Rough Notes from the ALLMN Committee on Organizing (Unofficial Name)

ALLMN Planning Meeting
January 29, 2009
Notes

At the last ALLMN meeting in Duluth, a small planning group was appointed to examine issues relating to ALLMN’s future development and direction. Members of this planning group included Ron Anderson, Renee Ehlenz, Bob Manning, Reena Shetty and Janet Jacobson. The group met at the Whitney Center in St. Cloud on Thursday, January 29, 2009 to begin these discussions.

Members of the group emphasized the importance of idea sharing and collaboration among ALLMN members. Meetings should provide both formal and informal opportunities for sharing ideas and resources. We should also consider opportunities for collaborative programming. An example is the recent Duluth/Crosby collaboration using interactive television.

We decided that we should move ahead slowly, trying different organizational strategies to see how they work. We will postpone for the time being an examination of potential financial structures (such as 501(c)(3) or fiscal agency). We will operate without a budget for the next 6-12 months; we can re-consider our funding needs then. We will continue to function without formal staffing, relying instead on volunteer leadership from within our membership.

We did not decide on any specific ALLMN activities during the next year, other than our regular meetings. We discussed briefly the blog which Bob has maintained. We need to encourage ALLMN members to use the blog more frequently. We might also want to investigate the possibility of sharing program information and other useful tips through a regular emailed newsletter. We briefly considered advocacy activities during the current legislative session. Janet will contact Brita Sailer (representative from the Park Rapids area) to see if she would be interested in carrying legislation authorizing a small amount ($30,000 each year?) to support lifelong learning in Minnesota during the next biennium. Janet will also contact Tom Fitzpatrick at the Minnesota Humanities Center to determine MHC’s budget status and its willingness to lobby on behalf of funding for lifelong learning.

We decided to make several recommendations to ALLMN members at the May 1 5, 2009 meeting in Winona. These include:
1) A Leadership Group (other name ideas??) will be appointed (how?) each year. For the next year (May 2009 through June 2010), this group will consist of: Ron Anderson, Renee Ehlenz, Bob Manning, Reena Shetty, and Janet Jacobson. This group will communicate primarily through phone and email, but will also meet in person as necessary. Duties: (need some help here)
· Appoint a nominating committee to select ALLMN liaison (see below)
· Guide ALLMN organizational development, with input and approval from the general membership
· Develop yearly goals and objectives, with corresponding activities to carry out these goals and objectives
· Initiate and coordinate advocacy efforts taken on behalf of lifelong learning in Minnesota
2) ALLMN will plan and implement 3 meetings each year, to take place in February, May, and October. These meetings are to be hosted by member groups and rotate to different areas around the state.
3) Host groups for meetings will be responsible for:
· Suggesting possible meeting topics and speakers. Assisting liaison in planning agenda, securing speakers
· Providing an appropriate venue
· Providing one meal for meeting attendees. Meal costs may be shared by members if the hosting group is unable to pay for the meal.
· Overseeing other logistical details, such as copying handouts, providing required equipment, etc.
4) The nominating committee will appoint a liaison in early May of each year (assuming the fiscal year runs from July through the following June) to oversee the three meetings for the year, starting with the July meeting. These responsibilities would include: select the meeting site (host), develop the agenda, plan program content and learning goals, provide publicity for the meeting, work with local host to oversee logistical details (e.g., venue, meals, handouts, etc.)
5) ALLMN is open to new members. Members should be leaders in local adult lifelong learning organizations. Leaders can have a formal title (e.g., director), or may be individuals who have leadership status by virtue of their level of involvement in group activities.

Tasks and accountabilities:

1) Ron will mail each of us a copy of the University for Seniors (US) policies/procedures manual. We can use this to help us draft the recommendations to be presented at the May meeting.
2) Bob will contact up to three individuals to see if they are willing to serve as liaisons for the next year (from now through June 2010): 3) Janet will provide notes for the January 29th meeting. She will also contact Representative Brita Sailer and Tom Fitzpatrick (MN Humanities Center) re possible legislation proposing funding for lifelong learning and MHC’s role in lobbying efforts
4) Janet will contact Cathie Logan to begin the process of planning the May meeting
5) After review of the meeting notes and the US manual we will decide on the exact number and content of the recommendations to be presented in May. Each Leadership Group member will be responsible for drafting one of the recommendations, with input from other members.

We left open the possibility of another Leadership Group meeting between now and the May meeting.

Many thanks to Reena for hosting us and providing such delicious snacks!