September 6, 2012 Unapproved Minutes

Meeting Date: September 6, 2012

Presiding Officer: Dixie Williams

Members in Attendance: Andrea Weber, Scot Fiedler, Kelly Cara, Catherine Beck, Sandra Johnson, Holly Robison, Charles Schoneboom, Erin Trotter, Steve Turner, Kirk Whittington, Corbin Campbel, Matthew Stublefield, Ryan Reed, Sandra Arthur, Allison Overmyer

Members Absent (Excused): Jon Talley, Brenda Stewart, Andrew Garton, Christina Bowles, Yvette Medley

Members Absent (Unexcused): Teressa Arnette

Guests in Attendance: Kathy Gibson, Deb Dishman, Gary Stafford, Tara Benson, Angela Strider, Janelle Melton

Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order by Dixie Williams at 11:04 am

Approval of Agenda:

The agenda was posted to the staff senate website in advance of the meeting and senators were notified. The agenda was approved with no additions.

Approval of Minutes:

Minutes from August 2nd, 2012 were approved with no changes.

Chair’s Report:

  • Jonathan Talley has resigned from Staff Senate due to a change in his work hours. There is now an opening in Job Family 4.

Chair Elect Report:

  • Special work groups will start in September.

Secretary/Treasurer Report:

  • Staff Senate roster and name plates should all be up to date. Please send any edits to Scott Fiedler. We will continue to update the roster as new members are identified.
  • Treasurer’s Report: There has been some discussion via email regarding the lack of information regarding last year’s budget. Scott has researched the last three (3) years for all three accounts. A summary of the budgets can be accessed at this link: Budget Report - September 2012.

Director of Staff Relations Report:

  • Staff Senators Roles: Constituents: Kelly passed out a list of constituents for each senator along with a set of guidelines for contacting your constituents. There was also some information for new staff senators distributed. That document will continue to be a work in process. Electronic copies of the distribution lists will be sent to each senator.

Standing Committee Reports:

Bylaws Committee – Kelly Cara: The bylaws were updated last year, but have not yet been posted to the web due to procedural issues with final approval. An update will be sent to the Staff Senators regarding progress on this project.

Denim Day Committee – Andrea Weber: There will be a Luncheon Oct 3rd 2012 from 11:30am -1:30pm. There are also plans to have penny wars again this year. Denim Day is October 5th, 2012. There are new pins this year – metal and high quality. During the week of Oct 1st we will have a table. We will not sell new T-shirts this year, but may sell left-over ones from last year. Staff Senate may also partner with the bookstore.

Public Affairs Committee – Gary Stafford:

  • Public Affairs committee has met within the last two weeks. They put a plan in motion to cover the 3 pillars in the Public Affairs Mission. The committee plans to offer Leadership development on campus, and the Diversity and Inclusion department may offer some activities as well.
  • Adopt a street. Our street is Cherry Street from National to Glenstone. Senate chose September 14th,2012 for the first street clean-up day. Gary will confirm when and where to meet and will send information to Staff Senate. Will likely be over a lunch hour.

Public Relations Committee – Brenda Stewart

  • Sandy Johnson reported. The group met on Aug 29th. During this meeting they talked about finalizing their mission and goals. The committee wants to create an updated brochure about Staff Senate and would like to participate in keeping the website updated. They also talked about membership and involvement. The committee wants to send someone to the new employee orientation instead of showing a video. The development of a Staff Senate PSA that could be aired on public radio/TV was also discussed. Finally, the group is looking into a new Staff Senate survey.

Membership Committee: This committee has been folded into the PR committee, so we may need to look into a bylaws change if needed.

Scholarship Committee – Andrew Garton

  • Met once so far. Scholarship was awarded to two students: Bittany Donnellan, daughter of Debbie Donnellan and Dakota Arthur, daughter of Sandra Arthur. They want to do some fundraisers this year. The committee is discussing a special meal for a holiday with Chartwell’s, which would include bucket donations. They would also like to introduce the scholarship award recipients at the Staff Awards luncheon. Recipients have been photographed and we will have a page for them on the website. There will be information on our website on how to apply for the scholarship. Total award was $500.00 per person. We need to raise at least $1,000.00 per year to maintain the scholarship.

Staff Activities Committee – Kelly Cara: There are not many members on this committee yet, and a chair has not yet been identified. You don’t need to be a staff senate member to be on the committee. No other report.

Staff Excellence in Service Awards Committee – Matthew Stublefield: No Report

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Committee – Matthew Stublefield:

  • There were some good reports reviewed by the committee this month. They reviewed EAP programs from several other companies. The result was a decision that the committee wants to further research an outsource option instead of doing creating an EAP ourselves. They are looking into providers now.
  • Secondary program that would be internally sourced. Checking with Human Resources to see if that is feasible.
  • There are some committees that are not currently active.

New Business:

  1. Staff Senate needs to appoint a Wyrick Commission Representative: The Wyrick Commission is a group of students, faculty and staff selected to administer money that can be used across campus. These are often projects that directly benefit students. Campus signage, the new turf field and the new score board are some examples of projects. More information can be found on the SGA blog: https://blogs.missouristate.edu/sga/category/blogs/commissions/wyrick-commission Janelle Melton from the Honors College has volunteered to represent Staff Senate on this commission.

Old Business:

  1. Staff Senate shirts are here and will be distributed after the meeting. The order was completed correctly and senators were pleased with the quality and design of the shirts.

Announcements:

  • Guest speaker: Tara Benson regarding Staff Involvement on Campus: This is a University committee that looks into involvement in Football and other athletics. Currently, they are focusing on the first football weekend. Tara stated it was great to hear that we are doing our adopt-a-street volunteer work that day. Tara distributed handouts. Food discounts; 25 % off Papa Johns and Subway on campus. October - there will be a free family day for staff. We pay for our tickets, but kids are free that day. More information will be distributed via email.
    • Pep Rally this Friday evening. Giving away free t-shirts.
    • September 15th – BearFest Village will include a “Fan Stand” sponsored by the Bookstore. All items will be under $10.00 so staff and students can “gear up” for the game. There will be face-painting.
    • The committee is looking at overall athletic involvement, and comments are welcome!
  • There will be an electronic file of the constituents sent to each senator so they can use it as a distribution list.

Adjournment:

Meeting was adjourned. Exact time was not recorded.

Next Meeting:

The next meeting will be held: October 4th, 2012 at 11:00am in PSU313. The entire Staff Senate meeting schedule can be found on the Staff Senate Calendar.