Minutes of the Parents Meeting
December 12, 2007
6:30 p.m.

Present:  Beth Goldman, Greg Murgo, Maureen McClellan, Marianne Sansone, Maureen Capan, Brian Capan, Gera Page, Donna Hedderman, Bill Nedderman, Laurie Kaye, Doug & Dottie Martin, Caryl & Dennis Steward, Beth Astone, Joanne Maynard, Beth Sobiloff, Karen Nahigian, Wendie Howland, Bill Yalen, Pat Proctor, Ann Prete, Harry Wood.

Once again, there were many other parents who joined the meeting via teleconference.

Guests:  Captain Bushy, Captain Rozak, Cadet Josh Widerman, R.C., Trustee John Austin, Trustee Paul Kelly, Trustee Jim Dishner.

Sea Term

Captains Bushy and Rozak and Cadet Widerman talked about Sea Term 2008 and answered parents' questions.

Smoke-Free Campus

Trustee Austin told the parents that the Board is very pleased with the way things are going at this time.  The retention rate is good.  One concern that he wanted to speak with the parents about is the campus smoking policy.  The students are asked to smoke at least 25 ft. from a building entrance.  The Trustees would like to discuss making it a smoke-free campus.  There was discussion about the regimented nature of the campus, and that the students may resent this further regulation.  Also discussion that addiction does not set in until someone has been smoking for many years.  We are doing them a favor to their health if we forbid them from smoking.  There was a proposal to spend $50,000 to build smoking kiosks around the campus.  Parents in attendance did not seem to agree with this alternative.  Austin stated that if we plan it for 4-5 years from now, it will give everyone time to prepare.  There is a Massachusetts community college that is smoke-free. All kinds of issues need to be addressed, as far as who will enforce, what will sanctions be, etc. This is just the beginning of discussions. 

One parent commented that they were very impressed with the last Board of Trustees meeting.

Secretary's Report

The minutes of the last meeting were accepted unanimously.

Ann read a letter of thanks from Captain Albert Wilson, who was recognized at the last parents' meeting.

Treasurer's Report

On January 12th, we will be set up in Blinn Hall to sell certificates, mugs and sea term T-shirts.  The mugs are $25. Orders need to be in so that they will be ready when the ship returns on February 24th.  The T-shirts are $15, and we're not sure of the certificate prices yet.  We are close to our goal for sea term of $8,600 for scholarships.  There is $19,000 in the account, and $1,000 in bills that are due. 

The School has four students who are hard-pressed for money for sea term, and they asked if we could possible fund all four this year.  A motion was made to appropriate $12,800 for sea term scholarships.  Normally we give 3 sea term and 10-$1,000 academic scholarships.  So we would only give 6-$1,000 scholarships this year.  The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.

Ann Prete read a letter to the parents regarding the Foundation's Leaders for Leaders Challenge.  Ann asked for permission to make a personal donation and sign the letter as President of the MMAPA.  The President sits on the Board of the Foundation.

A motion was made to allow Ann to sign her name as President of the MMAPA, in making a personal pledge, which was seconded and voted unanimously.

Admissions Liaison

Karen Nahigian thanked the parents who helped out at the four open houses and various college fairs this fall.

By-Law Review

Wendie Howland presented for Ann Marie Stoica, who could not be at the meeting.  The organization has grown enormously, so we need more formal by-laws.  The committee started with some old ones that have been floating around since the early 80's.  The committee did not want to be too structured, but we do need some structure.  They hope to have a draft by the next quarterly meeting to vote on.  Some of the issues discussed are Roberts Rules of Order, usual and customary roles of officers, and having an annual audit.  Trustee Kelly agreed that we are on track by keeping it simple. He offered his help.  Recommendations have also included definition of a quorum, a majority, electronic voting policy, the role of the president in voting, procedures for electing/removing officers.  Mr. Kelly pointed to Roberts Rules of Order Revised in Brief and the National Association of Parliamentarians website.  There was discussion of voting procedures and how people could vote electronically. 

Parents Chat Group Etiquette

Beth Sobiloff introduced the new posting guidelines which have been put in place in order to prevent some of the past unpleasant situations from occurring again in the future.  After some discussion, there was general acceptance of the guidelines.

FAQs

Bill Yalen is working on revising the FAQ section of the MMAPA website.  There are questions that always come up that we can address ahead of time, share resources, etc.  Bill is taking a pro-active and pre-emptive approach to it.  Online FAQ is currently 51 printed pages.  Bill is going through to check for accuracy.  We are hoping to have search capability, and organize the questions by themes.  Jim Parker's Parent Survival Guide will be part of it.  King's Point has a guide as well.  He hope to have the FAQs ready to go by 4/1 at Welcome Aboard.

Parents Dinner

Saturday, Feb. 23rd is the annual parents' dinner.  If you want to stay at the Best Western, make your reservations early.

No Cadet Left Behind

Please talk to your student about behavior on the Sea Term Cruise.  We want this to be a trouble-free year.

The meeting was Adjourned at 9:15.

Respectfully submitted,

Beth Sobiloff
Secretary