Date: October 30, 2003
Time: 2:00 p.m.

Members Present: Amanda Canup, Jim Cooper, Sharon Hodge, Leigh Ann Holton, Bennie Sue Houck, William Ketchum, Randall Scarboro

Members Absent: Jeff Carter, Annette Gillespie, Donna McPherson

Advisors Present: Mary Phillips, Dawn Ramsey

Advisors Absent: None

The meeting was called to order and the minutes of the September 30, 2003 were discussed and unanimously approved.

Leigh Ann asked for a budget update and Dawn Ramsey stated that the Staff Council has $114.03 in the Foundation account and $3,502.84 in an agency account.

Leigh Ann said that the University System of Georgia Staff Council meeting which she and Sharon Hodge attended was very beneficial and presented the issues that were discussed at that conference.

Leigh Ann stated that the University raised $281.00 for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and that fifty staff, faculty, and students participated.

Leigh Ann said that she and Sharon Hodge had a productive meeting with President Rossbacher regarding the need to update job descriptions for administrative secretaries and senior administrative secretaries. Sharon stated that the President was very receptive and hopes to bring this issue to closure by the end of the calendar year.

Regarding Open Forums, it was decided that Spring Semester would be a better time for a forum because of scheduling conflicts with the Student Center Ballroom and the reality that there is only one month remaining in the semester before finals begin.

Regarding Open Enrollment; it was noted that some of the representatives who attended the open enrollment were not very helpful particularly regarding problem resolution. It was suggested that next year the University may want to expand open enrollment to cover more days and have scheduled presentations by vendors. It was also suggested that packets be available to inform employees of the benefits that they are eligible to participate in. It was noted that both Wachovia and Bank of America offer free checking to University employees who have direct deposit.

Regarding the Web Page Update, Jim Cooper stated that he and Amanda Canup would be able to work on this outside of the meeting and will bring an update to the next meeting.

Regarding Old Business, Jim Cooper will visit with Jerry Baswell between now and the next meeting regarding electing Jerry to Staff Council to represent Group VI.

Regarding Human Resources job descriptions, Dawn Ramsey wanted to inform every one that Human Resources does not write job descriptions for the campus. Human Resources has a template they use so that all job descriptions are in a common format. The job descriptions are written by the individuals within each department and Human Resources can only maintain the descriptions that are submitted to them by the various units on campus.

Regarding the IT Message Board, Jim Cooper said that he is working on a concept of developing a message board that can be accessed by staff on the Web Page. This message board will allow staff to pose questions such as a recommendation for a medical professional who honors the University’s insurance plan. This issue will be discussed in more depth at the next meeting.

Regarding Family Day, William Ketchum stated that he was approached by one of his constituents wanting to know if Staff Council ever organized a Family Day on a Saturday when staff members could bring their family (spouses, children, etc) to the campus to tour the area that they work in. It was decided that the Spring Semester would be a better time to pursue this due to the November weather and this should be incorporated with the “Sense of Place” initiatives.

Regarding Other New Business, Bennie Houck said that Publix Supermarkets indicated they would donate some gift certificates to the Holiday Luncheon for door prizes. Sharon Hodge said that she can use Social and Building Committee letterhead to write an acknowledgement to the companies who donate door prizes.

Dawn said that some of the staff members do not know who their representatives are. Leigh Ann asked that everyone who has not notified their constituents do so by the next meeting.

The Staff Council agreed that the issue of employee health issues should be managed through Human Resources.

The next meeting was scheduled for November 20, 2003 at 2:00 p.m.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m.