Boys Town National Alumni Association

BTNAA Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the Boys Town National Alumni Association Board of Directors

Meeting Date: April 3, 2022 | Meeting Time: | 7:00 p.m. CDT | Type of Meeting: Video Conference | Meeting Location:

I. Call to Order: Rich Tapio, President
II. Roll Call: Rich Tapio, President

X	Rich Tapio, President	X	Phil Dauterive, Vice President	A	Darren Gray, Secretary	X	Richard Boone, Treasurer
A	Holly Schumacher, Member	X	Jennifer Hill-Coba, Member	X	Robert Nkogo, Member	X	Jeffrey James, Member
X	Michael Saine, Member	X	Jason Suibielski, Member	X	James Brewer, Member
E	Michael Trevino, Advisor, Ex-Officio	X	Tony Jones, Alumni Dir., Ex-Officio	E	George Edwards, Historian, Ex-Officio	E	Dan Schneiss, Hon. Nat. Pres., Ex-Officio
X=Attended. E=Excused. A=Absent

Guests:

John Mollison, '64, BTNAA Webmaster, Lifetime Member, Steve Wolf, '80, President of the Father Flanagan League Society of Devotion, former Board President and Lifetime Member, Jennie Schacht, former Board Member Secretary, Lifetime Member, Stephen Postert, '69 former Board Member Treasurer, Lifetime Member

Notes (Excused Absence, etc.):

Mike Trevino, Alumni Advisor, George Edwards, Historian and Dan Schneiss, Honorary National President were excused.
President Tapio welcomed newly appointed board member Robert Nkogo, '00, 16-25 Year-Group and thanked him for his willingness to serve on the board.

III. Prayer: Rich Tapio | IIIa. Pledge of Allegiance: Rich Tapio

IV. Previous Minutes From: January 9, 2022 | Motion to Accept: James Brewer | Second: Phil Dauterive | Results: Accepted

V. Treasurers Report for Income & Balance Sheet Ending: February 28, 2022

Treasurer's Comments:

Richard Boone, Treasurer, presented the treasurers report. He apologized for the lateness of the submission due to his recent hospital stay. He noted that the largest expenditure for the past month was the annual payment of $5000 as the BTNAA share of the bill for the website. (Total bill is $11,995 of which the BTNAA pays $5000, the Scholarship Fund pays $1000 and the Alumni Office pays the remainder.) He noted the balance in each of the accounts in the General Fund and that the Association purchased new Lifetime Member pins to replenish the supply that had been depleted.

Motion to Accept: | Second: | Results: Accepted

VI. Committee Reports

Awards	By-Laws	Canonization
No Report	No Report	Steve Wolf, '80, President of the Father Flanagan League Society of Devotion, gave an update on the status of the canonization effort for Servant of God Father Flanagan and made a request that the BTNAA Board consider making a donation of $10,000 toward the cause to assist in completing the fund raising for a professionally made documentary on the life of Father Flanagan and the cause. He thanked the board for continuing to support the effort by appointing alumni and other individuals to the Father Flanagan League Board to fill the four positions allocated to the BTNAA as an appointing authority. These alumni and appointees step up and represent the Association well in addition to donating $5000/year while they are a board member. President Tapio committed to bringing the discussion of the donation up in future board meetings.
Communications	Finance	Hall of Fame
John Mollison, member of the Communications Committee, in the absence of the Chair, noted that a special reunion edition of the newsletter was mailed on March 30th and it included the reunion schedule, a registration form and return envelope along with other stories that were reunion related. Jennifer Hill-Coba asked if there was a deadline for registration. It was noted that online registrations will stop one week before the reunion but attendees can register in person on the Thursday and Friday (July 28/29) on campus. It was recommended that registrations be submitted earlier if an attendee wishes to go to the banquet due to the fact that the meal count needs to be provided to the Scott Center the Wednesday prior to the event. President Tapio encouraged board members to get their hotel reservations in early due to the fact that there is a music festival going on in Omaha that same weekend.	No Report	No Report
Membership	Reunion	Sick & Welfare
President Tapio noted that there is an uptick in the number of members paying their annual dues as a result of the membership mailing that went out in January. Additionally, he noted that alumni have been making donations to support the BTNAA. He also indicated that he put out on Social Media information about purchasing an engraved paver to honor a classmate, friend or family member. There are still many available and he noted that there will be a table at the reunion where pavers can be purchased. Jim Brewer, '66, Board Member noted that he was on the video conference and President Tapio acknowledged it.	Prior to the Committee Report being read, Richard Boone asked if the Travel Policy covered reimbursement for arriving on Wednesday. A discussion ensued regarding whether or not reimbursement was allowed for travel to the reunion and initially it was indicated that it was. A point of order was called by guest member, Stephen Postert, noting that the Travel Policy does not allow for reimbursement for reunions held at Boys Town and that reimbursement is only made for Mini-Reunions held at sites other than Boys Town. A lengthy discussion followed regarding the Robert's Rules of Order that indicate that a non-board member may raise a point of order if they note a breach of policy, practice or by-law. Discussion continued after the travel policy was clarified and a copy of the Travel Policy was placed on the screen for all to read. Jim Brewer, '66 read an excerpt from Robert's Rules of Order regarding the "Point of Order" question. It was at this point that President Tapio acknowledged the point of order was correct and the discussion was closed. The Reunion Committee report noted that as of March 30th 23 people had registered and that was compared to 34 who at registered at that point in 2019. He further noted that since the 2021 reunion had slipped to this year that we have a 25 and 50 year anniversary classes that we want to honor and encouraged everyone to reach out to friends and constituents to get them to register for the reunion.	Richard Boone, '89 spent time in the hospital this past month and is battling anemia.

Motion to Accept: | Second: | Results: Accepted

VII. Old Business

1. Discussion Only: Strategic Plan and where we are and where we are headed with it. President Tapio noted that the Strategic Plan was approved in 2013 and it is time that we had a thorough review and update for the plan. This is critical as old board members leave and new members move on to the board. He mentioned that this should be a topic of the Business Meeting on Wednesday, July 28th. 2. Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest Annual Requirement: President Tapio asked that all board members review the documents on the Board Portal and fill out the online form indicating they have read them. It is an annual requirement and must be accomplished every year.

VIII. New Business

1. Appointment of Robert Tapio, Honorary Lifetime Member and former Boys Town Employee, to the Father Flanagan League Society of Devotion position replacing Dan Chesire, '65 who has served for six years:. President Tapio indicated that he had spoken with Bob about this when Bob had indicated an interest in financially supporting the canonization cause for Father Flanagan. Bob Tapio is financially able to handle the $5000 annual donation requirement and is firmly committed to the canonization of Father Flanagan. A question was raised by Jim Brewer, '66, if the appointment required that the appointee be an alumnus and it was noted that the appointee does not have to be an alumnus...just a person who can represent the Association honorably. Jeff James, D'83, moved that the board appoint Bob Tapio to be the Association representative replacing Dan Chesire, Michael Saine seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken and the motion was approved. It was mentioned that a letter of appreciation be sent to Dan Chesire and a letter be sent to the Kansas City Chapter noting that their Honorary Lifetime Member selectee was being appointed to the FFLSD Board. President Tapio agreed to write the letters.

2. Item to be presented by Jim Brewer, '66: Jim Brewer asked if the board authorized the president to send a response on BTNAA letterhead to Wayne Tahara regarding a project that Tahara was championing and encouraging the BTNAA to be a participant in. Discerning that the answer was no Brewer then read the section of the by-laws pertaining to the duties and responsibilities of the board and president and noted that the President must refrain from encroaching upon the power and authority of the board. This caution was duly noted.

Jim Brewer, '66 then asked who approved the pricing for events of the 2022 reunion. Phil Dauterive, D'70, Reunion Committe Chair, answered that it was approved by the committee following the recommendations of the Treasurer who had accomplished a break-even analysis. The costs for the events were set according to the recommendations of the Treasurer. The question was asked if the Board approved the pricing and the answer was no. The reunion early registration and information needed to go out with the Membership Mailing in January. Brewer then noted that it might be possible for a member of the Association to sue the board for not approving the pricing structure for the events. He further noted that he believed the board should have been convened in special session to vote on the pricing structure for the events (Note: The board had previously approved the pricing for the meals at the banquet in order to secure the venue.) Discussion continued regarding the by-laws and other matters. President Tapio suggested that if there needs to be further discussion on these matters it should be brought to the By-Laws Committee.

3. Purchase of a table at the 2022 Booster Banquet: The BTNAA has, since 2005, annually purchased a table at the Boys Town Athletic Booster Banquet as a show of support for Boys Town athletes and alumni being inducted into the Alumni Sports Hall of Fame. The cost of a table for this year is $1250. Discussion followed about the attendance of alumni at the banquet to sit at the alumni table. Richard Boone, '89, treasure mentioned that he is concerned about the additional expenditure with this being a reunion year and the potential for ending up in a negative liability situation. Jeff James, D'83 moved to approve the purchase of one table at the 2022 Booster Banquet, Seconded by Phil Dauterive. Roll call vote was taken and motion was approved by a 6-2 vote.

Jeff James D'83 asked how he might send a donation in to help pay for the table. He was informed that it could be mailed to 14057 Flanagan Blvd., Boys Town, NE 68010 or made online by selecting the "Give Back" tab on the website and clicking on "Donate to BTNAA" and indicating in the comments section that the donation is to support the purchase of a table at the Booster Banquet.

4. Adding additional names to the Veteran's Memorial: Jason Suibielski informed the board that he had completed some research that identified 23 more names to be added to the Memorial. The original requirement to be listed on the Memorial was that an alumnus had to have been at Boys Town for at least one month in order to be considered for inclusion. Jason noted that Fr. Flanagan had listed boys killed in action who were at Boys Town for less than a month, some who were here for only a week. He feels that the same consideration should be given to the 23 that have not yet been listed since they did not meet the 30 day criteria. Discussion was held concerning this matter and the cost associated with each plaque (approximately $100 apiece). The matter was tabled and forwarded to the Communications Committee to discuss and make a recommendation to the board. Jason noted that if we wish to add names this year that we should make a decision soon since there is at least a 6-week to two month lead time to get the name plates made.

President Tapio announced that the next meeting will be held on July 30, 2022, 9 a.m. at the Music Hall unless there is a need for a special meeting to discuss or vote on reunion issues.

Michael Saine, '79 noted that he has received no further spam email since the last incident where a board member's email account had been hacked. He asked if someone could provide him with a list of contact information for his classmates. Rich Tapio indicated that he would take care of getting the information to him.

Jason Suibielski indicated that he was on the Communications Committee but his name was not listed. His name was added to the membership of the Communications Committee. Jennie Schacht, '94, Guest and former board member suggested creating a fund raiser for raising money for the Father Flanagan League and had other questions regarding the reunion that were answered at that time.

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned.

IX. Next Meeting

Date: July 30, 2022

Time: 9:00 a.m. CDT

X. Adjournment: Motion to Adjourn: Michael Saine| Second: James Brewer | Results: Approved

Minutes Submitted: Posted on June 19, 2022