Executive Committee
Meeting Minutes
August 18, 2015
Members in Attendance:
Roger Newsome, Chair
Charlean Lanier, Vice Chair
Pamela Manuel, Secretary
Allen Stucks, Treasurer
Cheryl Thompson, Member at Large
CACAA Staff:
Tim Center
Nina Self
Cynthia Valencic
Diane Haggerty
Laurie Leiner
Keith Dean
The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 5:31 p.m. and a quorum was
established. The attendance sheet was passed for signature.
Agenda
After review, Mr. Stucks made the motion to accept the agenda. Ms. Manuel seconded
the motion. It was approved.
Consent Agenda
 The Executive Committee Minutes of the July 21, 2015 meeting were reviewed.
 The minutes of the Special Meeting held on August 11, 2015 were reviewed.
Ms. Lanier made the motion to approve the consent agenda and Mr. Stucks
seconded the motion. It was unanimously approved.
Action
 The Certificates of Corporate Resolution designating signature authority for the
Chief Executive Officer and for the Chief Operating Officer to sign (in his
absence) WAP, LIHEAP, CSBG, CHSP documents was presented for approval.
After review, Mr. Stucks made the motion to approve and Ms. Manuel seconded
the motion. The Certificates of Corporate Resolution were unanimously
approved.

Certification of the Head Start Governance Screener was presented for review.
Discussion followed.
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Mr. Stucks made the motion to approve and Ms. Lanier seconded the motion. It
was unanimously approved.

Addition to the agenda: Ms. Leiner proposed a By-laws change for the Head
Start Policy Council. The printed page was presented for review.
After discussion, Mr. Stucks made the motion to approve. Ms. Manuel seconded
the motion and it was unanimously approved.

The Head Start Organization Chart was presented for board approval. Mr.
Center explained the agency organization to the new board member, Ms.
Thompson, and shared that this organization chart is solely for the Head Start
part of the organization.
Ms. Lanier made the motion to approve. It was seconded by Ms. Manuel and
was unanimously approved.

The Fiscal report was presented by Mr. Dean. He went through the report page
by page. He spoke about the annual expenses and shared the analysis
statement of bank charges. He noticed that there was $100 dip in charges for
the last month and will wait to see if that continues. Board members feel that the
fees seem high. Ms. Thompson said that Mr. Dean could float 3 months of
statements to 3 other banks and see what kind of charge that would generate.
Use that to consider whether to change banks or leverage that information with
Hancock Bank. Mr. Dean shared that the Agency is 122% of where we should
be; he said that the agency is on target and that’s a great place to be.
Mr. Stucks made a motion to accept the report from fiscal. Ms. Manuel seconded
the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
Program Updates
 Family Support Services
Mr. Center reported that the Getting Ahead transition luncheons have been completed
and each one had a great turnout. He’s pleased at the direction the program is going.
He reported that $1,300 was brought in through donations at these events. In addition,
mentors have signed up on the spot at the transition ceremonies. There is community
buzz about the program. Currently, the team is in the process of enrolling for the next
classes. Mr. Stucks spoke about attending all of the luncheons and the emotional
impact he experienced from hearing the stories of the transitioning clients. He
commended Ms. Valencic and her staff on the excellent job done. Mr. Center thanked
the board members who came to the luncheons and provided support. He thanked the
mentors Ms. Thompson, Ms. Lanier, and Ms. Self who have volunteered their time. Mr.
Center reported that one agency expressed an interest in hiring Melissa Watson,
Getting Ahead Coordinator and Facilitator. He said that perhaps there was a way to
contract her out but she still works for us. CareerSource in Madison County wanted to
be trained by Ms. Watson. The Agency is not trained to train the trainer at this time.
Other CAPs in Florida and local United Way agencies would like to get trained with this
program. We will explore how to work with AHA! Process to establish this agency as a
resource and perhaps generate revenue as a Leadership Agency. There is a lot of
interest.
Mr. Center shared that the Agency applied for funding and the United Way of the Big
Bend fund dispersal is attached.
The Weatherization department is waiting for the statewide training from the Florida
Department of Economic Opportunity. In order to make sure that the Agency and all
Florida agencies are in compliance, all weatherization programs are in a holding
pattern. Nothing is going on with Weatherization in the state. This situation should be
resolved this week. There’s an active waiting list of homes. Mr. Stucks asked about the
timeframe and deadlines. He wanted to know if the start of the program is delayed by
60 – 90 days, won’t that make it difficult to complete and spend out the contract. Mr.
Center shared that the goal is to get back on a 12-month cycle where we don’t have to
worry about spending down the funding.
So far this year, 5,000 clients have received services with LIHEAP and the Agency is on
track for the remainder of the year.
Training for case managers is taking place for the next two days. Ms. Valencic
announced that the Wakulla office is moving out of the One Stop Community Center as
there are very few remaining agencies. It was a great concept but the traffic is way
down since the others left.
 Head Start
Mr. Center reported that a lot of work has been done by Ms. Leiner’s staff in readying
the Head Start campuses over the last six weeks. He announced that Head Start now
has a new lease at Wesson. He reported that Leon County Schools Superintendent
Jackie Pons came out to the South City site at Wesson and called Mr. Center
afterwards. He was impressed and liked what he was seeing. Head Start now has its
foot in the door for future expansion options on the campus. Ms. Leiner will keep
working on the processes to add more classrooms. Mr. Center was there to welcome
parents and direct traffic for 125-130 cars on the first day of school. Mr. Center had
gone out there previously and striped parking spaces on the field.
Bond Head Start had a mold inspection and the required repairs were extensive and
cost-prohibitive. Bond has been relocated to the old Dick Howser Center on Mabry
Street. Head Start has signed a 6-month lease and is in the initial stage and is ready to
move from Bond with a minimal delay from the start of the school year. There has been
a large amount of effort; all hands on deck to make the classrooms ready. Utilities are
being switched. The fire marshal and child care licensing will be coming out for
inspections by Thursday and, if approved, Ms. Leiner hopes to be fully licensed and
operating on Monday. Ms. Leiner reported that there has been a good reaction from
most parents about the move. Things are moving quickly.
Ms. Leiner reported that she has called Chuck White from the Carney Center Homeless
Coalition because they had expressed an interest in moving to the old Dick Hauser
Center previously but had not acted on it. Ms. Leiner said that this could be a blessing
and Head Start could help get the homeless initiative up and going. This could be an
opportunity to offer the open spaces in Head Start classrooms to homeless children.
Ms. Manuel reported that she has met with several commissioners (both city and
county) last month. The City has allocated monies for the literacy program. Mr. Gil
Ziffer will be meeting with Mr. Center in the near future. Mr. Ziffer is interested in a
community school. Mr. Center explained what community school might look like. Ms.
Leiner said that she met with the Mayor on child development but had to leave in the
middle of it.
CHSP is funding several smaller amounts despite lower funding. Head Start received
the same level as last year. Although Getting Ahead was pitched, the reality was that
they wouldn’t give funding as Getting Ahead wasn’t funded previously. Mr. Center
discussed the Second Harvest situation and how it may affect agency monies going
forward. If Second Harvest files its appeal asking that CHSP take awarded monies
away from agencies that complied and replied to the application on time, giving that pot
to Second Harvest; if CHSP agrees, then all awarded monies are subject to return.
 Executive Director’s Report
Mr. Center reported that ‘Getting Ahead’ had 169 who took the classes and of those 118
completed them. That’s a 70% completion rate. 61% obtained a job while in the
program. 55% are going into Family Self Sufficiency. 27% have completed their
education and 53% are enrolled in further education pursuits. 60% are employed and
are coming out of Getting Ahead.
He informed the committee about the White House Rural Initiative – Two Generational
demonstration project on child poverty in rural communities. The Request for Proposal
is due at the end of August and the agency is submitting a five-page letter of interest.
Gadsden County is chosen for the impact study.
Mr. Center reported on the Chamber of Commerce retreat he attended last week.
Although he didn’t secure pledges of monetary support, he spoke to many people about
the agency.
He shared that the agency will apply for the Florida Blue Sapphire Award (grants up to
$100,000). The information will point out the help that the agency gives its clients in
providing fiscal, physical, and mental health (less stress) wellness.
Mr. Center indicated the Talquin Electric ad in the board packets that featured a photo
of him receiving a $1,000 matching grant given by CoBank’s Sharing Success
charitable contribution program for 2015.
 Board Chairman’s Report
Mr. Newsome said that he is pleased at the Agency’s progress making inroads in the
right direction. He appreciates Mr. Center, the staff and the support everywhere in the
Agency. He wanted to reiterate Mr. Stuck’s appreciation of Ms. Valencic and her team’s
work in ‘Getting Ahead’.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:59 pm.
______________________________
Pamela Olivia Manuel, Secretary
Date: September 15, 2015