Take Action to Strengthen the Direct Support Workforce
The ANCOR Board of Directors tackled a busy agenda at their most recent quarterly meeting on April 14 in New Orleans, held in conjunction with ANCOR’s Annual Conference. Topics included a preview of the HMA/ANCOR White Paper on managed care for people with I/DD (to be released later this month to membership), a discussion led by the Government Relations Committee Co-Chairs and staff on ANCOR’s current focus on issues associated with the federally mandated implementation of Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) and Office of the Inspector General’s group home investigation report and recommendations, and our fundraising strategy for the ANCOR Foundation’s Included. Supported. Empowered. campaign. The full minutes of the meeting can be accessed here.
The Board also welcomed its newest member, Shirley Walker of Harrisburg, PA. Shirley is President & CEO of PAR, one of ANCOR’s two state associations in Pennsylvania. Consistent with the board decision to test the 100% Association membership model (where all members of a state association become full ANCOR members through their state association), Shirley was appointed by Board President Angela King in February to represent the four 100% Association states participating in the pilot program: ADDP (MA), the Alliance (CT), IACP (IA) and PAR (PA). The first year of the pilot has been tremendously successful: membership has grown exponentially, translating into the addition of 400 new members.
The next meeting of the Board will be July 10-11 in Nashville, TN, with an open invitation to local ANCOR members to join the Board at 4 pm on the July 10. Please let Gabrielle Sedor ([email protected]) know if you are interested in participating.
Elections
With ANCOR’s annual elections just around the corner, the Board approved recommended changes to ANCOR’s bylaws that will be put to the full members for approval this summer. The bylaws revisions clarify that Board members elected by the membership must be employed by a full ANCOR member (defined in the bylaws as a provider of services), and specify that the chair of the Leadership Development Committee shall be the Past President of the ANCOR Board of Directors. A summary of those changes is below, as is the schedule of key dates for the Board election and bylaws approval process.
Elections by Board of Directors
The first round of elections that will take place are for the 2018-2019 officers, who are elected by the Board later this month. ANCOR officers serve for one-year terms, with a maximum of two terms. President Angela King is completing her second year as President, and will automatically advance to the position of Past President. Robert Budd, CEO of FREE in New York City and current Vice President, is running for President, with no opposition. Also unopposed is Robert Baker, COO of Keystone Human Services (headquartered in Harrisburg, PA) and current Treasurer, who is seeking election for Vice President, and Heidi Mansir, CEO of Uplift in Gardiner, ME, who is running for Treasurer. The officers comprise the Executive Committee of ANCOR and meet on a monthly basis with the CEO in between the quarterly meeting of the full Board of Directors.
Elections by Membership
The Board position held by Past President Chris Sparks, who is term-limited, is open. This means that full ANCOR members will elect someone to fill the open seat, and the elected Board member will serve a three-year term beginning October 1. In addition, Leadership Development Committee member Lynne Megan will also be up for reelection by the full membership. Nominations for both positions will be open June 25-July 16. Watch for an announcement to be made at that time and note that voting deadlines are always strictly observed!
- June 25: Call for nominations sent electronically
- June 25-July 16: Period for letters of intent to be received
- August 22, 2 pm EDT: Meet the Candidates call
- August 22-September 13: Electronic voting period
Elections by Board of Representatives
Tony Thomas, CEO of Welcome House in Cleveland, OH, was elected by the ANCOR Board of Representatives to serve on the ANCOR Board of Directors and will also be up for election. In addition, two positions on the Leadership Development Committee elected from the Board of Representatives are up for election (Karin Stockwell, Sr. Director, Dungarvin Minnesota, is eligible to run for a second term, while the other position is currently vacant).
- June 25: Call for nominations sent electronically
- June 25-July 16: Period for letters of intent to be received
- TBD: Meet the Candidates call
- August 22-September 13: Electronic voting period
Bylaws Revisions
Recommended bylaws changes (in concept, full amended changes will be distributed a month in advance of the membership vote): These proposed amendments will be put to ANCOR’s full members in conjunction with the regular director elections in August 2018, with an effective date of October 1, 2019.
- Require that the 12 directors elected by the full ANCOR members are employed by a full ANCOR member in good standing.
- Clarify that the two additional directors that the Board may appoint do not have to be ANCOR members, either full or associate.
- Provide the Board of Directors with the ability to remove a director for cause. This action would require a two-thirds vote. This recommendation does not take away the ability of the full ANCOR members to remove a director.
- Clarify that the Past President chairs the Leadership Development Committee. If the Past President is unable or unwilling to serve as chair, the LDC shall appoint a chair.
Barbara Merrill is CEO of ANCOR. She can be reached at [email protected].