NCF Board of Directors
Minutes of Meeting
July 15, 2003

SOME HIGHLIGHTS

• Board officers re-elected
• Additional digital lines set for September
• Directors agree with ED that NCF "World unfolding according to plan."

Minutes of a meeting of the Board of Directors

The meeting was called to order at 7.15 p.m. with Gary Eikenberry as Chair and Sandy Campbell as Secretary.

1. INTRODUCTIONS

   Board members present:
   Gary Eikenberry (aa353), 1st Vice-President
   Sandy Campbell (dt820), Secretary
   Mark Mielke (al278)
   Don Francis (ba990)
   Michael Mei (be195)
   Graeme Beckett (aw958)

   Regrets:
   Christopher Cope (bz787), President/chair
   Andrea Holland (es170), 2nd Vice-President
   Vanessa Kanu (ev216), Treasurer
   Michael Williamson (cm324)
   John Hennessey (ev776)
   Mary Anne Dugmore (er983)

   NCF Management/Staff present:
   John Selwyn (es347), Executive Director

   Guests:
   Jim Elder (aa456)

   Once around the table . . .
   Informal pre-meeting conversation, with Directors taking turn offering personal views and commentary on interesting things that might not make it to the Agenda.

2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF MEETING
   (see minutes of prior month)

   MOTION: That minutes be approved as published.
   Moved by: Sandy Campbell
   Seconded by: Michael Mei
   VOTE: All in favor

3. REVIEW OF THE AGENDA
   (see draft agenda)

   MOTION: That the agenda be adopted
   Moved by: Sandy Campbell
   Seconded by: Don Francis
   VOTE: All in favor

4. ONGOING BUSINESS
   1. 
      
   2. Election of officers

      MOTION: Moved that all current Officers be re-elected, to wit:
      Christopher Cope (bz787), President/chair
      Gary Eikenberry (aa353), 1st Vice-President
      Andrea Holland (es170), 2nd Vice-President
      Vanessa Kanu (ev216), Treasurer
      Sandy Campbell (dt820), Secretary

      Moved by: Sandy Campbell
      Seconded by: Michael Mei
      The floor was opened to further nominations; there being none, the Chair called the vote.
      VOTE: All in favor

5. REPORTS
   1. Executive Director's Report (John Selwyn)
      (see accompanying report)
      

      Executive Director Selwyn continued the practise of presenting a PowerPoint presentation as his oral report to the Board. It highlighted and elaborated on the information is the posted ED monthly report. Major items were increase in donations in the May/June period, successful cutover to all digital lines providing 56K connections, and SmartCapital and HRDC projects being on track. (In regard to the latter, timeframes were renegotiated to January/04 for SmartCapital and to March/04 for HDRC.)

      The ED reported NCF's "World unfolding according to plan." Installation and inauguration of 184 digital 56K lines was completed on schedule and reliability and performance was as hoped; only a small number of members were reporting modem difficulties. Phase 1 of web-site plan was introduced, encompassing online registration and donations, fast modems, email, iDesk, and the integrated new homepage. (iDesk, the Internet Desktop, has been made more user-friendly; applications and users' documents are available from anywhere.)

      As the critical housekeeping and technical building blocks fall into place, the next big step this fall will be to earn sufficient donations to sustain NCF while keeping costs per member low, by increasing the number of members. To "stay ahead of the demand curve," an operational decision was made to add an additional 92 dial-up lines (4 PRI) in September, with increased monthly telecom costs of $2,600, to accomodate up to 2,0000 additional members. There will then be 276 dial-up line, plus Mitel, plus another possible remote-access source for evenings and weekends. Increased cost is a "calculated risk," but essential because "Modem capacity is critical in member perception of value and quality."

      There were some concerns about increasing telecom expense by $90,000 over the next three years, but agreement that the risk was reasonable. Director Sandy Campbell pointed out that "bold, forward-looking action" was exactly what the Board had opted for two years ago in the face of a move to shrink NCF by cutting out the ED postion and reducing lines and services. He added that it was essential to mount an energetic "marketing" campaign to capitalize on the solid infrastructure improvements by signing up donating members. Directors praised the solid advances and agreed with the ED that "We are on plan."

      MOTION: That the ED report be accepted
      Moved by: Sandy Campell
      Seconded by: Don Francis
      VOTE: All in favor

   2. Executive Committee Report (Chris Cope)

      The Committee did not meet this month.

   3. Treasurer's Report (Vanessa Kanu)
      (see financial statements for May and for June)

      Treasurer Kanu was out of the city and unable to provide her report. ED Selwyn reviewed the financial statements, indicating there was nothing requiring the Board's attention. Financial statements for the period would be posted online.

6. Announcements
   1. There were no announcements.
7. NEXT MEETING

   SEPTEMBER 16,2003 at 7 p.m.
   Client Services Board Room, Ottawa City Hall
   NOTE: Directors voted unanimously to cancel the August meeting.

8. ADJOURNMENT

   The meeting adjourned at 8.42 p.m.