The Hearing Loss Association of America, California State Association (HLAA-CA) 2016 annual spring board of trustees meeting was held on Saturday, March 19, 2016, at the Holiday Inn Los Angeles Airport.
Attendees
The meeting was chaired by HLAA-CA president Zina Jawadi. Trustees attending were Jeff Chess (treasurer), Thibault Duchemin (new trustee), Marjorie (Maggie) Iller (new trustee), Zina Jawadi (president, trustee), Ram Kakkar (trustee), Nanci Linke-Ellis (Southern Coordinator ex officio), Gail Morrison (vice president, trustee), and Rachel Otto (new trustee).
Trustees Lynne Kinsey (trustee), Don Senger (Emeritus), and Meg Wallhegen (trustee National ex officio) were unable to attend.
Guests attending were: Toni Barrient (former HLAA Director of Member Services and Chapter Development), Maxine Barton-Bauman (former HLAA-CA trustee and secretary), Marla Peoples (HLAA City of Orange Chapter president), and Katie Wright (HLAA Long Beach Chapter president).
Captioning was provided by Teresa Russ.
With eight out of the 11 voting trustees attending, a quorum was reached.
Summary of Outcomes
New board members, Thibault Duchemin, Maggie Iller, and Rachel Otto assumed their new positions.
Rachel Otto was unanimously voted as secretary.
Minutes of the October 16, 2015 board meeting were unanimously approved.
The treasurer’s report and 2016 budget (prepared by Jeff Chess) were reviewed. The newsletter report (prepared by Grace Tiessen) was reviewed. The website report (by Zina Jawadi) was reviewed. The Southern Coordinator report (by Nanci Linke-Ellis) was reviewed. The advocacy report (by Gail Morrison) was reviewed.
The board unanimously voted to create an outreach committee to explore ideas such as social media expansion, meet-ups, public speeches, reaching parents of children with hearing loss, using Instagram, using Snapchat, etc.
The board unanimously voted to assign the Disability Capitol Action Day booth, 5/26/2016, Sacramento, to the outreach committee. The outreach committee will decide whether or not to participate in this event, and, if so, plan and execute the participation.
The board unanimously voted to assign the CAA Conference booth, 9/8-9/2016, San Diego, to the outreach committee. The outreach committee will decide whether or not to participate in this event, and, if so, plan and execute the potential participation.
The board unanimously voted to explore having a state tech expo by March of 2017.
The board unanimously voted that the bylaws committee will review the current bylaws and recommend any necessary changes.
The board unanimously voted that the top three 2016 goals for HLAA-CA are outreach, fundraising, and advocacy.
The board unanimously voted to reallocate the $1,000 leadership training budget to advocacy.
Announcements
After more than 25 years of service for hearing loss causes, Jim Montgomery, has retired from the HLAA-CA board. Jim served as Deputy Northern California Chapter Coordinator 1989-1992, Northern California Chapter Coordinator (appointed) 1993-1996, President, 1997-1998 and 2011-2014, and Board of Trustees member 1997-2016. The HLAA-CA board would like to thank Jim for his excellent service for almost three decades.