FVCC Foundation

Board Meeting

Thursday, January 17, 2008

3:30 PM

Arts and Technology Building, Rooms 144A/B

 

~ Meeting Minutes ~

 

Present:      FVCC Foundation Board of Directors - Russ Barnes, Carol Blake, John Bowdish, Nancy Gordley, Pat LaTourelle, Jim Lehner, Andy Miller, Diane Morton, Aaron Mower, Margie Simpson, Ralene Sliter, Stephanie Wallace, and Pat Winkel; FVCC Foundation Associate Member – Carol Larson; Ex-Officio Members – Jane Karas, President, and John Engebretson, Board of Trustees; and FVCC Staff and Administration – Ruth Ackroyd, Sue Evans, and Kathy Hughes.

 

Excused:     Kathy Barkus, Lynn Bauer, Donna Lawson, Leslie Mercord, Kippy Redman, Jarrod Shew, Dan Vogel, and Suzy Williams.

 

I.          APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF OCTOBER 25, 2007

 

            Ruth Ackroyd reported that the minutes of the October 25, 2007, Board meeting that were mailed to Board members were dated September 25, 2007, however, the date has been corrected and the minutes are dated correctly in the Board notebooks.

Pat LaTourelle motioned to approve the minutes of October 25, 2007. Ralene Sliter seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

 

II.        TREASURER’S REPORT

 

            Russ Barnes read Treasurer, Leslie Mercord’s, report as Leslie is unable to attend today’s meeting.  The increase in Foundation assets from October through December 31st was due to cash deposits.  The markets were down November and December, 2007, and indications are that they will remain that way for January, 2008.  The Foundation’s Endowment Fund holds Bank of America and Citigroup stock as they are known as “stable” stocks and they pay dividends, however, holdings are less than 2% of the portfolio.  Once the sub-prime issues are ironed out, Leslie believes the market is 35% to 40% undervalued and there will be opportunities.

 

            The Foundation’s Statement of Financial Position as of December 31, 2007, was reviewed with Russ noting that total assets have reached over $7 million.

 

            Ruth Ackroyd reported that the secondary beneficiary of the C. K. Logue Trust recently passed away and the remaining assets of approximately $140,000 have been transferred to the Foundation which is now the sole beneficiary.

 

III.       COMMITTEE UPDATES

 

            Events and Projects Committee

            Christmas Tree Excellence

            Pat LaTourelle referred members to the Christmas Tree Excellence summary report behind the Financial Information tab in the Board Notebooks.  This year’s event was held in the Large Community Meeting Room in the newly completed Arts and Technology Building and decorated with trees donated by John Bowdish.  Fun Beverage was the Event Underwriter and Flathead Electric Cooperative, Inc. and CenturyTel were this year’s Tree Sponsors.  Total event proceeds were $39,688 with the Foundation netting $25,833.73.  The live auction of catered dinners was a great success.  Pat noted that the event went well, but the committee will be discussing changes.

 

            Autumn Winefest

            Pat LaTourelle reported that she, Donna Lawson, and Ruth met with Kim Clawson at Fun Beverage to discuss the former Springtime in the Rockies event, which is changing to an autumn event culminating with a grand wine tasting at the Hilton Garden Inn on October 4, 2008.  The event will need to be renamed and suggestions are welcome.  The Great Chef’s Dinners will proceed the wine tasting beginning September 27th, and dinners will be held in restaurants as well as private homes.  The committee is also looking at holding classes in conjunction with the event.  Donna Lawson and Russ Barnes are planning on attending MSU/Billings’ successful wine tasting event in May to get ideas and learn about their wine store.  Billings’ event raised over $360,000 in 2007.  The Events and Projects Committee will discuss the event at their next meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 24th from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., and Ruth invited all Board members to attend.

 

            Other Events

            Ruth announced that the Glacier Symphony and Chorale, in partnership with FVCC, will hold a concert on campus on Sunday, March 9th from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  The Glacier String Quartet will perform in celebration of the Symphony’s 25th anniversary and FVCC’s 40th anniversary.  FVCC Culinary Arts Instructor, Hillary Ginepra, and FVCC’s Culinary Arts students will be preparing desserts to be sold under a separate ticket with proceeds going to the Culinary Arts program.

 

            The Ambassadors and Alumni (A&A) Association is planning an event in late February or early March in conjunction with the dedication of the Early Childhood Center.  The college has been in touch with Congressman Rehberg to dedicate the new building.  A special tour of the facility is being planned for the Ambassadors & Alumni, along with the opportunity to view a “Then and Now” presentation of college highlights over the past 40 years.

 

            The Culinary Arts department is planning a student-hosted dinner similar to the dinner they held last year at Red’s, Wines & Blues, on Saturday, March 8, 2008.  We are awaiting details on the event.

 

IV.       PRESIDENT’S REPORT

           

            President Jane Karas reported that Jerome and Rebecca Broussard have pledged another $500,000 for the Jerome and Rebecca Broussard Family Endowed Scholarship Fund, brining the total principal in the fund to $1 million.  The Broussard’s gift is the largest received to date by the Foundation.  Jerome was on campus recently with daughter, Sarah, to tour the new buildings and Jerome noted that he is pleased with how their scholarship fund is being managed and he appreciates receiving thank you notes from their scholarship recipients.

 

            The college submitted two appropriations requests for 2008 of $750,000 each to support an Entrepreneurship Center and a sustainable agriculture Farm to Table program and recently received notice that $273,000 was approved for the Entrepreneurship Center.  The appropriations funding will allow the college to take the current one-year certificate program to a two-year AAS degree.  The college will be submitting a FIPSE grant in order to receive the funding.

 

            All of the teachers have been hired for the Early Childhood Center and the Center will be up and running the first week in February.  The Center will provide childcare and education for children of students and staff, and there may be spaces for children of members of the community, as well.

 

            Copies of the annual report were shared with Board members and Jane thanked Tara Roth and Sally Johnson for their hard work on the report.

 

            Chuck Jensen has been hired as FVCC’s new Vice President of Administration and Finance.  Chuck comes to the college from MSU/Northern in Havre where he has served as vice chancellor for fiscal and student affairs since 2001.  Chuck brings 19 years of professional accounting experience and 13 years of education experience working in the Montana University System to this position. Prior to his current position at MSU—Northern, Chuck served as assistant dean/fiscal affairs at Helena College of Technology of The University of Montana.  He is transitioning into his new position and will be on campus full time beginning March 3rd.

 

            Spring semester classes begin Tuesday, January 22nd.  Open registration is being held today, January 17th and tomorrow, January 18th.  College employees are calling and making personal contact with students who were enrolled last fall semester but had not registered for spring semester classes by January 15th.

 

            The Board of Regents met last week and are discussing issues regarding last spring’s vote in the Bitterroot to create a community college district.  Each of Montana’s three community colleges had Board representatives present who met with the Regents to discuss how we can work together to better serve students.  The community colleges are putting together a proposal as to what they would like to see in terms of their relationship with the Board of Regents.

 

            Jane will be traveling to Washington, D.C. in February with two of the college’s Trustees to attend the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) National Legislative Summit.  Jane and the Trustees will be meeting with Montana’s Senators and Congressman while in Washington.

 

VI.       DEVELOPMENT REPORT

 

            Ruth Ackroyd shared copies of an article published in the recent issue of Flathead Living highlighting the FVCC Foundation and Board members, Leslie Mercord and Suzy Williams.

 

            Several new endowed scholarship funds were established at year end, including: the Certainty Endowed Scholarship Fund; the Ila B. Dousman Endowed Scholarship Fund; the Bill and Lois McClaren Endowed Scholarship Fund;  the Paul Boe Mosby Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund; and the Paul T. Williams Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund.

 

            The Whitefish Credit Union Community Pride Scholarship Selection Committee recently met and awarded $2,100 in scholarship awards to seven students for the spring 2008 semester.  This scholarship fund was established to support students who “fall through the cracks” and may not be eligible for traditional forms of financial aid.

 

            Ruth referred Board members to the annual fund drive summary report behind the Financial Information tab in the Board notebooks.  To date, the annual fund drive has raised over $59,000 and netted over $56,000, and gifts will continue to be receipted through the end of June.  Ruth noted that she plans on conducting an analysis/comparison of the annual fund appeal over recent years.

 

            Sue Evans reported that the scholarship selection committee met Thursday, January 10th to read and rate scholarship applications for spring 2008 awards, resulting in 33 students receiving scholarships totaling $16,150.  The committee will meet again on Thursday, March 20th to read and rate applications for the upcoming 2008-2009 academic year.

 

            Ruth noted that the Foundation will be making its semi-annual scholarship and program transfer to the college later this month.  Foundation program money is supporting art, surveying, forestry, the Nonprofit Development Partnership (NpDP), and Flathead on the Move, funded through an Andrus Family grant from the Surdna Foundation.

 

A meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, January 22nd to begin planning for the 2008 tours of the Bibler Home and Gardens, and Ruth invited Board members to attend.  2007 tours raised over $8,000 and proceeds are combined with Christmas Tree Excellence proceeds to award FVCC Foundation scholarships.  The Foundation Executive Committee will be looking at an amount to recommend to the Board of Directors at the March meeting to allocate for FVCC Foundation scholarships for FY 2009 and FY 2010.  Funds available to cover scholarship awards include:

 

                        2007 Bibler Tour Proceeds                                 $     8,160.00

                        2007 Christmas Tree Excellence Proceeds               25,833.73

 

                                                             Total Available            $    33,993.73

 

FVCC Foundation scholarships cover full tuition and fees which for the current 2007-2008 academic year total $1,540 per semester or $3,080 per year for a full time student taking between 14 and 18 credits, however, tuition will likely increase for the 2008-2009 academic year.  The Foundation awarded four scholarships totaling $12,040 for the 2007-2008 academic year.

 

Ruth noted that Events and Projects Committee members agreed to allocate a portion of Christmas Tree Excellence proceeds to the Culinary Arts program, possibly for scholarships or to assist students in purchasing knives and whites, and a portion of the proceeds are usually allocated to the Foundation’s Christmas Tree Excellence Endowment Fund.  Culinary Arts Instructor, Hillary Ginepra, has been asked to prepare a proposal on how CTE proceeds could best benefit the Culinary Arts students.

 

Ruth reported that Mark and Debi Rolfing and the Mark and Debi Rolfing Foundation have supported the Building for Success campaign through a donation of $5,000 to name the Sick Room in the Early Childhood Center.  The campaign committee will be setting appointments in the coming months and Board members will be contacted for suggestions of potential donors to the campaign.

 

VII.      NEW BUSINESS

 

            Kathy Hughes, Vice President of Instruction, thanked the Foundation Board for the opportunity for faculty and staff to apply for the 2008 Enhancement Grants.  A faculty representative will be available at the March Board meeting to report on the use of the grant funds.  The final session of the Math Colloquium, funded through one of the Foundation Enhancement Grants, is being held this afternoon.  All five of FVCC’s math instructors and several local high school math instructors attended the Colloquium to learn about using technology in the classroom.

 

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 4:25 p.m.