Meeting Minutes- January 13, 2010
Board of Directors meeting
Meeting Minutes January 13, 2010
I. Call to Order
Present: Lorrie Covolesky, Jennifer Doyle, Amy Kaboski, Joni Dolce, Janice Oursler
Absent- Barbara Lee, Becky Shulman, Kathy Hruszko
Minutes for December 4, 2009 were reviewed and approved. Motion was approved to accept.
II. President’s Report
Amy welcomed everyone to the meeting…. Kathy Hruszko and Dr. Janice Oursler accepted positions for board members at large. Welcome!
Amy sent the NJRA Annual report to National & she hasn’t heard anything back. She also gathered contact information for new board members. We currently have no President-Elect and we are down 2 members at large. Amy encouraged board to think about possible individuals that might consider these positions. Some possibilities were discussed including students, new DVR employees, etc. Everyone was reminded that NRA updated their website…check it out! Membership was discussed, and unfortunately our membership has not increased- strategies for how to do this were discussed.
Amy also reviewed the activities of last year and reminded of some of this year’s activities: C & D conference is April 26th, Spring Breakfast- date to be determined, and annual meeting. Amy will be setting up a meeting with Brian Fitzgibbons for early this year. Issue discussed regarding complete knowledge of all of the trainings and conferences being held throughout the year. It was suggested that perhaps we can add a link to our NJRA website to highlight upcoming events so that all are represented, “at a glance”.
Discussed were possible next steps for how we can work with/partner with the New Jersey Counseling Association (NJCA) and all were reminded that Nancy Basile (current President) had previously attended an NJRA meeting and expressed interest in how we could build this partnership. Janice reported that the NJCA conference is being held in April 7th-9th. There are various events that get held amongst the divisions of this association. Janice is the head of their licensure taskforce. She suggested that perhaps a speaker could discuss merging with other organizations/licensure at the Spring breakfast.
The Governmental Affairs Summit is being held March 14th- 16th & Amy will attend. J. Doyle provided Amy with the thumb drive to access event information.
III. Treasurer’s Report
Amy distributed the proposed NJRA budget completed by Barbara and January’s Treasurer’s report from Barbara. Bank is still at PNC in Holmdel. Barbara added a line item for the North and South training in case we do them again this year, she added estimates based on 2008 information since the Spring Breakfast and Annual Meeting will likely have associated costs if we don’t use a free facility. Under the conferences line item she estimated $500 for NERA conference, and $300 was put in for annual fee associated with IRS fees. Discussion about attendance at the American Counseling Association conference in
IV. Committee Reports
1. Membership- Joni reported that 1 new member joined. Joni will
send out welcome letter and lanyard.
2. Legislative- See above for Government Affairs
3. Financial- see above.
4. Program- C & D conference being held on April 26th. Amy reported
positive progress with getting the programs organized and working with
Lincoln Tech. to get corporate sponsorship. The Save the Date flyers
have gone out, and registration forms are going out soon. Amy shared
copies of the Advertising, Sponsorship, and Exhibitor brochure which has been sent out to past and potential vendors.
5. Bylaws- were approved at Dec. annual meeting. Lorrie to email these out to board members.
6. Newsletter- Lorrie to get format from Stacey Smith in order to be ready to distribute.
7. Awards- no report.
8. Nominating- no report.
V. New Business:
June 4th and 11th were identified as possible dates for Spring Meeting.
Janice will check availability to use UMDNJ conference room in Scotch
Plains,NJ. Speakers were discussed who could discuss licensure issues.
Next meeting Feb. 23rd- 10:00am at UMDNJ-Stratford campus & via conference call for those who cannot attend in person. Future board meetings scheduled for April 13th at 10:00am, June 4th or 11th following Spring breakfast, August 10th at 10:00am, October 12th at 10:00am, December 10th following annual meeting. Lorrie to post these dates on our website.
Meeting Minutes- December 4, 2009
Board of Directors meeting
Meeting Minutes December 4, 2009
I. Call to Order
Present: Rebecca Shulman, Lorrie Covolesky, Jennifer Doyle,
Absent-
Minutes for November 4, 2009 were reviewed and approved. Motion was approved.
II. President’s Report
J. Doyle wanted to thank everyone for all their help and support for today’s training. J. Doyle was very pleased with outcome. The following individuals were presented with their awards:
Brian Fitzgibbons-Meritorious Service Award
Dennis Cook-Presidential Award-he is the director of the office of special services at
She reported that evaluation forms completed were positive. J. Doyle very pleased with both presentations. Thank you to our presenters! Great job!
Kathy Husko and Dr. Janice Oursler accepted positions for board members at large. Welcome!
III. President-Elect’s Report
A. Kaboski will be completing her NRA Annual Report which is due 12-31-09. She was asking for volunteers for the various committees.
A. Kaboski indicated that the next board meeting will be held on 1-13-2010 at 10:00am at the DVR Neptune. The board will discuss dates and locations at this meeting
IV. Treasurer’s Report
B. Lee reported rebate from National for $611. She paid the website fee.
V. Committee Reports -none
VII. New business
B. Green had mentioned that we should continue to develop an affiliation with NJCA. He reported that Dr. Oursler has been attending their board meetings. They (NJCA) have designated a spot on their board for a NJRA representative.
Next meeting: Neptune DVR office, January 13, 2010 @ 10:00am
Meeting Minutes November 4, 2009
Board of Directors meeting
Meeting Minutes
I. Call to Order
Present: Elizabeth Denham, Rebecca Shulman, Lorrie Covolesky, Jennifer Doyle, Amy Kaboski, Stacey Smith, Barbara Lee, Joni Dolce, William Green
Minutes for September 2, 2009 were reviewed and approved. Motion was approved.
II. President’s Report
J. Doyle stated that the trainings in the south and north were well attended. Evaluation forms were received and CRC credits will mailed
III. President-Elect’s Report
A. Kaboski reported they are busy planning 2010 C/D conference. Conference will be held in Northern part of the state. It will be held at National Conference Holiday Inn,
IV. Treasurer’s Report
B. Lee reported NJRA’s balance as of 9-2-09 is $2,007.28. 2 expenditures: 1-for lanyards- $188.62, 1 North Training $150.00
We received $150 for fundraising for Entrainment books.
Total for checking account is $1818.66 as of November 4, 2009
Money market account balance of 9-2-09-$11,552.78
B.Lee reported that she obtain information about CDs rates from TD bank
V. Committee Reports
Memberships- Joni Dolce reported that National is creating a webpage for each state chapter. National is requesting information about NRA members and what they are doing in their professional life and even personal updates. J. Dolce will forward link once she receives it from National. A letter will be drafted to be sent out to our memberships for their information.
Financial - B. Lee reports that the Entertainment books continue to the focus of fundraising at this point.
Program- A. Kaboski reported that a date has been set for Connections and Directions. Flyers will be mailed out to Save and Date
A. Kaboski reported tentative cost for C/D conference is $10,000. The goal is 100 attendees, 25 exhibitors. It was suggested a banner been created with all sponsors’ names. Examples of breakout sessions will consist of following topics: autism, ethics total of 6 sessions,
Discussion of NJRA Annual meeting was discussed. Date has been selected which is
Motion was made to vote on location of Annual meeting on
Joni Dolce will reach out to Bill Burnes-Lynch for presenting.
B. Green indicated that membership needs to vote on updated bylaws at meeting.
J. Doyle will send out save the date email for annual meeting.
Legislative-none
Newsletter/website-Suggestion was made that students could write articles about rehab counseling etc. Also, possibly obtain articles from clients. Newsletter was sent out last month.
Awards- B. Green reported he received 2 nominations.
Brian Fitzgibbons-Meritorious Service Award
Dennis Cook-Presidential Award-he is the director of the office of special services at
E. Denham will handle getting the plaques. J. Doyle will send her email with what needs to be written on awards
Nominating- B. Green sent out emails to NJRA members for nominations; We have several vacancies: Lorrie Covolesky was nominated for Secretary;
Spots vacant for 2010
President-Elect
Treasury
Secretary
4 Board members at large
Bylaws- B. Green and L. Covolesky sent out draft form of bylaws and incorporate changes that were discussed at previous board meeting. B. Green reviewed with Board changes to be made. B. Green will email to all members final version prior to annual meeting. Bylaws will need to be voted on at meeting.
NERA-B. Lee is having difficulty with filling spots for their board. Need President- elect nomination. B. Lee will be sending out ballots to all members. A. Kaboski and B. Lee will be attending meeting next Monday. NERA-set conference for July
VI. Old business
Update on IRS-B. Green reported things are finally resolved. He reminded that 990 form will need to be submitted yearly. B. Green advised the board the importance of completing paperwork on a yearly basis. B. Green believes the forms are due in April. B. Lee asked who should be responsible for completing the paperwork each year. Suggestion was made for the President and Treasurer be responsible for completing all documents for taxes.
VII. New business
B. Green reported that UMDNJ is seeking CACREP accreditation for their counseling programs. UMDNJ is currently acreditated by CORE. B. Green reported that would be unique having both accreditations. B.Green encouraged NJRA developed an affiliation with Nancy Basile’s state chapter (NJCA)for American Counseling Association.
A. Kaboski reported that C/D has a goal to return to 2 ½ days of training in 2011. They would like to return to
Next meeting: December 4, 2009 at IBEW Union hall in
Meeting Minutes September 2, 2009
Board of Directors meeting
Meeting Minutes September 2, 2009
I. Call to Order
Present: Elizabeth Denham, Rebecca Shulman, Lorrie Covolesky, Jennifer Doyle, Amy Kaboski, Barbara Lee, Joni Dolce
Absent: Stacey Smith
II. Minutes for 7-8-09 were reviewed, several editing changes were proposed, and a motion approved to accept the minutes.
III. President’s Report
Jennifer Doyle reported that the registration forms for the October 8, 2009 training have been mailed. Dr. Lazarus will be presenting 60-90 minutes. This will be a free training and co-sponsored by DVRS. Interpreting services will be available. To date, 3 responses have been received. Response deadline was set for September 15th. There is also a Social Security training that same day. Jennifer received an email from an NJRA member voicing concern about the location of the training. A response was emailed explaining that there is a training being planned in the North.
Website is up to date- the scholarshiop form, entertainment book information is posted. Jennifer encouraged everyone to check out the site and direct others to view it as well. There was discussion about the possibility of re-directing viewers from old site to new, however this is not possible. Jennifer will look into, “Web Stop” to see what the fee is to get site hooked up to come up in Google search. Please email Jennifer or Stacey Smith with any suggestions for website additions or changes. Joni Dolce suggested a, “news corner” on the site to update on what members are up to. It could also go into next Rehab. Reporter. Annual meeting is quickly approaching, potential dates were discussed. Friday, December 4, 2009 was identified as the date. Locations were discussed & all decided that a full day training would be best. All agreed that cost of location will need considered. Jamesburg/Cranbury area was proposed. The cost of the last breakfast (2007) was reviewed. Sheraton Eatontown was agreed to be a nice location. Board also discussed opening breakfast to others outside NJRA membership. Bill Green reported that UMDNJ is always willing to sponsor students. Joni reported that she could send information to other rehab. facilities. CRC credits will continue to be submitted to Maryann Teisler.
IV. President Elect Report:
V. Amy has been corresponding with Lincoln Tech. and they proposed sponsorships. They are willing to sponsor for Connections & Directions conference $5000.00. They also reached out to 2 other schools (1 was, “Anthem”) and they are both willing to sponsor at $500/each. A vote was taken and all are in favor of this donation to help support the cost of this event.
VI. Treasurer’s Report
Barbara Lee reviewed bank statement and report.
Checking balance is $2,007.28. As of now we are all caught up with rebates. Interest payments from money market savings have been posted. The total treasury balance is $11, 552.78. Barb proposed to board that exploration of other money market accounts. J. Doyle recommended we look at the term of a CD in light of the funds that will need to be withdrawn for CD conference. Barb will investigate options and email board members. All agreed that bank location needs to be convenient for treasurer. Treasurer report was approved by vote.
V. Committee Reports
Memberships- Joni Dolce reported that a number of former members have not renewed. There was discussion about whether it is worthwhile to ask why members are not returning. Joni has been in contact with national regarding state membership possibility & Joni recommends that we look member retention. Joni & Amy both agreed to speak with several of the former members. National RA is requesting Bios from board members & each individual state will have their own webpage on national site. In terms of recruitment, Joni reported that our membership list does not include agencies. It was suggested that perhaps agencies be contacted regarding interest in presentations. Both Becky and Amy spoke with the 2 individuals who requested presentations from survey that was sent. Joni asked if everyone on the board would be willing to contact 2 agencies & stacks of brochures were distributed. Jennifer will forward the information to Joni for ordering new lanyards given that web address change.
Financial/fundraising- Ron R. emailed B. Lee regarding entertainment books. This information is now on NJRA website & NJRA will get credit if our account number is used online. Books are available to cover all of
Program-
C / D- A. Kaboski reported concerned about cost involved with co-sponsoring this event. Next planning meeting is Sept. 15th. A. Kaboski reported that they have tentatively set the date for May 21, 2010. A. Kaboski reported they are still researching locations but cost is playing a factor. C/D committee would prefer hotel location, but the cost is very high.
A. Kaboski will present our stance (i.e. our membership doesn’t need to avail of hotel) and spending is an issue given our financial picture.
B. Green suggested the board give consideration for future of partnering with the American Counseling Association for events.
Training will be held at Kessler Institute on Oct. 13th for
Legislative- Vote in upcoming election!
Newsletter/website- S. Smith will send email out for call for articles in the beginning of September. Website is up to date. J. Doyle encouraged all to write articles. Photos should be taken at North and South trainings as they can be included in newsletter. Jennifer has also contacted press.
Awards- 2 award are typically given at the C & D conference, but given that it is not been held in 2009, discussion occurred about presenting the awards at annual meeting. All agreed that the awards should be given at the annual meeting. Bill recommended that we send nomination ballots to membership and that the information be presented on the website as well. Community Focused Excellence Award recipients do not need to be NJRA members. Nominations will need to be submitted to Bill Green by November 1st. They will also be emailed. Board will need to make decisions on awards selections at November board meeting.
Nominating- For 2010 there are vacant positions that will need filled. Bill suggested email go to membership for nominations. At the November 4th board members will approve a slate of nominations. Election results will be announced at the December annual meeting. The announcements that will go out have length of term information as well. B. Lee also discussed ballots for NERA & this information will be posted on website.
Bylaws- Bill and Lorrie have been working on the by-law revisions and there are changes that need to be made. A draft copy was circulated at our last meeting. The board will need to approve changes prior to membership vote. Proposed changes were reviewed at a board meeting earlier in 2009. Bill reviewed them again. Committee’s intention to have a draft in place for board review at next meeting. The board also discussed changing length of term for certain board positions from 1 year to 2 year. This will be proposed in the draft proposal by B. Green & L. Covolesky for board approval.
VII. Old business
B. Green discussed that we were approved for state & federal tax exempt status; however we need to make sure to file 990 forms each April. This will need done by the NJRA President. We have until October of this year to do the 990 for 2008 at no cost. Within next 2 weeks the 990 form will be submitted. There is a guideline that will be given to A. Kaboski as President Elect so that she can complete the form for 2009. Bill was thanked for his hard work on making our approval happen. Licensing board reviewed draft regulations changes (NJRA/J. Doyle prepared a response).
VIII. New business
B. Green discussed CEU’s & Bill got in touch with a website, http://www.aaceus.com/ and found it to be a nice resource & in expensive way to take trainings for CEU’S. If NJRA is mentioned in sign up, a 10% discount is being applied.
Regional News and Announcements- none
VIII. Adjournment
Next meeting will be on November 4, 2009 in
July 8, 2009 BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Board of Directors meeting
Meeting Minutes July 8, 2009
I. Call to Order
Present: Elizabeth Denham, Rebecca Shulman, Lorrie Covolesky, Jennifer Doyle, Amy Kaboski, Stacey Smith, Barbara Lee, Joni Dolce
Absent: William Green
II. Minutes for 5-6-09 were reviewed and a motion approved to accept the minutes.
III. President’s Report
J. Doyle thanked the board members for their willingness to try conducting board meeting via speaker phone today.
Tax Exempt Update: J. Doyle happy to report the IRS gave NJRA a tax exempt status. The IRS was willing to go back to 1970 when NJRA was incorporated. J. Doyle thanked W. Green again for all his hard work for resolving this issue.
J.Doyle was disappointed that she received a lack of response from the membership at large for input regarding the proposed licensure regulations. She received 2 responses from our board members with their concerns/issues. J. Doyle developed a letter on behalf of NJRA and it was submitted.
Training-J. Doyle has received confirmation from 2 presenters: Dr Mark Lazarus and Ms. Judy Genova. NJRA will offer free training along with CRC credits. NJRA will be holding trainings in the fall in the South and hopefully the North.
Presentation will hopefully be held in the fall. Details to follow.
IV. Treasurer’s Report
B. Lee reviewed bank statement and report.
Expense-$1075.88
V. Committee Reports
Memberships- J. Dolce reported 2 individuals requested to be contacted about additional information after completion of survey. Board members will follow up with both individuals. J. Dolce suggested board members discuss NJRA information at their staff meetings to see if any one is interested in joining. Joni discussed possibility of developing a pilot program to reach out to national about a NJ only membership and, possibly, providing National with a portion of the proceeds.
Financial/fundraising- B. Lee will contact Ron Rossell about getting his information to put on the website about purchasing entertainment books
Program-A. Kaboski discussed possible trainings such as: information on starting small business, job development, Assistive Technology-Fred Chang of Advancing Opportunities
J. Doyle and A. Kaboski have been discussing possible suggestions for trainings to be held in the North region.
R. Shulman has training room at her location; she indicated that Kessler has wonderful space and presenters. She will investigate.
C / D- A. Kaboski reported concerns about cost involved with co- sponsoring this event. A. Kaboski reported that they have tentatively set the date for May 21, 2010. A. Kaboski reported they are still researching locations but cost is playing a factor. C/D committee would prefer hotel location, but the cost is very high.
A. Kaboski conveyed that Lincoln Tech has offered to come to board meetings to give suggestions on ways to advertise our organization.
Legislative-no report
Newsletter/website-Suggestion was made that students could write articles about rehab counseling etc. Also, possibly obtain articles from clients. S. Smith will send email out for call for articles in the beginning of September.
Awards- no report
Nominating-no report
Bylaws-L. Covolesky reported changes will need to be presented at Annual Breakfast meeting in December for approval of members at large.
VI. Old business
VII. New business
J. Doyle indicated that she has been in touch with Dr. Mark Lazarus with Rothman Institute. J. Doyle is currently working out the logistics for Dr. Lazarus, an orthopedic surgeon to come to present on vocational issues involving the shoulder. CRC credits will be available. The format for the presentation will be 60 minutes with questions and answers to follow. There is the possibility of having another orthopedic surgeon to come speak about back injuries in the future. Maryann Tiesler of DVRS Central Office will assist with developing relationship with cosponsoring
VIII. Adjournment
Next meeting will be on September 2, 2009 in
