Present: Meeker, Hunjadi, TeStroete, Schilder, Teale, Merrill, McCarrier, Allen, Schultz, Hackett, Werner, and Bennett

Notified Absent: None

Absent Without 48-Hour Notice: None

Guests: Joe Covelli

Called to order by Vice President TeStroete at 12:05 PM

President: Late

Vice President: None

Secretary/Treasurer: None

Executive Director: 1. Hunjadi provided an abbreviated year-end report. The Association closed the end of the year with 3,972 individual members and 171 Service/Corporate members. Gross income for 2001 totaled $394,692, up by nearly $40,000, an 11.5% increase over the year 2000. Some of the accomplishments of the Association in 2001 included seeing passage of the single paramedic rule, expansion of the group buying program, the first EMS cruise, planning for the statewide recruitment program, and conversion of the membership computer system for compatibility with the conference computer program. 2. New merchandise that will debut at the conference includes fleece vests, a mock T-shirt, one new sweatshirt and jackets, by order only. 3. The new scanner with document feeder and optical survey software is operational. The scanner is able to do reflective, transparency and slide scans as well as document feed surveys for use at the conference and for general association operations.

The President arrived at the meeting at 12:20 PM and assumed the chair. He had no items to report.

Conference: Meeker reported the status of the conference. Board members should receive their session assignments shortly. Meeker conveyed the importance of Board members completing their tasks. The post-party events were briefly discussed. Hunjadi reported that attendance for the conference was running ahead of last year. The ALS for BLS Workshop was close to sold out at 200 participants.

Legislative: 1. AB-524, the paramedic bill introduced by the Joint Committee on Rules will go to the Assembly floor in January. The Association lobbyist has been working on several compromise options for the bill. Both he and Hunjadi have had several meetings with Professional Firefighters of Wisconsin. At this time, no agreements had been worked out. 2. Trauma legislation is being worked on by DuWayne Johnsrud. Following the events of September 11^th, the Governor now appears willing to support the same legislation that he vetoed as part of the budget bill. DHFS leadership also appears optimistic that the Trauma bill can be sold to the legislature by convincing them that part of a domestic preparedness initiative should include a trauma system. It is unclear what direction the bill will take. It is currently being drafted by Johnsrud but also could come as part of the Governor’s task force.

Public Relations Director: Meeker introduced Joe Covelli, the Executive Board’s recommendation for the person to fill the Sales/Public Relations Director position. Meeker provided some background on the position, Wisconsin EMS Association growth and Mr. Covelli. Joe then made a presentation to the board followed by questions and further discussion. Motion by Schilder, second by Allen to move to closed session. All in favor, none opposed. Moved to closed session. Motion by Allen, second by Schultz to return to open session. All in favor, none opposed. Returned to open session. Motion by Teale second by Schultz to offer the position of Public Relations and Sales Director to Joe Covelli for a two-year contract based on the terms contained in the contract before the Board. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.

2003 Association Cruise: Hunjadi reported on the less than stellar response of Carnival Cruise lines with regard to putting together a second cruise. The line has been rather difficult to deal with and obtain information from. Hunjadi contacted a friend of his who works for The Mark Travel Corporation, owners of Fun Jet, for additional assistance. They were able to provide a better deal, which Magic Carpet has now matched. Hunjadi expressed his concern and reluctance at moving forward with the cruise especially since the cruise industry has stopped providing one for twelve free air. However, he added that with the large amount of time he has already expended it might be foolish to stop the activity or cancel plans for the cruise at this time. The proposal provided will allow for cruise only comps of one for every twelve booked. Air, port charges and taxes not included. In addition cabin upgrades from ocean view to balcony and donations to the association would be made based on 100, 150 and 200 booked cabins. Costa also provided a proposal. Both proposals are for March 9-16, 2003 in the Eastern Caribbean. Motion by Schultz second by Bennett to proceed with a 2^nd EMS Cruise using the Carnival cruise line and the Magic Carpet Travel agency. Ten in favor, one opposed, one abstain. Motion carried.

Group Buying Proposals: A total of nine proposals were received for the group buying program. Hunjadi provided a grid of sample pricing. The two most favorable proposals for medical supplies came from Emergency Medical Products and MDS Matrx Medical. Due to the depth of the proposals, Hunjadi is reluctant to make a recommendation without further review. He feels there is room for improvement with both proposals. Since one of the areas of responsibility for Joe Covelli is with the Group Buying Program, it was suggested that the Association postpone naming providers until March 1^st so Joe has the opportunity to work on the program. Motion by Werner second by Merrill to have Joe Covelli negotiate with both EMP and Matrx for final agreements. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.

Statewide Recruitment Drive: Hunjadi presented the latest information on the program. He would like to hold two training sessions at a cost of $25/person for Service/Corporate members and $100/person for those who are not affiliated with a Service or Corporate member. The Stevens Point Holiday Inn would be the site of a March 2, 2002 session. The Country Inn in Pewaukee would host the February 23^rd session. The Board verbally approved the concept.

HFS 111 Rules: Hunjadi briefly reported on the results of the EMT-Intermediate rules. The rules should be in place by March or April. Most of the items the Association provided comment on were altered based on our suggestions.

Meetings with DHFS: Meeker reported on the latest meeting. Both he and the members of the Board are concerned that we are not obtaining any significant tangible change or significant results from our meetings. Examples were failure of DHFS to move forward with the audit they stated they were going to do nearly a year ago, reports of telephone calls continuing to go un-returned and a general lack of progress. Board members had a consensus for DHFS to show what has been completed on the three or four points we have already met on. Members also expressed concern for the lack of activity that continues to be completed on the First Responder law even though the EMS Section states they are now fully staffed. Meeker stated he would bring these concerns to the table at our next meeting with DHFS.

Blount Debt Status: Hunjadi reported that following a letter to Paul Blount regarding his $325 remaining debt, that a check for $100 was received. No other response accompanied his check. Board members asked that we provide him with a receipt and monthly statements.

Medical Director Replacement: The Association still has not identified any significantly qualified candidates for replacement of Dr. Wesley as the Association Medical Director/Advisor. The question was raised what exactly the Board expected from our Medical Director. It was pointed out that most of our agenda items do not require medical input. The other advisors to the association typically do not attend board meetings. It was considered that perhaps Dr. Wesley was more giving the Board the opportunity to replacement him should they wish to do so and he might consider staying on if the Board felt he was meeting their expectations. The general consensus was to seek Dr. Wesley’s continued participation as the Association Director/Advisor. Motion by Allen second by Teale that we re-discuss Dr. Wesley’s resignation with him. All in favor. None opposed. Motion carried.

Board of Directors Election: Hunjadi reported that a portion of the election ballots were not delivered by the post office until after the election deadline. All of the ballots were taken to the post office at the same time on December 10, 2001. Postal regulations required delivery in plenty of time for the ballots to be returned. The first ballots arrived back in the office on December 14, 2001, indicating that some had been delivered promptly. Attorney Barry Szymanski was contacted to obtain advice on how to proceed. His suggestions were presented to the Board. Various options were discussed. The consensus was to be as fair to all candidates as possible. Concern was voiced that if the deadline was extended into the conference, additional campaigning might be accomplished. After a lengthy discussion, there was a Motion by Allen with a second by Hackett to extend the deadline to January 22 at 5:00 PM, allow replacement ballots and use all avenues possible to notify the membership. All in favor, none opposed, motion carried.

2002 Operating Budget: Income and expenses from the 2001 calendar year were reviewed in greater detail along with line item budget amounts suggested for 2002. Motion by TeStroete, second by McCarrier to approve the 2002 operating budget as presented. Eleven in favor, none opposed, one abstain. Motion carried.

Strategic Planning: The suggestion to hold another strategic planning session was raised by several board members. The current strategic plan is now in its third year. A few Board members expressed their displeasure with the strategic planning process. The question was raised if we needed to again bring in someone from the outside to run the session or if we could potentially conduct the process internally. Consideration was given to see if Joe Covelli could perhaps fulfill the role of facilitator. Consensus was to explore holding a strategic planning session in September 2002.

• Set Up 2003 EMS Cruise – Hunjadi
• Statewide Recruitment Drive Training – Hunjadi
• Group Buying Proposals – Covelli
• Accomplishments from DHFS Meetings – Meeker
• Medical Director – Meeker
• Election Extension Notification - Hunjadi