would be given to only them.
Wayne moved on to Old Business and asked Severn to provide the Profit and Loss Statement for the Annual Meeting/Recertification Training held on October 5, 2011. Severn stated that income from 40 registrations was $5,900.00, lunch sponsors were $625.00 and dues collected amounted to $1,100.00 for a grand total of $7,675.00. Total expenses amounted to $2,509.74 and Revenues over Expenses totaled $5,165.74.
Wayne asked Severn to report on the evaluations for the Annual Meeting/Recertification training. One individual indicated that he would be interested in advertising in the newsletter and Severn said he would contact him. About half indicated they went to our website and several indicated that they would like to see ads and classifieds on the website. Severn encouraged the board to consider advertising both in the newsletter and on the website. One individual was interested in serving on the Board and 16 out of 19 said they found it harder to operate a business over the last decade. Most people stated that the training and instructors were good and most liked the meals and location. One comment that got the Board’s attentions when the questionnaire asked if there were any comments or concerns they would like to share was, “What does LIA or will LIA do for me? Not for LIA but me?”
The Board brought up some answers and hopefully the person who asked the question would read these minutes. First our mission was to help non-licensed contractors to become trained enough to pass the license exam. The first day of that training also serves to recertify a licensed Landscape Irrigation Contractor who needed recertification and secondly, once a person was licensed, LIA will provide recertification training so that the contractor would continue to work. LIA continues to have endorsed across the board insurance through Blumberg and Associates with possible LIA membership discounts.
Through membership with national lobbying organizations, LIA had the capability of participating in concerns relating to H-2B labor issues, EPA regulations and other issues related to the irrigation industry nationally and in Louisiana. Lastly, LIA continually provides educational articles and information in the newsletter and on the website.
Wayne asked Severn to provide the Profit & Loss Statement for the Recertification Training held on January 24, 2012. Severn stated that we had 30 registrations which amounted to $3,900.00, 26 dues payments which amounted to $2,080.00 and $143.00 in book sales totaling $6,123.00 in revenues. Total expenses amounted to $1,706.97 which left $4,416.03 in Revenues over Expenses.
Wayne asked Severn to report on the evaluations of the January 24th Recertification Training. There were four individuals who expressed interest in advertising in the newsletter. Again, about half of the respondents indicated that they went to the website. One person commented that he would like to see a listing of all licensed individuals in Louisiana on the website. Two indicated that they would like to serve as Board Members and 14 of 18 stated that they found it harder to operate a business over the last decade. Most everyone indicated that the course and instructor were good and meals were good overall. Seventeen indicated that the times and location were good and five indicated that they were bad stating length of travel, have one in central or north Louisiana and different /closer locations would be better, as reasons. When asked if they had concerns or comments, one stated that he wished the CE classes were more advanced.
Wayne moved on to New Business and began to discuss the 2012 Budget. He stated that the 2011 budget was very loosely drafted because we didn’t have enough data to make it more accurate. He indicated too that the 2011 budget was the first budget drafted by LIA. Wayne stated that he, Julie Mouch Broussard and Severn met on February 23, 2012 to draft the 2012 budget. Given that we made $35,659.24 in revenues for 2011 we set a balanced budget for $34,610.00 for 2012. We added seven new expense categories to more accurately track primarily printing and postage expenditures. After we drafted the 2012 budget we found that we did not capture all of the intended expenditures expected in 2012 but Wayne stated we’ll adjust for those next year. There being few questions, Julie Mouch Broussard moved, seconded by John R. Kavanaugh, to accept the proposed budget as presented. Motion passed.
Wayne stated that Severn had requested that LIA join the Nursery & Landscape Association Executives of North America (NLAE) and asked if he could attend a meeting of the association on May 3-5, 2012 in San Antonio, TX. Severn had explained at the budget meeting that much of the news for the LIA website comes from the NLAE List-serve and it was a good source for him to keep updated on non-profit management of which LIA was a 501 C (5), non-profit association corporation. Wayne further stated that Severn needed a camera to take pictures of Recertification Training, Basics Class Training, the Annual Meeting and of other events in which LIA would be involved for the newsletter and for the website. There being few questions, John R. Kavanaugh moved, seconded by Julie Mouch Broussard, to join NLAE at a cost of $150.00/year, purchase a camera and to travel to San Antonio, TX with a limit of $750.00 for registration and travel. Motion passed.
Wayne then asked the Board if they would agree to add another $3,000.00 to either savings or into CDs. According to the end of year financial statement, we had $6,082.81 in savings and if we added another $3,000.00 that would be $9,082.81 in savings or CDs.
Severn stated that he went to Capital One Bank and found that 3mo., 6mo., and 1 year CD’s were only drawing 0.20%. He asked if any other investments would draw more than the variable savings account percentage and he was told no, that it would be best to keep it all into savings right now. Consequently, Julie Mouch Broussard moved, seconded by Jack Hopper, to add $3,000.00 from our checking account to our savings account. Motion passed.
Wayne asked Severn to report on the filing of the Annual Report to the Secretary of State, filing the Amendments to the Articles of Incorporation with IRS and the Secretary of State and filing LIA’s income tax with IRS. Severn stated that all had been filed and the Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation, sent to the Secretary of State had been acknowledged with a certificate.
Ansel Rankins in early December requested of LIA to nominate three candidates in prioritized order so one could be selected to serve a four year term on the Horticulture Commission to represent Landscape Irrigation Contractors. President, Wayne Orton contacted the Board and got a list of nominees (see Board of Directors Minutes Addendum dated December 30, 2011 attached). A letter was sent to Commissioner Strain nominating (1) Jack Hopper, (2) Wayne Orton and (3) Julie Mouch Broussard as LIA’s voted upon choices. In February of 2012 Jack Hopper was chosen to represent Landscape Irrigation Contractors on the Horticulture Commission for the next four years. Consequently, Marianne Joye moved, seconded by Julie Mouch Broussard, to accept the Board of Directors Minutes Addendum of December 30, 2011 and attach those minutes to these minutes. Motion carried.
Wayne asked Severn to discuss the new LIA publication order form. Severn handed out the new form and stated that the same form was on the LIA website but the one on the website had a picture of the front cover of the publication in addition to the cost. He added that perhaps distributor members could post the copy taken from the website and display it in their respective stores to generate more book sales.
Wayne then discussed a possibility of a new format for the LIA Newsletter. He stated that Severn and Sophie could not download copies of the legal size newsletter from the website. Newsletters were being included in new member packets and if the newsletter were 8 ½ X 11 it could easily be downloaded from the website, copied and included in the new member packet as needed. Currently, the legal size newsletters have to be copied at the print shop for considerably more than a copy printed from the computer. Wayne stated that he would speak with Allen Owings.
Wayne then brought up a discussion of possibly appointing an Education/Research Director to serve on the LIA Board. Preliminary discussion will be forth coming in the upcoming months as to who would fill this position and a job description for the position.
Wayne asked the Board for an add-on agenda item. The Board received a request from Allen Owings for LIA to consider another $1,000.00 donation to the Louisiana Nursery Landscape Foundation for Scholarship and Research Gala to be held in June, 2012. There was some discussion and the Board felt that perhaps LIA could donate $500.00 to the Gala and donate another $500.00 to the LSU AgCenter for them to specifically conduct research in landscape irrigation. Wayne stated that he would discuss this concept with Allen Owings.
There being no more business, Marianne Joye moved, seconded by Jack Hopper, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried and the meeting concluded at 9:30 P.M.