Board of Directors Meeting Report: January 11, 2011

ASHA's Board of Directors (BOD) met at the National Office on January 7–9. Following are highlights of the Board's discussions:

President's Opening Remarks

President Paul Rao convened the meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, January 7, and reiterated the Board's commitment to advancing ASHA's vision and mission during 2011 and beyond. He welcomed the four new Board members: Shelly Chabon, President-Elect; Barbara Moore, Vice President for Planning; Neil Shepard, Vice President for Academic Affairs in Audiology; and Jennifer Watson, Vice President for Standards and Ethics in Speech-Language Pathology. They began their 3-year terms on January 1, 2011. President Rao also mention ASHA's new Convention theme for 2011, Aspire to Inspire, and hoped the Board would "aspire to inspire" throughout 2011.

Executive Director Update

Besides the written summary included with the pre-meeting materials, Executive Director Arlene Pietranton updated the Board about a number of items:

• The current issue of Associations Now, the member publication of ASAE, which is their annual issue for and about volunteer leadership, was distributed to all Board members. It includes a variety of articles of interest to ASHA leadership as well as an article featuring ASHA's Minority Student Leadership Program.
• An aggressive certification maintenance communication plan has been developed and is currently being executed for all three compliance cohorts. The communication plan includes e-mail, direct mail, and phone outreach campaigns. ASHA will also utilize publications, websites, and state associations as communication vehicles for certification maintenance. As of January 4, the 2007–2009 cohort is at 97% compliance for their certification maintenance, which is very close to ASHA's retention rate of 98.5%.
• A number of years ago, ASHA decided that the processing of membership cards would be brought in-house as a way to reduce costs and improve efficiency. The in-house system was able to process and mail 12,000 membership cards on January 4.
• Every year, the Washington Business Journal ranks associations by three measures: size of budget, number of staff, and number of members. ASHA was again listed in the top 25 of associations.
• ASHA members sent 85,395 e-mails to Capitol Hill in the 111th Congress, compared to 50,961 in the 110th Congress. Issues where ASHA members took action included the Medicare Therapy Caps exceptions process, Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act, and student loan forgiveness.

Division Restructuring Update

Michelle Ferketic, Director of the Special Interest Groups (SIGs), formerly Special Interest Divisions, updated the Board about the SIG restructuring in 2011. She reminded the Board that the key programs affected include increased access to Perspectives and the incorporation of the continuing education program related to Perspectives into the National Office. Michelle also reiterated that ASHA's SIG activities will be fully integrated into ASHA, and that ASHA will be adding staff at the National Office on the editorial side and in other areas to provide more support to SIGs. It is expected that the full implementation of the SIG program restructuring will be completed by January of 2012.

Reviewing ASHA's Envisioned Future: 2025

In 2004, the then Executive Board and the Legislative Council approved ASHA's Envisioned Future for 2025. The Envisioned Future was developed based on the Board's ranking of a list of trend/impact statements under each of six areas: Customers/Demographics, Competitors, Economic/Scope of Practice, Political, Technology, and Social.

In 2007, the Board initiated ASHA's use of the Balanced Scorecard as the Association's strategic planning and management process. Strategic planning experts suggest that it is important for an association to have not only a strategic plan (e.g., ASHA's Strategic Pathway to Excellence) but also a future scenario that indicates where the association wants to be at a certain point in time. Though it is impossible to predict what ASHA's future may be, it is possible to identify ASHA's desired future and develop strategic plans that will allow us to move toward that desired future.

At this meeting, Vice President for Planning Barbara Moore led a discussion of ASHA's Envisioned Future to determine if any changes are needed. A number of changes were discussed and will be incorporated into a new draft document that will be distributed to a variety of groups, including members at large, ASHA's Advisory Councils, SIGs, committees, and boards for additional feedback prior to further discussions by the Board.

Board Retreat Update

At the Board's October 2010 Retreat, then President-Elect Paul Rao led the Board in a discussion of the attributes of organizations that move from good to great, based on research done by author Jim Collins. At this meeting, Board members filled out a survey measuring the indicators found in great organizations. President Rao reminded the Board members that the BOD will regularly be reviewing those attributes to help the Association continue to focus our efforts effectively.

Membership and Membership Satisfaction Trend Data

Director of Surveys and Information Sarah Slater reviewed the member counts and satisfaction data by various constituents. Sarah presented the member counts, showing the steady growth of membership over ASHA's history. She also shared the member retention data for audiologists and speech-language pathologists for the past 10 years, which show most recent retention rates of more than 96% for audiologists and 98% for speech-language pathologists. Member counts and member data from the 2010 survey are currently being analyzed and will be published on ASHA's website in late February.

Planning for 2011 Advisory Council Meetings

Chair of the Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Council Nancy Alarcon and Chair of the Audiology Advisory Council George Purvis led the Board in a planning discussion of the Advisory Council meetings to be held at the National Office in March. The Board discussed a number of topics to be brought to the Advisory Councils for their advice and guidance during the March meeting. These items will be refined over the next few weeks and communicated to Advisory Council members in the pre-meeting materials that will be disseminated in February.

Evidence-Based Systematic Reviews

Chief Staff Officer for Science and Research Margaret Rogers provided additional background regarding a resolution that will be coming to the Board for discussion and vote in the near future regarding the recommended topics that will be subject to evidence-based systematic reviews in 2011. Prior to the Board's vote, there will be additional discussion by the Advisory Committee on Evidence-Based Practice about the specific topics that are recommended for review.

ASHA Joint Committees Update

On a regular basis, the Board reviews ASHA's involvement with joint committees and decides whether that involvement should continue and/or be modified. Joint committees involve ASHA representatives and representatives from one or more other organizations. At this meeting, ASHA staff members who serve as ex officio members of those committees presented the status of the work done by their committees. The staff members and committees included:

The Board agreed that ASHA's involvement with all of these joint committees is valuable and should continue. The Board also agreed to review ASHA's involvement in joint committees every 3 years.

Virtual Meetings Demo

Board of Directors Manager Jill Straniero demonstrated various technologies that ASHA is considering for holding virtual meetings, which will allow members to share information and see and hear each other online. ASHA is now piloting different technologies. Once the pilot is complete, ASHA will roll it out to all ASHA groups. It is hoped that such technologies will help further reduce costs and enhance communications. The BOD agreed that ASHA should continue to pursue this technology and look for opportunities to involve some of the Board members in the pilot process.

Fiduciary Duties Review

Christina M. Gattuso, an attorney with the law firm of Kilpatrick Townsend LLP (ASHA's legal counsel) reviewed the legal and fiduciary responsibilities of Board members. ASHA's BOD is provided this review at the beginning of each year to ensure that Board members fully understand the responsibilities of serving on the Board of Directors of an association as large and complex as ASHA.

Budget Review

Vice President for Finance Robert Augustine reviewed the Association's 2010 financial performance based on preliminary year-end results. The preliminary report shows positive net revenue over expense in 2010. Bob also reported that the audit of financial results will be completed in April and will be posted to ASHA's website in May.

Property Update

Chief Staff Officer for Operations Chuck Cochran updated the Board regarding the current status of the rental of the remaining space on the fifth floor of the National Office building. He reported that interest in the space is increasing, though negotiations of actual lease terms have not yet begun. He also reminded the Board that the old property at 10801 Rockville Pike was sold in May of 2010, and the building has now been demolished. ASHA has no more responsibilities for the previous national office property and will be receiving additional payments as the property is developed.

Review of Board Operating Guidelines and Travel Policy

President Paul Rao led the Board in a review of ASHA's operating guidelines and travel policies to make sure that all the Board members were aware of the processes and procedures that should guide Board activities in 2011. In addition, the Board discussed the area of electronic communications to make sure that they are following appropriate and current business practices.

Membership Forum Debrief

Chief Staff Officer for Communications Martin Rome led the Board in a discussion regarding ideas for improving future membership forums held at ASHA's Annual Convention.

Governance Transition Evaluation Update

Immediate Immediate Past President Tommie L. Robinson, Jr. provided a summary of the governance evaluation process that has been in place since 2009. Part of the plan was to conduct surveys for the first three years to help monitor the implementation of the new structure. In 2010, the groups that were surveyed included the Board of Directors, the Audiology Advisory Council, the Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Council, and members of various ASHA committees, boards, and councils. The 2010 evaluation report is nearly complete and will be reviewed by the presidential team, after which it will be posted on the Board's online collaboration site and discussed as needed by the BOD.

Impact of ASHA National Convention on State Conventions

Vice President for Finance Robert Augustine raised a concern from the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ISHA) about the financial impact on the state's convention when ASHA holds the National Convention in Chicago. Though this request for discussion came from ISHA, ASHA is aware that there is an impact on the state associations when Convention is held in their state. As a result, ASHA provides direct financial compensation and other benefits, and is available to work actively with each affected state association throughout the Convention planning and implementation process. The impact of the ASHA Convention on state associations is on a list of items that ASHA's new Director of Convention and Meetings has been asked to review for possible revisions in the near (next 3 to 5 years) term.