April 9, 2006

Present: Allen, Barker, Hornby, Hunjadi, McCarrier, Meeker, Schilder, Teale, TeStroete

Guests: Brenda Averbeck

Called to order on time by President Meeker at 10:08 AM

Motion by Schilder to move the January minutes approval to July meeting. Second by TeStroete. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.

President: Meeker attended the JEMS conference in Baltimore at the end of March. He both represented the organization with networking opportunities and also reviewed potential speakers for the annual conference. While at the conference he was invited by Paul Manascalsco to attend the National Fire Congressional Dinner on behalf of the Wisconsin EMS Association as well as Kenosha Fire. He also met with Federal legislators including those from Wisconsin. This was completed along with representatives from several other Wisconsin organizations.

Vice President: Nothing

Secretary/Treasurer: Nothing

Executive Director: Nothing

Conference:

2006 Conference: Meeker and Hunjadi provided a review of the January conference. Total attendance was 2,916 which set a new conference record. Speaker and general evaluations have all been reviewed and were summarized for board members. Statistically the conference saw some increases in satisfaction. The food satisfaction dropped dramatically and is being addressed. The other area seeing a drop was the expo. Written comments indicated that there was a lack of EMS items and too many fire items. However, records show that was not the case and in fact there was less fire apparatus at this show. For whatever reason, however, the perception is different. The committee will continue to cultivate EMS vendors and is working on multiple levels to address the food and food service concerns as well as drink price concerns.

2007 Conference: Meeker and Hunjadi have had multiple meetings with the Midwest Airlines Center along with their food service and A/V service vendors. In addition, they met and spent the day with representatives of the Alliance Energy Center in Madison. The center itself would meet our needs very well and is extremely attractively priced. Unfortunately, hotel space is significantly lacking and could require up to as many as 10 total hotels. Following additional negotiations they have been able to obtain a reduction in proposed building rental fees, a reduction in proposed food and break item fees and an 80% reduction in listed A/V fees. This will bring the costs within range of our proposed budget. Based on all of these items, they recommend that the conference remain at the Midwest Airlines Center for the next three years. Motion by TeStroete to accept a three year contract with the Midwest Airlines Center, Hilton Hotel and Hyatt Hotel for the 2007, 2008, 2009 annual conference. Second by McCarrier. All in favor. None Opposed. Motion carried.

Legislative: Hunjadi reported that the main bill the organization has been working on has been passed and signed into law. This fixes the unemployment compensation problem along with adding First Responders who are not part of a fire department and county ambulance services to the Length of Service Awards (LOSA) program. Several other bills the association has supported have also seen progress or success including expanding the line of duty death college tuition benefits for EMS and fire. The legislative session will soon come to a close.

2007 Cruise: Approximately 110 cabins and 225 people have booked for the cruise. The ship video has finally been obtained and will be placed on-line shortly.

OLD BUSINESS

Bylaw Changes Workgroup Report/Progress: Smith and Hornby obtained clarification and were provided with additional direction regarding their work on the bylaws. No further action was taken.

Project USEMSA: Board members reviewed the final version of the federal EMS office position statement. Motion by Teale second by Allen to accept the final version of the USEMSA position statement. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.

Meetings with State EMS Office: Some concerns and problems continue to come to the organization regarding the operations of the state EMS office. Board members held discussion on both positive and problematic employees within the EMS office. There clearly continues to be concern with at least two of the current/new employees. Board members discussed the possibility of repeating the same or similar survey that was used three years ago to identify problems within the office. Motion by Allen second by TeStroete to complete a survey of all EMS services to obtain current and valid data regarding the current perceptions of the state EMS office. All in Favor, none opposed. Motion carried.

Statewide Recruitment Drive Program: Hunjadi provided an update on the statewide recruitment drive program. Approximately 50 people participated in the training session held at HoChunk casino. The billboard campaign has been started with boards appearing throughout the state. Hornby reported that he already has three people enrolled in EMT school as a result of leads generated from the billboards. Approximately 100 calls have been received with many resulting in referrals to local services. Callers are instructed to call back if they do not hear from anyone. So far none have called back indicating that the referral system is working. Hunjadi will attempt to complete the media campaign but it will be difficult with the PR position being vacant. Last time he did half of the state while the PR Director did the other half. Hunjadi will get to as many television and radio stations as he can.

New Emergency Services Organization in Wisconsin: The board held additional discussion regarding the formal and less formal organizations in Wisconsin attempting to influence emergency services. Hunjadi and Meeker were scheduled to meet with the Professional Ambulance Association of Wisconsin but had to reschedule due to weather/flight concerns to attend the meeting. No other action was taken.

Action Items from Annual Meeting: Items brought forth from members during the annual meeting were discussed. These included the potential for Wisconsin to move to a competency based refresher complete with testing. While final proposals are still pending, the emergency rules could allow for these changes to take place and therefore could happen rather quickly. Hunjadi stated he will need a working position or direction from the board in order to respond to and deal with any potential proposals. Motion by Barker second TeStroete to pursue and support an alternative re-licensing process to include competency based testing at the EMT-Basic level. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried. The other item discussed by board members related to providing or sponsoring a grant writing seminar. Meeker will look into the potential at the 2007 annual conference. Hunjadi will explore a one day seminar separate from the conference – potentially in Fall.

NEW BUSINESS

Motion by McCarrier second by Allen to move to closed session The meeting was moved to and continued in closed session. Motion by McCarrier second by Schilder to return to open session. All in favor, none opposed. The meeting continued on the record and in open session. Motion by Teale second by McCarrier to support the executive board’s direction to negotiate a settlement to Joe Covelli’s law suit against the Wisconsin EMS Association prior to court proceedings. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried. Motion by Schilder second by TeStroete that Joe Covelli’s optional performance bonus be tabled until the July meeting. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.

2007 Conference: Hunjadi presented and reviewed the proposed conference budget for the 2007 conference. The budget includes a total of $432,500 in projected revenue and $300,000 in projected expenses. The conference budget includes conference items only and does not include infrastructure expenses including nearly $200,000 in contracted positions. Motion by TeStroete, second by Barker to approve the conference budget as presented. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.

ZOLL AED Drawing: Names of all of the organizations who joined WEMSA as a Service or Corporate member from November, 2005 through March 2006 were provided on slips of paper. Averbeck was asked to draw the winning organization. The Stratford Area Ambulance Service was drawn as the winner of a ZOLL AED Plus.

Officer Elections: Elections were held for the officers of the organization. Nominations were opened for President: Meeker was the only nomination made. Motion by Teale, second by McCarrier to cast a unanimous ballot for Richard Meeker, all in favor, none opposed. Motion carried. Nominations were opened for Vice President. Larry TeStroete was the only nomination made. Motion by Schilder, second by Hornby to cast a unanimous ballot for Larry TeStroete. Nominations were opened for Secretary/Treasure. Schilder was the only nomination made. Motion by Teale second by Hornby for Mary Schilder. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.

NAEMT Affiliation: Meeker continues to be approached regarding affiliation with the National Association of EMTs. They are currently considering a process of having the organization as a whole join for a flat fee and then allow any sitting board member to become a member of the NAEMT board of governors. WEMSA Board members agreed to support this mechanism if it is put into place. No further action taken.

Strategic Planning Session: Discussion was held regarding holding another strategic planning session for the organization. Some board members believe it is necessary to hold within 2006. Several other board members felt that not enough time has passed and there has been enough opportunity since the last strategic plan was completed. Motion by Allen second by Hornby to review the strategic plan with an outside facilitator at the October meeting which will be changed to Milwaukee and the January meeting moved to Madison. Meeker to obtain an outside facilitator. Six in favor 3 opposed. Motion carried.

Motion by Allen second by McCarrier to adjurn. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 3:10 PM.