Governance & Board Operations
Governance-Centered Meeting Structure
Formally adopted in January; reaffirmed in February. EBMs now focus on oversight and strategy, not operational reporting.
One-on-One Meeting Structure with Directors
Established and referenced across January, February, and April minutes. Operational reporting moved out of EBMs.
Board Expectations Document
First assigned in January; re-listed in February as a carry-forward. Discussed in March meeting with bylaw review. No confirmation of distribution in minutes.
Role-Specific Expectation Documents
Assigned January with Compliance Director starting on executive roles. March referenced ongoing coordination. No final distribution noted.
Board Liaison / Non-Voting Ex Officio Position
Discussed and approved during April EBM. Position created for Board Liaison to President's Advisory Council. Role held by Stevina (McKesson relationship).
FY2025 Amendments & Policy Implementation
Deadline of May 2026 set in March. Compliance Director coordinating. No final completion confirmed in May Special Meeting minutes.
Policy Classification System (Awareness / Discussion / Approval)
Assigned to Compliance Director in January to classify policies for the board. No documented follow-through in subsequent meetings.
Student Board Representation (Non-Executive)
Discussed in January as an idea similar to at-large roles in Greek life. No follow-up found in remaining minutes.
Finance & Budget
Board & Membership Dues Deadline (Jan 31)
Deadline set in January. April transcript references one or two members still behind; Treasurer to follow up. Substantially addressed.
Program-Level Budget vs. Actual Reporting
Assigned in January to begin in February. April shows budget shared on screen with committee-level tracking. Not yet in a formalized standing format per May notes.
Chart-of-Accounts Alignment
Assigned in January to support clearer financial reporting. No documented update found in February–May minutes.
Scholarship Designated Account ($900 from Board Dues)
May Special Meeting established $900 from board dues to be placed in a separate scholarship account. Budget-specific action with clear outcome.
Membership Dues Increase ($75 → $85)
Proposed in May Special Meeting. Discussed but not confirmed as formally voted and approved in minutes.
Storage Unit Fee Investigation
Agreed to investigate the recent increase in storage unit fees. No follow-up documented.
Programs & Pipeline
Early Career Exposure Awareness Initiative
Launched with Garland ISD. April transcript confirms career fair attendance and website impressions tied to it. Conversations underway with Fort Worth ISD, Dallas ISD, DeSoto ISD.
Additional School District Partnerships
Fort Worth ISD, Dallas ISD, and DeSoto ISD conversations started. UNT partnership also in discussion (timing challenges noted; alternative dates requested).
2026 Corporate Sponsorship Guide
Confirmed finalized in February. Prospective sponsor conversations already underway. Board members directed to bring contacts.
Dallas College Summer Camp Academy
Discussed in January as a strategic student programming opportunity. Governance questions to be captured and revisited. No follow-up found in Feb–May minutes.
VITA Grant (Connect with La-Travia)
Listed as an action item in May Special Meeting minutes. Flagged specifically for follow-up. No confirmation of contact made.
Volunteer Tracking / Journal of Hours
Assigned January to all committees. April shows activity-level tracking beginning but no standardized reporting format confirmed yet. Connected to end-of-year celebration idea.
Organizational Table Display / Brand Materials
Discussed in April — professional table setup, business cards with QR codes, standardized handouts for career fairs. Member design competition idea raised. No formal assignment or timeline set.
Professionals Who Brunch — Sell Out Goal
May Special Meeting emphasized selling out the upcoming brunch at $85/ticket (regular price). No documented action plan or ticket status in minutes.
Professional Development Sessions — 8 of 10 Planned
Eight of ten planned sessions for the year have been delivered. Two sessions remain. Mix of technical and non-technical content; open to the public. Strong execution pace heading into the second half.
Membership
Lapsed Member Outreach — 79 Lapsed + 89 Renewal Overdue
Conversations have occurred across Membership, Communications, and the Executive Committee but no coordinated outreach campaign has launched. 168 members represent both immediate revenue recovery and engagement opportunity. Also surfaces system integrity issues — at least one fully paid member (Chris Mitchell) is incorrectly flagged as lapsed, which would block him from member-only events if unresolved.
Strategy & Communications
Go-To-Market Strategy Shift
"Stop marketing programs. Start marketing the mission and impact." Introduced March; adopted as guiding principle. Further discussion planned for April EBM.
Corporate Relations Distributed Model
State-of-the-org document distributed. All board members briefed on their shared fiduciary and corporate relations responsibility. Training approach introduced.
Board Member Visibility / Member Connection
Discussed in February and April — sharing board perspectives, increasing visibility of leadership, reinforcing community connection. Member engagement conversation active in April. No formal deliverable defined.
Listed in January Key Follow-Ups as needing re-circulation. No confirmation of redistribution in subsequent meeting minutes.
Governance & Board Operations — Detail
✅ What's Moving
- Governance-centered EBM structure is holding. The shift from operational to strategic is documented across all five meetings.
- One-on-ones with directors are running as the operational track.
- Board Liaison / non-voting position created and filled — clean governance action.
- FY2025 amendments deadlined to May 2026; Compliance Director assigned.
- Bylaw review of attendance provisions completed in March.
⚠️ What Needs a Closer Look
- Board Expectations document assigned in January, re-listed in February. Three months in — confirm whether this was distributed or whether it remains undone.
- Role-specific expectation documents (starting with executive roles) were assigned to Compliance in January. Status unclear.
- Policy classification system (awareness / discussion / approval tier) has not surfaced again after January assignment.
- Student board representation idea from January has had no follow-up documented.
📋 Half-Year Governance Checklist
- ☐ Board Expectations document — distributed and acknowledged by all members?
- ☐ Role-specific expectation docs — completed for at least executive roles?
- ☐ FY2025 amendments — fully implemented by May deadline? Confirm with Compliance.
- ☐ Policy classification tier — introduced to board as planned?
- ☐ Board Liaison position — formal position description on file?
- ☑ Governance EBM structure — sustained across all five meetings
- ☑ Attendance accountability — bylaw provisions reviewed; follow-up handled in leadership
Finance & Budget — Detail
Current Financial Snapshot (per May 15 Special Meeting)
- Cash balance: $5,100
- Community Affairs budget reduced from $1,500 to $500 (committee-initiated)
- $900 from board dues designated for separate scholarship account
- Proposed membership dues increase: $75 → $85 (status: discussed, not confirmed as voted)
- Event pricing: Professionals Who Brunch at $85/ticket (regular price)
📋 Half-Year Finance Checklist
- ☐ Budget vs. actual report — is this in a formal standing format now, or still ad hoc?
- ☐ Chart-of-accounts alignment — completed? Never resurfaced after January.
- ☐ Storage unit fee increase — investigated and resolved?
- ☐ Dues increase from $75 to $85 — formally voted on and approved?
- ☐ CPE fee structure ($40 TCPA recoup) — decision made?
- ☑ Scholarship account designated — $900 set aside
- ☑ Board dues largely current (minor exceptions noted in April)
- ☑ Financial transparency commitment — agreed to share status at GBMs
🔭 Looking Ahead
- Topgolf and Chick-fil-A fundraising opportunities were floated in May — no assigned owner or timeline yet.
- VITA Grant (IRS) connection with La-Travia flagged specifically — this feeds directly into the FY2027 grant strategy.
- Revenue diversity remains a priority to address over-reliance on a single funding source.
Programs & Pipeline — Detail
✅ What Launched or Advanced
- Early Career Exposure Awareness Initiative — live with Garland ISD; generating website traffic and community visibility
- School district conversations active: Fort Worth ISD, Dallas ISD, DeSoto ISD
- Corporate Sponsorship Guide finalized; outreach underway
- UNT partnership discussed; scheduling challenge noted, alternative dates requested
- Member engagement discussion surfaced ideas for involving members in brand/table design (competition concept)
⚠️ What Still Needs Movement
- Dallas College Summer Camp Academy — no follow-up documented since January. Governance questions were to be captured and revisited.
- VITA Grant next step (La-Travia connection) — specifically flagged in May. Time-sensitive for grant cycle.
- Volunteer tracking — started but no standardized format or report confirmed.
- Table display / brand materials — idea only; no owner, no timeline, no budget line confirmed.
- Professionals Who Brunch — sell-out goal stated but no promotion plan in minutes.
📋 Half-Year Programs Checklist
- ☐ Dallas College opportunity — has a governance decision been made on whether to pursue?
- ☐ VITA Grant — has La-Travia been contacted? Is NOW Inc. aligned on FY2027 timeline?
- ☐ Volunteer tracking — is there a standard format across all committees?
- ☐ Table/brand materials — assigned owner, budget approval, timeline?
- ☐ Brunch — ticket sales on track for sell-out goal?
- ☐ Lapsed member outreach — campaign launched? System error (Chris Mitchell) corrected in Wild Apricot?
- ☑ Professional Development — 8 of 10 sessions delivered; 2 remaining
- ☑ Career Exposure initiative — launched and producing measurable visibility
- ☑ School district pipeline — multiple ISD conversations in progress
- ☑ Corporate sponsorship — guide active and outreach underway
Meeting-by-Meeting Summary
Foundational governance month. The Board formally adopted the governance-centered EBM model, set the financial posture for Q1, and identified attendance as an immediate governance risk. Most 2026 action items originated here.
Reaffirmation and forward movement. Governance model reinforced; Corporate Sponsorship Guide confirmed finalized; planning momentum unlocked as budget clarity improved. Lighter on new action items — intentionally a momentum meeting.
Accountability and launch. Board commitment expectations directly addressed. FY2025 amendment implementation deadlined to May. Early Career Exposure initiative announced and launched with Garland ISD. Go-to-market strategy shift introduced.
Culture and capacity meeting. State of the org shared with board. Corporate relations distributed model introduced. Board Liaison / non-voting position discussed and approved. Website engagement and Garland ISD visibility data shared. Member engagement discussed openly.
Financial action meeting. Focused entirely on financial health, sustainability, and revenue strategy. Cash balance at $5,100. Dues increase proposed. Scholarship account created. Fundraising opportunities identified. VITA Grant specifically flagged for follow-up.
Half-Year Health Scorecard
Top 6 Priorities for the Second Half
- 1. Launch the lapsed member outreach campaign. 79 lapsed and 89 renewal-overdue members represent immediate revenue and re-engagement. This has been discussed across three committees with no campaign launched. Also correct the Wild Apricot system error flagging Chris Mitchell as lapsed — any paid member incorrectly blocked from member-only events is a trust and data integrity problem.
- 2. Close the carry-forward loop. Board Expectations doc, role-specific expectation docs, policy classification tier, and chart-of-accounts alignment all originated in January. Assign explicit owners and due dates at the next EBM.
- 3. VITA Grant — La-Travia connection. This is time-sensitive for the FY2027 strategy. La-Travia at NOW Inc. needs to be contacted before the cycle opens.
- 4. Dues increase — vote and formalize. Proposed in May but not confirmed as voted. Either formalize it or take it off the table.
- 5. Volunteer tracking — standardize it. This feeds grant readiness and end-of-year recognition. Every committee needs the same format running now.
- 6. Dallas College decision. This opportunity has been sitting since January without a governance decision to pursue or pass. Assign it or close it.