Dear Guild Members: This insert was included in the mailed-out version of the October Newsletter, but you can reply by email and save a stamp (and a tree!)

Your Regional Director seeks your feedback. Please reply back to kkruszka csub dot edu

I wanted to let all of you know, even if your guild is not active, that the region is currently discussing a very important issue and would love your feedback on it. Please include this in your next newsletter or discuss it at your next meeting.

The proposal brought forth at the National meeting:

Concern was expressed that individuals from our region were not running for the National Board of Trustees for the POA due to the high
financial cost incurred in order to attend annual meetings and functions. There are some funds set aside for the Trustees (the Traffle), but they do not cover all expenses. It was decided to see if we can collect voluntary funds from our regional membership (and not taking funds from any other already established area) to help offset their costs.

Mary Decker, as you may know, has recently accepted a position on the
Board of Trustees. We have spoken and she knows we will probably not
have this system in place in time for her first Annual Meeting (Phoenix - January 2006) but wants us to discuss the issue more thoroughly before we present it to the National board for approval.

Some questions to discuss are:
Do you want the region to collect funds to help support trustees from
our Region? (yes or no) These funds would not be used for the Regional Director or Elected Officers. These funds would only be allotted to Trustees.

If yes, what should those funds cover? (Airfare only, meals, room,
stipend, rental car) What limits or conditions should be placed on the funds? (Reimbursed from receipts/ set dollar amount per day for expenses)
What should happen if more than one person from our region is on the
board? Do we fund them equally?

So that you know how I feel, I believe that we can raise funds from
individual voluntary contributions to cover:
Round Trip Airfare - coach class only
Hotel Fees based upon double/shared occupance rates for that hotel
A set amount (to be determine by the region) of funds each day to be
used by the trustee to cover meals/expenses. These amounts can be taken from the current standards set by the IRS for daily expense deductions according to geographic area.

We will not fund:
A rental car. The trustees should plan their meetings knowing they
need to combine resources to move about the city. Additional receipts for meals/expenses beyond the amount allotted.

In the event we have more than one trustee, I believe each should be
funded equally out of the entire fund.

Expenses per person can be about $1000 per trip for everything. Spread about our region, we could do this if only 50 people donated $20. I am sure we have more members than that, and perhaps some individuals would want to donate more. Donations will receive receipts and be tax-deductible. Just think if you run for the board how nice it would be to not have to incur these costs. If you feel that a lot of the POA business is East Coast heavy, than this is perhaps what we need to do to let our fellow POA members know that great things are happening out West and that we are willing to support our Trustees to make sure that our voice is heard on the National level.

Feel free to email me back and to share this with your members.
My best to you all,
Kamala Kruszka
Pacific South West Regional Director - POA
kkruszka csub dot edu