January 18-20, 2008, West Hartford, CT

Members present: Lamar Blum, Teri Einfeldt, Christie Felsing, Gail Lange, Ruth Engle Larner, Dave Madsen, Beth Goldstein-McKee, Carol Ourada, Diane Schroeder, Beth Titterington, Betty Wahlig, and Pam Brasch, ex officio.

The meeting was called to order at 9:12 a.m. by Diane Schroeder, Chair.

Motion #1: To approve the September 2007 minutes as printed.
M Beth Titterington S Lamar Blum Carried

A discussion of the Creative Learning Community awards was led by CLC Committee Chair Carol Ourada. Awards will be announced at the 2008 SAA Conference. Criteria for the CLC awards is on the SAA website. CLC award recipients will be approved at the April meeting.

Pam Brasch gave an update on the 13th SAA Conference that included information regarding sponsors, facilities use, keynote speakers, and schedule for the weekend. There have been a record number of session proposals and student applications this year.

The Board discussed its role at the conference in terms of the Annual General Meeting, fundraising responsibilities, connecting with our members and Honorary Board invitations. Such dialogue continued throughout the remainder of the weekend and will be finalized at the April meeting.

A Latin American Tour Group has been invited to the conference with overwhelming response from area countries. A L.A. Ensemble Committee is in place for accepting students, allocating funds, and scheduling activities during the conference weekend. Financial support for this project is still greatly needed.

The Nominations Committee shared possible appointments to the Board.

Motion #2: To approve the appointment of Mark George to the SAA Board effective August 1, 2008.
M Dave Madsen S Lamar Carried

Break for lunch.

Meeting resumed with a discussion of Policy 3.4, specifically Communication and Support to Board, led by Pam. A detailed explanation of the Management Contingency Plans in Policy 2.6 was given.

Motion #3: To accept Monitoring Reports 2.6 as presented.
M Beth T S Teri Einfeldt Carried

The Board charges Pam to assimilate research about organizational leadership successions as stated in the Monitoring Reports 2.6.

The Board edited the dates in Policy 4.11 to accurately reflect procedure.

Motion #4: To change Policy 4.11 to read:
A. Up to $10,000 per fiscal year for training, including attendance at conferences and workshops.
B. Up to $15,000 per fiscal year for audit and other third party monitoring of organizational performance.
C. Up to $34,000 per fiscal year for surveys, focus groups and opinion analysis, and board meeting and retreat costs.
M Gail Lange S Ruth Engle Larner Discussion Carried

The Board reviewed financial reports and budget summary ’08 with a discussion of Policy 2.3 and 2.4: Financial Planning/Budgeting and Financial Condition and Activities. Donations for 2007 increased and royalties from Smart Music have been steady.

Motion #5: To accept Monitoring Reports 2.3 and 2.4 as presented.
M Carol S Teri Carried

Audit Report was given by Dave Madsen. Board acknowledged receiving the Audit Report in advance and its accompanying materials. Dave has reviewed online bank accounts and will continue to do so.

Lamar Blum reported on the status of Yuko Honda’s violin which has been bequeathed to SAA. A discussion followed regarding managing its use, insurance coverage and establishing a policy for similar gifts in the future.

Meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m.

Reconvened at 9:20 a.m. with Diane sharing an overview of the Nominations Process.

Pam reported on the Annual Fund. 2007 resulted in more donations above $100 than previous fund drives. Stories for donors and
readiness were discussed in relation to further L.A. Tour fundraising.

The chair charges the Development Committee to email our membership for donations to bring the L.A. Tour Ensemble to the 12th Conference. Chair charges the Board to use that email to send on to friends and acquaintances, both Suzuki and non-Suzuki, for L.A. fundraising purposes.

Upon Dave’s recommendation, Diane charges Board to look at National Endowment of the Arts website to see where SAA would fit within grant applications. (www.nea.gov)

The status of the Parent Education Project was shared by Pam. Board members will continue to think about the role of a Parent Committee and possible creation of a Suzuki alumni website. There is an ongoing need for volunteers for committee work and/or writing for the ASJ. Board members brainstormed potential ASJ article topics. The chair charged Beth T to investigate web communities featuring Suzuki alumni.

Break for lunch.

Past Board Chair, Paul Salerni, visited the afternoon meeting, discussed the 2008 Annual Fund CD and outlined the history of the CD project and its use for Annual Fund incentive gifts. Paul will remain on the ad hoc CD Committee.

Motion #6: For the CD Committee to produce a CD for the 2008 Annual Fund by September 15.
M Beth T S Lamar Carried

Mark George visited for the afternoon Board education session at which members shared summaries from assigned non-profit governance articles.

Nominations Committee chair, Christie Felsing, presented the proposed slate for the Spring 2008 election. An appointment of a non-teacher member sometime during 2008-09 was recommended. Online voting may be an option in future years. Next steps in the Nominations process were shared with the Board.

Motion #7: To accept the proposed slate as presented by the Nominations Committee.
M Betty Wahlig S Lamar Carried

The potentials and ramifications of online learning were shared by Pam. The Board discussed the need to develop a collection of video footage of core unit pieces taught and performed for training observation requirements as per policy 1.1.C.1.

Meeting adjourned at 5:05 p.m.

Reconvened at 8:40 a.m.

Results from the SAA teacher web survey were reviewed. Common themes or trends from the responses were identified. This was followed by brainstorming on how such information could be used to address our member needs. Discussion of this will continue at the
April Board meeting.

Diane charges InterBoard Committee to brainstorm better ways to connect with membership. A discussion of Policies 1.0 and 4.2 followed. The SAA values listed under 4.2 are: Integrity, Community, Excellence, Suzuki Legacy, Education, Music and Nurturing Environment. The Board discussed whether lifelong learning should be included. It was decided our collaborative learning community can be defined as (1) formalized education and (2) lifelong learning. Continued discussion on this will be done at future meetings.

After further discussion concerning 2008 CLC award proposals, the CLC Committee proposed revisions to their earlier report which was accepted by consensus of the Board.

Various activities for fundraising at the Conference were discussed. Ruth and Lamar agreed to form an ad hoc committee to investigate ideas.

Review of Committee Assignments:

Nominations: Christie, Diane, Teri, Beth GM, Pam

Development: Lamar, Dave, Ruth, Carol, Pam

Honorary Board: Gail, Beth T, Pam

Board Education: Beth T, Diane, Christie, Pam

Interboard: Betty, Ruth, Gail, Pam

Audit: Dave, Carol, Diane, Pam

CLC Ad Hoc: Carol, Beth T, Lamar, Diane, Pam

CD Ad Hoc: Paul, Teri, Dave, Lamar, Gwendoline

Meeting adjourned at 11:55 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Christie Felsing, Secretary