GAZA Board Meeting
August 13, 2014
Board members in attendance:
- Ken Patton, President
- Allison Slocum, VP
- Norman Pope, Secretary/Treasurer
- Tom O’Bryant
- Mary Teter
- Richard Osborne
- Mike Mastrario
- Randy Mannino
Board members absent:
- Lisa Jackson
Others in attendance:
- Chrissy Marlowe
- Jean Lord, UGA
President Patton called the scheduled board meeting of GAZA to order at 5:02 PM.
Minutes of the previous board meeting held on April 11, 2014 in Eatonton, GA had been emailed to everyone in attendance. Copies were available for the meeting. After review and discussion, Randy Mannino made a motion, seconded by Mike Mastrario, to adopt the minutes as written. Unanimous approval.
A financial report was distributed to all in attendance. Norman Pope gave a short report on income and expenses for the association. Randy Mannino made a motion, seconded by Allison Slocum, to approve the financial report. Unanimous approval.
Jean Lord from UGA gave a short report on the Winter 2014 conference held in Athens, GA. She also addressed the current conference and informed the board that 84 were currently registered with an additional 4 expected to walk up tomorrow.
Under committee reports, Norman Pope reported that a winner of the 2014-15 Betty Gecoma Scholarship had been selected and would be announced at the business meeting tomorrow. Richard Osborne volunteered to chair the Nominations Committee for the Winter 2015 Conference. Two board positions need to be filled at the next GAZA business meeting. Tom O’Bryant also volunteered to serve on the Nominations Committee. President Patton reported that a new one-year contract with UGA and CVIOG had been signed and they would continue to provide services to GAZA through June 30, 2015.
Other committee reports involved the need to find a new editor for the GAZA newsletter as our current editor has accepted a new position out of state. Allison Slocum indicated her continued interest in this committee and will attempt to find a new editor. Although we do not currently have a chairman for the membership committee, Norman Pope reported that the current membership for 2015 is 160 members.
Allison Slocum presented to the board a proposed code of ethics for GAZA. Copies of this proposal will be distributed to all members at tomorrow’s business meeting, and the membership will be asked to vote on this proposal at the Winter 2015 Conference. The proposed code of ethics will be part of the ongoing update to the mission statement and strategic plan.
Dates for the next two GAZA conferences have been established: Winter Conference 2015 – February 4 & 5 – Athens, GA. Summer Conference 2015 – August 19 & 20 – Savannah, GA.
Additional sites for summer conferences beyond 2015 will be reviewed by Jean Lord and may include a site visit to Callaway Gardens by some GAZA board members.
The introduction of speakers for the following two days was assigned to different board members who will handle the task. Discussion was held concerning the reception to follow the business meeting, and the method of distributing door prizes and awards during the reception.
President Ken Patton put a question before the board concerning the AICP certification maintenance program and the question centered around “does the majority of our membership benefit from the CM program?” After lengthy discussion, it was decided to take up this question again at the next meeting.
Another item discussed was the GAZA website and our inability to contact our current web host. Richard Osborne will make another attempt to contact this individual. In the meantime, we may need to look at other vendors as an alternative.
The next scheduled board meeting will be held on Friday, September 26, beginning at 11:00 AM. The meeting will be held at the Putnam County Administration Center in Eatonton, GA.
With no further business to conduct, the GAZA board meeting was adjourned at 6:14 PM.