INDIANA SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
A State Society of the National Society of Professional EngineersMEETING MINUTES
Annual Meeting of the Members And Executive Board
April 30, 2011 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM 1. CALL TO ORDER
1. Roll Call Brad Bowen
A sign-in sheet was distributed, see attached.
2. Additions/Changes to the Agenda Brad Bowen
Item 3.5 below should be revised to state that V. Drnevich was elected to F.NSPE rather than F.ISPE.
A discussion on 501(c)3 status should be added under Item 4, Old Business. This discussion was later tabled.
3. Approval of Agenda Brad Bowen
Motion to approve Agenda – Rob F. Second – Vince D.
The motion carried.
4. Approval of previous Minutes Brad Bowen
Vince Drnevich summarized the meeting minutes from the last teleconference. Motion to approve previous minutes – Vince D.
Second – Rob F. The motion carried.
2. OPERATIONS
1. Financial Report Laurie Howe
Hard copies of the financial reports were distributed. Laurie H. summarized the balance sheet.
Profits from the annual conference were estimated at around $14,000. The balance sheet does not include new memberships after March 31, 2011.
2. 2011-2012 Budget Brad Bowen
The 2011-2012 budget is not yet prepared.
It is planned to complete this in the near future once several key decisions are made.
3. Web site Vince Drnevich
3.1. CE Webinar
Webinar is onsite for Rules and Statutes program. This webinar has had 21 participants thus far. Ethics program webinar is not yet online.
3.2. Yahoo Groups site
The ISPE groups site has been transferred to Yahoo! Groups.
Google groups site directory will be migrated to the ISPE website by Brad Caffery. The members discussion forum will be abandoned.
The group discussed if the Power Point presentations from the conference could be uploaded to the ISPE website.
If this was done, access would need to be restricted to those who attended the conference.
Hard copies of the presentations may be desirable for attendees at the conference, however this would be a large amount of printing. Materials could be distributed to attendees in advance of the conference.
It was asked if the Yahoo! Groups site could be integrated into the ISPE website, in order to use a single login.
4. IPE News Letter Laurie Howe
The next newsletter should contain a complete write-up of the annual conference. Dee Ross will provide a write-up on the upcoming “Boot Camp” event.
Articles are due May 15, 2011.
3. COMMITTEE/TASK FORCE REPORTS
1. 2011 Conference Review L. Howe/Don Knorr/B. Bowen
The group discussed touring a larger room before leaving the hotel.
A few conference attendees had mentioned that the topics covered didn’t involve their branch of engineering.
Additional thought should be given to some “outside the building” topics for future conferences.
Comments were heard about visibility of the projection screen. Comments were heard about the speed of the lunch buffet. A larger crowd would require a different serving process. The quality of the meal was thought to be very good.
2. Membership J. Nixon/L. Howe
2.1. Report on membership changes
Roughly 100 new members have recently joined ISPE. Don K will now be in charge of membership.
Mike Fink commented that NSPE provides a “welcome packet” to new members. A phone call or letter to new members would be a recommended practice.
The names of the new members will be listed in the IPE Journal.
The members names, firm name, and chapter affiliation should be sufficient. Members are sometimes not aware that they are members at three levels: NPSE, ISPE, and Chapter level.
Brad Bowen asked what they key benefits are for enterprise membership.
Mike Fink stated that Enterprise Membership offers at 10% gross discount per year for firms paying for members with a single check. (minimum of 5 members)
NSPE has provided additional benefits in some cases where firms may be looking for a more customized approach.
Enterprise membership can cross state lines.
Citizens Gas has expressed interest in enterprise membership.
Mike Fink noted that there are helpful webinars on the NSPE website under “Leadership Toolbox.”
A large challenge at the NSPE level is accurately tracking adds/drops within a company enterprise membership list.
Amy Barrett is a person possibly interested in the SW Regional Vice President Position. Laurie will provide Amy’s email address.
Vince D. is prepared to travel to Evansville to give presentations to Vectren and other companies. ISPE could sponsor Vince’s trip, and could offer services at no charge to the SW Region group.
It was mentioned that the IEAT&D Committee meeting (held 2 times/year in May and October) would be a good avenue to present to 5 separate utility companies. This involves Duke, IPL, NIPSCO, Vectren, and I&M.
3. NSPE Board of Dir. Mike Shirley
3.1. Student Chapters and NSPE V. Drnevich
Vince D. provided an updated on student chapters.
Rob F. stated that there is no activity with the IUPUI student chapter. Brad B. asked how ISPE could get more involved in Engineer’s Week? Various ideas were discussed (past ideas and what others had done).
4. House of Delegates (HOD) Representative Don Knorr
Ken Miller has been the past representative, a new representative is needed.
House of Delegates meeting is held in July, Ken Miller will be traveling to Las Vegas. The next meeting will be in San Diego, CA.
Brad Bowen read the responsibilities of the position. Travel is reimbursed.
The most critical function of the position is to be the #1 connection between NSPE and the state society.
Mike Fink summarized the responsibilities of the role as an important liaison. The position is typically held by someone who has been through the state offices. Vince nominated Harold Snead, he did not accept.
There should be a HOD representative and an alternate determined.
Dee Ross will speak with Ken Miller about the activity required throughout the year. Rob F. made a motion for Dee Ross to be the House of Delegates Representative, with Brad Bowen as alternate.
The motion carried.
5. V. Drnevich elected to F.ISPE Don Knorr
Vince D was congratulated for his election to F.NSPE.
4. OLD BUSINESS
1. National-State Agreement Don Knorr
Brad Bowen summarized the history of this agreement.
Insurance quotes have been received, the group needs to make a decision on insurance prior to the agreement being signed.
The costs and options were summarized.
It was suggested Michael Hardy that the language in the National-State Agreement could be changed from “shall” to “may” with regard to insurance requirements. NSPE will provide an updated agreement with this change for Don K to sign. Art Schwartz at NSPE will send the modified agreement to Don K.
Vince D. motioned to approve the modified agreement, changing the word “shall” to “may” regarding insurance.
Second – Rob F. The motion carried.
1.1. Insurance
ISPE could carry “Special Event” Insurance as a option – this should be investigated. Don K will call the insurance agent about “special event” insurance this week.
Don K will report back at the next teleconference.
2. 2012 Boot Camp Don Knorr/Dee Ross
The history of the Boot Camp idea was summarized – ISPE has talked with Kim Robinson about Boot Camp for ISPE in 2012.
Kim had provided a draft budget and cash flow scenario.
ISPE would need approximately $11,000 by January, and another $4,000 closer to the event.
A 50/50 split of proceeds (after expenses) was proposed by Kim Robinson. Kim Robinson anticipated $60,000 in profits (net) split to $30,000 each.
Options were discussed for the duration of the conference, number of parallel tracks, and length of sessions.
Pros and cons were discussed regarding managing the conference internally versus outsourcing.
Vince mentioned that holding the event at a University such as IUPUI could be a good option because they could provide a Conference Coordinator can assist and would only charge around 13%.
Vince suggested that a small organizing committee be formed with Dee Ross as Chair.
A number of people (Don, Brad, Rob) offered to serve on the committee.
2.1. Event coordinator 2.2. Budget/Cash flow 5. REGION REPORTS
1. Northeast Region K. Clark
Not present.
2. Southwest Region A. Marino/B. Bowen
2.1. Vectren – Evansville
Discussed previously, see above.
3. Central Region R. Fedorchak
3.1. Rejuvenating Cent. Ind. Chap.
Rob F. reported that 50-60 new members had joined.
The group would be gathering soon to establish a schedule for the upcoming year. Rob has made some phone calls and likes the idea of a welcome packet for new members.
Mike Fink mentioned the “new member” template on the NSPE website. Vince mentioned the idea of a phone tree.
May 20 – Vince D is speaking in a combined meeting with ASCE.
3.2. Possible Student Chapter at IUPUI
Discussed previously, see above.
4. Northwest Region Mark Andersen
Mark Andersen reported that the Calumet Chapter had volunteers to proctor the FE Exam at Valparaiso.
Mark is looking into possible enterprise memberships.
6. NEW BUSINESS
Dee Ross summarized an alternative teleconference option – freeconferencecall.com Each person would need to pay for long-distance calls.
The current bill for the teleconference service is $25 to $30/month.
The new option will record the call and save to a website for future access.
It was pointed out that some public employers may not allow long distance calling from the workplace.
The group should investigate freeconferencecall.com and report back. Dee may conduct a test with the conference committee.
2. Welcome new officers D. Knorr
New officers were welcomed at the dinner last night.
Discussion was held on a possible awards ceremony for new PEs.
Vince asked Harold Snead to add this topic to the agenda for the Licensing Board. This could be combined with the ring ceremony at the conference.
This will also be added to the agenda for an upcoming teleconference.
7. LOOK AHEAD
1. Comments by new President B. Bowen
Brad Bowen provided comments and goals:
- Engage new and existing PEs.
- Engage new firms
- Address continuing education and continue planning for Boot Camp.
- Increase attendance at banquet and involvement in ISPE leadership.
- Sustain involvement in community activities.
2. Next teleconference date
May 23, 2011, 4:00 pm
8. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn – Rob F. Second - Vince D.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:17 am. Prepared by:
Joshua A. Nixon, P.E. ISPE Secretary
