STAFF COUNCIL MEETING
Thursday, September 11, 2003
2:00 p.m., Chappell 110
Present: Rose Murner (presiding), Barbara Monnett, Neil Jones, Carol Brown, Ann Portwood, Kathy Hill, Jennifer Brooker, Susan Demmon, Cindy Potts, Mike Augustine, John Stone, Paula Jefferson, Sheryl Snow, and Teri Hollar. Excused: Kim Ireland. Guests: Angela Criscoe, Lanette McGhee.
Call to Order. Rose Murner called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. She welcomed the new delegates. Tim Vacula was present to take our group picture, and Rose thanked him for coming.
Approval of Minutes. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to accept the minutes of the May meeting as written.
Benefits Fair. Angela Criscoe has graciously volunteered to coordinate donations for door prizes for our annual Benefits Fair to be held on October 31. She distributed a sign-up sheet for members to volunteer to contact local area businesses and merchants to secure donations. When we get the donations, we are to send them to her or Rose. Angela also has a generic donation letter we can use for any merchants who need one for tax purposes. We appreciate Angela’s contribution to the Benefits Fair.
Brown Bag Lunch. Rose presented the idea of a brown bag luncheon featuring a presentation on personal safety for women. Michelle Rowland, a campus security officer, teaches classes and is willing to present at a luncheon. She also is willing to teach a more intense two-hour hands-on course at a later date for those interested. Rose will schedule the luncheon and the presentation. The luncheon will be scheduled for October or November, and more information will be forthcoming.
Sick Leave Pool. Rose shared information about reviving the staff sick leave pool. The University of Georgia has drafted guidelines they will share with us. The sick leave pool would allow employees to donate leave to a pot for others to use when they are faced with a catastrophic illness and have depleted their own sick leave. We don’t know if we’ll be able to implement the policy here, but Rose will discuss it with Bonnie Sims and Quintus Sibley as soon as she receives the UGA guidelines.
There was a question about the payout associated with annual leave when an employee leaves the university. Annual leave is paid in one lump sum when an employee terminates his/her employment, but the maximum allowable limit is 45 days. There is no payout associated with sick leave, so there is no maximum number of sick leave days an employee can accrue.
Presidential Candidate Meetings. Rose updated the group on the meetings Staff Council officers had attended with all the presidential candidates. The officers will draft a letter to Dr. David Evans, Chair of the Presidential Search and Advisory Committee, regarding our recommendations. We appreciate the opportunity Dr. Evans and the committee gave us to be included in the interview process with all the candidates.
Excellence Award Ceremony. Ann Portwood has agreed to chair the excellence award committee again this year. Also, several committee members from last year have graciously agreed to serve again. Those on the committee are: Carol Brown, Teri Hollar, Susan Demmon, Cindy Potts, Neil Jones, and Jennifer Brooker. Thanks to all who willingly accepted this important task. The Excellence Award Ceremony for fall semester will be on December 4, at 9:00, in MSU Lounge. More information will follow later.
Cookbook. Rose shared a cookbook sponsored by the Staff Council at Kennesaw. We think this would be a good fundraiser for our group, and we will discuss this further at the next meeting. We’ll also form a cookbook committee at the next meeting.
Posting Staff Vacancies on Official Listserv. A concern was raised about a recent staff vacancy that couldn’t be posted on the official lists. Even though the vacancy was posted on the Human Resources web site, the supervisor wanted to post the vacancy on e-mail to encourage on-campus applicants and was told that was not possible. Rose will check into this and get back to us.
New Business.
Rose expressed her thanks to Dr. David Brown for keeping her informed on important issues. He is very good at sharing information with her that she can pass on to us.
The “B codes” have now been changed through Personnel, and Rose will talk with Bonnie to see if she can share those new codes with us.
There are fifteen staff members planning to attend the state conference in Augusta in October.
We don’t know whether or not there will be a president’s picnic this year.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:57 p.m. Proposed meeting dates for the upcoming year are: December 11, March 18, May 20, and June 17. All meetings will be at 2:00 p.m. in Chappell 110 unless otherwise noted. Other meetings may be added as needed.