CHRIE Executive Committee Meeting
NY: Javits Center
November 13, 2000
Members Present: Reg Foucar-Szocki, Tom Connolly, Claire Schmelzer, Agnes DeFranco, Bob Bosselman. Also present: Rick Eisenman, Kathy McCarty, Deb Breiter, Fred Mayo, Dean Ford, Gabor Forgacs
Meeting was called to order at 8:35 AM by Tom Connolly.
With Gabor present, the Committee suspended the agenda to hear an update on the 2001 Annual Convention in Toronto. Gabor discussed the active role of the host committee and the role of students from schools involved. Friday evening will be areception at George Brown College. An optional sunrise breakfast at the CN Tower will be available, as well as several tours of the region. A large international presence is expected. AHI and the host committee are working closely to coordinate the convention. The committee looks forward to visiting with the Board in January. A suggestion was made to encourage early bird registrations through use of promotions. Rick and Kathy will work with AHI on room blocks and rates. They will attempt to run the room list with registrations to see how much capture of CHRIE members the host hotel has. A reminder was made to keep a monthly announcement in the Communique from now until the convention.
The minutes from the Summer Board Meeting (including Executive Committee) and conference call minutes from the fall were presented.
Motion to approve minutes (DeFranco/Foucar-Szocki). Unanimous.
Treasurer’s Report: Agnes DeFranco presented the most available numbers, reminding the Committee of the difficulty CHRIE has faced in the last few months with Dale and John not providing financial data when requested. We still do not have a final audit, and we may never know exactly what occurred over the last few months. Concerns exist with respect to accreditation, chapters, AP and AR. Reg and Rick will meet with the NRA (Steve Anderson) and AH&MA (Bill Fisher). There may need to be drastic action again taken by the Executive Committee. Questions by the Committee focused on what do we tell the membership as well as the full Board of Directors; where does CHRIE actually stand. Agnes recommended finalizing the audit as best as possible given the data available, and provide the membership with data that is presented in general terms. We may actually have some receipts we do not know about. The problem exists because Dale, John, Robert, and Bob all handled checks. The financials are not linked to the database. With Kathy overwhelmed by her list of 100 things to do (and growing), we need to consider options. A recommendation was made to have Lane & Associates go through our records to clean it up as best they can. What should CHRIE do if the organization is in financial exigency?
Motion: If CHRIE should find itself in a state of financial exigency, the Executive Committee shall authorize its EVP/CEO to tap the Future Fund (Bosselman/Connolly). Unanimous. The full Board of Directors and the Future Fund Committee would be notified in such a scenario.
With respect to accreditation, the status is unclear. A full accounting of activities needs to be performed. Agnes will contact Dorothy Fenwick as well as Flora Gaillard (ACPHA) and John Drysdale (CAHM). She will present her findings in January.
A discussion on chapters focused on activity and membership. Chapters are supposed to be the focal point for members, but only a few seem to have their act together. Reg questioned why chapters could not sponsor high school teachers at meetings. Deans and directors should be contacted to encourage participation. Reg and Tom will draft a letter for members encouraging chapter involvement. Andy Schwarz will be consulted as to chapter activities. Under Andy, chapters have had little cooperative effort. While Andy has tried, there still seems to be unrest among chapters. A new Chair of Councils will be elected this coming spring.
President’s Report: Tom reported on his visit to the recent EUROCHRIE meeting. In light of Sybil Hoffman’s decision to no longer serve as a headquarters for EUROCHRIE, Deane Ford was asked to provide some comments. Deane noted that leadership of EUROCHRIE has to step up to do their individual responsibilities, rather than letting Sybil handle everything. Her goal as President is to expand membership, particularly into countries with little or no EUROCHRIE presence such as France and Italy. One of the problems is whether the school has any instruction in English. She noted the 2001 Conference will be in Brig, Switzerland, 2002 in Barcelona, 2003 in Germany, 2004 in Turkey, and then 2005 in conjunction with CHRIE either Paris or Berlin. Current membership is 130 members representing 30 countries (Kathy and Rick noted that CHRIE business cards now contain country code). Deane noted that concern exists over cost of membership, and that costs should be analyzed. It was felt that the decision to move from Sybil’s office would alleviate some of the financial concerns. With respect to the Annual Convention in Toronto, ten reviewers are international. A suggestion was made to have an international version of Hosteur. Deane further mentioned that new members should be recognized, possibly through press releases. It was also noted that historically, EUROCHRIE conferences rebate $30. Per attendee to CHRIE.
Tom’s goals for his term include establishing an international conference in 2005, setting committee assignments and communicating these via the website. The dues structure task force had decided not to raise dues, although at 25% of budget, dues are low relative to most associations. The concept of reducing member categories from 27 to 5 was praised, although the idea of raising dues now would be a serious error.
CEO/EVP Report: Rick and Kathy talked on some of their ideas for CHRIE. Communique’ should be electronic by spring except for those that request hard copy.
Motion: The CHRIE Communique’ shall be distributed in electronic format to membership except for those requesting hard copy, effective Spring 2001 (Foucar-Szocki/Connolly). Unanimous.
Rick and Kathy continued with a discussion of CHRIE partners. They plan on meeting with them and discussing value of membership. They plan on this as an important component of their services. They discussed the website and questioned the Executive Committee as to what exactly should the site contain. Chapter structure represents a major concern. They have historically positioned chapters as separate entities-give an allocation, then let them be self-sufficient (under current structure, the organization is liable for any activity by any chapter). This needs to be addressed as part of strategy, as the liability issue is serious to CHRIE and the Executive Committee. Bob as Secretary will address chapter presidents and find out what chapters seek from CHRIE. The 2001 budget is not ready, and due to situations beyond anyone’s control, data is not available. At the January BOD meeting, a draft should be ready. The budget requires input from the BOD on what is really necessary for CHRIE.
Chair’s Report: Reg reported on nomination process. He reviewed the slate of proposed officers. He also discussed the role of past presidents, and indicated they could be a source of information as long as they were kept posted on events. They are viewed as more fraternal than business. Reg also suggested a reception for Awards winners prior to the Awards Luncheon at the Convention.
Vice President’s Report: Claire reported on the strategic plan. She noted the need for action steps and follow up. She will work on this for January. She also reported on the Eta Sigma Delta breakfast and meeting. 110 students attended, and Marriott International was a big help with their role play. Notes from the advisors meeting are sent under separate cover via Bob.
Conventions: Rick and Kathy to work with Susan Gould of AHI.
Other Business: A request from H.G. Parsa for a Research SIG to be formed was reviewed. Based on information provided, the Executive Committee will recommend to the BOD in January that such be formed (Foucar-Szocki/DeFranco; unanimous). A letter from Past President Mike Nowlis was reviewed, and it was decided to pass it on to the Past Presidents for their input. Rick noted he has established a link for CHRIE with PCMA. It was noted that CHRIE should only be on the Hotel Show floor on Saturday along with the other hospitality firms (and partners). Finally, Rick and Kathy requested each Executive Committee member to share with them where the value is in CHRIE, and where should it be for its constituencies.
Motion by acclamation to adjourn at 4:30 PM. Unanimous.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert H. Bosselman, Secretary