Meeting Minutes - LANC Board of Directors
September 8, 2005
Site/Location: Clarion State Capitol Hotel,
320 Hillsborough Street
Raleigh, NC
Call to Order and Welcome
Reid “Cal” Adams, Chair of the Board of Directors, called the meeting to
order at 10:35 a.m. and welcomed all in attendance.
Members Present
|
Leo L. Allison
|
Sarah Davis |
Frank Queen
|
|
Reid C. Adams |
Mary Flowers |
Rhonda Shepherd |
|
Glenn Barfield |
Nellie Kearney |
Saketta Spivey
|
|
Leto Copeley |
Jim Maxwell |
Charles Ward
|
|
Burton Craige |
Pender McElroy |
Willis Williams |
|
David Daggett |
Pearl Nealey |
|
Members Absent With Prior Notification:
|
Willie Dawson |
Scott Lewis |
|
Richard Fay |
Ray Owens |
|
L. Lynnette Fuller-Andrews |
Robert Riddle |
|
Olga Gomez |
D. Clark Smith, Jr. |
|
Hada V. Haulsee |
John Vernon |
Administrative Office Staff:
George R. Hausen,
Jr., LANC Executive Director
Dock Kornegay, Director, Public Relations & Communications
Chris Marks, Assistant Director of Finance & Administration
Celia Pistolis, Assistant Director of Advocacy and Compliance
Tonya Pruitt-Lyons, Administrative Assistant
Paula Spence, Office Manager
LANC Staff Members:
Ted Fillette, Assistant Deputy Director
Mary Hedgepeth, Clients Council Coordinator
Richard Klein, LANC Wilmington, Regional Manager and Senior Managing Attorney
Evan Lewis, Senior Managing Attorney, New Bern Office
LANC Affiliated Attendees:
Michelle Cofield, Director of Public Service & Pro Bono Activity,
NC Bar
Association
Evelyn Pursley, Executive Director,
IOLTA
Delsie Williams, Clients Council Member
Executive Session
The Board met in Executive Session held prior to the public meeting. The
Board unanimously approved the reappointment of all LANC Board members whose
terms expired in June of 2005 to an additional three-year term, with the
exception of Allen Johnson, who recently resigned, and Ray Owens, who was
reappointed for a one-year term. The list can be found on page 2 in the
board book.
Dennis Dorgan, who is consulting with LANC in its fundraising efforts,
reported on his progress and activities. LANC staff, Board members, the
private bar and business leaders are all involved with the Access to Justice
statewide campaign.
Approval of Minutes
Chairman Adams directed the Board’s attention to the Board of Directors
general business meeting minutes of June 17, 2005. Following review and
discussion of the minutes, a motion was made, duly seconded, and the Board
unanimously approved the minutes as written.
Chairman’s Report
Chairman Adams reported that he visited the Administrative Office to meet
staff and to tour the offices. He spent a large portion of the day there meeting
with key staff members.
He further reported that Allen Johnson has submitted his resignation from the
LANC Board. Chairman Adams stated that the Board appreciated Mr.
Johnson’s hard work while serving on the LANC Board and the Client’s Council,
and he will be missed.
Chairman Adams asked the board for input in determining meeting sites from
December 2005 through December 2006. The board agreed to the following:
Friday,
December 9, 2005 - Greenville
March
2006 (date to be determined) to coincide with the
statewide meeting in March of 2005
Friday,
June 16, 2006 - Atlantic Beach, NC to coincide
with NCBA Annual Meeting
Friday,
September 8, 2006 - Asheville
November
2006 to coincide with NLADA Annual Meeting -
Charlotte
President’s Report
George Hausen, LANC’s Executive Director, reported that Robert Reilly,
Board President of Carolina Legal Assistance, sent a thank you note to LANC for
its resolution honoring Debbie Greenblatt. This note can be found on page
11 of the board book.
George Hausen further reported that the each field office is developing an
office work plan and that advocates are developing individual work plans.
Ted Fillette and Celia Pistolis presented an overview of how the office and
individual work plans will be developed.
Mr. Hausen reported that LANC has taken an active role in aiding Hurricane
Katrina victims and is prepared to assist victims housed in our state during the
recovery period. A toll free number is available for clients denied FEMA
assistance and/or any other benefits. LANC is working closely with other
organizations in North Carolina to coordinate the services and assistance to be
provided to these victims.
LANC will soon kick of its Access to Justice Campaign and Dennis Dorgan is
acting as a consultant. A fundraising plan has been developed, LANC staff
has been targeted to lead this effort, and those chosen staff members will work
very closely with Mr. Dorgan in this statewide fundraising effort.
Mr. Hausen spoke with the President-Elect of the North Carolina Bar
Association, Mr. D. Clark Smith, Jr., who is an ex officio member of the LANC
Board. Mr. Smith expressed regret that he would not be able to attend the
September meeting; however, he looks forward to working with the LANC Board in
the upcoming year.
Clients’ Council Report
Willis Williams reported that the Council had elected him as Interim
Chair for the next three months after accepting Allen Johnson’ resignation
as Chair. Sakeeta Spivey will be working closely with Williams in this
position.
The Council had a very productive meeting on September 8, 2005. Evelyn
Pursley, Executive Director of IOLTA, presented a History of Legal Services in
North Carolina that attendees found enlightening and informative. The Client’s
Council unanimously endorsed an Equal Justice Works’ proposal to develop a
community education project and the Council wants to take an active role in the
development of this project. Kira Weiss, former VISTA volunteer for Advocates
for Children’s Service, will be submitting this proposal to Equal Justice Works.
Later this month, the Clients Council will host a Region VI Client Council
meeting for the client advocates from 10 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and
Florida. The meeting will be held at the Wyndham Gardens in Durham, North
Carolina and client training will be provided by the NC Justice Center,
Community Reinvestment Act of North Carolina (CRANC), NC Fair Housing Center and
the NC Association of Community Development Corporations.
Committee Reports
Chairman Adams recognized the LANC Board committees to give their
reports.
Resource Development Committee:
George Hausen presented the Resource Development Committee Report as John
Vernon, III, Acting Chair of that committee, was unable to attend the meeting.
He reported that this committee has been actively engaged in the Access to
Justice Campaign, which is now getting underway. Details were provided in his
President’s Report.
Finance Committee:
Leto Copeley reported that there is no new business from the Finance
Committee; however, the budget is on target to date, as projected earlier in the
year.
Chris Marks was recognized to report that the Concord office had recently
moved into new facilities. The Fayetteville and Sanford offices will be moving
in the near future.
Mr. Hausen reported that 40% of LANC attorneys are liable for repaying their
school loans and that the loan forgiveness assistance provided by NC LEAF does
not provide enough assistance for LANC attorneys. LSC is developing a loan
forgiveness program and LANC has submitted an application to be considered as
part of a pilot project for this program.
Operations Committee:
Celia Pistolis presented the Operations Committee Report as Willie Dawson,
Chair of the Operations Committee, was absent. Ms. Pistolis stated that
the Operations Committee will address program priorities, program integrity
report and eligibility issues within the next few months. A full report on
these issues will be presented at the December meeting.
Personnel Committee:
Celia Pistolis presented the Personnel Committee Report as Hada Haulsee,
Chair of the Personnel Committee, was absent. She reported that the
Personnel Committee will address health benefits, a proposed personnel policy
about staff facing criminal charges, and the EEO Report. A full report on this
issues will be presented at the December meeting.
Grievance Committee:
Chairman Adams recognized Celia Pistolis to give the Grievance Committee
report. She reported that there are no grievances pending.
Client Affairs Committee:
Willis Williams reported that there was no business to report at this time.
Strategic Planning Committee:
Glenn Barfield reported that progress is being made on developing the
templates presented at the last meeting. The model is going to allow the
committees to put together a plan that will be beneficial to the organization.
Mr. Barfield further reported that assignments have been made and implementation
has begun.
Legislative Update
Chairman Adams recognized Elaine Mejia and Bill Rowe from the NC Justice
Center to report on activities in the North Carolina Legislature. Ms.
Mejia reported that the legislative budget was recently passed and will be in
place for the next two years. The budget adversely affects students, teachers,
and low-income North Carolinians.
Mr. Rowe reported on specific bills and issues that were addressed recently in
the NC Legislature: rights and wages of workers, public safety, health care,
housing, consumer protection, immigrants, public education, human services,
taxes and incentives, and domestic violence.
IOLTA Report
Chairman Adams recognized Evelyn Pursley, Executive Director of IOLTA,
who reported that funding is back on the rise. She further reported that
increases have not been specified, however, that data is expected.
RESOLUTION
Chairman Adams recognized Burton Craige, who made a motion to recognize
Allen Johnson’s dedicated service to the LANC Board and LANC Client’s Council at
the next meeting in December. Following discussion, it was moved, duly
seconded and UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED for Mr. Hausen to prepare a resolution
honoring the dedicated service of Allen Johnson. This document will be
presented at the December meeting.
Adjournment
As there was no further business before the Board, the Chair, Reid “Cal”
Adams, adjourned the meeting at 2:10 p.m.
____________________________
Mary Flowers, Secretary
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