The annual Epsilon Sigma Phi meeting of the Alpha Tau Chapter was held Tuesday, October 10^th at Windermere Conference Center, Camdenton, MO beginning at 10:30 a.m.  Nancy Flood, president, called the meeting to order and welcomed members and guests.

Nancy reported that copies of the secretary, treasurer and committee reports were posted on the ESP website for members viewing.  

Secretary’s Report – A copy of the minutes were made available and Nancy indicated that they could be read if it were the desire of the group to do so.  Members elected to approve the minutes as posted to the website without reading aloud.  Tom Keohan moved to approve the minutes, Annette Fitzgerald seconded and the minutes were approved.

Treasurer’s Report – Bob Schultheis reported that we currently have $6655.06 in available operating funds ($1999.50 in checking; $ 5135.51 in money market; and $479.95 in outstanding checks.) Bob reported that we had some additional funds beyond expenses related to the Hugh Keith Memorial outing as a topic for the meeting.

Rex Ricketts moved the treasurer’s report be accepted.  Ina Linville seconded.  Treasurer’s report approved.

Committee Reports:

Audit Committee:  Rhonda Gibler reported that the books were reviewed for the last two years and that all the tested revenues and expenses tied out and that there were no significant concerns noted.  One item of interest is the inconsistent use of EIN numbers by the chapter and this is something that will require some additional work to determine the correct number that should be used.

Anniversary Committee: Rex Ricketts reported that the 75^th anniversary is the Diamond anniversary.  The intent of the committee is to find was to celebrate and remember the characters of Extension’s past.  There will be activities at the annual conference in the spring to celebrate and remember.  He further reported that ice cream would be served during the Galaxy conference as a beginning to the celebration.

By-Laws Committee: Nancy reported that she, Jim Ollar and Miranda Duncan had worked on making some updates to the by-laws.  The first change was read and discussed.  Rex Ricketts moved that the change be accepted, Bill Casady seconded the motion and the motion passed. 

The second change was read and discussed, Rex Ricketts moved that it be accepted, Bill Casady seconded the motion and the motion was defeated.  After further discussion Miranda Duncan moved that the second recommended change be replaced with the language, “The members present at the annual meeting shall constitute a quorum.”  Ina Linville seconded the motion and it passed.

Awards Committee: Marsha Alexander reported that there were 16 award winners this year and that in categories that can be forwarded for regional and national consideration will be forwarded.   Award winners who were present were recognized and the other awards will be given out in appropriate settings in the future. 

Membership Committee: Sandra McKinnon stated that they had a good membership committee this year that did most of its work via email.  The membership numbers as of 10/7/06 were 66 active, up 14 from 10/12/2005.  Life members 97, down 1 from 10/12/2005. 

Professional Improvement: Rhonda Gibler reported that the $1,000 mini‑grant that was received from National ESP for professional development was used to host a visioning session for one representative each from the professional associations.  The session was held at Windermere on Oct. 9^th and the intent is to share the results of this work on the future of Extension in Missouri with the new director, Dr. Ouart once he is on board in December as well as to share the ideas with Extension colleagues.   

Loan and Fellowship: Mark Stillwell provided a document that reminds Extension professionals that the fund is available.  He stated that over $31,600 in awards from the fund have been given out in the last 5 years with 41 individuals taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the fund.

Last year in recognition of the retirement of Dr. Tom Henderson, the Missouri Alpha Tau Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi, Extension honorary society, solicited contributions to the Missouri Extension Loan and Fellowship Fund, as a result an additional $1,000 was added to the fund.

Members were asked to encourage their colleagues to make use of the fund.

Nominating and Elections Committee: Nancy Flood and Ina Linville announced the results of the President-Elect, Secretary and Annalist election.  President-Elect, Bev Maltsberger, Secretary, Rhonda Gibler and Annalist, Janet LaFon.  Continuing officers will be: Mark Stillwell, President; Nancy Flood, Past President; and Bob Schultheis, Treasurer.

Nancy recognized the committees and committee chairs for their active and strong leadership and thanked everyone for the opportunity to work with them and encouraged everyone to find ways to celebrate.

Life Committee:  Nancy Flood reported that Jim Ollar had prepared a report that is available on the web that discusses upcoming retiree meetings around the state.

Old Business:  Bob took the registrations for the event.  ESP promoted donations to the Loan and Fellowship fund during the event and received $90 in donations.  The proceeds of the Hugh Keith outing were discussed.  The membership agreed to let the board determine how best to use the proceeds from the event.

Installation of Officers: Ina Linville installed the new officers.  She used a cheer theme to recognize the importance of cheering each other on and supporting the organization.

New president, Mark Stillwell, took over the proceedings.

President’s Message:  Mark thanked Nancy for her leadership and enthusiasm for ESP.  She was presented with a gift of appreciation.  Special thanks were also given to the officers and committee chairs.

Mark indicated that he was excited about the coming year.  He mentioned the coming opportunities and the hope to bring people together and to given numerous awards.

New Business:

A letter was read indicating that the chapter is to be given an award for improvement in the areas of recruitment and retention.

A letter was read that complimented the chapter on the newsletter quality.

Induction of New Members: Mark Stillwell and Sandra McKinnon inducted Gordon Carriker, Virgil Woolridge, David Hoffman, and Sarah Staude as new members of the Alpha Tau Chapter.  The membership welcomed the new members by jointly reciting the Extension Creed. 

Memorial:  Wilma Jean Lower led the group in remembering Extension colleagues who had passed away in the last year.

It was moved and seconded to adjourn the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Rhonda K. Gibler
Secretary

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Web Manager:  Bob Schultheis Webster County Extension Center Email comments to: schultheisr@missouri.edu Last revised: 11/05/09