American Mosquito Control Association Board of Directors Meeting via online platform—March 20, 2020
PRESENT
AMCA Board Members in Attendance
Jason Kinley, President
Ary Faraji, PhD, President-Elect
Mark Breidenbaugh, PhD, Vice President
William Walton, PhD, Past President
Gary Hatch, Treasurer
Jason Trumbetta, Industry Director
Lee Cohnstaedt, PhD, West Central Regional Director
Robert Duryea, North Atlantic Regional Director
Christopher Lesser, South Atlantic Regional Director
Gregory Barron, North Pacific Regional Director
Brian Byrd, PhD, Mid-Atlantic Regional Director
Herff Jones, South Central Regional Director
Mark Clifton, PhD, North Central Regional Director
Gary Goodman, South Pacific Regional Director
Catalina Alfonso-Parra, PhD, International Director
AMCA Staff in Attendance
Natalie Perry, Megan MacNee, Evan Wise, Dave Butler
Guests in Attendance
Angela Beehler, Chair, AMCA Legislation and Regulatory Committee
Joe Conlon, AMCA Technical Advisor
Dave Brown, AMCA Technical Advisory
Dennis Wallette, AMCA First Vice Chair (incoming)
Broox Boze, AMCA Industry Director (incoming)
CALL TO ORDER, WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS
The meeting was convened at 9:06 am by AMCA President, Jason Kinley.
Kinley welcomed board members and noted that the meeting would ordinarily have been held in Portland, Oregon had the AMCA Annual Meeting not been cancelled due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. Kinley also welcomed incoming board members Dennis Wallette – Vice President and Broox Boze – Industry Director, noting that they were in attendance as guests and unable to vote.
AGENDA
A motion was made to approve the agenda as presented without changes.
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Motion : Goodman, Breidenbaugh second. Motion approved without objection.
MINUTES
A motion was made to approve the minutes of the February 13, 2020 AMCA Board of Directors meeting.
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Motion : Goodman, Lee second. Motion approved without objection.
CONSENT CALENDAR
A motion was made to accept the consent calendar as presented.
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Motion : Goodman, Lee second. Motion approved without objection.
ANNUAL MEETING
Mark Breidenbaugh, Vice President and Program Chair of the 2020 Annual Meeting, discussed the decision to cancel the 2020 Annual Meeting in Portland. Breidenbaugh noted that it was a very difficult decision at the time, especially considering potential liability from hotel contracts, but in retrospect it was the right thing to do, given AMCA's role as leaders in public health and in the best interests of AMCA members, partners and the general public. Breidenbaugh noted that the decision was received well by attendees, exhibitors and sponsors.
Natalie Perry, AMCA Event Manager, informed the board that all the hotels and the convention center have let AMCA out of their contracts with no financial penalty. Perry noted that some expenses had already been paid for and could not be rescinded or cancelled, including the printed program, the online application and other items.
Dave Butler, AMCA Executive Director, informed the board that a meeting with exhibitors and sponsors was held on March 17 and partners were asked if they would consider donating their exhibit and/or sponsor fees to help AMCA offset losses associated with the meeting cancellation. Recognition will be provided to those who donate their fees on the AMCA website and in two e-newsletters. Perry will be following up with exhibitors and sponsors individually. Membership Manager, Evan Wise, will be reaching out to meeting attendees concerning refunds/contributions.
Discussion: Goodman noted that he developed language for his district to consider in determining how best to give back the funds as a public agency. Goodman said he would share with the group and asked staff to keep the language on hand in case other districts might benefit.
TREASURER'S REPORT
Gary Hatch, AMCA Treasurer informed the board that the Finance Committee met the previous week primarily to assess the impacts of the Annual Meeting cancellation. Hatch noted that Membership Dues revenue was tracking better than budgeted goal. Hatch noted that JAMCA revenue was falling short of budgeted goal and that Mr. Butler and the JAMCA Editorial Board would be looking into how to address the shortfall this year and in the future.
Discussion: Goodman noted that the AMCA organizational budget had at least a $53,000 hole from the cancellation of the annual meeting. He suggested Hatch work with AMCA staff to develop a projected year-end financial report for the board to review at its next meeting.
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Charge : Treasurer and staff prepare year end budget projection for April Board of Directors meeting.
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Motion: A motion was made to accept the Treasurer's Report and January 31, 2020 Financial Statements as presented. Jones, Breidenbaugh second. Motion approved without objection.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Young Professionals
YP Advisor Succession Plan
YP Committee Advisor, Kristy Burkhalter, discussed an Advisor Succession Plan that she had been developing. She suggests reorganizing the YP Advisory Group, reducing the number of board members and increasing the number of recent YP leaders to encourage member engagement, leadership development and succession planning. The Advisory Group would include the YP Advisor and three chairs: Annual Meeting, Financials and Sponsorship.
Discussion: Goodman noted that the focus on member engagement and leadership development is consistent with the goals of the board of directors.
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Motion: A motion was made to approve and accept the YP Advisor Succession Plan and encouraged the process to begin this summer. Goodman, Jones second. Motion was approved without opposition.
Individual Shadow Program'
Burkhalter requested that the board approve “rolling over” the selection of YP Individual Shadow sections to 2021. She also noted that at least one individual had paid out airfare and was unable to receive a refund. Burkhalter requested the board approve reimbursement for airfare.
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Charge : Byrd suggested the board empower Burkhalter to resolve the “roll over” and the reimbursement.
Legislative and Regulatory Affairs
Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee chair Angela Beehler expressed concern about the ability to host the AMCA Washington Days Conference given the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beehler noted that Appropriations Committee Requests for the SMASH and TICK Acts would proceed with a grassroots effort.
Beehler also reported that continued communications with the EPA would be required in the coming months concerning prospective endangered species listings.
CDC Funds/Strategic Planning
AMCA Vice President, Ary Faraji discussed the prospect of utilizing a portion of the remaining CDC grant funds to reinvest in the membership to determine member priorities, develop AMCA's strategic direction for the next several years and facilitate stronger alliances with partner organizations and relevant government agencies.
Faraji informed the board that he and AMCA Executive Director Dave Butler, have been in touch with a prospective facilitator who would utilize a process called Associative Inquiry to undergo a three step planning process – a member survey, a pre-planning meeting and a multiple day planning summit held in conjunction with the Fall IBM in Salt Lake City, to include the board of directors and key members and partners.
Faraji indicated that, with the board's approval, he and Butler would present a specific proposal and draft budget for the board's consideration.
Discussion: Goodman noted that a strategic plan has been a priority for the board of directors for some time and given the new management company and the new TA, the timing was right. He noted that with changing board it was important for the organization to develop a multi-year strategy that a succession of leaders would agree to advance. He also noted that before approving a process and a budget it would be imperative to have a better understanding of AMCA's financial picture, given the cancellation of the Annual Meeting. Jones indicated he was supportive if the projected cost was reasonable and would deliver value for the long term. Byrd indicated he was supportive but expressed caution - given the timing relative to COVID-19, he encouraged the process to be flexible.
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Charge : for the April Board of Directors meeting the board requested the opportunity to review:
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A formal proposal for the strategic planning process with proposed budget
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Revised year-end financial projections
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Proposal from AMG staff re: the transfer and maintenance of the TTT modules
ACTION ITEMS
Annual Business Meeting
Kinley noted that the AMCA executive committee recommended the annual Membership Meeting customarily held at the Annual Meeting, be held virtually. Kinley suggested the date of April 22, which would allow 30 days' notice.
Discussion: Members agreed the 30 days' notice was desirable. Others noted they hoped the meeting could be held as soon as possible.
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Motion : A motion was made to conduct the Membership Meeting virtually on April 22. Faraji, Jones second. Motion was approved without objection.
Fall Interim Board of Directors Meeting
Kinley noted that a doodle poll indicated that most members favored meeting the first week in November. Members agreed by consent.
Washington Day Conference
Kinley informed the board that it appeared as though the Washington Day Conference would not be able to be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Motion : A motion was made to cancel the Washington Day Conference for 2020. Kinley, Goodman second. Motion approved without objection.
Discussion: Beehler noted that a small group of leadership might attend if it was allowable. Key priorities for in person and electronic communications will be Appropriations Requests for the SMASH and TICK Acts.
ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION
Joe Conlon
Kinley expressed his disappointment that the cancellation of the Annual Meeting did not allow he and AMCA to provide Joe with a robust sendoff.
Dave Brown
Kinley welcomed Dave Brown as AMCA's new Technical Advisor and thanked him for “stepping up to fill Joe's shoes.”
Memorial Lecture
Kinley noted that the Memorial Lecture will also be delivered virtually and that Herff Jones and Dennis Wallette were working with the presenter, Scott Willis, to be in Louisiana with the family of the honoree, Lucas Terracina.
Ask the Expert
Brown suggested the Regional Directors be listed under the Ask the Expert page on the website so members of the public could contact the individual AMCA leader closest to them. Brown indicated he would follow up with the Regional Directors as a group.
CONCLUDING COMMENTS
President Kinley thanked the members of the board of directors for their invaluable leadership this past year, noting they were faced with significant challenges and each time leadership acted in the best interests of the organization, the community and the protection of public health.
ADJOURN
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Motion : A motion was made to adjourn the meeting. Walton, Jones second. The motion was approved without objection. The meeting was adjourned at 12:06 pm PST.