Minutes of South Dakota RehabACTion Annual Meeting

Monday, March 3, 2008

            Ramkota Convention Center

Pierre, South Dakota

 

Call to Order:  Approximately 48 RehabACTion members gathered and the meeting was called to order by President Cindy Ryan. There was a quorum of more than the required 20 members present and in good standing for the annual meeting.

 

Board Members Present:  President, Cindy Ryan; President-Elect, Steve Resick; Past President, Margie Helgeson; Treasurer, Bernie Grimme; Secretary, Mary Lesselyoung; Member at Large, Keith Rouse; Provider Member, Cindy Kirschman.

 

Approval of Minutes:

The minutes of the last RehabACTion meeting were reviewed.  Stan Hohn made a motion to accept the minutes, and this was seconded by Rich Gardner.  All were in favor.

 

Legislative Update:

The State Legislative update was provided by Shelly Pfaff.  She reported on some of the numerous bills which were filed in the legislature. Shelly summarized some of the bills the Coalition has been following and working on. Shelly emphasized the need to help the legislatures understand who we are.

 

The Federal Legislative update was presented by Grady Kickul.  He discussed the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act and the Rehab Act and again informed us that it is unlikely that reauthorization will take place in the near future.  Grady reported on the recent Rehabilitation Services Administration’s (RSA) proposal to eliminate the Rehabilitation Continuing Education Programs (RCEPs).  Funding will not be provided for the RCEPs beyond June 30, 2008, and the proposal calls for the consolidation of the RCEPs and the Technical Assistance and Continuing Education Centers (TACE).  The National Rehabilitation Association has submitted a response to RSA regarding their concerns of the consolidation which will certainly result in reduced funds for training and technical assistance.

 

ARAN Consortium Update:

Margie Helgeson presented an ARAN update.  The recent board meeting held in February focused on the various proposals by Catriona MacDonald, Policy Advisor. The proposals involve laying out a clearly defined public policy program to maintain and expand its’ memberships; and determining what steps the organization needs to pursue to carry out its’ 2008 agenda. 

 

 Membership Report:

Bernie presented the membership report.  There are currently between 90 – 100 SD members. 

 

 

 

 

Treasurer’s Report:

Copies of the Treasurer’s report for 2007 were distributed and reviewed by Bernie.  Shelly Pfaff made a motion to accept the report and this was seconded by Rich Gardner.  All were in favor.

 

Fall Conference:

Bernie provided a review of the 2007 fall conference held in Aberdeen.  When including the Aberdeen ERN group, approximately 250 people total attended the conference.  There were 30+ vendor booths the second day and this along with the door prizes went over very well.  All agreed that the conference was a big success.  Plans for the 2008 fall conference are underway and this year the conference will be October 14, 15, & 16th in Rapid City.  Bernie is hoping to involve the Rapid City Employment Resource Network group in the conference as was done in Aberdeen.

 

Passing of the Gavel Ceremony: 

Cindy Ryan passed the gavel of the office of President to Steve Resick.  Steve continued conducting the meeting as new president of SD RehabACTion.  Cindy Ryan was presented with a picture of appreciation for her dedication as president this past year.

 

Election:  

The nominees for the open board positions were announced and a call for additional nominations to slate was requested. The ballots were distributed and the voting process was completed. Steve Resick and Cindy Ryan collected the ballots and tallied the results.  The results of the election were presented later during the conference.  The following is a list of the board members and positions:

 

President:                                 Steve Resick

President-Elect:                        Eric Weiss

Secretary:                                 Mary Lesselyoung

Treasurer:                                 Bernie Grimme

V. R. Member at Large:            Dawn Backer

Provider Member at Large:       Cindy Kirschman

 

 

Old Business: None

 

New Business:  Rich Gardner is retiring and he was honored with a picture of appreciation for his numerous years of service with the Division of Rehabilitation Services. 

 

Adjournment:

Rich Gardner made the motion to adjourn the meeting, and this was seconded by Grady Kickul.  All were in favor.