Oklahoma Correctional Association Board Meeting
OCI Conference Room
September 19, 2013 – 10:00 a.m.

Attendees: Terry Martin, Leroy Young, Larisa Howell, Jerry Chrisman, Janet Dowling, John Gallagher

Others in Attendance: Courtney Freeborn, Leda Reese, Stephanie Ormand, Rick Kornele, Crystal Durfey, Tisha Williams, Debi Cox, Shelly Bear

Meeting Called to Order: President Terry Martin called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m.

Approval of Minutes: The September 3, 2013 meeting minutes were distributed for review. Leroy made a motion to approve the minutes; the motion was seconded by Janet, and passed by the board.

Treasurer’s Report: John advised that OCA has approximately $20,000 in the account.

2013 OCA Conference Update: Terry advised that things are coming together and expressed appreciation to Courtney for her hard work, patience, and talent in getting the program put together and completed.

Committee Updates:

Programs Committee
Janet advised that the programs are set. Three JCCC staff members will be moderators for each program section and Neville Massie will moderate the legislative panel. All information has been forwarded to the publications committee for inclusion in the program book.

Terry advised that we need to ensure the publications committee is given the workshop titles and frame size information in order to make the door signs for each workshop and presenters’ name tents. Janet advised that she would contact NCED to find out if they provide the workshop placards or if we are supposed to, and would either give the necessary information to them or Courtney. Courtney stated that she will also need the names of the vendors that will be recognized on the sponsorship tents for the dinner tables and to let her know if signs with direction arrows are needed for directing traffic.

Terry advised that the board members and committee chairs will also need to discuss the opening session program and/or process. Leroy advised that those affected usually walk in according to their respective seating assignment.
The audio / visual needs for the workshops and slide show presentation will be discussed during the next meeting. Following additional discussion regarding the slide show it was determined that appropriate songs (such as Memories, The Way We Were, All My Rowdy Friends, Burgers & Fries & Cherry Pies, etc.) should be playing in the background while the slide show is running and it should be set to repeat once it reaches the end.

Exhibits Committee
Rick advised that 15 sponsors / vendors have confirmed. He also stated that they haven’t heard anything from the Chaplains Organization or the Corrections Memorial Organization. Leroy advised that he would contact both groups regarding their plans for a booth. Rick advised that if both groups have a booth there will be 18 including the OCA booth. He also advised that they are also waiting to hear from four other vendors that haven’t responded yet, which would increase the count to 22.

Additional monies received at this point include: $1,000 from Norment Security, $425 from Microsoft, $500 from Ark Wrecking, $150 from Franklin Mayes, $350 from Portion Pac, $250 from Diamond Drugs, $425 from Tri-bridge Holding, $1,500 from Century Link/Centurytel, $2,350 from Mid States, and $1,000 from All Phase Security. Rick advised that we still haven’t received the $1,000 from Air Teq. John and Jason will review their lists and compare to ensure the amounts and final balances match.

Registration Committee
Tisha advised that 80 registrations have been received so far not including any that were received yesterday or today. The cut-off date to submit approved registrations is October 2nd. When all registrations are in, the committee will make the badges. The committee found enough badges in storage for this year. Some ribbon was also found and if there is enough of it, the past presidents, presenters, and a few select others may have ribbons attached their badges signifying their distinction.
UPDATE Since Meeting: The Deputy Directors directed that all requests to attend the OCA Conference must be approved through their respective offices first.

Courtney advised that the conference and registration information was distributed again Monday as a reminder and it may continue to be sent out periodically until the deadline.

Tisha asked who was responsible for reserving the hotel rooms for those attending. Terry advised that once the registration committee has the final list together and determines the number of attendees who fit the 60 mile criteria, Tisha will send it to him and he will send it to Payton to reserve the rooms. Tisha advised that prior to sending that list to Terry, she will send separate lists to each unit / facility / district for approval by each facility head. Leroy suggested that the board members and committee members go ahead and make their room reservations. Shelly advised that she has already contacted Payton and reserved rooms for her committee for the 9th and 10th, however when doing so Payton advised that OCA did not have any rooms blocked at this time other than the ones stipulated in the contract. Janet advised that she would contact Payton to advise her about the 100 rooms being paid for by DOC and to block off that many. She will also verify with Payton that Shelly’s committee will need four rooms for Wednesday and Thursday. Leroy advised that OCA will have to pay the room costs for the board and committee members since DOC will only be paying for one night, therefore we need to find out how many rooms will be needed on Wednesday, unless there aren’t 100 attendees that will need rooms, which is the number Interim Director Evans committed to sponsor. NCED has 400 single rooms; therefore everyone should be given a single room unless the attendees are married. Tisha also advised that in past years OCA only paid for the board members’ and committee chairs’ rooms the night before the conference, if they met the 60 mile criteria. The other committee members who showed up were responsible for paying the cost of their own rooms (unless they shared a room with a committee chair or board member). Upon conducting a count, it was determined that 15 rooms may be needed the night before the conference.

Tisha also asked whether the registration committee needed to verify membership with OCA prior to registering the participants. It was determined that those wanting to attend the conference but are not current members of OCA can sign up and pay their membership dues during the conference. However, some type of notation will be needed to alert the registration committee that the membership dues need to be paid or something shown to verify they paid late, especially those who may not have received their membership cards yet.

Mid-States will furnish the goody bags plus the snack items. Terry will contact Ron and Brad to make arrangements to pick them up. Rick advised that the vendor usually arranges to have the goody bags / items delivered to the hotel the day before the conference. Following discussion it was determined that those arriving early would meet at NCED around 3:00 p.m. to stuff the goody bags and make any other final arrangements.

Publications Committee
Courtney distributed a copy of the program book for review. She advised that Impressions Printing will print 250 program books at a cost of $810. She advised that she added the full page ad for Century Link as time was getting short, and asked that she be advised if that page needs to be changed to a different vendor. The following information is still needed before the program book goes to print on Monday, September 23rd.
 The vendor list
 The list of moderators, if we decide to add them. (Following discussion it was determined to place the logos that were received from Air Tech, Norment, and Microsoft Dynamics instead.)

Terry raised the possibility of placing an honorarium page in either the conference program book or dinner program book celebrating the life of Rick Ford who was the Deputy Warden at JEHCC and an OCA Past President. Deputy Warden Ford lost his life this past year in a motorcycle accident. Courtney advised that space is available in the conference program book. Terry advised that he would send Courtney a bio of Mr. Ford and asked her to find a photo of him if possible.

Courtney advised that she will begin working on the dinner program book once the conference program book goes to print. Terry advised that they would meet after today’s meeting and begin finalizing the information needed for the dinner program book such as the agenda, the keynote speaker, scholarship recipients, achievement award winner, etc. Courtney also advised that the final draft of dinner program book must be ready to go to the printer in Midwest City by September 27th. They will print 100 dinner program books for $175, which is considerably cheaper due to:
• the books containing fewer pages
• the books not having a glossy finish
• fewer copies being printed, etc.

Leroy advised that he would pick up the program books in order to save the delivery fee to Norman. Courtney will notify him when they’re ready.

John advised that in order to avoid any delay, he would like to be given the scholarship recipient information in advance if possible so the checks can be presented that night. Following additional discussion regarding the bylaws, the checks must be payable to the college or university for that specific individual and then mailed.

Elections Committee:
Since the deadline passed for sending and receiving the election ballots, the new officers won’t be announced until after the conference. A ballot box will also be set up at the OCA booth.

Jerry advised that the Honor Guard was scheduled a few months ago; however he will contact Debbie to ensure nothing has changed.

Jerry stated that the portfolios have been ordered and he will follow-up to ensure that we will receive them in time. He will also ask if payment must be made prior to shipment or if we will be billed.

Scholarship Committee:
Shelly advised that four scholarship applications have been received at this time, however only one meets the criteria. She also advised that the board has the option of awarding an OCA Scholarship from the other three applications and two scholarships could still be awarded that way. Following additional discussion it was decided that OCA would award a second scholarship from the other three applicants. After the application deadline passes, the committee will make their two selections and then send them to the board for vote.

There are three nominations for the achievement award and the same process will be followed for selecting the winner. Shelly will also get an estimate for the achievement award plaque. Terry advised that he sent Gary (OCI) some ideas for an award and hopefully he will come up with something unique and a plaque may not be needed.

Jerry advised that those who attended the Southern States Conference received certificates for training credits. The certificates were prepared in advance and placed in the goody bags for attendees to give to their training officers upon return to their worksites. He asked whether the same thing could be done for those attending the OCA Conference. John suggested that someone contact Carl Wilkes and ask about it first to ensure the training department will acknowledge / approve it as training. Following discussion it was decided that receiving training hours would be an additional perk of attending the conference. Jerry will discuss it with Carl and if approved will ensure the certificates are printed.

Additional Discussion
The question was asked whether we would be giving any door prizes this year. In years past gift cards, cash, and left-over goody bag items were given. A decision or motion was not made whether door prizes would be given this year or what the door prizes would be.

A final planning meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m. on October 4, 2013 at the NCED Training Center. In the meantime, conference plans will continue through email communication. Plans for the 2014 conference will also be firmed up during the next meeting and hopefully by scheduling this early, we won’t run into the same scheduling problem with NCED that we ran into this year, if we decide to hold next year’s conference at that location. Also by scheduling this early, we can begin contacting the vendors in January 2014 before they commit most and/or all of their sponsorship funds to other conferences / events.

With no additional items of discussion the meeting was adjourned at 11:15 a.m.

Minutes submitted by: Larisa Howell, Secretary
Approved by: signature on file 10-4-13
Terry Martin, President