Committee members convened at 3:30 pm using virtual meeting platform.
PRESENT: Tom Meuser, Celeste Branham, Diane Lebson, Luke Shorty, Bill Guindon, Maryalice Crofton
I. Urgent and timely matters from Volunteer Maine staff
A. Search for Kirsten's successor. Outreach has covered all the usual places (national networks, higher ed, social media, and board member connections). No qualified person has been identified yet. Please continue referring people.
B. Commission state budget, reclass, and position creation progress. Budget has been the subject of a meeting with Director Horn and Sarah Curran who are putting together the budget for MOCA. Maryalice has also worked with the Dept of Education CFO on details MOCA needs. The requests for additional state support will be finally decided end of this month. With regard to staff reclasses and position authorizations, those went from the Service Center HR to central state HR around Oct 31. The prediction of final action in February 2025 seems to be holding true. Exec members discussed options if staffing needs are not supported and the concluded we need to wait and see what happens federally and at state. December may bring a bit more clarity.
C. Coming November 19. The federal release of civic and volunteering data for most recent Census update will hit the news. Tilan has been given a heads up about our role in promoting Maine results.
II. General updates and planning
A. Retreat evaluations. Exec committee reviewed the retreat evaluation results. The only question/concern related to an ambiguous comment about the usefulness of the values/convictions exercise. 100% of the respondents said they better understood what is coming in the year ahead.
B. Initial edit of Commission Values/Convictions. Celeste had sent a first draft to Exec members. She noted her first goal was to find a place for all the comments and notes of Commissioners that came out of the group work. There are some refinements to make and one edit that does not have consensus. It is the use of “public-private partnerships” to replace “community-led and government-supported.” One view is the public-private language is jargon; that it tends to be thought of in terms of business and government; that it does not reflect the power dynamic inherent in government funding of community projects. The other view is that public can mean citizen as well as government so it could mean private citizens. Members opted to bring the discussion to the board for greater input. Celeste will make the final edits and have it ready for the November board meeting.
C. Comments from chairs on assignments of new task force members. Based on notes to Luke and review of task force needs, all Commissioners are now assigned to task forces. The list was distributed to chairs and Luke asked if people would want to add members of the public and if the assignments provide enough members to get work done. Both Tom and Diane indicated they have public members. Tom is organizing an initial meeting for the new task force.
D. Maine representation at ASC Leadership convening in February. Bill is unable to attend and Maryalice will not attend given the legislative work and proximity to her departure. That opens up an opportunity for a second person to go. Tom Meuser and Diane Lebson both indicated a desire to represent the Commission.
E. Set schedule for New Commissioner orientation. The next session will be from 9-10 before the November 15 board meeting.
G. Resurrection of Financial Oversight Task Force. Luke reported that he would like to reinstate the Financial Oversight Task Force. The board needs to keep a close eye on operating finances and have a deeper understanding as the transitions unfold. The former mission/charge seems to be accurate even though the context is different. It reads "The mission of the Financial Oversight Task Force is to educate and communicate to the commissioners the financial condition and activities of the Commission, as well as the financial resources needed to meet our mission." Exec members agreed and the board will be asked to confirm at the next meeting. Luke has a list of board members he would like to have on this work and will follow up with them.
H. Financial report for office. The report for the quarter ending 9/30/2024 had been circulated. Luke had several questions and indicated he would stay on the line after the end of the meeting to discuss. He acknowledged they are very detailed and he was conscious of how the hour was winding down. He did mention that financial review should be on the board agenda and he will take some extra time to explain the report formats to new members.
III. Volunteer Maine Commission Meeting and Agenda review
Executive Committee members compiled items for the November board meeting agenda. One item will need to be held for December. Luke invited Samantha Horn to meet the full board but she will be unavailable. She can attend in December.
Tom proposed inviting someone who operates a volunteer program to present to the Commission. It would be a way to keep the Commissioners grounded in what is happening in the field. Diane mentioned those “mission moments” are common in nonprofit boards. Members agreed to move forward and the first presenter will be Katherine Freund from ITN America. The 15-min presentation will be during the Public Comment period.
There being no other discussion items, the members dispersed at 4:34 p.m.