April 8, 2003, Honolulu, HI

Meeting of the Members
April 8, 2003
Sheraton Waikiki
Waikiki, HI

I. Welcome
Jake Lindsay, Board Parliamentarian, welcomed members and gave an explanation of the meeting format and procedures. Each person will have a 2-minute speaking limit. In addition, all charges or requests must be presented as an official motion.

II. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by President Irvin Coin at 9:03am. President Coin highlighted that this year marks the 25th anniversary of WESTOP. Since 1978, WESTOP has espoused the qualities of cooperation, teamwork, collaboration and professionalism, in an effort to further the cause of educational equity. Using WESTOP's past as a foundation, this Board has moved our association to more pronounced levels. Since 1978, WESTOP has defended the ideals of equal educational opportunities in post-secondary education. Our efforts have impacted thousands of low-income, potential first-generation college students. This conference is about reasserting our commitment and the understanding of the importance of TRIO to our communities. President Coin reminded the members that we are first and foremost, professional teachers, educators and counselors; however, as a Board, and as individuals sitting on this Board, we are amateurs. In spite of this fact, with the ideal of service above self, he felt that this Board did the best job possible. President Coin stated that this has been an interesting and challenging year, for WESTOP and for the TRIO community. During this year, the Board has addressed reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, numerous proposed bylaws changes, working with the Central California Pilot Chapter, the continued Mathematica issue, Policy Seminar and the 25th anniversary conference. President Coin urged the members to read the Annual Report, and to pay special attention to the recommendations made by the Committee Chairs. He also announced that some BOD members would be sharing comments at the meeting, and that members would have the opportunity to ask questions afterwards.

III. Legislation and Education ­ Stephen Domingues
Mr. Domingues named his committee members and gave a summary of his committee's work this year. Referring to the Annual Report packet, he pointed out that the committee had two distinct and related functions. 1) Education ­ his committee conducted several workshops at PDS's throughout the year, to educate members about Policy Seminar and relations with Congress. He also talked about the recent and significant studies that have affected higher education. 2) Legislation ­ his committee developed a position paper on the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The first draft was presented in August 2002, and the second draft was approved by the committee and then by the Board of Directors in November 2002. With regards to appropriations, his committee organized WESTOP's participation in the COE Policy Seminar. Mr. Domingues named the team leaders, and indicated that there was a decent showing at Policy, given the budget and travel constraints that many people had, in addition to the war. He reported that WESTOP did manage to cover most of the important offices on the Hill, and indicated that we do still continue to have solid bipartisan support for TRIO. He also acknowledged that there would be challenges coming. Most significantly, we are expected to accommodate hundreds of thousands more college students in the next several years. These rising enrollment demands are coupled with decreased budgets, increasing costs, and insufficient financial aid, among other obstacles. His recommendations for the next committee are included in the report. Mr. Domingues thanked the members for the opportunity to serve this year.

IV. Research Committee - Rhonda Moses
Ms. Moses referred to her Annual Report, and listed the members of her committee. She acknowledged that a charge was made by the membership to obtain data from Mathematica 30 days after the 2002 WESTOP conference. Despite numerous attempts to obtain the data, we have still not gotten it. She reported that she and Munyiga recently went to David Myers office and asked for the data again. David Myers said he would personally ask for the data from Mathematica and would then send it to them. He said that the whole process would take approximately four weeks. Despite these setbacks, the committee took a proactive stance to gather their own data. They developed a survey and sent it to 118 Upward Bound programs across the region. In the first attempt, the committee got 9 surveys back, and the second attempt yielded another 17 surveys. Ms. Moses drew attention to a letter from COE that was included in the Annual Report. The letter stated that the Mathematica study was flawed; Ms. Moses pointed out that this letter represented COE's first public admission that there was a problem with the study, even though WESTOP has tried to draw attention to this issue for years. Ms. Moses thanked WESTOP for allowing her to serve on the Board this year.

V. Bylaws - Justine Bellock
Ms. Bellock thanked her committee members and named each of them. There was representation from each of the 5 chapters, as well as the pilot chapter. Her committee began the year by reviewing recommendations from the previous Bylaws committee. The first one to be acted upon was proposed bylaws amendment (PBA) 1. Ms. Bellock referred members to the bylaws packet at the back of the room, which reviews each of the seven PBA's in detail. This document is also available at the elections table. In keeping with Article 12 of the Bylaws (Procedures for Submission of Bylaws), the Board went through a two-step reading process. Changes were drafted in May 2002, and the first reading was held in August 2002. In November, the second reading was held. The final draft was presented in January 2003. These proposed amendments were then forwarded to the WESTOP website. Since Article 12 states that any amendments approved by the Board should be submitted to membership, she posted all amendments to the website on February 19, 2003. Ms. Bellock reviewed a summary of all the proposed bylaws changes, and urged members to please vote today. She also named the people who would be counting the bylaws votes (one person from each chapter).

VI. Elections - Darlene Conwell
Ms. Conwell had three reports to review. She began by referring to the Annual Report. As President-Elect, she recognized her committee members, who were past-presidents of WESTOP. She had representation from all chapters except Arizona because of a transitional move. Recommendations for the next President-Elect pertained to the following areas: 1) Fiscal policy ­ president's travel to COE meetings. Due to the change in the structure of the COE Board, the President-Elect cannot sit on COE Board until December. 2) Conference site research ­ she suggested that a conference site research standing committee be developed that would create policies and procedures for site collection as well as a conference operations manual. Ms. Conwell then referred to the Membership and Credentials report, and named her committee members. Recommendations for the next chair involved the WESTOP membership period ­ she suggested that the membership period remain the same (January 1 ­ December 31). She also stated that the categories of membership status needed to be revised. With regards to the Elections Committee, the current paid, professional, voting membership stands at 560. Ms. Conwell then named the Elections Committee members. For this committee, she recommended that the Parliamentarian does not need to be a voting member, and that the Conference Chair does not need to sit on the Board, or be a member of the Fiscal Affairs Committee. Ms. Conwell then gave instructions for the voting procedures. The ballots contain write-in slots for each position. She also gave instructions for voting on the Proposed Bylaws Amendments.

VII. Strategic Planning - Leonard Woods
Mr. Woods identified the members of the Strategic Planning Committee. He also referred to the Bylaws and reviewed the purpose of the committee. There are currently six Strategic Plan goals, which he reviewed. He then referred to his Annual Report, which describes what his committee accomplished this year, and gives recommendations for the upcoming year. Mr. Woods reported that he presented workshops in NorCal, SoCal, Arizona and Nevada. They were able to provided assistance to each committee on the Board by encouraging them to identify what portion of their activities were related to the Strategic Plan goals. Mr. Woods informed the membership that a copy of the Strategic Plan is also available on the website. The committee also held discussions about changing the structure of the Board to accommodate a possible new chapter. With regard to future endeavors, the committee should continue discussing the Board responsibility to focus on making policies and procedures, and to provide a vision for the association. The committee should also give some consideration to the existence and longevity of standing committees, whether they are on the Board or not. All of the committees are very important, and cannot operate amidst yearly transitions. Mr. Woods also encouraged FAC to develop a policy concerning when and how WESTOP should go about accessing its' reserve funds. Finally, he recommended that we contact teams with training grants and schedule them to come to our conferences to provide training for the membership.

VIII. Chief Financial Officer - Joy Brittain
Ms. Brittain did not have an official committee, but publicly thanked the Fiscal Affairs Committee members for their hard work this year. She included a revised edition of the CFO report in the Annual Report packet. She highlighted two items that needed to be changed. On page 9 (the 2002 budget category) the "2002 Preconference and Conference" should say "2003." She also gave an update of WESTOP's funds: the current savings balance is $101,643 and the checking account balance is $202,943. She noted that not all funds have been deposited from this conference, and not all fees have been paid yet, so the numbers will change.

IX. 2003 Conference Chair - James Oda
Mr. Oda thanked his committee members for their hard work on the conference. Approximately 510 registered participants were in attendance, and 30 of those participants are students. Mr. Oda reviewed the projected conference revenues and expenses. He hoped that everyone was enjoying the 25th anniversary WESTOP Conference, and thanked everyone who brought silent auction items to donate. He also highlighted the exhibitors booths in the lobby. Finally, he announced that the complete conference report would be posted on the website after all the costs have been closed.

X. Announcements
Howard Willis made an announcement regarding the meeting with Larry Oxendine. There is a new assessment that Debra Henderson will be talking about this afternoon. This assessment has also stated that Upward Bound is ineffective. Mr. Willis invited people to go over the document from 10am to 12noon that day. Larry Oxendine would be collecting suggestions from WESTOP members; thus, they hope to compile recommendations to give to him before the conference ends.

XI. Questions/Comments
Marc Spencer. Mr. Spencer wanted to know who would like to participate on the panel at 10 o'clock. Rhonda Moses indicated that she would participate. Her report recommends that the new research committee members take over all current projects, and also oversee any other research efforts that are taking place.

Munyiga Lumumba. Mr. Lumumba had a question for Stephen Domingues. He felt that every WESTOP member should have a copy of "Congress at Your Fingertips." WESTOP is a political instrument to change and influence policy; thus, everyone should have this document. He asked why everyone did not receive a copy. Mr. Domingues agreed that everyone should have this booklet, because it is a significant and important resource. However, they cost $14.95 per book, and he only had a budget of $800. This amount of money could only purchase 51 books. However, this would be a good recommendation for the next committee. Mr. Domingues shared that Connie Baker helped him to get as many books as possible, given the limited funds he had. A motion was made for WESTOP to offer "Congress at Your Fingertips" book as a standing part of the WESTOP membership, and to allocate money for this purpose (Motion #1). David Ferguson mentioned that all of the information in that booklet is available for free on the web. Connie Baker agreed, but also felt that it was convenient to have a paper copy. Motion passed. Someone asked whether there was some way to get a cheaper rate. Mr. Domingues answered that he would try to find that information.

Matthew Benney. Mr. Benney made a recommendation that next year's Board survey the membership about what kinds of professional development they need. He conducted a survey like this several years ago, and asked why those results had not been used. Kathryn Lomely answered that she did use that information to plan this year's Pre-Conference Workshops. In the survey that Mr. Benney referred to, results suggested that WESTOP focus on Technology and Leadership workshops. Thus, this year, she worked with Rey Cuesta to offer a wide variety of technology workshops. She also worked with Mr. Domingues to offer legislation workshops.

Joe Omega. Mr. Omega offered a recommendation and a question. He hoped that the Annual Report would be a part of the conference packet in the future, so that people could read it ahead of time. As NorCal Chapter President last year, he was charged to obtain the Mathematica data. We still have not gotten it. What can we do to make sure this happens? Rhonda Moses responded that she had begun asking for the data immediately after the 2002 conference. She has asked numerous people for it many times, but they still have not given it to us. Mr. Omega asked whether there was anything we could do to put more pressure on the people who have the data. Ms. Moses answered that, at this time, they are asking congressional members to help obtain the data. With regard to the Annual Reports, Mr. Oda responded that they were ready to be put into the conference packets several days ago. However, people found some errors at the last minute, and so they needed to be reprinted. This is why there was a delay.

Janice Dirden-Cook. Ms. Dirden-Cook had a question about the bylaws. She knows that a Bylaws Forum was held, and her comment was made with all due respect to the hard work that went into the revision process. Ms. Dirden-Cook was concerned with the changes in the bylaws, and she was also concerned with the reading process. There was not enough text presented to the membership ­ only parts of the text were presented. This led to a misinterpretation of the bylaws. She implored the members to move through this process in the correct way. She suggested that these Proposed Bylaws Amendments be rescinded, fixed, and then presented again for the membership to vote on in the future. This would of course impact the Central California Pilot Chapter. Ms. Dirden-Cook recommended that the Pilot Chapter continue to operate until the Board could provide an updated version of the bylaws amendments, and conduct another vote. Ms. Bellock asked which PBA's she was referring to. Ms. Dirden-Cook was most concerned with PBA's 2 and 3. She said that the proposed text was not sent to the membership in a timely manner. Ms. Bellock answered that the primary articles being affected were listed on the website. Ms. Dirden-Cook referred to article 3, chapter 3.1 ­ the posting of these amendments did not happen within the 30-day period. Thus, she did not have enough time to respond. The other issue she had referred to the change in the number of Directors. There are two different purposes in this one change. One is to incorporate the Central California Chapter, and the other is to reduce the number of Board Members. Ms. Bellock responded that the current proposed changes would not pertain to the immediate next Board. In addition, there are only two choices, not four. The numbers of 21 or 15 are only dependent upon whether the Central California Pilot Chapter gets voted in. A motion was made that Proposed Bylaws Amendments 2 and 3 be rescinded for consideration at this time (Motion #2). In addition, she wanted this process to be explained more clearly. This is something that deserves the time to be done correctly. Gustavo Oceguera stated that some of these people have taken time to talk about these issues. These discussions should have taken place at our chapter meetings. He suggested that we split up the motion, because some people are ready to vote on these issues. He made a friendly amendment to split the motion in to two separate parts. Norris Sanders stated that these are two bylaws amendments that significantly impact the financial and fiscal outlook of the association. He would like to amend the motion to ask that a fiscal impact statement be included with these two PBA's. Ms. Dirden-Cook read the amended motions (Motions 3 and 4). Motion #3 did not pass. Motion #4 did not pass.

Keith Hori. Mr. Hori was disappointed that we did not allow enough time for Chapter Meetings and for the Meeting of the Members. We have not allowed enough time to discuss the important issues that affect our very existence.

Munyiga Lumumba. Mr. Lumumba was concerned that WESTOP has signed a contract with hotel that is not ADA compliant, for the 2004 conference. We need to talk about this issue because it affects our membership.

Yoichi Rengill. Mr. Rengill reminded everyone that one of the TRIO Achiever awardees yesterday was a wheelchair user. He stated that if WESTOP holds a conference at a non-compliant hotel, he would not attend. It is not in keeping with our values. He also suggested reducing the size of the Board in the future. Finally, he thanked the Board for donating money to Guam's typhoon victims.

R.W. Hicks. Mr. Hicks advised the next board to look at the terms for notification of bylaws amendments. This statement needs to be revised to encompass electronic notification processes and guidelines. He added that reducing the size of the Board means that fewer people would be making decisions for a large body of people. The members at large are responsible for WESTOP as a whole group, while the Chapter Presidents only represent their individual chapters.

Cheryl Ash. Ms. Ash stated that a lot of WESTOP members are not on the listserv. Therefore, we need to make sure that the membership can get the information in some other way. She also supported having a longer Meeting of the Members.

Gustavo Oceguera. Mr. Oceguera made a motion to direct the Board to come up with a plan to train the membership. More specifically, he felt that every member should receive training on parliamentary procedure (Motion #5). Motion passed.

Romeo Garcia. Mr. Garcia asked the people who were at the meeting to encourage more members to get involved. He stressed the importance of taking time to know the issues, and participate in the process.

Samuel Blanco III. Mr. Blanco said that he would like to see two people run for the WESTOP President position in the future. Perhaps the Board could provide more leadership training, have members participate at the chapter level, and then move up to the Board level.

Gerald Bryant. Mr. Bryant reiterated Mr. Garcia's comments, and also acknowledged Leonard Woods for his long-time commitment to this organization and his chapter.

Kurt De LaCruz. Mr. De LaCruz asked for clarification about the Arizona hotel site issue. More specifically, he wanted to know how the site selection was done, and when we found out it was non-compliant. Mr. Woods informed him that a representative from Arizona put a lot of work into identifying the site. Originally, the Arizona Chapter requested that we hold the conference in Tucson, so we looked at all the possible hotels there. While it is true that the Radisson is not ADA-compliant, the Board has consulted with Jane Jarrow, who has said that many hotels are not technically compliant. However, many hotels can be made to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities. Currently, the Board has decided to write a letter to the Radisson, stating what kinds of accommodations we are requesting, and by what date. If the hotel does not agree to those conditions by May 1, 2003, then the Board will reconvene and decide how to proceed at that point. Every hotel that WESTOP has been to has had some problems. Mr. De LaCruz still had questions about breaking the contract, and how the contract got signed to begin with. He also asked whether the Doubletree was compliant. Ms. Conwell answered that neither site was ADA-compliant. But some of these issues could be fixed fairly easily. As far as determining alternative conference sites, WESTOP cannot move forward until we deal with the Radisson. The current contract says that we have a certain amount of time in which we cancel with a 25% penalty. If they rebook those rooms, then they cannot charge us that penalty. Mr. De LaCruz stated that he did not know much about ADA-compliance, and asked how compliant these hotels were. Ms. Conwell reported that the hotel said that they would be fully compliant by the date of the conference. However, they have not done anything to make this happen yet. If the hotel cannot accommodate guests who are disabled, then they will have to house them at an alternate site. She also explained some specific issues that Jane Jarrow pointed out, such as the lack of roll-in showers, shower handlebars, etc. Marc Spencer asked whether there was anyone on the Board who had legal expertise, and whether any legal counsel had been sought. Ms. Brittain responded that she sent the contract to a colleague who works with ADA-issues related to insurance and contracts. The analysis was that the contract was not a good one, but it was still signed. Thus, the best thing to do is to go to the Radisson and work out an agreement that is agreeable to both parties. At that point, if the hotel still cannot meet our specific demands, then the contract can be brought to a lawyer in Arizona. Francisco Ramirez asked for a list of hotels that are not ADA-compliant. Mr. Lindsay informed the membership that the Board has already created a policy to address future hotel conference sites, and that this type of issue will not occur again. Jeannette Velazquez stated that this was a great opportunity to support our friends who are disabled, because we are forcing the hotel to change the site, rather then back out of the contract. Therefore people with disabilities will be able to use this site in the future. Veronica Hernandez said that if the contract is broken, she suggests that we work with a hotel that is ADA-compliant. Currently, the Doubletree is not compliant with regards to meeting rooms, even though their guest rooms are accessible. If the Radisson is not used, the conference cannot be held in Tucson. Thus, we should start thinking about sites in Phoenix. Ms. Conwell said that she was not necessarily considering the Doubletree; however, it was the only other hotel that was presented to the Board at the time. Norris Sanders reflected that these issues have occurred several times over the past few years. WESTOP, as an association, is no longer able to host or plan these conferences with the expertise that is needed. He argued that WESTOP should hire a professional conference planner, on a multi-year contract. We can tell this person about our needs and concerns, and they can professionally negotiate around these issues so they don't happen again. Hotel site staff changes all the time, so we may have to negotiate with 5 different people. WESTOP members cannot keep track of all that. In addition, we should be paying money to retain a legal counsel, so we can access their expertise whenever we need to.

Veronica Hernandez. Ms. Hernandez was very disappointed because one of the current conference co-chairs was not from Arizona.

Romeo Garcia. Mr. Garcia thanked the Board for their work. He used to be on the Board, and knows that it is difficult job that requires a lot of work.

Tigress Osborn. Ms. Osborn asked for the current Board candidates to stand. She noticed that several candidates were not present at the Meeting of the Members. She felt that their absence was problematic, and encouraged members to ask them why they were not there.

Janice Dirden­Cook. Ms. Dirden-Cook requested that future Meetings of the Members be led by the Board President. While she recognizes the need for having a parliamentarian to keep the meeting running smoothly, but thinks the main dialogue should take place between the President and the members.

President Coin thanked everyone for their comments. He shared that he was disappointed about the relatively low attendance at the meeting. He was also disappointed that the last several Board Presidents have run unopposed. More members need to get involved with WESTOP. He was also very disappointed to see how few Upward Bound programs turned in surveys. WESTOP needs people who are experienced, but we also need young energy. The older people need to mentor the younger people - this is how to make our association strong. Of course we will make mistakes, but that is how we learn. Every year the Board changes ­ thus the character of the Board changes every year as well. But every year, they try to do their best. President Coin shared that he was extremely proud of the 2002-03 board. He only facilitated the group, while the Board members did almost all of the work. He also reminded the membership that they have to do their part as well. The Board is only here to work for and represent the members. You need to go to the Chapter meetings to participate and give your input.

Motion to adjourn meeting. Meeting adjourned at 11:25am.

Respectfully submitted by Ling Yeh, WESTOP Secretary
Motions

Motion #1: Motion that WESTOP offer "Congress at Your Fingertips" as a standing part of the WESTOP membership, and to allocate money for this purpose.
Move: Munyiga Lumumba
Second: R.W. Hicks
Vote: Passed by majority

Motion #2: Motion that Proposed Bylaws Amendment 2 and 3 be rescinded to allow the Board to reconsider and rewrite the revisions in the exact language of the proposed text changes.
Move: Janice Dirden-Cook
Second: Norris Sanders
Vote: Motion amended (see motion 3 and 4)

Motion #3: Motion that Proposed Bylaws Amendment 2 be rescinded to allow the Board to reconsider and rewrite the revisions in the exact language of the proposed text changes.
Move: Janice Dirden-Cook
Second: Norris Sanders
Vote: Defeated by majority

Motion #4: Motion that Proposed Bylaws Amendment 3 be rescinded to allow the Board to reconsider and rewrite the revisions in the exact language of the proposed text changes.
Move: Janice Dirden-Cook
Second: unknown
Vote: Defeated by majority

Motion #5: Motion that the WESTOP Board devise and implement a plan to provide parliamentary procedure training for the membership.
Move: Gustavo Oceguera
Second: Romeo Garcia
Vote: Passed by majority

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