MINUTES

BOARD MEETING

TALLAHASSEE AREA CHAPTER OF NIGP, INC.

Date:June 17, 2008

Location:Leon County Conference Room, 2284 Miccosukee Road

Members Present: Janice Pursley, President,Jessie Moseley, Vice President, Don Tobin, Treasurer; Mark Lovell, Secretary;Steve Updike, Past President. Board MembersSusan Barr, Mable Jones, Wendi Sellers, Robert Threewitts and Ed Valla. Rhonda Mixon (Vendor Conference and Trade Show consultant) was also present

Members Absent:(None)

Treasurer Don Tobin called the meeting to order at 3:30PM

Minutes for the May Board meeting were approved. Robert Threewitts motioned and Steve Updike seconded.

Treasurer’s Report (Don Tobin): There are no changes to the information given at last week’s General Membership meeting and included in those minutes. Don asked us to e-mail or bring along our hotel confirmation information by July’s Board Meeting for payment.

Old Business:

Purchasing Conference and Trade Show: Rhonda Mixon provided the following updates:

  • As of June 17,43 vendors have signed up and selected their booth locations. Rhonda expects many others (hopefully one registration per day on average), and once again encouraged us to ask our regular vendors if they have signed up or are planning to attend.
  • The contract provided to Rhonda by Roger at the CivicCenter calls for an electrical fee of $50.00 instead of $40.00 (for up to 1,000 watts.) This is less than the value of the conference room (A-1) rented to the Tallahassee Women’s Club during last year’s Purchasing Conference and Trade Show. Rhonda will bring up our proposed settlement of this issue to Roger before the final contract is ready to be signed.
  • A direct link to the Trade Show Decorators, International website is now available from the ( registration portal.
  • Rhonda indicated that the purchase of two more tear-off notepad easels will be required for the breakout sessions.
  • Everyone was reminded (and the agencies already doing this were thanked!) to include Purchasing Conference/Trade Show information as a paragraph in their PO’s/DO’s.

NIGP Board Minutes

Page Two

May 20, 2008

  • The committee’s work in having name badges and registration materials ready and in individual envelopes was commended. In an effort to reduce bottlenecks, there will be separate vendor and attendee registration tables. Also, if new or replacement name badges are needed, this will be done in another location to speed the progress of the registration line. We have tablecloths in storage with the chapter logo, so plain folding tables are all that will be required.
  • The conference agenda is online on the website, (“Click here for schedule” - Also online are the up-to-the minute booth assignments and vendor commitments to attend, (Exhibit Booth Space –
  • Rhonda thanked Walt Bikowitz and the State Purchasing/MyFloridaMarketPlace team for sending out over 100,000 e-mails to MFMP and SPURS registered vendors. A follow-up e-mail will take place in July, and will be formatted in a lively style designed to catch these busy decision makers’ attention.
  • Tim Ellinor will check the online registrations to make certain that vendors and conference attendees have registered at the correct (website) location.
  • The participants for the “Town Hall Meeting” have been finalized. Linda South will represent DMS and Doug Darling will attend for DFS.
  • Steve announced that surplus DOR desktop and laptop computers are now available for our use during registration, as well as an “Internet Café” (available for checking e-mails, etc. during the Vendor Conference and Trade Show). He has loaded Operating Systems on these PC’s, and we have a router to connect them to the Internet wirelessly. Because of the problems experienced last year, we will need the Internet connection up and operating the previous evening (e.g., Tuesday, August 26.)
  • A growing issue is agencies’ inability to support their purchasing professionals’ attendance. A discussion ensued over reducing the cost from $50.00 to $25.00. It was pointed out that $25 barely covers the cost of both breakfasts, and after parking, this is a net loss to the Chapter. The following motion that addresses this issue passed unanimously:

Chapter members in good standing may apply for a stipend of $25.00 towards their registration fee. This will require a letter or e-mail from their supervisor indicating that their agency is unable to pay the registration fee. A limited number (per agency) of these stipends will be available, and the member will be responsible for payment of the remaining $25.00, and arranging their time away from the office (including taking Annual Leave if required.)

NIGP Board Minutes

Page Three

June 17, 2008

  • It should be noted that attendance at the Trade Show and one-on-one vendor sessions does not require registration or payment by the participating agency or individual. Wendi and Robert have done an outstanding job with 13 State Agencies agreeing to participate at this early date!

Linda South Letter: DMS Secretary Linda South has promised to distribute a letter to agency heads in order to pique interest and participation. Mark will follow up with Charles Covington to determine the progress of this effort.

October 14 (2nd Free Seminar): President Pursley confirmed availability of the rooms (meeting and lunch), and indicated that a Sonny’s catered lunch including two meats and side dishes are within our budget. Members will need to log in to and register online for each (AM and PM) session, along with their (free) lunch reservation.

TACNIGP’s 25th Anniversary Planning: Mark Lovell, Clark Rogers and Steve Updike are working to determine the names of the past presidents and officers that have served during the past 25 years. Steve is working with NIGP National to obtain this information, and Mark is trying to locate the “Presidents’ Plaque” with the engraved names of our ex-Chapter Presidents.

By-laws Update: Steve is still working on this project with assistance from many of the Board Members and Officers.

NIGP Board Minutes

Page Four

June 17, 2008

New Business:

Vacant Board Position and Meeting Date Change for November: A member contacted President Pursley to determine the status of Board Member Gloria Dixon. To recap, Gloria offered her resignation to Janice after she was laid-off from her position at DMS/Departmental Purchasing. This was brought to the Board’s attention at the April meeting.

The Board agreed to suspend Ms. Dixon, and give her 90-days to obtain a public purchasing position. Otherwise, her resignation would be accepted at that time. This period expires on July 15, and her status and resolution of this matter is expected to be discussed at the next Board Meeting.

Due to the November Lunch Meeting falling on November 11 (Veterans’ Day), the Board previously voted to move the meeting to the following week, November 18. One of our members may not be able to attend, and asked for a waiver in case missing this meeting caused him or her to miss out on the membership incentive (trip to the 2009 National Forum in St. Louis). This request was denied by the Board; we all have busy schedules and have to make sacrifices in order to keep the Chapter operating successfully.

National Forum – Workshop Reminder: President Pursley reminded us to complete our remaining registrations (hotel and breakout-session workshops; most individuals have already completed their airline reservations and conference registrations.)

Chapter Meetings/Seminar Schedule: Vice-President Moseley indicated that all but two of the monthly luncheon spots are booked. Here are the upcoming speakers:

July Alan Pippenger

August Joseph Goldstein

September Open

October Free Seminar/DMS at Lunch

November Open

December Installment Ceremony

Adjourn

Respectfully submitted by

Mark Lovell, 2008 Secretary

Tallahassee-Area Chapter of NIGP