Minutes – COWIB Board of Directors
October 21, 2015
Members Present: Ann Allen, Sheila Baber, Dianna Berry, Cynthia Brundige, Jack Bryant, Christine Cave, Cheryl Cook, Jeff Cover, Max Dubroff, Drew Dugan, Danielle Ezell, Pam Fountain-Wilks, Cassandra Fowler, Mike Goza, Jorge Martinez, Tim O’Connor, Perry Sneed, and Theresa Stewart.
LEO: Rod Cleveland
Members Absent: Bob Amundson, Tere Bettis, Anita Brown, Sally Cavins, Linda Cavitt, Carol Clay Levi, Amber Cole, Deidre Ebrey, Alana Facello, Jill Hull, Kevin Long, Pam Maguire, Priscilla Mayberry, Cornell Sankey, Philip Sherwin, Rob Standridge, Daniel Vitello, Jay Watson, Gloria Williams, and Tim Yaciuk.
COWIB Staff: Yolanda Alexander, Bill Bryant, Eddie Foreman, Phyllis Langley, Willa Rogers.
Guests: Heidi Adams, Sean Braddy, Sabrina Buller, Jill Burgess, Amanda Campbell, Minnie Castillo, Mykaylah Coffey, Daniel Cortez, Pracilla Cravens, Mary Doughty, Vickey Dudgeon, Elfreda Fields, Chelsey Goad, Jamie Hanselman, Tracy Harjo, Kahdeja Henry, Soncearay Colette Higgins, Joy Horsford, Shanan Hull, Terri Jacobs, Bill Jobe, Julius Keyes, Raelyn Lamb, Jessica Martinez-Brooks, Tyshon Mason, Judy McGee, Rakeia McNeill, Stephanie Montes, Joann Mukes, Linda Ochsner, Serita Patton, Linda Pendleton, Denzel Porter, Manisha Reddy, Barbara Royce, Donna Sanders, Kim Spikes, Sarah Steffes, Charles Stevens, Josh Turnage, Chris Verba, Haylie Webb, Keith Weber, and Karla Willis.
1. Call to Order, Welcome and Introduction
Chairperson Max Dubroff called the meeting to order at 11:53am.
2. Roll Call and Declaration of Quorum
Members of the board were asked to stand and be recognized. A quorum was declared to be present.
At this point in the meeting, Dubroff suggested that the order of the agenda should be changed in order to consider Item (5) next. He moved to revise the agenda; a second was offered by Jack Bryant. Without objection, the motion passed: All Aye.
5. Recognition of WIOA Participants
Sarah Steffes was recognized, and she proceeded to introduce a series of presenters, each one focused on providing information about the real-life experiences of workers who have benefited from the services and activities of the COWIB’s One-Stop workforce development system.
Karla Willis, a WIOA program participant, was introduced. She gave a short report about assistance she received through the WIOA program. She gave credit to her career coach, Tracy Harjo.
Bill Jobe, who is a Local Veterans Employment Representative, introduced Daniel Cortez. Mr. Cortez described the services he received that helped him to overcome a barrier to employment.
Soncearay Higgins (Operations Manager) introduced Tyshon Mason, a WIOA Adult program participant. Mr. Mason described the success of completing a college degree in business administration as well as the challenge of surviving a layoff.
Joi Horsford (case manager) introduced Charles Stevens, a dislocated worker. Mr Stevens told about the success he has achieved in the field of Cybersecurity at Rose State College.
Tracy Harjo reported on the success of Matthew Finigan, who recently obtained employment with Johnson Controls in Norman utilizing the HVAC training he received thru the WIOA program.
Pracilla Cravens (case manager) introduced Mary Doughty, a dislocated worker who took advantage of an On-the-Job Training opportunity offered by the Workforce Oklahoma system.
Manisha Reddy (case manager) introduced Haylie Webb, who successfully completed the Administrative Assistant program at Metro Tech. She is presently employed at TEEM, after overcoming a barrier to employment.
Julius Keyes (case manager) reported on the experience of Herschel Harden, who – thanks to an Individual Training Account funded with COWIB support -- is working toward achieving an AAS Building Inspector degree from OSU-OKC.
Serita Patton (case manager) introduced Kahdeja Henry, a WIOA Youth program participant who earned a BS degree in Psychology in May of this year. Ms. Henry described how guidance and resources from the WIOA program helped her graduate from Mid-America Christian University.
Sabrina Buller (case manager) described the success that has been achieved by one of her participants.
Rakeia McNeill (case manager) introduced Mykaylah Coffey, a young woman from Midwest City who entered the WIA Youth program as a younger youth in 2013. Ms. Coffey expressed her appreciation for the services she has received -- including career exploration activities, college preparation workshops, Smart Work Ethics training, and more.
Josh Turnage (case manager) described the success that has been achieved by one of his participants.
Joann Mukes (case manager) described the success that has been achieved by one of her participants.
Sean Braddy (case manager) introduced Michael James, who completed the WIA Youth program in 2014. Mr. James told about the support he received from the staff of the Norman Workforce Center.
At the end of the presentations, Mr. Dubroff expressed his thanks to each of the presenters.
At this point, the board turned to consideration of Item (3) on their agenda.
3. Reading and Approval of Minutes from August 19, 2015, Regular Meeting
A motion was made by Drew Dugan for the approval of the minutes as presented. A second was offered by Perry Sneed. All voted yes, and the motion carried.
4. Consent Agenda (as approved by Executive Committee)
The board was asked to consider the Consent Agenda – including Financial Reports and Provider Reports -- as previously approved by the Executive Committee. Theresa Stewart moved to approve the Consent Agenda; seconded by Dianna Berry. All voted yes, and the motion carried.
Agenda Item (5) was covered earlier in the meeting.
6. Discussion and Vote on Personnel Policy Change
The board considered a proposal to change the COWIB’s Personnel Policy. The item was described by Mr. Dubroff. A motion was made to approve the change; seconded by Pam Fountain-Wilks. A vote was called, and the motion carried: All Aye.
7. Election of Board Chair
Mr. Dubroff noted that the COWIB by-laws provide that, “BOARD members shall select the Chairperson and 2 Vice Chairpersons from members of the business representatives.” He noted that he has served two years as the COWIB Chairperson. Two years is "the tenure of any officer of the BOARD," according to the by-laws. Consequently, Dubroff asked for nominations.
Theresa Stewart nominated Tim Yaciuk to serve in the role of Chairperson. Dubroff asked if there were any other nominations. He asked again. There were no other nominations. Therefore, Ms. Stewart moved to elect Tim Yaciuk as our new Chairperson. Dianna Berry offered a second. A vote was called: All Aye, motion carried.
8. Election of Board Vice Chairs
Dubroff nominates Pam Maguire and Theresa Stewart to serve as the Vice Chairs. There were no other nominations. The nominations are put into the form of a motion; seconded by Sheila Baber. A vote was called: All Aye, motion carried.
9. Creation of By-Laws Committee
Dubroff recommended the creation of a by-laws committee. The purpose of the committee would be to review the by-laws for possible improvements. He asked for volunteers to serve on the committee. Sheila Baber and Dianna Berry offered to serve. Consequently, Dubroff appointed the Baber and Berry to act as a committee and make a report to the Board at a future meeting.
10. Address Personnal Suggestions
Dubroff reported that the Executive Committee has given a set of recommendations to our CEO on the general subject of personnel issues. The recommendations were summarized. They include: (a) Expanding the use of technology to support staff functions related to payroll and benefits; (b) Hire a human resources specialist to bring more expertise to the staff; (c) Review the current practice of using a broker for staff benefits; and (d) Develop a new or improved Benefits Summary Plan Document.
It was noted that these recommendations were developed over the course of several months, and they were largely the result of good work performed by an ad hoc committee led by Tim Yaciuk, Pam Maguire, Theresa Stewart, and Christine Cave. Dubroff expressed his thanks to each of these volunteers.
There was no action.
11. Ad Hoc Committee Reports
Dubroff asked for and received updates from the ad hoc committees that are looking at special topics. It was noted that the annual audit of the COWIB’s finances will begin on November 2nd. Also, a budget modification will be presented to the board in December. It is the result of a revised allocation of WIOA grant funds, which has resulted in a funding increase of over $200,000 for our 4-county area.
There was no action.
12. CEO Report
Eddie Foreman was recognized, and he presented a summary of his CEO Report. A written copy was provided to members prior to the meeting.
No action.
13. Outgoing Chairperson’s Report
Mr. Dubroff reported that he received a grievance that was filed by a member of the COWIB staff. He assigned the grievance to the Executive Committee, which investigated the grievance and determined that the elements of the grievance could not be substantiated.
No action was taken.
Mr. Dubroff expressed his deep appreciation for the support he received from the COWIB members during his tenure as Chairperson. He noted that the members of the COWIB board provide a valuable service to the community, and he thanked them for the generous way in which they share their time and talent.
14. Other Business
There was no other business.
15. Public Comment
On behalf of the entire board, Pam Fountain-Wilks offered her heartfelt appreciation to Max Dubroff for a job well done. [Sustained applause]
16. Adjourn
A motion to adjourn was made and seconded. The motion was approved without objection. Meeting adjourned at 1:06pm.
Prepared by:
Bill Bryant
Approved:
______
Tim Yaciuk
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