May 20, 2016
Present: [in person] Ed Barrett, F. Celeste Branham, Elizabeth Hite, Ron Holmes, John Portela, Joe Young
Public Comment Period (Holmes)
The Take2 AmeriCorps program director introduced a new staff member to Commissioners.
Meeting
The meeting was called to order by Chair Ron Holmes at 10:12 am. Commission introductions were made. There were no announcements and no adjustments to the agenda. Three Commissioners submitted correct quiz responses. It was noted that, despite the pre-meeting poll, attendance today does not constitute a quorum.
Focus on Mission/Responsibilities
A. AmeriCorps Program Briefing: Multilingual Leadership Corps operated by Goodwill Industries of Northern New England (Joely Ross)
The program director began with acknowledging that Goodwill operates two AmeriCorps State programs in Maine, one in New Hampshire, and the Maine VISTA project. The presentation highlighted purpose, locations of host sites (mostly Greater Portland), and results. The slide presentation will be emailed to Commissioners not in attendance. [Also linked HERE]
B. Report on CNCS meeting/conference for Atlantic region (Portela/Ashmore)
Portela noted the gathering is useful for Commissioners but really constructed for staff of Commissions and program managers. In leadership sessions, the spotlight was on the recent OIG investigation of a program and the ensuing Congressional hearing. Nationally there is a concern about branding that is similar to the one the Commission has identified. Portela also met a former Commissioner from Utah who is now a trainer for CNCS. Bill Hulterstrom is President/CEO of the United Way of Utah County and could be very helpful to MCCS retreat proceedings. There were several meetings between CNCS leadership and Commissions at which John represented Maine. MCCS staff attending were Michael Ashmore and Pelin Fitzpatrick. Michael also was a presenter.
Business Reports
A. Minutes(Holmes)
April meeting minutes were distributed but due to lack of quorum no action could be taken. Among those present, there were no requests for corrections.
B. Executive Committee (Holmes)
Meeting notes posted. Holmes called attention to the fact Executive Committee did review and authorize submission of the Commission’s plan for the restored Training/Technical Assistance funding. Acceptance of the report was deferred to the June meeting.
C. Grant Selection and Performance (Barrett)
It was noted that John attended the task force meeting to report out on the ASC work session in Springfield concerning state commission performance measures. ASC is working first on performance measures related to AmeriCorps grants because all Commissions engage in this activity. Everyone shares the concern about how this could reinforce the perception that Commissions only do this. ASC has a plan to tackle other areas once this set is complete.
Barrett shared a copy of the updated risk assessment tool. It will be used to determine the risk level for grantees and that translates to monitoring and award decisions. The adjustments made have been tested and correlated to less formal assessments. It was noted that all new grantees are considered high risk due to inexperience with AmeriCorps.
Copies of the mid-year Grantee Progress Reports for each AmeriCorps grantee were distributed. Some quirks in the format were explained. They exist because of the structural format for the federal electronic reporting system. A concern about low performance measurement progress at the mid-year point were discussed.
D. Board Development (Branham)
The task force is working on the retreat, election of officers in June, and identifying candidates for vacancies.
Only six Commissioners have replied to the retreat survey. A reminder will be sent to everyone so the task force has more guidance on content. Everyone should SAVE THE DATES of September 29-30 for the retreat.
The June meeting marks the end of Ron Holmes term as chair. Presuming the succession process goes as planned, there will be a vacancy for Vice-chair of the Commission. MCCS members interested in the position should contact Branham immediately.
Commissioners whose terms end in September 2016 are asked to indicate whether they will seek reappointment. The task force needs assistance identifying candidates for the existing six vacancies.
E. Excellence and Expertise
Meeting notes are posted. Lori Parham and Barb Wentworth have agreed to co-chair the task force. There is a proposal to change the monthly meeting schedule so more members can attend but the poll is not revealing any better time so far. Rather than meet on June 2, the task force will hold a joint session with the Maine Service Enterprise Trainer’s Network after the June 17 Commission business meeting. All members should plan to attend.
F. Public Information and Education/ Public Policy(Portela)
The full task force did not meet. Instead there was a work session by the subcommittee working on a marketing plan.
G. Blaine House Conference Planners
Crofton reported the planning group does not have a chair this year. It is hoped someone will agree to the role. Meantime the five planners have decided to return to Thomas College and set the date for October 11. High priorities now are securing sponsors and selecting presenters. Commissioners who want to assist should contact Maryalice immediately.
H. CNCS Regional Office update (Hite)
This week has been Senior Corps week and Maine programs have been working to raise awareness of their accomplishments. It is also VISTA recruitment season and the application cycle closes very soon.
I. MCCS Staff
The tool to be used during the CNCS monitoring site visit was shared. Members of the team want to meet with Commissioners. The monitors will travel on July 11, do the entry conference on morning of July 12 and then meet with the state accountants. It appears the most likely opening for Commissioner meeting time is the afternoon of July 13.
The Maine Volunteer Foundation is progressing. All the legal organization steps are complete. The nonprofit application to the IRS is in process. A request for additional information was received. The MVF board has been advised not to be too active until errors and omissions insurance is in place as well as final determination of nonprofit status. It is hoped this all will be accomplished by end of summer.
Planning and Future Initiatives
A. Briefing: The Service Year Alliance (Bennett)
Kristen Bennett from the Service Year Alliance attended by videoconference and briefed the Commissioners on the development of the Service Year Alliance. It is a very new organization that results from the merger of three nonprofits working on expanding national service: Service Nation, Franklin Project, and Service Year Exchange. Maine is one of founding Commissions of Service Year Exchange. The mission is to make a year of service the norm for young adults and the service may be military, AmeriCorps, or other full-time volunteer service opportunities. The Alliance has completed a strategic planning process and developed a phased implementation of the plan. Ms Bennett’s presentation is available HERE.
Business Wrap Up (Holmes)
The next business meeting is June 17, 2016 at the Klahr Center, Univ. of Maine, Augusta. Excellence and Expertise members were reminded their meeting will follow the business meeting on June 17 in the same room.
This meeting adjourned at 12:07 am.