The meeting was called to order by President Jim Ollar at 10:40am. Board members present were: Jim Ollar, Karla Spencer, Bob Schultheis, Eldon Cole, Gail Carlson, David Lindell, and Pat Snodgrass. Absent were Tom Henderson, Susan Mills-Gray, Mel Zielinski and Dale Hagerman.

Minutes of the March 9, 1999 board meeting were approved as distributed by Bob Schultheis.

The treasurer’s report as e-mailed by Tom Henderson and handed out by Jim Ollar showed a 4/30/99 savings account balance of $4140.43 and a checking account balance of $931.55 for a total of $5071.98. There are no outstanding bills. Pat Snodgrass moved and Bob Schultheis seconded to accept the report. Motion passed on voice vote.

In Mel Zielinski’s absence, Jim Ollar gave the Membership Committee report. There are 103 active members and 117 life members. About a dozen membership renewals, plus one new member, were received following Jim Ollar's reminder letter to inactive members. Jim was reminded to distribute to regional contacts a list of those Extension people who become eligible, as of 8/31/99, to join ESP.

Susan Mills-Gray's e-mailed Professional Development Committee report was handed out. There is early discussion of co-sponsoring a PDE on Marketing Extension Programs via the Web with MEAFCS and the HES Statewide Advisory Committee. Both of those groups are in the early stages of discussion, so this would probably be a spring or summer 2000 PDE proposal. There has also been some interest among the membership for a PDE on Professional Marketing Techniques for Non-Profit Organizations. Again there is a chance to co-sponsor this with the HES statewide advisory committee. More details should be known by early August. She plans to summarize some the keynote speaker's comments from PILD in June and send them to the membership.

The group discussed the pros and cons of marketing Extension programs via the Web. Such programs open up a much wider audience, but require additional staff time and resources to make them work effectively. Mention was made of the federal requirement that 25% of federally-funded programming must be multi-state in nature. Jim Ollar explained that this requirement must have flexibility, because true Extension programming springs from local needs, not national thinking.

Gail Carlson gave the Recognition and Awards Committee report. A letter was e-mailed to all active members on May 18 encouraging them to nominate deserving individuals or teams for awards. Karla Spencer suggested mailing the awards applications along with the latest newsletter to life members to save postage costs. The Distinguished Service, the Mid-Career and the Team Awards are national in scope, so it would be great to have entries in those categories, since none were submitted in 1998. As currently planned, the awards (except the Friend of Extension Award) will be presented at the Tuesday, October 26 Joint Awards Luncheon at Annual Conference. Ways to get more entries were discussed. . Karla suggested sorting through the PRLLs for team impact or other individuals worthy of nomination. Jim Ollar suggested targeting Regional Directors to nominate individuals or teams based on performance evaluations. Bob Schultheis reported that the awards application form and past recipients' list is now posted on the Web at http://outreach.missouri.edu/esp

David Lindell gave the Courtesy and Memorials Committee report. He needs ideas on how to stay current on names, and on obtaining addresses to send an appropriate card. Jim Ollar suggested contacting Jean Sundet or Laura Flacks-Narrol in Personnel for retirements and deaths information. David asked for suggestions on conducting the memorial service at Annual Conference. Gail Carlson suggested lighting a candle and having an ecumenically-appropriate reading for the five-minute service. Any reading that meets all the diversity requirements runs the risk of not being meaningful to anyone. Mabel Grimes at UMC may be able to help identify a meaningful reading. David asked that any member who becomes aware of births, retirements or deaths among ESP members to send him a note with a good mailing address so he can follow up with a card.

Pat Snodgrass gave the Loan and Fellowship Committee report. She has identified an ESP contact person in each region. They are: NW -Bev Maltsberger, NE - David Hill, WC - Marsha Alexander, CM - Cynthia Crawford, EC - Shelley Bush, SW - J. C. Owsley, SC - Pat Snodgrass, and SE - Bruce Beck. She still needs a representative for campus. Jim Ollar suggested visiting with Tom Henderson, and perhaps making arrangements for ESP announcements to be made at monthly campus meetings. Applications for the next round of Loan and Fellowship (L & F) Scholarships are due October 21. Each regional contact was given a supply of the L & F brochure and application. Jim reported that the Frances Pringle estate gift could double the size of the L & F Fund. There are currently 224 plaques in Jim Ollar's office showing names of persons recognized through L & F contributions.

Eldon Cole gave the Annalist report. Records are still in the hands of Larry Hale, and Eldon is hoping to have the records transferred to him by late June. A question about archiving records was raised. The UM Records Management Department is preferred over the University Archives, to avoid losing control of the information's ownership.

Karla Spencer gave the President-Elect's report. The newsletter to Life Members is waiting on mailing labels to be made. It was suggested that Life Members be surveyed about whether they have Web access to get newsletter information. The next issue in early August will promote the Loan and Fellowship Fund, the Awards Program, and Nominations. A short newsletter in early October will cover ESP activities at Annual Conference and include a membership dues renewal.

Jim Ollar gave the President's report. He passed around applications received for the national Ruby Award for Missouri to rank. He reported on discussion at the national level about changes in the dues structure, with a vote scheduled for the December meeting. The more controversial part of the changes might be the introduction of dues or a "service fee" for Life Members, instead of their current one-time $100 membership fee upon retirement.

The meeting temporarily adjourned for lunch at 12:15pm and reconvened at 12:45pm.

Discussion followed on ESP activities at Annual Conference in October. The annual business meeting is tentatively set for Tuesday morning October 26 from 7 to 8 a.m. We need to know the starting time for the general session to allow a 15-minute break following the breakfast meeting. Enthusiasm is great for the ice cream social during the Monday afternoon break. Dale Hagerman is taking the lead on making arrangements with Buck's ice cream.

The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 7, 1999, starting at 12:30pm at the Cole County Extension Center in Jefferson City, MO. Jim Ollar will contact Rick Clark to make the room arrangements with a catered meal.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:05pm.

Respectfully submitted,