State Employees Association of North Carolina – District 3
Serving the interests of Avery, Mitchell, and Watauga Counties
DISTRICT #3 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
6:00 pm July 28, 2015
Sagebrush Restaurant, Boone
The meeting was called to order at 6:15 p.m. by Chairperson Pat Reighard.
Members in attendance were: Teresa Canton, Anne Castro (and Mother), Reta Greene, Doris Greer,
Wayne Holiday, Kathy Howell, Teresa Johnson, Pat Reighard, Janice Smith, and Mike Waters. Johnny
Davison was in attendance as the Western Region SEANC Representative and our special guest, Mitch
Leonard, Executive Director of SEANC.
There was one correction to the April 28th minutes from Wayne Holliday, stating that the scholarship
ticket monies should be turned into Teresa Canton. The minutes were accepted as corrected.
Teresa Canton reported a balance of $24,889 in the District’s treasurer account.
The Chairperson, Pat Reighard gave the following report from the July 24-25th BOG meeting.

Pat, Anne and Doris met to discuss the suggestion that they submitted to SEANC in regards to
hiring a full time HR manager for the Central Office.

Karen Rose, Darius McLaurin and Chevella Thomas have submitted their names to run for the
office of Treasurer.

There were three (3) proposed budgets submitted and it was voted to adopt the budgets as
submitted with the conditions as to what the State Employees receive from the state. The
SEANC Budget is barebones this year and has cut in all areas.

A dispute between Districts 21 and 36 involving members at Central Regional Hospital was
addressed by an appointed committee. The committee decided that as of Oct. 1, 2015, District
36 will become District 28 and will be a part of the North Central Region. It will be the primary
district for Central Regional Hospital. District 21 can retain its members at the hospital, but any
new member employed there will automatically be placed in District 28 unless they request a
different district. District 21 will have no jurisdiction over Central Regional Hospital. Davis
reported that both districts were notified and agreed with the plan. The board voted to approve
the committee’s plan.

SEANC Lobbyist Kevin LeCount dropped in to thank everyone for the prayers during his ongoing
battle with leukemia. He pressed members to join the bone marrow registry and vowed to
continue fighting for state employees during his battle.

Mitch reported to the BOG that he called on the leaders of the special workgroups he set up to
make changes in how SEANC operates in the wake of our recent scandal. He also hopes to add
workgroups on human resources, legal representation and communications soon. SEANC
Government Relations Director and Ethics Liaison Ardis Watkins and SEIU Ethics Ombudsman
Marnie Walfoort led a presentation on ethics. Walfoort presented the SEIU ethics code and
provided information on ethics in general. She also went over the differences between SEANC’s
code and SEIU’s code.

Convention Planner Alicia Miller reported updates on the upcoming convention. She pointed out
that all items from the office (program, website) would list the convention as Sept. 9-12 to avoid
confusion, since several boards including the BOG will meet on Wednesday.

SEANC will host a bone marrow registry drive in honor of Kevin LeCount at the convention and
the Scholarship Foundation will once again be the beneficiary of the community service project.
If the delegation raises $12,000, someone will throw a pie in Foundation Chairman Mike Bell’s
face. If $15,000 is raised, President Fish will receive the pie in the face.

Training - Steve Lawson chaired the training workgroup. He said the workgroup had found that
many of SEANC’s trainings tend to be “retirees heavy” because of many working members
cannot afford to miss work. SEANC needs to change not only how we hold trainings, but when
we hold them. The workgroup also found that attendance is usually very good, but SEANC does
not see a return on that investment in many cases. Members are not energized to put that
training to use. The group suggested that trainings be held on public speaking and Board of
Governors’ operation. The association should also look at leadership training, member action
and recruitment training, ethics training, social media training and mentoring programs, since
SEANC does have many retirees.

Recruitment and Retention - Spillman Grice led the Recruitment and Retention workgroup,
which was charged with creating a plan to increase 3 membership. The group set a goal for
5,300 new members by July 2016 (an increase of 10%). To accomplish this, SEANC will have to
recruit 10,600 new people to make up for deletions and cancellations in that time. That
amounts to 884 new members a month and 204 each week. The committee recommended the
“Stand Up for SEANC” program, which breaks the goal down into specific targets for each
month. T-shirts will be ordered by the Districts at a cost of $3 and there will be training in
September. Each month, SEANC will focus on a new segment of nonmembers. There are 41,033
nonmembers in state government, not including universities, community colleges and retirees.
In 12 counties alone there are 23,788 nonmembers. Wake County alone has 12,932
nonmembers. There are 32,503 nonmembers in DHHS and DPS. District participation will be the
key, Grice said. He then went over the old membership policy, which stated that 1 percent of a
district’s budget had to go to recruitment. The committee suggested raising that to 5 percent. If
a district does not spend that amount, the money will come back to state Membership
Committee. The board passed the new policy.

Operations Manual – Piedmont Region Representative Marilyn Jean Martin said her committee
met immediately following the last BOG meeting and has begun a thorough review of the
operations manual. She said it would likely not finish its work until after convention because of
the many bylaws amendments that could affect changes in procedures.

Audit Committee - Treasurer Gloria Evans reported that the audit committee workgroup had
met and came up with a plan that would create an audit committee chaired by the First Vice
President and Treasurer and consist of nine members voted on at the convention. There will be
three bylaws amendments dealing with the creation of the committee at this year’s convention.

Staggered Term - First Vice President Ross Hailey reported that the staggered terms committee
met on May 19, and that four bylaws amendments would be voted on by the convention based
on its work. It will change the terms and limits placed on each statewide office.

Bank Draft - Eastern Region Representative Bennie Brigman chaired the bank draft workgroup to
explore alternative dues paying methods for members rather than payroll deduction. He said
the group hoped working with the State Employees’ Credit Union exclusively would be possible,
but soon found out it is not since it does not handle business accounts. The group recommends
working with both NCSECU and First Citizens to create a system including bank drafts, online bill
pay and credit card payments. Though payroll deduction is easy, cheap and reliable, SEANC
needs an alternative for several reasons. Along with recruiting local government employees,
college athletes and part-time employees who are not able to have payroll deductions, the
biggest reason is the constant threat from the legislature to eliminate state employees’ right to
have dues deducted from their paychecks. Currently, there’s a bill filed by Sen. Ralph Hise,
Senate Bill 3, to eliminate that right. SEANC will have to work with First Citizens on ACH
payments (bank drafts), which is most similar to payroll deduction as any form available. There
is a cost per transaction, it may require more staff to administer and we would likely have to
redo applications. The board agreed to move forward with the plan to work with First Citizens
and NCSECU. It may be available before convention.

Legislative Committee - Statewide EMPAC Chairman Tony Smith led the legislative workgroup,
which developed a plan to use grassroots lobbying and targeting in upcoming elections. He said
we can’t take on the world and win. He vowed that we would continue to be about issues, not
partyline politics. He also asked each board member to contact two conferees on the budget.

SEIU delegate election committee - Bylaws Chairman Jimmy Davis led the workgroup that met
on Thursday morning to go over the process of electing delegates to the 2016 SEIU Convention.
He pointed out that SEANC must follow National Labor Relations Board rules dictating elections.
Every member of SEANC must have a chance to vote. Delegates cannot be elected or appointed.
SEIU will authorize the number of delegates SEANC receives in January. SEANC will likely elect
delegates by region. Only dues-paying members of SEIU can vote or run for office. Ballots will be
mailed in March to each member, with a deadline to return them by the end of the month. It
will cost around $45,000 to hold the election alone. Several members questioned if the process
is worth it and if SEANC should send a delegation at all. President Fish said he preferred to hold
the vote anyway to give the membership a chance to weigh in.

Cybercrime report Director of Operations Chuck Stone reported that SEANC was recently the
victim of cyber fraud using wire transfers, and offered a draft policy to prevent such events in
the future. The board approved the new policy.

Youth Council Chairwoman Erica Simmons announced that the council is planning a luncheon on
Friday at convention for all delegates under 40 years of age. A formal invite will be placed on
tables at convention.

Policy Platform Chairwoman Doris Greer reported that the committee met on Thursday and that
only three new objectives were submitted.

Awards Chairwoman Pam Hailey stated that the awards committee would meet on Aug. 4. She is
disappointed that not many applications were submitted. This year at convention, each
nominee will have a yellow ribbon recognizing him/her on their name badge.

Bylaws Chairman Jimmy Davis announced there would be 11 amendments voted on at this
year’s convention.

EMPAC Statewide EMPAC Chairman Tony Smith reported Lt. Gov. Dan Forest had dropped his
lawsuit regarding an ad in the Linda Coleman race. The EMPAC audit is now complete and
members received an email on it Friday night. The audit showed no misappropriation of funds
by our former executive director. There are some IRS issues and small errors with the board of
elections that must be worked out. He invited board members to all EMPAC meetings.

Expansion/Growth Chairwoman Gloria Upperman announced that there would be a bylaws
amendment to allow temporary employees to join SEANC for debate at this year’s convention.

Insurance Board of Trustees IBT Chairwoman Doranna Anderson announced that SEANC dental
insurance will increase by 3 percent. MetLife wanted a 5.7 percent increase, but were
negotiated down. The board also plans to seek bids from new companies. The vision insurance
premium will decrease by 7 percent next year. Nominations have closed for the IBT board. The
nominations are: Pam Hailey – East Shanticia Coggins and Cheryl Moon – North Central Kathy
Fields – South Central Martha Fowler and Cindy Hundley – Piedmont Bob Latham and Henry
Belada – West 6

Membership Chairman Bill Spade announced that the next statewide recruitment day is Aug. 12.
SEANC recruited 91 new members on April 23 and 114 new members on June 16. He asked the
board to consider a new deletion policy, which it did and adopted.

Member Discount Chairwoman Janet Bunch announced that SEANC has added 26 new
businesses since the last board meeting. District 18 Chairwoman Sharron Patterson was the
winner of the recent membership discount contest. She received a night’s stay in a hotel room
and four tickets to Carowinds. Brenda Hooker announced theme park tickets are available for
board members, but they must be used for recruiting purposes.

Member Strength Chairwoman Hiawatha Jones announced that her group met twice to lobby at
the General Assembly. She requested that district chairpersons tell her who their district’s
member strength chairperson is so she could contact them.

Planning Committee Chairwoman Linda Rouse Sutton announced that in addition to creating the
annual budget, her committee is hoping to develop a five-year plan down the road.
Retiree Council Chairman Spillman Grice announced that the council is still seeking candidates
for three-year terms. He also asked that the Retiree Council be represented on the SEIU
affiliation committee.


Scholarship Foundation Chairman Mike Bell announced that the foundation had awarded
$38,500 in scholarships this year, including the Dr. Yolyndra Green Scholarship, which was
awarded to the highest scoring member only award winner – Cassie Stewart. He said the
foundation is excited to again to be recipient of the community service award. He asked board
members to please have a designee at scholarship training at convention. He has appointed
Margaret Reeder of District 38 to fill a recently vacated seat on the board. The foundation still
needs nominees from the West, Piedmont and North Central regions.

New Business District 3 Chairman Dr. Pat Reighard brought to the board the need to reconsider
SEANC’s affiliation with SEIU. He suggested the president form a committee to explore
advantages and disadvantages of affiliating with SEIU. The board voted to direct Fish to appoint
the committee and report findings to the next Board of Governors at its fall meeting. 7 District
26 member Stanley Gales asked if Executive Order 45 – which allows delegates to attend the
SEANC Convention without using vacation time – is still in effect. Mitch Leonard said it is still in
effect, but the governor is reconsidering. We hope to change it to allow meetings during work.

District 2 Chairwoman Dodie Collins announced a State Employee Appreciation Day at Gorges
State Park on Aug. 1 and invited all BOG members to attend.

District 10 Chairman Dennis Hartley announced that a food service manager and SEANC member
from his district died recently and asked that districts think about donating to support his family.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Bylaws – Wayne attended his first meeting in Raleigh on the state level and reported that most of the
bylaw changes brought to the state committee were sent forward.
Scholarship – Wayne reported that there were still tickets available to sell and asked that any tickets
that were not sold and the monies be turned in at the next meeting.
Community Service – A motion was made and seconded to present a $200 check for DAV to Dave at his
home due to his health was declining and may not make the convention. The motion passed.
Insurance – Janice encouraged members to look at the offering of Identity Theft and other insurance
offerings from SEANC.
Member Action – Johnny stated that there are plans to reach out to DOT employees on August 12th. He
has received access to the Watauga County Schools, Friday is a benefits fair from 11 am-1 pm at the
High School. He will be dropping in on Mitchell County offices on Thursday.
EMPAC – Kathy reported that there will be the Dessert Reception for the Legislatures and the Talent
Show on Friday at 7:30 p.m. There will be a sign up table for additional contributions and signing up
new members who will receive a special gift bag. Kathy asked that members call their Legislatures and
add personal stories about what the additional monies (raises) will mean and help their families lives.
Executive Director – Report:
Dangerous time for SEANC – Important time to spend with the Legislators– Need the Senate to submit a
comprehensive budget package; Retiree benefits and funding of the State Health Plan
Rumor about a bill introduced to define benefit contribution plan – watch for pension plan changes.
DOT – Cut deep - reduction stopped to eliminate contracting – preconstruction with no savings to state.
Mitch encouraged members to contact coworkers to call/write their Legislatures.
Looks like no budget will be reached by deadline of August 14th and we may not have a working budget
until September.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Next meeting will be on August 18th at 6:00 p.m. – Sagebrush Restaurant.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.