Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Veterans' Association

  BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING #1 (NEC #295)
JUNE 8 & 9 2008

The following members were present:

National President                 Larry Power
Vice President                        Tim Hoban
Treasurer                               John Religa
Secretary                                Bill Maxwell                         
Directors:                               Cal Small
                                                Dave Leblanc
                                                Nick Shaigec
                                                Jim Forsyth (Sunday only)
Immediate Past President     Rick Morris
Board of Governors              Dale Lively
Executive Director                Bill Gidley
                                             

1.  CALL TO ORDER

President Larry Power called the meeting to order at 08:00h.

2.  OPENING REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT:

President Power welcomed everyone with a special welcome to the newest member, Jim Forsyth.    He explained the new Standing Committee structure which will include Corporate (John Religa, Chair), Marketing (Rick Morris, Chair), Benefits (Cal Small, Chair), Communications (Dave Leblanc, Chair) and Membership (Dave LeBlanc, Chair) Committees.  

He also proposed to establish a Veterans’ Advocate for former members of the RCMP with someone who has a working knowledge of the Association, knows the applicable legislation and knows how to deal with people.  Power advised that Dale Lively would be the Advocate on a trial basis for a year and would be able to assist the President in such matters.  This pilot would be assessed at the next AGM.  Terms of reference will be developed by Dale Lively and the National Secretary. It was agreed that this position would be a very positive initiative and by handling routine enquiries from across Canada, would allow the Executive Director to free up time for other matters.  The Advocate would have to work with the Executive Director to get his contacts and networks.

Power stated that he would like to see Directors be assigned to act as monthly contacts and to able to report to/from various Divisions across Canada.   Jim Forsyth would be responsible for Victoria, CVI, Vancouver, Prince George and the Yukon.  Nick Shaigec would cover South Okanagan, Okanagan, Shuswap, Kamloops, Lethbridge, Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton (including the Northwest Territories).  Dave LeBlanc would cover Regina, Prince Albert and Saskatoon Divisions and Manitoba while Rick Morris would cover Thunder Bay, Toronto, Georgian Bay and Golden Horseshoe.   Cal Small would be responsible for Ottawa, Kingston and London Divisions and Tim Hoban would be the point of contact for Montreal, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador Divisions. 

Power would like to continue the President’s newsletter but might do so on a quarterly basis as a Board of Director’s to be prepared immediately after a Board meeting.  Rick Morris will be responsible for preparing the newsletter and Bill Maxwell will continue to be the gatekeeper to the website.  Power also reinforced that the Association should be using the Pony Express and the Quarterly for communication. 

Power also said he would like to see the Treasurer’s Report and that of the Executive Director separate from the Corporate Governance Committee in future agendas.  The National Secretary advised this would be done. 

3.  CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES 295:          

Moved/Seconded:  Hoban/Leblanc APPROVED

4.  APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
 
Moved/Seconded Maxwell/Religa APPROVED.

5.  CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
 

1. Report from the Committee Chair:   John Religa, Chair referred to the Annual Report which had been distributed at the AGM.  Religa reviewed the situation on voting procedures and advised the Board that the Committee would be working on amended voting procedures and updating the By-laws of the Association in preparation for AGN 2009.
2. Treasurer’s Report:  John Religa advised that the financial reports had been distributed at the AGM.  He advised that he would be prepared to change the budget and finances to comply with the new financial year which starts on 2008.07.01.   Moved/Seconded Religa/Maxwell that the Treasurer’s Report be accepted. APPROVED.

3. Executive Director Report: Bill Gidley provided an overview of his activities and advised that he has continued to attend various committee meetings on behalf of the Association. The VIP program is before Cabinet and there is a lot of interest in this issue.  The Pension Advisory Committee is now being chaired by Deputy Commissioner Peter Martin, the new Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).  The Marriage after 60 issue will be before the Committee and there will be a joint submission with the Canadian Forces.  Pension portability is also a major issue and has a major impact on RCMP recruiting.  Gidley also advised that there will be an announcement on payment of a Cadet allowance.  He also advised  there has been considerable changes in the Human Resources Sector of the RCMP at Headquarters and that changes will continue for some time.  Larry Power thanked Gidley for providing an overview of his activities. 

6.  COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE:
 
1. Report from the Committee Chair:  Dave LeBlanc advised that a communication strategy is being developed and would require input from Board members.  He advised that President Power had been interviewed by SRR communications and that he hoped there would be a series of articles explaining the Association to RCMP members.  There should also be an objective to have a joint meeting of the SRR’s and the Association during our AGM 2009 in Whitehorse.  He hoped that the Pony Express and the Quarterly would also be used in our communication plan.
 
2. Website Update:  Bill Maxwell advised he is continuing to work with the Webmaster to improve the site and its content.  Maxwell said that Divisions were advised at the AGM to ensure they are accessible electronically and have contact links established with the national website.  More information is also required from Divisions on their activities and events to ensure more national coverage on the national website across the country and this will be a top priority in the coming months.

7.  BENEFITS COMMITTEE:

1. Report on Insurance Committee:  Cal Small advised there have been discussions on policy administration (Treasury Board vs the RCMP).  All policies are in good shape.  Small also stated that everyone is aware of the liability issue and the requirement for general liability insurance.

1.  Benefit Trust Fund:  John Religa advised that the Benefit Trust Fund application form (3568) has to be changed and as it is an RCMP form, he is working with the RCMP to have this done.  The covering letter for the BTF applications should be reviewed and Hoban & Religa will have a conference call on this.   Religa would also be looking at streamlining the processing of donations from both BTF accounts (with $50 from each).

8. QUARTERLY TRUST:

1. Cal Small advised that the circulation of the Quarterly is stable with the Regular Member component down and the Veterans subscriptions increasing somewhat.  Small advised that the first Academic Achievement Award was presented in May and all troop members were given a subscription for a year. 
2. They would have to subsequently sign up for a future subscription.  The Quarterly has budgeted up to $5,000 for this initiative.
3. Small also advised that the Special Edition Quarterly would be due out shortly and that Bill Beahen, a member of the Board of Trustees would be writing an article to promote the Quarterly. 

1. MARKETING COMMITTEE:

Dale Lively stated that the Association needs a policy on the Badge (Crest) of the Association and for the licensed selling of programs and the development of affinity programs to benefit the membership. A general discussion then followed on what is presently available from such companies as Moores, Speedy Muffler, etc.  The President advised that the Marketing Committee would be chaired by Rick Morris and that the Committee could look into what policies are required and report back to the Board.     

10. NOMINATING & MEMBERSHIP:

1. Dale Lively advised that the Nominating Committee had completed its assignment with the election and installation of new Board members at the AGM.  The President stated that the Membership Committee would be chaired by Dave Le Blanc and that membership would be his priority during his term as President.
2. Rick Morris advised that the RCMP Foundation will continue to support the Association and that he would continue to work to enhance the relationship between the Foundation and the Association as reinforced in the Parchment signed at the AGM in Kelowna last year. 

11.  OLD BUSINESS:

1.  Vancouver Housing Association:   Bill Maxwell requested that this matter be deferred as he had discussed the position of Vancouver Division on corporate liability for the Housing Association with Ed Wilson during the AGM Wilson advised that he would get back to Maxwell. DEFERRED.
 
2 Translation:  There is a requirement for official notices to be translated and the Board will have to develop policy to cover other areas such as newsletters, possibly by developing a contract for such services for the Association.  Bill Maxwell pointed out at a previous (NEC) meeting, a proposed policy was discussed and that official notices were to be translated through the RCMP and those things which could not be done then the Association would have to fund within.  John Religa stated that when such a policy is finalized, it should be placed in the Admin. Manual.  Bill Maxwell will liaise with Nick Shaigec on this policy.

3. Status of NWT Division:  Nick Shaigec asked that this matter be deferred until the next meeting of the Board.  DEFERRED.

12. NEW BUSINESS:

1. Format of AGM’s in future:  There was considerable discussion on future AGM’s.  Generally, the Board members were happy with the format of the Winnipeg AGM and felt that the Monday session for Board members should be continued.  It enabled Board members to have a face to face discussion based on the events of the recent AGM and to set the strategic direction for the coming years.  It was agreed that this would be done for AGM 2009 in Whitehorse (June 1, 2009).  There would also have to be Board of Directors meeting and an Advisory Council meeting prior to the AGM.  The National Secretary will work with the 2009 Organizing Committee to arrange.

1. National Office Administration:  Bill Maxwell advised that the recommendations of the Governance Review report have not been reviewed or an action plan established to implement them.  General discussion followed and it was agreed that with the streamlining of the Board of Directors, a review of the role of the Executive Director and the National Office was essential.  President Power established a four person project team to provide recommendations to the Board at the September meeting.  The team includes Bill Maxwell, John Religa, Cal Small and the Executive Director, Bill Gidley. 

1. Policy Review re Annual Dues received by end of March:  John Religa advised that there is a problem with some divisions being extremely late in submitting their dues to the National Treasurer while other divisions have submitted their duties early in the calendar year.  Religa will review the issue and provide recommendations to the Board.

1. Terms of Reference Executive Director:  Bill Maxwell advised that it was necessary to review the recommendations of the Governance Review report as it relates to the duties and responsibilities of the Executive Director.  It was agreed that this review was timely and would be done by the project team established by President Power for the National Office Administration (Maxwell, Religa, Small and Gidley).  The team would report to the Board at the September meeting. 

1. Participation on External Committees:  Bill Maxwell advised that there were several committees, both RCMP and external, on which the representation from the Association should be reviewed and broadened.  There was general discussion on the various committees and it was agreed that the National Secretary would obtain further information including as to whether or not expenses would be reimbursed for committee members attending from outside Ottawa.       

13:  GOOD OF THE ASSOCIATION:  None

14:  NEXT MEETING:

Wednesday, September 10th  2008 at 12:00h (Ottawa time).  

15. CLOSING REMARKS:    President Power thanked everyone for their input and good work.   He is looking forward to the term ahead and wants to continue the momentum on various initiatives that have been launched under Rick Morris.  He also said that he is giving increased membership of the Association a top priority.  He is asking all members to bring in at least one new member which would effectively double our membership.  President Power is looking forward to working with the members of the Board and the various committees. 

Concluded: 14:00h
 
 W.E. Maxwell
 National Secretary
 Ottawa
bmaxwell@trytel.net

2008.07.14