Meeting Minutes - LANC Board of Directors
September 12, 2003

Site/Location: Quality Inn & Suites, Lumberton, NC

Call to Order and Welcome

Jim Maxwell, Chair of the Board of Directors, called the meeting to order at 1005 a.m. and welcomed all in attendance. He thanked the Pembroke office staff for their hospitality and for the warm reception extended on the previous evening by various community action groups in the service area.

Members Present:

Leo L. Allison Willie Dawson Ray Owens
Glenn Barfield Richard E. Fay Rhonda Shepherd
Leto Copeley Mary Flowers Bonnie Tatum
Susan Cole Allen Johnson Frank Queen
Burton Craige Jim Maxwell Charles “CR” Ward
David Daggett Pender McElroy Willis Williams
Sarah Davis Pearl Nealey

Members Absent With Prior Notification:

Reid “Cal” Adams Robert Riddle
L. Lynnette Fuller-Andrews John H. Vernon, III
Hada V. Haulsee G. Gray Wilson
Laura Shofner

Administrative Office Staff:
George R. Hausen, Jr., President
Bernetta Johnsson, Finance Director
Mary Hedgepeth, North Carolina Clients Council Coordinator
Dock Kornegay, Director, Public Relations & Development
Celia Pistolis, Assistant Director of Advocacy & Compliance
Melinda Carver Smith, Human Resource Director
Paula Spence, Office Manager

LANC Staff Members:
Ida Baker, Pembroke Office
Francine Chavis, Pembroke Office
Dale Deese, Senior Managing Attorney, Pembroke Office
Tina Dicke, Fayetteville Office
Alice McLean Melvin, Pembroke Office
Cynthia Hunt, Pembroke Office
Richard Klein, Senior Managing Attorney, Wilmington Office
and Southeast Regional Manager
Millie Rogers, Administrative Assistant, Pembroke Office
Ted Fillette, Senior Managing Attorney, Charlotte Office, and
and Assistant Director

Other Attendees:
Michelle Cofield, North Carolina Bar Association
Eloise Hedgepeth, VolunteerElaine Mejia, NC Justice & Community Development Ctr.
Evelyn Pursley, Executive Director, IOLTA
Rob Schofield, NC Justice & Community Development Center
Delsie Williams, wife of Willis Williams, LANC Board member

Approval of Minutes

Chairman Maxwell asked board members to review for approval the minutes of the June 27, 2003 meeting. Upon a motion made and seconded, it was UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED by the Board to approve the minutes with one correction and an amendment under the heading of the Nominating Committee Report. The spelling of the name, Lynn Fuller Andrews, should be corrected to Lynnette Fuller-Andrews and the report submitted by David Daggett at the June 23, 2003 meeting should be amended to reflect Ray Owens, Jr., was reappointed to serve as the IOLTA representative to the Board for a one year term.

Local Program/Regional Report

Dale Deese, the Senior Managing Attorney for the Pembroke and Fayetteville offices, welcomed all in attendance and asked members of his staff to stand for recognition. He also gave a report on the work of the Indian Law Unit and the Pembroke office. Richard Klein, Senior Managing Attorney in the Wilmington office and Southeast Regional Manager, gave a report for the southeast region.

President’s Report

George Hausen gave the President’s Report. Mr. Hausen directed the Board’s attention to the statistics showing the case files closed by region, site and county. These statistics show that LANC staff has handled more cases with fewer attorneys during its first year of existence. He reported that LANC is one of the largest legal services programs receiving LSC funding in the country. Also, Mr. Hausen noted that the LSC Office of Inspector General (OIG) is conducting an audit of the Private Attorney Involvement (PAI) activities for LSC funded programs. The first phase of this evaluation will be completed in 2003. The second phase will begin in 2004 and will include audits of effectiveness and compliance. At this time, the OIG has not identified the programs it will visit to conduct these field audit.

Pender McElroy reported that a proposal was presented to LSC to resolve the Pisgah Legal Services real estate issue in Asheville, North Carolina. Mr. McElroy stated that a written proposal was submitted to LSC as requested. As of this date, no counter proposals have been received. Mr. McElroy concluded that negotiations continue.

Legislative and State Policy Update Report

Rob Schofield and Elaine Mejia, of the North Carolina Justice and Community Development Center, gave a legislative update report. Mr. Schofield briefly gave and overview of the work of the North Carolina Justice and Community Development Center, which is comprised of 25 staff members. Ms. Mejia further reported on the budget and policies addressed in the current legislative session, as well as the expectations for the upcoming session in 2004.

Finance Committee Report

Chairman Maxwell recognized Richard Fay to make a presentation to the board. Richard Fay presented a check to Legal Aid of North Carolina in the amount of $64,084.78, which was one half of the Access to Justice Campaign funds raised by Legal Services of the Southern Piedmont in Mecklenburg County.  Chairman Maxwell and Mr. Hausen expressed their appreciation to the attorneys from Mecklenburg County who donated so generously to the campaign.

George Hausen, Executive Director of Legal Aid of North Carolina, gave the Finance Committee Report in the absence of Cal Adams and Chris Marks. He reported that there were no action items to be approved by the board at this time.

Personnel Committee Report

Leto Copeley, Chair of the Personnel Committee, gave the Personnel Committee Report. Celia Pistolis was recognized and she indicated that there were still some personnel policies that needed to be developed, such addressing the issue of outside employment for full time LANC employees.

George Hausen asked Leto Copeley to address five recommendations for changes to be reported on at the December meeting:

  1.  Possibility of self insurance to cover in-vitro fertilization
  2.  Health benefits for retirees
  3.  Life Insurance that staff could convert into personal policies upon leaving LANC employment
  4.  Individual loans to employees out of the Retirement Plan
  5.  Equalization of long term disability payments for all staff

Melinda Smith reported on the Pre-Tax Premium Plan.  She reported that LANC are in compliance with all requirements.

Clients Council Report

Allen Johnson, Chair of the NC Clients Council, was recognized and gave the Clients Council Report. Mr. Johnson reported that the Clients Council has leased office space for its operations in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The NC Clients Council, Inc. is continuing to develop its Bylaws and those should be completed by the end of the year. Mr. Johnson reported that notice has been sent to LANC statewide offices seeking nominations for directors to serve on the Board of Directors for the NC Clients Council, Inc.

Operations Committee Report

Celia Pistolis was recognized to give the Operations Committee Report in the absence of the Chair, Scott Lewis. Ms. Pistolis reported that program integrity guidelines, eligibility guidelines, asset guidelines, and program priorities would need to be reviewed and approved at the end of the year. Ms. Pistolis directed the board’s attention to the Local Advisory Council reports from Morganton, Raleigh, Durham and New Bern/Greenville offices. She reviewed some of the details given in those reports and asked that the board accept the reports. Upon a motion made and seconded, it was UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED by the board to accept the Local Program Advisory reports as presented. Copies of those reports are attached to these minutes.

Grievance Committee Report

Willie Dawson, Chair of the Grievance Committee, gave the Grievance Committee report. Mr. Dawson reported that there are no current grievances pending.

Client Affairs Committee Report

Pearl Nealey, Chair of the Client Affairs Committee, gave the Client Affairs Committee report. She reported that the Client Affairs Committee met and reviewed Local Advisory Council Guidelines previously approved by the board. She directed the board to the Recommendation of Client Affairs Committee to insert a sentence in the guidelines that the local offices will select the members for the local advisory councils. The board took no action on this recommendation.

Also, Ms. Nealey reported that the Client Affairs Committee discussed various other topics, including a bylaw amendment to clarify that the vice chair of the board automatically succeeds to the chairmanship. These topics did not warrant action by the board at this time.

Nominating Committee Report

David Daggett, Chair of the Nominating Committee, was recognized to give the Nominating Committee report. He stated that there is currently nothing to report.

Strategic Planning Committee Report

Glenn Barfield, Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee, gave the Strategic Planning Committee Report. He reported that the Strategic Planning Committee met and discussed the property owned by Legal Services of North Carolina and the property currently owned by LANC along with fundraising issues. Mr. Barfield stated that his committee developed a draft mission statement for LANC and presented that statement to the board for discussion. Comments to the mission statement should be addressed to Glenn Barfield or Dock Kornegay. A recommendation from the Strategic Planning Committee will be presented to the board for approval at the December 12, 2003 meeting. Mr. Barfield did not have any items requiring action by the board at this time.

Chair’s Report

Chairman Maxwell gave the Chair’s Report. He identified his goal for the upcoming year as increasing private bar involvement and support in LANC activities by encouraging every North Carolina lawyer to donate $150 to LANC or to represent one eligible client. Chairman Maxwell then asked the board for suggestions on how to increase private bar involvement.

Adjournment

The Chair, Jim Maxwell, adjourned the meeting at 2:55 p.m.

__________________________________

Leto Copeley, Secretary

 

 

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