WAVE Board Meeting

Tuesday, 22 Nov. 2016

In Attendance:  Miriam Kelty, Virginia Hodgkinson, Eddie Rivas, Pat Clark, Pat Scalero, Barbara Sullivan, L Liddle, Don Moldover and Gail Kutner; convened at 10:10 am.

WAVE Board Nominations discussion

Five board members seats are up for election in Jan. 2017 – Miriam K, Barbara S, L Liddle, Don M and Pat S.  All five are willing to be nominated to serve another two-year term, if confirmed by the membership during the January Annual Meeting.  Board members who have one year left to serve include Virginia H, Eddie R, Pat C, and Gail K. 

Miriam will contact individuals who have expressed interest in WAVE activities in the past to determine if they might be willing to be nominated for WAVE Board membership, in hopes of confirming three candidates for a total of twelve Board members. In order of contact/consideration (please excuse misspellings of names): Barbara Gage/Glover Park, Bob Craycraft/SW Waterfront, Lorna Grenadier/Foggy Bottom West End, Shannon Crockett/East Rock Creek, Rob Fleming/Mt. Pleasant, and Eva Cohen/Bradley Hills. 

The Board will recommend a new slate of officers with the following configuration: Three Presidential CoChairs representing DC, MD & VA (Miriam K, Barbara S & ???); no Vice President; two Secretaries – Eddie R as Corporate and L Liddle as Correspondence Secretaries; and Virginia as Treasurer (not discussed). 

We also agreed to change the WAVE Membership meetings to three per calendar year, “Trimester” meetings, which can be announced during the January Annual Meeting. 

By-Laws Committee and discussion

L Liddle will send suggested by-laws changes to the By-Laws Committee for consideration by 12 Dec. 2016.  Barbara S will research and note on record instructions for filing by-law changes, etc. in Virginia given that WAVE was incorporated in this state.  The By-Laws Committee will make sure that all formal, original paperwork is collected and forwarded to the Corporate Secretary as the custodian of all Corporate records and that electronic copies are made as well.    

Next Quarterly/Annual Meeting discussion

The January Quarterly meeting is scheduled to also serve as the Annual Membership Meeting for official business of WAVE.  [Given that the third Monday in January is the MLKing holiday, perhaps the meeting should be held on the following Monday, 23 January 2017.] Miriam will investigate speakers for a presentation on both Elder Abuse and At Risk Elders, or on Alzheimer’s and Other Related Dementias, to be determined.

Discussion on Communications/Correspondence and Webmaster Work

Discussion centered on the need to differentiate between the responsibilities of posting updates on the WAVE website vs. developing a WAVE newsletter, and the need for individual(s) to take on those responsibilities.  Presently an intern from the MD Volunteer Center updates the calendar on our website.  There was agreement that a WAVE newsletter might be developed, perhaps by the three Presidential Co-Chairs, that would offer resource articles and calendar updates from each of the three geographic jurisdictions that they represent.  This newsletter would serve as a communications vehicle between the three Trimester Membership meetings (every four months) proposed.  Miriam and Don will develop a short job description for this newsletter editing and posting responsibility that will be communicated to all WAVE email recipients and announced during the January meeting. 

Community Conversations and Community Research Project

Anthony Nerino reached out to the WAVE Board with a proposal for research in an email dated 16 Nov. 2016.  [I stand corrected – not everyone on the board received the email.] Both Miriam and Don communicated with Anthony Nerino, and Virginia read over the materials; all three had slightly different understandings of his proposal and WAVE’s potential involvement.  Therefore, Miriam will reach out to set up a one-hour conference call for Mr. Nerino to speak to the Board directly. This call will occur after 07 Dec 2016.    

IT Committee

Don M reported that the IT Committee has met with three developers of village management software, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, but none of which is the ultimate village software with administrative, financial, web and event management capabilities.  Therefore, it is his opinion that although the Committee will continue to search for more appropriate models of village management software packages, they are prepared to serve as consultants offering their ideas for villages who make such requests.

Meeting adjourned at 12:02 pm. 

WAVE Board Meeting

Monday, 20 Jun. 2016

In Attendance:  Miriam Kelty, Virginia Hodgkinson, Bob McDonald, Eddie Rivas, Pat Clark, Pat Scalero, Barbara Sullivan, L Liddle, Don Moldover, George Smith and Gail Kutner; convened at 11:33 am.

VTVN & Rand Survey discussion

Miriam K reported that UC Berkeley’s survey instrument was not relevant to all volunteer village models.  Another survey initiated by the Rand Corp., the CDC and AARP was in discussion; decided to ask local VTVN Board members Peggy Simpson, Barbara Gauge and Carol Paquet to report to WAVE the status of that survey. Miriam and Gail K are on the VTVN Research Committee scheduled to meet on the 23^rd June; will report back to the WAVE BoD.  Barbara S will contact VTVN for more information on any/all ongoing surveys of villages.

VA Neighborhood Coalition

Had short discussion regarding other local/regional gatherings of villages in the area, and what their relationships to WAVE should be.  Gail K will reach out to Patricia Rohr from Fairfax County for more information on her gathering of Fairfax County’s villages.  We know that there is also a “Senior Agenda” in development in Maryland, with participation of some WAVE members.  Don M reported that there was a link on the WAVE website to a short, cartoon video on the Potomac Community Village that might be adapted or serve as a model for a future WAVE video presentation. 

Next Quarterly Meeting discussion

The next WAVE Quarterly meeting is due to occur in DC in September; we settled on  Monday the 26^th Sept. Miriam reported that John Bradshaw of Georgetown Home Care may be interested in sponsoring the meeting.  We decided to have an open discussion for the meeting agenda such we gather information and/or questions from the membership to guide future WAVE activity. 

Membership Status Report

Discussion centered around the need to have an updated Membership report for the September Quarterly meeting. It would also be helpful to have an updated Treasurer’s report that shows bother revenues vs. income for WAVE.  Barbara S and Pat S will work to produce such updates. 

Ongoing Projects

L Liddle reported that he would shortly be in touch with the WAVE Census Committee members for updated WAVE member information.  Committee members include: Gail K, Virginia H, Pat S, Don M, Bob McD and Barbara Gage who will be approached by Pat Clark to determine willingness to serve. 

Don M reported that the IT Committee met with a potential developer of village management software, but has been waiting to hear back from him. He need to send out an RFP to get additional ideas/interest. The committee hopes to have a completed product in approximately three years, and is also looking for financial support.  They hope software can address both scheduling needs and communication needs for villages.

Miriam reported that the initial chapters of the revised Village guide are being reviewed and out for comment. The hope is that the guide will be available during the September Montgomery County Village Gathering. 

Other Business

We held a short discussion about what role WAVE might hold during the fall meeting of the national VTV Network in Columbus OH.  Both Miriam and Barbara reported plans on attending and possibly participating in workshop presentations.  They will report back afterwards.    

Meeting adjourned at 1:40 pm. 

WAVE Quarterly Meeting on Monday, April 25, 2016

The spring quarterly meeting of WAVE will be on April 25, 2016 from 9:00-noon.  The program will start at 9:30, leaving a half hour prior to that for socializing and refreshments.  We will meet at Langston-Brown Community & Senior Center ,2121 N Culpepper St, Arlington, VA 22207. Parking is available. Google http://parks.arlingtonva.us/locations/langston-brown-community-center-park/ for directions.

An agenda will be posted here shortly.  Our program will feature a speaker from the National Institute on Aging who will talk about current research on socialization and the risks associated with social isolation and loneliness. Small group discussion will follow the formal program.

The WAVE technology committee is exploring ideas and working on a development project to improve village administration.  Our goal is software to coordinate and schedule services that can perform the functions you need and is very user friendly.  We welcome participation from administrators or office volunteers who use Club Express and other software products to serve as Quality Assurance coaches in this project.

WAVE meetings are open.  Please let colleagues and village people know that they are welcome to attend.

WAVE Board Meeting

Monday, 29 Feb. 2016

In Attendance:  Miriam Kelty, Virginia Hodgkinson, Bob McDonald, Eddie Rivas, Pat Clark, Pat Scalero, Barbara Sullivan, L Liddle, Don Moldover, George Smith and Gail Kutner; convened at 1:05 pm.

By Laws discussion

Defined Class 1 WAVE members as dues-paying members (eligible to vote for Board officials and formal business) versus Class 2 members as Developing Villages with discounted rates. 

Although the Board currently numbers eleven members, by laws allow for between 3-13 members. All members have two-year terms and can serve for up to three terms. 

The election for the board members is held during the Annual Meeting, usually held in January.

If we choose to change the bylaws, it should be done by the end of 2016 in order to facilitate filing our revised IRS 990 form. 

L Liddle will chair a By Laws Committee to review the bylaws; members include Pat C., Virginia .H and Eddie R. The By Laws Committee will review the possibilities of naming “co-conveners” and the need for geographic distribution of officers; it will also visit other issues as they arise. 

Vision & Mission Statement Revisions

All agreed by majority vote (6:5) that the Vision statement was too vague, and agreed to replace the geographic reference from “world” to “region.”

New Census Committee

L Liddle will also chair a new Census Committee to organize a census of WAVE villages for updated information.  Committee members include: Gail K, Virginia H, Pat S, Don M, Bob McD and Barbara Gage who will be approached by Pat Clark to determine willingness to serve. 

WAVE Spring Meeting   

Date: Monday, 25 April 2016, 9:30 am to noon, in Northern Virginia; Gail K will work with Miriam to determine location, agenda and speaker.  A potential topic for a meeting speaker is to discuss the importance of social interaction as we age. 

WAVE Domain Name

Don M will use our email addresses to assure access to the WAVE Board pages on our webpage; he will maintain management of the domain name and payments, working with Virginia H as the Treasurer. 

Village Guide

Miriam reported that Chapters 1 thru 5 were with an editor under review, and would be distributed to Board members for review as well.  When completed, the intent is that the document remains a living document by being posted on the WAVE website for public consumption. Protocols will need to be determined for future edits, etc.  We hope to have it posted by summer 2016.

IT Group

Don M reported on the decision to forgo building on either of the two databases currently being used by WAVE members and developed locally.  Rather there will be an effort to create a new sustainable database which can be locally supported and enhanced without too much difficulty and costs. 

The IT Group also met with the developer of the Village Rides/Rides Scheduler software who may be interested in developing a new database product for WAVE members. Of concern however is that fact that the developer said he would move forward only if he could be assured of villages’ interests to purchase the product.  Since WAVE cannot guarantee such participation from its members, Don M will poll WAVE members, and would like to report back to WAVE during a Quarterly Meeting.  Barbara S and Eddie R agreed to work with Don M to develop the survey instrument for the poll and review the poll’s findings and determine what type of presentation would make the most sense for a WAVE meeting. 

Other Business

At this time, there is no formal webmaster for the WAVE website as Pete Olivere ceased his maintenance of the website.  Don M will work on this until other arrangements are made.

We started a discussion about the need for a Membership Chair for WAVE. This topic will need to be revisited during the next Board meeting. 

Adjourned at 2:40 pm. 

WAVE Quarterly Meeting on Monday, Jan. 11, 2016

The Washington Area Village Exchange (WAVE) held its Winter Quarterly Meeting on Monday, 11 January 2016, from 9:30 am to 12:00 noon.  The meeting was at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814.

WAVE President Miriam Kelty welcomed everyone to the meeting and outlined the agenda for both segments of the WAVE meeting, including the election of WAVE Board members. She thanked Mandy DeBarrs of Help Unlimited for sponsoring the meeting’s refreshments and noted that her company’s materials were available. Virginia Hodgkinson, WAVE Treasurer, reported that thirty-one villages had paid WAVE dues and thus have one vote during the election of the Board. The guest speaker, Peter Davis, was then introduced.

Peter Davis, “Purpose, Passion, Power Branding”

Mr. Davis opened with the basic premise that branding is no more than telling your story towards leading with a difference towards business strategies. He stated the importance of being guided through the creative investigation of your story and that we need to get “unstuck,” i.e. open to change. Davis stressed that you must avoid an ambiguous value proposition, always ready to answer directly “What’s in it for me?” or “I’m not ready yet.”

Davis shared his handout that lays out strategic and financial reasons that it’s important to pay attention to your brand, including that it can outline your entity’s core promise using various modalities (website, written materials, etc.) and assuring that your brand is aligned with your promise.

• Brands are the signals sent to transmit your promise, a reflection of your core values and beliefs.
• Brands are built from the inside out, not externally.
• Cull your ideas; synthesize them so that your talking points are a summary that organizes and gives structure to your ideas.
• Your story is compelling if relevant and makes a difference to others.
• Your vision looks to the future; your mission is your values and beliefs that get you to your vision.
• The key to being universal is to be specific about your purpose, audience, etc.

 Information from the Business meeting can be found here: WAVE Business Meeting January 11, 2016   (WAVE Board Meeting April 27, 2015 in pdf format)

WAVE Board Conference Call

Wed. 18 Nov. 2015

In Attendance:

Miriam Kelty                      Bob McDonald                            Eddie Rivas

Virginia Hodgkinson           Pat Clark                                    L. Liddle       

Don Moldover                   Iris Molotsky                               Pat Scolaro

Barbara Sullivan

Unable To Attend:             Peggy Gervasi

Discussion:  

1) Strategic Plan --

Reviewed the Mission Statement found in Paragraph 2.3 Purpose of the WAVE By-Laws (http://wavevillages.org/images/PDF/WAVEbylaws_4-16-2013.pdf).  Agreed that Barbara S will take that language to draft a shorter, more direct Mission Statement by 4^th Dec. for review and comments by Board members. 

Revisited discussion regarding the role of WAVE as an organization. Agreed that for strategic planning purposes, WAVE focus on assisting in membership communications, connecting with each other and providing assistance as needed. 

Given the importance of collecting information for policy and other reasons (seeking funding, recruitment, volunteer development, etc.), collecting regional data is important and something that WAVE may be able to do for its members.  Agreed that a Board committee will convene to make recommendations for Board consideration on how to proceed in this area, looking to other village data collection efforts, specifically Andy Scharlach’s efforts at the UC Berkeley.  The Committee will be chaired by L Liddle; members: Miriam K., Virginia H., Bob McD. Pat S., Don M. and an invitation to Barbara Gage (on behalf of Pat C.).

2) Board Nominations –

Iris and Peggy will step down from the Board in January, opening up two slots. 

Virginia, Bob, Pat C, Eddie and L – 2 year terms end but all are willing to stand for reelection. 

Miriam, Barbara, Don and Pat S – all have another full year to serve on the Board.

L will send out a notice to operating Village asking for nominations for the Board and its officers from member Villages before the winter quarterly meeting (11 Jan. 2016). 

3) WAVE-Sponsored Memberships –

It had been proposed that WAVE purchase a VTVN membership, which it would make available to up to 10 individuals representing villages in development.  However in conversation with VTVN, they recommended purchasing six temporary memberships at $100/6 months with 10 access points.  All agreed that Virginia as Treasurer purchase one full WAVE membership with 10 access points as originally proposed; Barbara will assist.

4) Winter Quarterly Meeting –

Space is available at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Government Center on Tuesday 02 Feb., however that date does not work for two Board members. Therefore Miriam will attempt to reschedule for either the 11^th or 12^th Jan at the same location or at the Silver Spring Civic Center, and will reach out to some Montgomery County villages for their finding a sponsor for refreshments.  Update: Miriam confirmed Monday, 11 Jan 2016, 9:30 to noon at the B-CC Regional Govt. Center.

5) New Business –

Don M will again send an invitation to all Board members to test a WAVE Google Group for communication, something that he and Peggy G worked on for WAVE.

Pat C will provide a summary of the strategic plan efforts to date by the second week of December.

Miriam will work with Eddie and Virginia to develop an agenda for the Winter Quarterly meeting in Jan 2016. 

Meeting adjourned at 16:23 pm.