Meeting Minutes - LANC Board of Directors
September 11, 2009

Site/Location:  Legal Aid of NC Administrative Office, Raleigh, NC

Call to Order and Welcome

Chair Lisa Morgan called the meeting to order at 10:55 a.m. and welcomed all in attendance. 

Members Present

Reid C. Adams

Charles Holton

Kris Shepard

Glenn Barfield

Shirley Jones

Paul Shepard

Thomas Berkau

Nellie Kearney

Ellen Sheppard

Helen Cook

Phillip Leigh

Mary Ann Tally

Mary Flowers

Gregg McDougal

Alice Tejada

Sharon Greig

Lisa Morgan

Kyle Woosley

Celeste Harris

Ray Owens

Diana Williams-Cotton

 

 

 

Members Absent With Prior Notification

Lee Crouch

Sue Perry Cole

Samuel Johnson

Dellarene Myers

Jim Talley

John Wester

 

Chair Morgan reported that the Nominating Committee met, discussed and recommended the appointment  of Alan Parry, an attorney from the Smith Anderson law firm in Raleigh, as the representative from the NC Association of Defense Attorneys to fill the expired seat of Cal Adams.  Following discussion, it was moved, duly seconded, and UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED, to accept the recommendation.

Approval of Minutes

Chair Morgan directed the Board’s attention to the Board of Directors general business meeting minutes of June 5,  2009.  Following review and discussion of the minutes, a motion was made, duly seconded, and the minutes were UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED, as written. 

Chair’s Report

Chair Morgan gave an overview of the newly composed Board committees and shared some of the upcoming projects to be addressed by each committee.  Chair Morgan reported that the Executive Committee met and discussed the evaluation and salary increase for the Executive Director of LANC.  She recognized Cal Adams who described the design of the evaluation process.  He stated that it is important to develop an appropriate survey, establish a workable time framing for the distribution and return of the surveys, draft a report,  and present findings in an executive session resulting in a conclusion of the process.

Chair Morgan reported that the LANC Board committees met to begin work on developing a charter statement and scheduled future meetings and conference calls. 

President's Report

George Hausen recognized Cal Adams and thanked him for his outstanding commitment and continuing dedication to ensuring equal justice to citizens in North Carolina.

Hausen reported that the poverty rates in Anson and Richmond counties have increased and residents there are currently underserved.  He asked the Board to begin a process to examine how to more effectively serve those areas, including the establishment of a field office in that portion of the state.

Committee Reports


Operations Committee

Celeste Harris, Chair of the Operations Committee, reported that the committee met and determined that it would have a standing monthly conference call on the third Thursday of every month to ensure better participation of its members.  The committee has two subcommittees, Personnel and Compliance.  The committee plans to develop a disaster policy, to review personnel and technology issues and to oversee local advisory committee activities.

Client Affairs

Mary Flowers, Chair of the Client Affairs Committee, reported that the Client Council met and received training on various topics, including foreclosure scams, VITA, employment law, and health reform.

Board Development

George Hausen offered the Board Development report.  The committee will address re-nominations and appointments for Board members for the upcoming year, effective June 2010.


Finance

Tom Berkau, Chair of the Finance Committee, reported that the committee will focus on reviewing tax returns to be filed with the IRS.  An Audit Committee was appointed to more closely examine the audit process and provide more details about the audit to the full Board.


Resource Development

Paul Shepard, Chair of the Resource Development Committee, reported that the committee's focus will be succession planning & leadership.  Janeen Gingrich, LANC's  Development Director, agreed to send the committee chair information on this topic.  Shepard reported that conference calls  were scheduled for the committee until the end of the year.  He further stated that the committee's charter is being addressed and will be updated.  

Gingrich provided an overview of the current Access to Justice Campaign activities, upcoming  events and the timeline for the campaign. 

Legislative Report

Bill Rowe, General Counsel for the NC Justice Center, reported on legislative activities and the passage of new laws in North Carolina.  He emphasized the critical state of the economy and its impact on the budget dilemma facing North Carolina citizens and the General Assembly.  He reported that the legal aid community suffered a 25% cut in its state funding.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:15 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,



__________________________________
Phillip Leigh
Secretary

 


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Mission Statement

Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity.

 

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