Minutes - October 21, 2012

Hilton Springfield
700 East Adams Street
Springfield, IL

1 pm to 5 pm

Jill Heise, Chair; Don Baden; Kathleen Blair; Julian Brown; Barb Byrne; Merri Dee; Robert Dwyer; Amanda Guinn; John Hosteny; Nancy Jameson; Debra Martón; Frederick Nettles; Hannah Porter; Robert Riddley; Joseph Rives; Giraldo Rosales; Anne Schuman; Cynthia Sims; Ilya Sheyman; Stephen Silberman; Ruth Thompson; Barbara Tubekis; Jeff Turnbull; Heather Way; Jennifer Witzel; James Dixon; Alvin Goldfarb; Dora Welker (for Christopher Koch)

Brandon Bodor, Executive Director; Scott McFarland, Deputy Director; Karla Kunzeman, Volunteer Programs Manager; Mike Stehlin, Training Officer; Louis Barnhart, Inclusion Officer Lanie Cooper, Government Public Service Intern; Adam Weiner, Local Government Liaison Intern; Ana Golovashkina, New Media and Marketing Intern

Bill Basl, Director of AmeriCorps

The meeting was called to order by Jill Heise.

Rosales moved to approve the June 21, 2012 minutes; Tubekis seconded. The minutes were approved.

1. Meetings- Upcoming Commission meetings are as follows:
   February 21, 2013 *elections*- location TBA
   April TBA, 2013- Springfield
   June 6, 2013- Chicago/Springfield
   October 9, 2013- Chicago/Springfield
2. PSA- Lois Barnhart introduced the new inclusion PSA to the group. Rives and Martón both asked to be sent the PSA to possibly be played on respective media resources.

No Report

Basl gave a brief background of CNCS and how AmeriCorps has influenced disaster response planning, especially in the case of Joplin. "Service is a Strategy" was his way of encouraging a rethinking of the role of volunteers and service.

Basl provided insight into what CNCS will look like moving forward and gave advice to partner with other organizations to fund and/or manage new programs such as a Veterans Corps.

1. Budget- Scott McFarland
   Operating on a 56% decrease in budget.
   Commission is hoping to become a "line item" on State Budget.
2. AmeriCorps- Scott McFarland for Lisa Fernandes
   29 current AmeriCorps programs in new contract year.
   National Service Recognition Day- October 18, 2012. If Commissioners are available to help, please do so.
3. Volunteerism- Karla Kunzeman
   Provided update on completed regional conferences and what needs to be done for future conferences.
   If Commissioners are interested in joining monthly calls to discuss regional conferences, or would like to provide resources, please let Karla know.
4. Marketing- Brandon Bodor
   Commission has recently made large efforts to utilize social media like Twitter and Facebook to inform public of service opportunities and state-wide happenings.
   Press releases are still being used in cases such as Commissioner appointments.
5. Training- Mike Stehlin
   Commission is hosting training webinars for AmeriCorps programs instead of large training sessions in one conference.
   If Commissioners would like to tune into webinars, or would like to view them after recording, please inform Mike.
6. Disability Inclusion- Lois Barnhart
   Thank you to everyone involved with PSA filming.
   Inclusion Volunteer Team is working on a Guide Book for inclusion reference for all volunteer programs. Contact Lois if interested.
7. www.Serve.Illinois.gov- Scott McFarland
   Please help market the website through personal and professional resources.

State Service Plan- Commission hosted several listening sessions throughout the state to gather input on State Service Plan.

1. By-Law Amendments- Jill Hesie
   Some adjustments have been made to the Commission's mission and the formation of committees. Please look these changes over.
2. Strategic Plan- Alvin Goldfarb
   Executive Committee compiled a Strategic Plan for the Commission. Plan lays out five strategic goals in order to fulfill a mission to "be the best state commission." Commission will vote to approve this plan in February.
   Commissioners were asked to give feedback and possible revisions to the plan before the February meeting. Feedback during the meeting was positive with small change suggestions that included changing the word "best" to a more measurable word, and to add a sixth strategic goal that includes disabilities inclusion. A full list of suggestions brought forth in the meeting can be attained from Lanie.

Heise adjourned the meeting at approximately 3:40 p.m. Commissioners were asked to meet with their committees after the meeting was adjourned. Committees that met included: Community Outreach and Public Relations, Resource Development, Volunteer Recognition, and Strategic Planning and RFP.

The next meeting of the full Serve Illinois Commission will be held on February 21, 2013. Elections will be held at this meeting. The meeting locations will be announced at a future date.