HBF Executive Committee Meeting April 5, 2016 In attendance: Julia Grumbles, Dick Allison, Paul Sanger, Jennie Stowers, Greg Gregory, Liz Sargent and staff. The meeting was called to order by President, Julia Grumbles at 10:00am on April 5th 2016. Finance Report (Dick Allison) For the current fiscal year all expenses are within reasonable expectations. The statement of assets shows the funds we have on hand. The HBF assets held in the Edward Jones accounts are approximately the same as they were this time last year due to fluctuations in the stock market. We currently have a lot of cash on hand. The funds raised for the North campus project are held in cash because we need to have them available to spend on the project when the time comes. Dick opened the discussion of the proposed budget for fiscal year ending 5-­‐31-­‐2016. We hope to have the proposed budget in front of the Trustees well in advance of the meeting so they can review it and it can be discussed at the spring meeting on April 23. Dick suggested that EC members review the proposed budget carefully and submit questions to the finance committee prior to the spring meeting. One increase in the budget is a request to bring the assistant to a full time position. A budget from the Garden committee has been submitted. Funds requested from the garden committee in previous years were not spent. We need to discuss this to be sure we are allocating the correct funds for the Gardern. To balance the budget, Sonya has requested that some of the funding for the Nature Center improvements and garden improvements be contingent on grant funding to support these projects. The Development committee has added a budget line item for expenses related to the North Campus Campaign. The development committee believes the budget for the north campus should include fund raising expenses and be well defined. Dick asked when construction for the north campus project would begin. Greg responded that the Development committee is still working on gathering budget related information and we should have this information soon. Before the Development committee establishes a solid fund raising goal, a better understanding of construction costs as well as expenses related to fundraising. Dick asked what the Development committee would report to the Trustees at the spring meeting. Julia asked how much cash we have received to date for this project. Dick answered: we have collected roughly $580,000 in cash and an additional $190,000 with a total of $780,000. Julia asked Sonya when we would have the budget information from the contractor. Sonya responded we should have that information in the next two weeks. We still need to find a suitable project manager and once they have been identified, we will learn more about the fee, if there is one. The Development committee will update the Trustees once we have all the necessary information to present a solid budget and fundraising goal. Julia asked the committee what is the most responsible approach when confronted with the question of what to do if the cost of the project exceeds the funds currently raised for the project? Should the project be funded donor dollars and augmented by Foundation funds and subsequently reimbursed once additional donor dollars are raised. Greg would like to see a project evaluation to see how/when the funds will be spent. Melissa suggested that the project manager (she recommended Larry Studdard) help establish the project evaluation to ensure that we are not overlooking costs. Dick also mentioned that Jim Costa has been given grant funding from the state to renovate the cottages. Jim has asked that the Foundation consider giving funding to help with this project. He has not yet submitted an official request but he has plans to ask for either $100,000 or $30,000. This will be considered in our budgeting process. We now have more recurring costs primarily associated with salaries. The Finance committee would like us to rethink our investment plan. We are currently following the investment policy that we have developed with Mary Beth Brody from Edward Jones. The Finance committee feels that our current policy is too risky. Dick would like the EC to reconsider the policy and determine if our current plan is still appropriate for our organization. Greg believes that the funds for the North campus campaign should be kept separate and managed in a manner as conservative as possible. Sonya confirmed that those funds are currently kept in cash in a separate checking account. Education and Outreach Report (Jennie Stowers)—The committee is more active than ever before. Gail Lemiec, the Nature Center educator has developed new and diverse programs for the Nature Center. The winter work was to further examine our target audience and investigate other museums and see how they operate and engage their visitors. We will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Nature Center in August and Martha Stibbs will be spearheading the Oyster Roast in October. Gail and Leslie Costa are working on an exhibit to showcase HBS research and they are working on an exhibit on watersheds in the southern Appalachians. Event planning is underway. Wildflower Whimsy will be held in May. Jennie believes we need a designated staff member to work with the Education and Outreach committee to follow through with the ideas formulated by the committee. She suggested that this task should be attributed to Gail or Maddi, the administrative assistant. Development (Julia Grumbles) The goal for the annual fund for this fiscal year is $150,000, thanks to a generous contribution that has just come through, we have exceeded our goal. We are currently at $152,000. North Campus contributions with cash and commitments are at $780,000. Membership (Sonya Carpenter) Membership is increasing and the newsletter will be going out this week. The catalogue will go out next week. Jim is working on the institutional members to pay their membership fees. There were no questions. PR and Communications (Melissa Delany)-­‐-­‐ The committee has been meeting and working diligently on the goals of the committee. We will be meeting with the Highlands Chamber board to give a 20-­‐minute presentation in May. Plans are underway for Gail, Melissa and Maddi to meet with local business owners to communicate what HBS is about. We will host a chamber-­‐supported program called Business after hours in June. Garden (Liz Sargent)—The committee is responding to crises in the garden and planning for the future of the garden. A very heavy rainstorm this winter that took out part of the boardwalk and caused a lot of erosion damage in the garden. The Coker Rhododendron Trail is a work in progress. In the next year we would like to try to complete the trail improvements that were started by Linda Barlow last year. We would also like to complete the renovation of the fern garden, work on the walkway between the Nature Center and the garden entrance and work on Mary’s garden. Sonya has identified grant opportunities for several of these projects and we will be working with Sonya to follow up on these opportunities. On April 23 the garden committee will be meeting to work on the fern trail and install the new fern design we have been working on. Nominating (Paul Sanger)—Two board members who rotated off last year, Martha Stibbs and Glenn Murer will be returning to the board this year. The committee would like to add two new board members to the nominating committee. The three potential board members are: Tom Claiborne, Vevie Dimmitt and Karen Patterson. The EC committee recommended Tom and Vevie. Karen is an active member of two other committees and a new board member. A motion was made to approve Vevie Dimmitt and Tom Claiborne to be invited to join the nominating committee. The motion was seconded. As a point of discussion, Jennie mentioned that Martha will be rejoining the board and should be invited to re-­‐join the Nominating committee if the board approves her in June. A vote was called. All approved, the motion carried. Paul will speak with Vevie and Tom and ask them if they would be willing to serve on the Nominating committee. Update on North Campus (Julia Grumbles)— We are nearly finished with the design process and are now working on the submission of permits and finalization of construction estimates. We hope to be ready to begin construction in late spring or early summer. There were no questions. Bylaws –The status of the amendments to the bylaws currently stands that we have consulted with a lawyer in Atlanta and the foundation has been set, however, drafts still need to be discussed. This is a long involved process and the current format is not ready to be introduced to the board. New Business: (Jim Costa)—General administration (GA) of the UNC system would like HBS to investigate the possibility of aligning more closely to Western Carolina University (WCU). Jim invited the EC members to attend the June meeting of the HBS Board of Directors, representatives from WCU and Chris Brown from GA to discuss the possible ramifications of a closer union between HBS and WCU as a host campus. Greg asked for more information from Jim so that he, and other EC members, can be fully informed on the issue prior to the meeting. Jim agreed. The meeting was adjourned at 11:17.