Meeting Minutes - LANC Board of Directors
September 17, 2004
Site/Location: New Riverfront Convention Center,
203 South Front Street,
New Bern, NC
Call to Order and Welcome
Leo Allison, Chair of the Board of Directors, called the meeting to order at
1:00 p.m. and welcomed all in attendance.
Members Present:
|
Leo L. Allison |
Mary Flowers |
Pearl Nealey |
|
Glenn Barfield |
Olga Gomez |
Rhonda Shepherd |
|
Leto Copeley |
Allen Johnson |
John H. Vernon, III |
|
Burton Craige |
Pender McElroy |
Willis Williams |
Members Absent With Prior Notification:
|
Reid C. Adams |
Richard E. Fay |
Raymond E. Owens, Jr. |
|
Michael Colombo |
L. Lynnette Fuller-Andrews |
Frank G. Queen |
|
David Daggett |
Hada V. Haulsee |
Robert E. Riddle |
|
Sarah Davis |
Scott B. Lewis |
Saketta Spivey |
|
Willie Dawson |
James B. Maxwell |
Charles “CR” Ward |
Administrative Office Staff:
George R. Hausen, Jr., LANC Executive Director|
Dock Kornegay, Director, Public Relations & Development
Chris Marks, Assistant Director of Finance & Administration
Celia Pistolis, Assistant Director of Advocacy and Compliance
Tonya Pruitt-Lyons, Administrative Assistant
Paula H. Spence, Office Manager
LANC Staff Members:
Stephanie Allen, LANC New Bern, Elder Law Paralegal
Peter Carter, LANC New Bern, CED Coordinator
Shirley Carter, LANC Wilmington, Paralegal
Kathy Grate, LANC New Bern, Benefits Paralegal
Melody Hairston, LANC New Bern, Staff Attorney
Laverne Joyner, LANC Wilson, Regional Accountant
Richard Klein, LANC Wilmington, Regional Manager and Senior Managing Attorney
Evan Lewis, LANC Greenville, Senior Managing Attorney
Janet McAuley-Blue, LANC Greensboro, Staff Attorney
Barbara Oien, LANC New Bern, Administrator and Fundraising Coordinator
Watsi Sutton, LANC New Bern, Staff Attorney
John VanAlst, LANC Durham, Staff Attorney, and LANC Pittsboro Interim Managing
Attorney
Approval of Minutes
Chairman Allison directed the Board’s attention to the Executive Session
minutes of June 18, 2004. Chairman Allison asked for approval of the
minutes. Following review and discussion of the minutes, a motion was
made, duly seconded, and UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to approve the Executive
Committee, as presented.
Chairman Allison asked for Board’s approved of the minutes of the public
meeting held on June 18, 2004. On Page 4 under the Personnel Committee
Report, the change will take out non-exempt and put in exempt under the third
recommendation which when corrected should read: (3) exempt LANC employees work
a minimum of 37.5 hour work week. Following discussion it was moved, duly
second and UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to approve the minutes with one change
Chairman’s Report
Chairman Allison reported that there was no new business to discuss at this
time.
Resolution for Susan Arlene Taylor Cole
Chairman Allison directed the Board’s attention to page 8 in the board book
and recognized Pearl Nealey to read the Resolution regarding Susan Arlene Taylor
Cole. Mr. Allison asked the board to adopt the Resolution as read.
It was moved, duly seconded and UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to adopt the Resolution as
presented.
President’s Report
Chairman Allison recognized George Hausen to give the President’s Report.
Mr. Hausen directed the Board’s attention to the report submitted by Legal
Services Corporation after an evaluation visit to Legal Aid of North Carolina in
June of 2004. Mr. Hausen stated that the purpose of the visit was to
evaluate how LANC was functioning since the consolidation. The team met
with various member of the Board of Directors and the staff, as they traveled
across the state. Mr. Hausen was pleased to inform the Board that the
report was very thorough and quite favorable.
Mr. Hausen reported that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) will
present an award to Legal Aid of North Carolina honoring the organization for
the good work that is being done across the state of North Carolina. A
dinner is planned for November 11, 2004 at which time the award will be
presented. Mr. Hausen invited board members and staff to attend the
ceremony. Pender McElroy stated that this is a great honor for LANC.
Mr. Hausen further reported that the ACLU will present the W.W. Finlator Award
to Burton Craige. Mr. Hausen and the Board expressed congratulations to
Mr. Craige for this significant accomplishment.
Mr. Hausen reported that the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation will hosts its 2004
Nancy Susan Reynolds Awards luncheon at the Durham Marriott Civic Center on
Saturday, November 20, 2004. He encouraged the Board and staff to attend this
event.
Mr. Hausen discussed the Sarbanes-Oxley Checklist for Nonprofits and
Foundations with the Board. A copy of the checklist is attached to these
minutes.
Mr. Hausen directed the Board’s attention to several media releases included
in the Board Book that were recently released reporting the following: (1)
LANC plans to expand the DVI program and that Governor Easley signed a new bill
to strengthen the domestic violence laws in the state. (2) Kilpatrick
Stockton is funding a full-time attorney, J. Christopher Jackson, to work with
LANC for six months providing legal services to low-income persons in Wake
County and to gain litigation experience. (3) The Z. Smith Reynolds
Foundation awarded grants totaling $85,000 to two LANC statewide projects,
Battered Immigrant Project and the Environmental Poverty Law Project. (4)
Leo L. Allison was elected as chair of the Board of Directors of Legal Aid of
North Carolina. Mr. Allison is the first non-attorney to serve as the
chair of LANC since its inception and since the consolidation in July 2002.
Mr. Hausen announced that Rick Fay, Chair of the Financial Development
Committee, was recently called to active duty. Mr. Hausen reported that
Mr. Fay has done a great deal of work with fundraising and in the area of
financial development.
Local Program Report
Chairman Allison recognized Evan Lewis, Senior Managing Attorney in Greenville
and New Bern, to give the local program report. Mr. Lewis introduced the
staff from the Greenville and New Bern offices. He gave a brief report
regarding client services provided and the advisory activities of the Greenville
and New Bern service area. He reported that he has an active Local
Advisory Council composed of several committees, including membership,
fundraising, and liaison. The council is very active in fundraising and
has been successful. Most of the fundraising efforts are centralized in
the New Bern area.
Client Eligibility Ad Hoc Committee
Chairman Allison recognized Pender McElroy to give a report of the newly
appointed Ad Hoc committee to look at three issues (1) election of client member
to the LANC Board (2) confidentially eligibility (3) formalization of guidelines
for client eligibility. A fourth issues was added (4) attorney
and client board member relations. Pender McElroy and Allen Johnson will
serve as co-chairs the newly formed committee. The committee members are:
Burton Craige, Glenn Barfield, Pearl Nealey, Willis Williams, Willie Dawson and
Leo Allison.
Committee Reports
Nominating Committee:
Chairman Allison recognized Burton Craige to give the Nominating Committee
report. Mr. Craige reported that the committee continues to examine a
process for nominating members to the LANC Board.
Finance Committee Report:
Chairman Allison recognized Leto Copeley to give the Finance Committee Report.
Ms. Copeley reported that the Finance Committee did not meet, however, she
reported that the operating expenses continues to be on track. Ms. Copeley
further reported that there are some outside revenues that are expected to be
generated and incorporated into the budget. Also, she noted the IOLTA and
VOCA funding remain uncertain for the upcoming year. Chris Marks reported
that the health benefits report is stable, and Ms. Copeley gave a favorable
report on the current state of finances of LANC.
Personnel Committee Report:
Chairman Allison report on behalf of Scott Lewis that there was no new
business.
Operations Committee Report:
Chairman Allison recognized Celia Pistolis to give the report of the
Operations Committee. Ms. Pistolis gave an overview of the various
activities in the Morganton, Raleigh, and Durham offices. She reported a
staff shift of attorneys in the western programs, and a transfer of Cleveland
and Lincoln counties to the Boone service area.
Strategic Planning Committee Report:
Chairman Allison recognized Glenn Barfield, Chair of the Strategic Planning
Committee, to give the Strategic Planning Committee Report. Mr. Barfield
reported that a report will be presented to the Board in December. The
report will be prepared by David Kiel, facilitator of the LANC Board
Retreat.
Grievance Committee Report:
Chairman Allison recognized Celia Pistolis to give the Grievance Committee
report. She reported that there are no grievances pending.
Client Affairs Committee Report:
Chairman Allison recognized Pearl Nealey, Chair of the Client Affairs
Committee, to give Client Affairs Committee report. Ms. Nealey reported
that there was no new business, however, she expressed to the Board that there
are issues that are being addressed by the committee and will be further
discussed at the December meeting.
Adjournment
Chairman Allison adjourned the meeting at 2:05 p.m.
__________________________________
Board Officer
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