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Board Meeting Summary: Thursday, August 2, 2001
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The meeting was called to order by Jennifer Sonenshein at 7:30 pm. Her first meeting as President began unfortunately, with condolences to Dr, Felicia Axelrod and to Alice Chaikin on the loss of their mother, Florence Axelrod. Jennifer outlined some of her aims and. expectations for the year ahead. Howard Weiser introduced Joseph Weilgus, head of PROJECT SUNSHINE, who graciously offered to describe the volunteer operation he had set in motion some years ago. They provide numerous services and free programs to children with threatening illnesses; help families cope with hospital situations; and act as hands on "friends" before the problems become overwhelming. His web site www.projectsunshine.org is linked to ours and should be visited by everyone who needs help and by everyone who wants to be of help.Allan Cohen, Treasurer gave an interim report – our fiscal year ends August 31, 2001. A vote to adopt a corporate resolution recognizing the election of new officers and directors for the Foundation was routinely accepted as passed. The meeting dates for the balance of 2001 were scheduled as follows: Thursday evenings, September 13, October 15, and December 6. The dates for 2002 will be selected and decided upon at the next meeting. Following the Scientific meetings held June 1-3, we drafted a Request for Applications (RFA)) to announce the availability of grant money for intensive research efforts. Laurent Landau presented the RFA final draft that will appear in NATURE, and SCIENCE on August 16th and 17th respectively, at a cost of $4,185.per onetime half page ad , which includes posting on the internet for one month. The RFA ad will also appear in other scientific and medical journals such as CELL, NEURON, NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE, etc. at the beginning of September. An expert Scientific/Medical Advisory Board (SMAB) is currently in formation and a slate of candidates for consideration will be presented at the September Board meeting. Jennifer reported that contract and tenure problems had surfaced in Max Hilz’ NYU agreement. She and Jeff Goldberger conferred with Dr. Kolodny who explained that the problem was outside our domain – money is not the issue at this time, but space is. There simply appears to be neither lab nor equipment space available right now for Max. – who assures us that he is committed to FD and will definitely continue his research studies at NYU with Dr. Axelrod. Hopefully the tenure/promotion and space issues will be settled and Max will be able to join us next year. We will try to expedite and settle this matter with NYU asap. Committee Chairpersons appointed by Jennifer were announced as follows:
The fundraising committee hopes to stimulate interest and promote chapter involvement in appropriate fundraising efforts and functions. Also they would appreciate alternative ideas and suggestions to reach various age groups among the FD families as well as major events/ideas for the year 2002 – to augment the golf outing and the annual brunch in Philadelphia, etc.-(i.e. another car raffle etc). The PR/Communications committee plans to disseminate posters, flyers, brochures, articles and a cover letter to all Rabbis, Hillels, JCC. etc. by Rosh Hashanah. The "Get Tested" message must be circulated to the news media, to medical community, hospitals, ob-gyns, etc. Volunteer telemarketing campaign is also an important possibility. We’ve got a big message and we much reach the public – quickly! The Website/Internet committee under David Brenner’s direction is looking to broaden the scope of the information on our web site. For example, it was agreed that a summary of the minutes of our Board Meetings would be posted on the web site at regular intervals so that people would be better informed as to what the Foundation is all about. David reminded board members that anything of importance should be sent to him for possible inclusion and/or consideration. Legal Issues – Steve Fass will serve as the attorney/liaison for patent and other Foundation legal matters. Legislation Committee – Beverly Fettman reported that Scott Kutner has made tremendous strides in California – in fact Assembly Bill #688 which specifically names FD as a condition requiring development of a protocol has passed the Assembly and moved over to the House. Cari Pepkin is also working with lobbyists (pro bono) and parent, Mike Slive, and the feeling is that the California vote many help set a precedent for other states. Steve Fass reported on the Golf Outing which was a tremendous success. Tentative figures indicate the current gross at about $150,000 – with $6,500 still outstanding and about $60,000 in expenses – which translates into a $95,000 profit. The entire affair grows better each year with waiting lists for the limited spaces (134 players). The profit is not in the $500 charge to play, but in corporate sponsorship. With a concentrated effort in that direction the profits could feasibly reach a $250,000 event! The final golf outing report will be ready for presentation at our September meeting. The Pennsylvania Brunch has been confirmed for Sunday, October 20,2002 at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue and the committee heads are already hard at work planning another smashing event == PLEASE NOTE AND SAVE THE DATE! There being no further business, the meeting was duly adjourned.
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