Brazos Valley Chapter TSCPA
Minutes, Board of Directors Meeting
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Attendees: Attending were Rodney Horrell, James Larkin, Linda Johnson, Amy Restivo, Duane Muehlbrad, Diana Wagner, Lyn Kuciemba, and Chris Rankin. Absent were Jennifer Fox, Kay Dobbins, Tracy Stewart, and Amber Bass.
Call to Order: Rodney Horrell, President, called the meeting to order.
Minutes: Minutes from the August 28, 2012 meeting were handed out. A motion was made by James to approve the minutes and the motion was seconded by Lyn. The motion was unanimously carried.
Financial Report: The financial report was presented as of August 31, 2012. The cash in the bank was $32,065.20. There were payroll liabilities, for the current quarter, of $590.12
Net income, as of August 31, 2012, was $6,663.53. Income from CPE was $3,801.50. Income from scholarship contributions was $120 and income from TSCPA dues was $8,320.
In addition to salary and payroll tax expenses, there were $1,454.52 in travel expense and $2,000 in Scholarship expense.
James made a motion to approve the financial statements as of August 31, 2012. Duane seconded the motion and the motion was unanimously carried.
Committee Reports
CPE
CPE Task Force: Duane said that he would confirm with Dr. David Holt regarding the CPE that is scheduled for July 29th and 30th next year. Duane said that he would wait until closer to that date to talk about the content with Dr. Holt. It was decided that the Chapter would use the Brazos Center for this particular CPE. There is a $100 deposit required in addition to proof of general liability insurance.
It was discussed about possibly having Brandt Glover, with Seidel, Schroeder, and Company, speak about sales tax related issues. Brandt asked the Chapter to provide him the exact topic and date that would work best. Also, it was discussed that Bob Owen, Director of TSCPA Regulatory and Legislative Team, could speak for about 15-20 minutes during our holiday luncheon in December. It was also suggested that Christi Mondrik, the past Austin Chapter President, might also be interested in speaking as well. Again, we discussed identity theft as a CPE opportunity and it was decided that this topic might be a better choice than the sales tax topic for the end of November. Finally, another suggested topic was regarding the new procedures that the IRS has in place for fraudulent returns and claims.
Free CPE September 25: The Chapter will provide its first free CPE opportunity today from 3:00 pm – 5:00pm. The topic will be about health care reform. Sharon Brown, from Brown & Company Insurance Services, and Gentry Woodard, Director of Development: Scott & White Healthcare Foundation will be the speakers.
Miscellaneous: It was discussed that the best time to hold the Ethics CPE would be after May 15th.
Also, Linda said that The Bank & Trust, on Texas Avenue and Villa Maria, has a community room that is available free of charge. She said that the room will hold about 30-40 seats and it can be used after hours. It was discussed that this might be an option for the Chapter’s free CPE opportunity in November.
Regarding the CPE in July with Dr. David Holt, it will cost the Chapter $150 to rent an overhead projector. It might be better for the Chapter to go ahead and purchase an overhead projector. This is something that will be voted on later.
Career Awareness: On October 24, 2012, from 9am – 2pm, the Youth to Career Fair will be held at the Brazos County Expo Center in which the Chapter will participate. There are two time slots to volunteer: the first one is from about 9:00am – 12:15pm and the second one is from about 12:45pm – 2:00pm. Diana said that about 2/3 of the children come in the morning and so it would be best if there were at least three volunteers for the morning shift. She said that two volunteers should be sufficient in the afternoon. Currently, there are three volunteers for the morning shift and two, plus Diana, for the afternoon shift. Diana did say that she will get to the Expo Center and set up between 7:30 – 8:30 that morning.
Regarding giveaways for the Career Fair, it was decided that the Chapter would purchase 30 $5 gift cards to McDonalds, Sonic, etc. Lyn said that she would contact Donna Fritz, at TSCPA, for a care package of goodies. Diana said that, once she received the “Making Change” game poster board from Neal Lee, she would take a look and see if it needed to be updated.
Diana also said that she was working with the College Station Independent School District regarding a speaking opportunity and that she may ask Neal if he would like to participate.
Membership: At the August 28th meeting, a list of members, who had not yet paid, was distributed to the group. The names on the list were then divided up and everyone made a commitment to call their assigned members before the next meeting
As a result of our calls, five members renewed their membership. There were several members that messages were left with and there were several members who had decided not to renew their memberships due to the economy and various other reasons.
There were still seventeen members who had not renewed their membership.
Newsletter: Items to be included in the upcoming newsletter include:
· Holiday luncheon
· Career Fair on October 24th
· Free CPE opportunity at the end of November
· Scholarship Luncheon on October 16th
· Food drive on December 6th
Public Relations/Financial Literacy: James will be volunteering to do the PSA, on KBTX, on October 5th, regarding the Scholarship Luncheon. Also, there will be a new ad appearing in the Chamber’s directory. Chris also said that he was looking into various community calendars to see if the Scholarship Luncheon could be added to them.
2012-13 Goals
Website Enhancement: The Board decided to use the gentleman that Tracy Stewart uses for webpage maintenance. Tracy said that he will charge the Chapter $50/month with no blogs. It was decided that Catherine Lee should be paid for one month’s work, which amounts to $50, and then the Chapter would begin using the new gentleman.
Linda said that she has recently added the Chapter Bylaws and the minutes to the website and asked us to check the website and give her feedback. Linda also added the Scholarship Luncheon sponsors.
Linda also reminded the Board that one of the suggestions to enhance the Chapter’s website was to include a picture of and short biography of each Board member. Linda asked each Board member to send her each of those items.
Old Business
Scholarship Fundraising Luncheon October 16th: The Chapter’s annual Scholarship Luncheon will be held on October 16th at Outback Steakhouse. There are a few of last year’s sponsors that James has not heard from, including Anco Insurance, Ed Slovacek, Kay Perrone, North Western Mutual and Prosperity Bank.
New Business
Bylaws Update: Linda said that the update to the Chapter’s bylaws would require a Chapter vote. This would be voted on at the upcoming holiday luncheon in December. Some of the updates to the bylaws are regarding the slate of nominees, the number of members that can make up the Board of Directors, and the Business and Industry at large position.
Holiday Luncheon: The location for the Chapter’s holiday luncheon has been narrowed down to three possibilities: The Kyle House, The Astin Mansion, and Christopher’s.
At $25 per member, the Chapter would need to subsidize, per member, $10.18 at The Kyle House, $8.83 at The Astin Mansion, and $23.92 at Christopher’s.
At $30 per member, the Chapter would need to subsidize, per member, $5.18 at The Kyle House, $3.83 at The Astin Mansion, and $18.92 at Christopher’s.
At $35 per member, the Chapter would need to subsidize, per member, $.18 at The Kyle House and $13.92 at Christopher’s. The Chapter would not need to subsidize any amount for The Astin Mansion.
Last year the cost, per member at The Kyle House, was $25 and the Chapter subsidized $6.46.
There was much discussion regarding the menu at each location, the type of setting-buffet vs. being served, the cost per member, and the amount that the Chapter could comfortably subsidize.
James said that he would look into some additional locations for the holiday luncheon, such as Messina Hof and Miramont Country Club. He also said that he would check with Christopher’s to see what other menu options were available. Once he gathers more information, he will email the Board so that a decision can be made before the next meeting.
Other: The 2011 tax return for the Chapter was complete and a copy of the 990 was passed out. It was decided that it was ready to be sent in once Rodney’s and Amber’s addresses were updated.
Meeting Dates and Time: The Chapter’s next meeting will be held on October 23, 2012, at noon, at Thompson, Derrig, & Craig.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 1:16 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Restivo
Secretary