National Council Meeting Minutes - July 22, 2008

Luis Hernández, President, called the meeting to order at 6:07 PM CST.

Welcome: Luis Hernández started with a welcome to the 2008-2009 National Council and Regional Representatives. Luis briefly discussed NOPHNRCSE opportunities and projects such as Spanish Translation of the 2008 Farm Bill; NEDC Training, Speed Mentoring, self development videos (A Day in the Life), and Farmer of the Year.

Housekeeping: Eileen M. Vale, Secretary was sworn in by Luis Hernández.

Roll call was taken and quorum established.

Note: National Council-7 members required for a quorum

Present

President, Luis Hernández
Vice-President, Mario Morales (Mario lost connection with teleconference)
Executive Vice-President, Astrid Martínez
Secretary, Eileen Vale
Treasurer, Jorge Camacho
Reg Rep-E, Tim Garrahan, DE
Reg Rep-W, Roney Gutierrez, CA
Reg Rep-MW, Heather Medina, WI
Reg Rep-NP, Ted Lucero, CO
Reg Rep-SE, Jazelle Jusino, FL

Absent

Regional Representatives from Caribbean Area and South Central

Changes to the Agenda: Tim Garrahan made a motion to prioritize the agenda due to time. Roney Gutiérrez made the motion to approve to prioritize the agenda, Eileen Vale seconded the motion. National Council (NC) Position Descriptions, 2009 NOPHNRCSE National Conference, 2008 NC Minutes from June 24, business plan, Exit Report and current projects will be discussed at a later time. Treasurer report and Treasurer Status was added in the agenda before NC contact information. Agenda was modified and no additional items were except for Treasurer report and status. Roney Gutiérrez made motion to approve changes to the agenda. Eileen Vale seconded the motion to approve changes to the agenda, no more discussions, motion carried.

Introductions: Luis Hernández requested that everyone present on the teleconference introduce themselves and give a brief bio on their NRCS career.

Approval of Minutes: Astrid Martínez requested to table the June Meeting Minutes since they were not available. Astrid Martínez made the motion to table the minutes. Mario Morales seconded the motion, no more discussions, motion carried.

Treasury Report: Jorge Camacho presented the July’s Treasurer report. Astrid Martínez made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s report. Ted Lucero seconded the motion, no more discussion, motion carried. Jorge Camacho compiled all the income, outlays, and account payables from the 2008 Conference in Wisconsin on a excel spreadsheet report. Currently he does not have any access to the account. He cannot write checks or see NOPHNRCSE’s current balance. Jorge stated that we are low on checks and would like to order some more.  Jorge has requested a copy of the hotel bill from Astrid Martínez so he can compare figures. Astrid Martínez will work on the final draft of the 2008 registration roster and registration fees.

National Council Contact Information: Luis requested that everyone on the NC to send their contact information to Eileen Vale. Eileen will compile everyone’s contact information and distribute to the National Council and Regional Representatives.

National Council Monthly Meetings: Luis Hernández briefly discussed that there will be a teleconference on the third Tuesday (full week) of each month. Eileen Vale will be distributing a business agenda one week prior to the teleconference.

Treasury Status: Astrid Martínez requested that we ask Jorge Camacho if he would like to still continue to serve as Treasurer. Jorge Camacho stated that he would like to serve as Treasurer for NOPHNRCSE. Luis Hernández requested a motion to keep Jorge Camacho as Treasurer until next election. Ted Lucero made motion to approve to keep Jorge Camacho as Treasurer. Mario Morales seconded the motion, no more discussion, motion carried. Luis Hernández then proceeded to swear in Jorge Camacho, as Treasurer.

2008 Conference Evaluation: Astrid Martínez stated the response from the 2008 Conference in Madison was positive. Dana York was impressed with the conference. She was especially impressed with A Day in the Life and Farmer of the year videos. The 2008 planning committee will send out an evaluation form to all conference participants.

2009 National Conference Philadelphia: Luis Hernández briefly discussed who the planning chairs and program chairs will be for next year’s conference. Astrid Martínez stated that she will set up a teleconference with the planning chairs, Amanda Hasemeier and Irma Hernández. The purpose of the teleconference to help inform the planning chairs with planning and coordinating the 2009 Conference in Philadelphia. NOPHNRCSE can reimburse travel fees or costs for Amanda Hasemeier associated with the 2009 Conference after work hours.

2009-2010 Business Plan-2 years: Luis Hernández was concerned with membership numbers being low. He would like to see a committee devoted to this issue. The committee can develop a marketing plan, brochure, or professional display about NOPHNRCSE.  Luis also stated that we need to reach old members. Tim Garrahan requested to see an inactive and active membership list. Luis stated that we need to outreach to the membership and inform them that NOPHNRCSE is an organization that provides networking, career development, training opportunities, and student scholarships. Luis stated he would like to have Rocemi Morales, Membership Committee Chair participate in our next teleconference regarding low membership numbers.

International Tour: Luis Hernández suggested that in the future we may think of offering an International Tour for cultural development. The tour can be in Mexico for 2010. However, the major obstacles NOPHNRCSE may encounter is approval from Headquarters, budget, time, and the by-laws. It is written in the by-laws that we will be having the 2010 conference in the southeast region.

2008 Farm Bill Translation: Luis Hernández stated that 24 volunteers are on the list to assist in translating the 2008 Farm Bill in Spanish. Sonya from headquarters will be taking over the project. Luis suggested to Sonya to form two groups. One group will be translating the Farm Bill and the other will check the quality assurance of the translated Farm Bill documents. This is a great opportunity for NOPHNRCSE. This will demonstrate to NHQ one of the many great things NOPHNRCSE can offer as an organization.

Advisory Committee: Luis Hernández asked to see what we felt about developing an advisory committee which (can) consist of previous NOPHNRCSE presidents, council members, and State Conservationists. The purpose of this committee would provide past experiences, advice, and ideas that can help the National Council to better serve the Organization. Roney Gutierrez suggested that we can develop questions regarding improving our organization on the exit survey.  This will enable us to capture everyone’s input.

MOU’s: Hispanic College Fund, Winrock, Heiffer: Luis Hernández would like to see NOPHNRCSE develop future partnerships with other Hispanic Organizations that provide scholarships. We will contact Angel Figueroa on this plan.

Hispanic Summit: Luis Hernández will be forwarding information to all regional representatives. The Hispanic Summit will be in Washington, DC. Luis would like to see all NRCS employees in the surrounding area attend the Hispanic Summit.

NOPHNRCSE Website: Luis Hernández will have Mario Morales and Carmen Ortiz discuss the website in our next meeting.

2008 Farmer of the Year Product Development: Carmen Ortiz worked on this project. Luis Hernández stated that there were 6 nominations. Jesus Castillo from California won this year’s Farmer of the Year. Carmen also worked on A Day in the Life. Anyone can request a copy. We can distribute copies to all state offices, NHQ, and professional organizations for self-development and outreach.

2008 Conference Proceedings: Luis Hernández would like to see all presentations that were given at the 2008 conference to be posted on the web. However, due to the limited amount of space available, we will not able to post any presentations on the web. Luis will visit with Carmen Ortiz and Mario Morales on this issue.

NOPHNRCSE Directory: Louisiana 2006 Conference was the last time the directory was updated. Luis Hernández suggested that we update the directory. He would like to include everyone’s knowledge and skills posted in the directory. Luis will ask Rocemi Morales to look into this.

Newsletter: The newsletter will be sent quarterly to membership. Luis will follow up with Stella Santos and Lori Valdez.

Astrid Martínez made a motion to adjourn. Ted Lucero seconded the motion. No more discussion, motion carried.

Meeting adjourned at 7:58 PM CST

Luis Hernández, President
Eileen Vale, Secretary

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