CALIFORNIA
ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL DOCUMENT ASSISTANTS
Minutes of
Board Meeting
19925 Stevens Creek
Rd.
Cupertino, CA 95014
January 19, 2007 6:50 pm to January 20, 2007 2:30 pm
Officers Present:
X Carol Ludlow, President
X Moira Boyle, Vice-President
X Annette Gomez, Secretary
X Odine Limansky, Treasurer
Directors Present:
__vacant, Nominations &
Elections Chair
X Robin Schumacher, Membership
& Administrative Chair
X Marcel Neumann, Public
Relations Chair
X Nancy Newlin, Newsletter Chair
X Tina Sandoval, Education Chair
X Connie Crockett, Legislation
Chair
X Andrew Voller, Professional
Standards Chair
X Kathleen Mountjoy, Technology
Chair & Conference Chair
X Debbie Driver, Fundraising
Chair
Others Present:
X Michael Brinsley, CALDA member
6:50 pm Carol Ludlow called the
meeting to order
Carol announced that we are
waiting for the Treasurer’s report and that the approval of the minutes would
take place on Saturday morning.
Tina took the floor to go over
the education report. All MCLE certificates were prepared and would be sent out
the following week. The next Webinar will take place in February and the
membership was polled to see what their preference was for educational
seminars. There was an even split between wanting education in person and by webinars.
We would like to have audio taped workshops available through our website.
Regarding the mailing labels, Joe
Constantino of Nolo Press Occidental wants to pay ½ the cost which would be
$600.00.
Moira
requested to the Advisory Counsel Ad Hoc Committee that Melodye Serino be added
to the Advisory Counsel. Melodye declined due to other commitments. Nancy asked that the Vice
presidents procedural manual reflect the duties and responsibilities of CALDAs
Advisory Counsel.
Regarding the contract with the
Resort for the 2006 conference, Carol informed the board that she had heard
nothing further since the last time we talked about it. Carol had suggested
that we compromise and ask for a refund of only one half of the deposit. Carol
will call Mr. Kim of Highland Springs and ask for his answer.
There was a discussion on
handling complaints of CALDA members and the ability and difficulty of policing
the membership. Kat pointed out the need to encourage customers who have a
legitimate complaint against a CALDA member to complain through our website.
There was a question about the
terms of use of our questionnaires. The brochures and questionnaires are for
the members to distribute freely. If they are available for free on member’s
website for any public member, then we have lost the benefit of attracting new
members who want access to them. The consensus was that the brochures should be
available to members only.
Carol suggested that we use our
bookkeeper, Alegria Davenport, to handle all the duties which was the original
intent of our contract with her last year. As it is time to renew our contract
with her, we will need to vote on the issue because it will cost an additional
$150 per month to assume the additional responsibilities. Vote to be taken on
Saturday.
Meeting recessed at 8:05 pm.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
9:25 am Called to order by Carol
Ludlow
The first item of the day was the
minutes for the 2005 AGM. As they had not been available at the 2006 AGM, a
motion to approve them will be made at the 2007 AGM.
Debbie motioned to approve the 10/26/2006 minutes as written. Moira seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion
was carried.
The next item was the Treasurer’s report which hadn’t yet
been prepared, however, Carol had a proposed estimated budget which did not
include conference expenses (as those expenses would be reported separately) available
for review and discussion. Comments were made around the room about the
proposed budget, and adjustments were made accordingly. After a $30K cushion to
be kept in the bank, there is approximately $28K after budgeted expenses
available. This will need further adjustment after voting on other issues. Nancy
motioned to approve the proposed budget. Marcel seconded. All were in favor.
Motion carried.
10:00 am Closed Session regarding brochure issue. Session re-opened
at 10:30 am.
Robin was to report on the bulk mailing rate for
non-profits. As she had just received a large packet of information regarding
bulk mailing for non-profits, she will need to review it and report back to us after
a few weeks on the information given.
Carol talked about Amcooperative, a company which is a
computer driven legal doc prep service. At this time, the company is handling BKs,
but would like to venture into family law paperwork. Their customers would be
forwarded to associated LDAs or BPPs after contacting them. Gary Drury, the
owner does not express any interest in joining CALDA, even as a sustaining
member or pay $250 to be a vendor. Because Mr. Drury is not ready to propose a project
or team up with CALDA in a mutually beneficial way, it was decided that it was
not in our best interest to have any further discussion about it at this time.
Robin presented an idea of “Member of the Month” which everyone
agreed was a good idea. This chosen member would be highlighted on the website
and newsletter.
Kat presented a slideshow of prospective conference
locations in Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. She had conducted a poll to the
membership, where responses favored Sacramento. The main concern among the
membership who responded was the price. The first two locations, the Holiday
Inn and the Embassy Suites, are in downtown Sacramento area within walking
distance of the capital and near the old town and the banks of the river. These
locations have shuttle service to and from the airport, which is close by. Kat
pointed out local activities for family members to come and enjoy. Other ideas
included having a keynote speaker of legal or political fame who would speak at
a luncheon that other non-attendees could come hear and pay separately just for
that. She wants our mailers to go to a wider audience including law schools,
paralegal schools, and superior court clerks
The next two properties, Hilton and Doubletree were in another
area of the city, Ardenwest. These locations had very few nearby activities, and
are further away from airport. Although lower in cost, there were concerns
about the safety and desirability.
The last property, Granlibakken Lodge in Tahoe City, was
shown. It can be reached after a 1 ½ hour drive from the Sacramento airport or a
1 hour from drive from the Reno airport. Kat pointed out that we could possibly
set up our own shuttle service for attendees. This facility is a dedicated
conference center, in a forest setting, with lots of activities and 10 minutes from
the stateline for gambling.
Moira took over and did a powerpoint presentation on the
estimated costs for each of the properties. Her figures were based on a typical
3 night stay and showed variation based on whether or not attendees would have
lunch on their own. After all the information was given, the board shared
comments and opinions which favored the downtown Sacramento area. Moira
motioned that the 20th CALDA conference in 2007 be held in downtown Sacramento.
Debbie seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion was carried.
To choose the location, further negotiation to get the best
price will be necessary. The idea of a two day conference to lower the cost was
brought up. Also we were reminded that getting sponsors would be helpful. Brief
discussion on different ideas to improve some of the aspects of the next
conference.
Carol expressed the need for Moira, Marcel, Tina and Kat to
get together and agree ahead of time who will do what task in preparation of
the conference. After deciding among themselves, their individual duties will
be reported to Carol. Everyone agreed that Moira would have the task of
negotiating the contract because of her ability to work a good deal for our
2006 conference. A poll to the membership will be done first to determine their
preference of a two day or three day conference. A tentative date of the last
weekend in September was chosen because of budgetary reasons.
The floor was turned over to Marcel who reported on his PR
plan. After the committee met, a 3 point plan was developed with the goals
being educating the public & legal community, promoting LDAs to the public,
and establishing & maintaining professional relationships within the legal
community. Marcel is in favor of hiring a professional agency for a six month
period to get us started in reaching these goals. The first step would be an
improved website which would be linked to the courts but directed at the
consumer. He wants us to promote chapters, classes, and members and use these
as tools for public relations. Although everyone agreed that PR was definitely
necessary and even past due, there were different ideas on the best way to
approach it. Moira reiterated the importance of revamping our website first
before anything else. Nancy motioned that we approve the PR goals and
implementation as submitted by the PR chair. Andrew seconded. All were in favor
and the motion was carried.
Carol reported that recent conversations with Tamara Parker
regarding her education proposal had not resulted in a new proposal. The floor
was turned over to Tina who reported that a letter had been sent asking for a
new proposal, since the first proposal was rejected at our December meeting, but
that none was forthcoming. Our monthly webinars and chapter workshops will be
used to meet our goals of educating our membership and attracting new members.
We will revisit the idea of using any additional resource if we are unable to
accomplish this. Robin motioned that each chapter commit to providing 2
workshops, at least 2 hours each, each year. Marcel seconded. All were in favor
and the motion was carried. Robin then motioned that the vice president be
appointed to oversee the chapters and establish guidelines of conduct.
Kat seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion
was carried. Carol brought up that we will need to decide how much of the
income generated from the chapter workshops will go to CALDA and how much will
be kept by the chapter.
The next item was the newsletter. Michael Brinsley submitted
a bid of $300.00 to set it up on the computer and $300.00 per quarter to design
it. Nancy suggested that these newsletters be mailed out, not just put on the
website. She would also like to see quizzes in the newsletter as in the past.
Marcel suggested that one newsletter each year be dedicated to the legal
community as a PR tool. Connie motioned to hire Michael Brinsley to prepare
our newsletter at a cost of $300.00 set up fee and $300.00 per quarter which
will cost $1500.00 per year. Moira seconded the motion. All were in favor and
the motion was carried.
Carol brought up the discussion about our bookkeeper’s
duties. Alegria Davenport will be performing all the duties intended when we
first entered into a contract with her last year. As it is time to renew that
contract, we will give her all the duties although it will cost an additional
$150 per month for her services. Debbie motioned that we increase the monthly
payment of $150.00 to $300.00 for our bookkeeper to do the duties that were in
the original contract. Connie seconded the motion. All were in favor and the
motion was carried.
The next item was the reimbursement of travel expenses to
the board members. The board reviewed Carl Knoll’s proposal which provided for
reimbursement of expenses when a board member has to travel over 60 miles to
attend a board meeting. Marcel moved that we approve the guidelines submitted
by Carl Knoll with a sunset date of September 30, 2007. Connie seconded the
motion. All were in favor and the motion was carried.
It was decided that the April board meeting be held in
Sacramento instead of Fresno because it is cheaper to fly there from Southern
CA and closer to the Northern CA board members.
Kat took the floor and reported on the activities of the technology
committee and the Ad Hoc Web Committee. Three bids were received and the Ad Hoc
committee is awaiting receipt of additional bids.
Michael Brinsley took the floor to report on the three bids
received for updating our website. He went over the problems we are having with
the present site and the features we need to be able to eliminate those
problems and the features needed to support the advances we want in our
website. He analyzed the bids for us by pointing out hidden costs so that we
could make an informed decision. He explained different ways that companies
host or control websites so that we could decide what was in our best interest.
The board agreed that with the information provided and the bids received, we
did not need to get any further bids. The board agreed that the bid from
Hitnet.com was the best value and all were excited about getting started.
Andrew motioned that we accept the bid from Hitnet.com for web design. Debbie
seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion was carried. Nancy
motioned that a letter and symbol of appreciation and one year of free
advertising on our new website be given to our present webmaster as a gift. Moira
seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion was carried.
Michael suggested that we hire an administrator to handle
this process as a liason between CALDA and Hitnet.com. He has offered his
services for this job and will submit a bid which will be discussed in the
future.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
