July 28, 2005 Summary

National Collegiate 4-H Taskforce
Meeting Summary for July 28, 2005

Members Present included:
Northeast Region:
Shannon Glaspell, WVU
David Hartley, WVU

North Central Region:
Hayley Cook, Iowa State
Tony Rekeweg, Purdue
Southern Region:
Samatha Ephgrave, Oklahoma State
Patrick Voorhies, LSU

Western Region:
Shane Sheridan, Colorado State
Cindy Sperry, UC-Davis

Absent:
Tina Hirsh, North Central

The meeting began at 5:14 p.m. Pacific Time.

A tentative timeline was suggested and was approved for the operations of the taskforce.  It will be as follows:

• July 28- Decide on issues that the taskforce will make recommendations on.  These topics will be the primary focus at regional conversations


• August 10-  Disseminate information as needed and start online message board


• August 25- Release agenda and other P.R. to regions and clubs


• August 25- Preliminary report with agenda and questions (Facilitation Guide for regional conversations)


• September 15- Preliminary feedback gathered through use of online message board


• Last week of September through Mid-November- Regional Conferences held where conversations will be conducted


• Sometime in December- Face-to-Face multi-day meeting (if budgeted)


• January 3- Report issued to NAB


• January 3-February 23- Work with NAB to draft resolutions and amendments, public dissemination


• 2006 National Collegiate 4-H Conference- Amendments & resolutions proposed by members, introduced by NAB secretary (universal parli pro).

The taskforce will issue a report which will include recommendations for NAB to follow and implement to ensure the sustainability for Collegiate 4-H at all levels for years to come.  Some of these will be implemented through the use of resolutions, constitutional amendments.  Others can be directly implemented by NAB with out a vote.  The Taskforce may release suggested amendments as an appendix to its report, but it will be up to NAB to formally propose them as they see fit.

The report will provide reasoning behind views and will include specific issues and recommended solutions and expected outcomes.  

The layout for regional conversations will be:

• An allotted amount of time for each question/issue


• Issues will be discussed in small groups, then presented to the full group at the end, where dock voting will take place

The issues that the Taskforce will review and issue recommendations are as follows:

• Communication


• More local club involvement in national issues?


• Preservation & continuity of information


• Mission statement for Collegiate 4-H


• Not all Collegiate 4-H members have previous experience with 4-H


• Tracking enrollment of club members- central databases


• Consistent leadership


• Regional listserves (like South & West)


• Image of Collegiate 4-H


• More professional image for organization


• Partnerships


• Web & Advocacy team:  how do they factor in?


• Relationships


• National 4-H Overall


• USDA / 4-H Headquarters


• National sponsor/advisors


• Partnerships


• NAE4-HA


• National 4-H Council


• National 4-H Trust


• State 4-H Leaders


• N4-HYDC


• Governance


• Explore processes and structures used in other organizations


• Structure of NAB


• Elected vs. non-elected representatives


• Number of representatives/region


• Length of term


• National organization


• Funding- where do dues go?  How are they spent?


• Evaluate budget for 2005-06


• National Business Meeting


• Orientation for voting delegates, new members


• Follow parliamentary procedure


• Alternate activities for non-voting members (voting members- mandatory attendance)


• Alternate methods?


• Evaluate & explore opportunities for national organization


• Miscellaneous


• Catch-all:  we won’t know all issues with the organization:  let members tell us.

It was agreed on and approved that the members of NAB hold an orientation beginning at the 2006 national conference for all voting delegates and new members.

Also, a message board will be started as an avenue to receive feedback on the six issues of the taskforce.  This will allow members to still have a voice if they are unable to participate in regional conversations and guide future discussions.

All Taskforce members should report to the constituency.  However, the members felt that such reports should be supported and approved by the Taskforce beforehand to prevent speculation and the milling of rumors.  This is crucial as it is imperative for the Taskforce to present a united, impartial image organization.  

Taskforce members on the message board will maintain an impartial stance and will only guide the discussions.

Meeting summaries will be posted on the taskforce blog after they have been approved.

Tentatively, meetings will be held as follows via telephone conference from 5:00-8:00 p.m. PDT:

• TBA - August


• September 4


• October 2


• Novemeber 6


• December 4

Other meetings will be called on an as needed basis, budget permitting.

A national conversation was mentioned at several points, but no final decision was formally made.  

The meeting adjourned at 7:04 PDT.

Respectfully submitted,
Patrick Voorhies
pvoorh1@LSU.edu