4th Quarter, 2006 - NFSS Board Meeting

PRESENT: Sally Huntington, Brenda Josselet, Raspberry, Bob French, Bob Peers, Alfred Mion, Ginny Allen, Harry Bryant, Bill Parlee, Cecil Gunby, Lisa Murphy, Wick Goss, Paula Hansen, Doug White, Rebecca Mikel, John Wilson, Ron Castener, Daniel Gonzales, Jim Heffernan, Gail Benson, Bill Fiorini, Sharon Dvorak ABSENT: Terry Lane Cox, Roberto Rosa, Laura Bewley,

Review of minutes from the 11/17/06 meeting at the Nationals: Concerns with costs of Journal and band orders; Two members taking the Judge's Exam (Ken Gunby and Alfredo Brugueras) Need additional articles for the next issue of Journal; Gail Benson assumes responsibility for procuring journal advertising; First 2007 closed band shipment rec'd and preparing orders to be mailed Christmas week. Second 2007 closed band order is already in production – ETA January 2007. Finch Shop "on hold" until Manager appointed and funds allocated.

The following resignations were submitted to and accepted by Sally Huntington: Jim Heffernan, Exec Sec and Region 3 V.P., Wick Goss, Finch Shop Manager and 1^st V.P.; Bob French, Region 1 V.P.

"A review of Motion #2005-19 ‘Board Member Packets to be prepared and sent to new Board Members,’ made by Brenda Josselet and seconded by Shelley Ortman in 2005, verifies that the Exec. Secretary is responsible for preparing and sending these packets. Information to include: List of all Officers and contact information, a map defining each ‘Region’, By-Laws of the Society, Membership Apps., General informational brochure about the NFSS. "

Awards Manager as voting/non-voting and appointed/elected status reviewed. Ginny to search historical information for clarification; any changes may include a by-law change. Bill notes Board-appointed positions and Pres. Emeritus are appointed & non-voting.

Proposal that Society Finch Standard be accepted as written. Suggested BOD hold formal action until they hear fully from the NFSS membership. Membership was provided the opportunity to comment with scientific data or studies which substantiate suppositions. Ongoing controversy regarding the hybrid vs non-hybrid status. Raspberry to write a summary of discussion held on the membership forum and submit as article in the Journal. Cecil Gunby offers to assist in filtering information received by a committee established to conduct further review.

Judges Handbook continues to be distributed to persons expressing interest in entering the Apprenticeship Program. Paula to work on an updated version and requests any updates.

All members of the BOD encouraged to complete and submit their copy of the Census included in the most recent Journal.

Harry Bryant advised the BOD that the FSS information currently on the NFSS website is outdated and needs to be updated by the FSS Department. Census results can and will be placed on the website once they are compiled. Harry also advised that we could set up Census interactively on the website in the future, but it would take some time and the FSS Manager would have to monitor. He also advised that if it was put on line, members without computer access could not access.

Membership information provided by Brenda; data base appears to be current and work on renewals begins. Report of membership expirations posted and some appear to include Judges and Officers. Delinquency to be confirmed given errors evidenced in the past. Cecil provided with the names of Judges with expired memberships and has contacted them. Membership monies relating to band sales - only members in good standing are sold closed, traceable NFSS bands. Brenda to provide a confirmed copy to Paula for use in distribution of bands.

Affiliation packets ready for the printer; electronic copies to be e-mailed to clubs for whom we have e-mail addresses. Doug will place article in the upcoming Journal regarding club affiliation. "One year" membership expires on December 31^st.

Finch Shop items reviewed. Finch Shop Manager to be delegated responsibility of assuring items are carried for which a profit can be recognized. Manager requested to submit a list of suggested available items and costs vs profits to the BOD. Purchases of over $200 require BOD approval. Need to assure all prior obligations are fulfilled.

Treasurer Lisa M. submits request for Departmental Budget info - Some information unavailable due to vacant positions. If necessary, budgets to be developed with $0 funds allocated to those cost centers until a Director elected. Once elected they may then submit a request for approval of a budget and funds will be allocated. Lisa posts draft of 2007 budget as well as 2006 to provide basis for comparison. She requests information pertaining to audits and 501 (3) (c) documents, which allow us to maintain not-for-profit status. Maintenance of this status also requires a 1099 form be provided to any person receiving over $599 per calendar year. Significant decline in available funds over past year is noted.

Journal & related costs reviewed. Run quantities are total membership plus 10% - Harry needs accurate membership numbers. Quantity discounts available when meeting minimum order quantity criteria. Cost of First-Class mailing was questioned and Harry reported that it eliminates delivery problems. He also noted that when mailing "bulk" the Post Office requires that the mail be sorted and presented in mail trays and only saves money when in large volumes; (i.e. 1000 + pcs). Journal is one of our biggest assets but also significant expense. Current financial standing of the Society requires reduction of costs in all areas including journal. Harry to review format, paper stock used, appropriateness of submissions, assuring no duplicity. Gail Benson, Advertising Manager, is soliciting ads for the Journal and conducting an audit to research payment status for current ads. Timeliness of distribution, printing, and publication as it relates to payment of editors fees reviewed.

NFSS Judges expected to possess a strong working knowledge of species and mutation standards while recognizing breeders create color mutations not fitting current standards. Mutations must be stabilized with enough consistency to justify the production of a standard with which a judge may familiarize her/himself. Judges held to standards adopted by the Society in the selection process as well as in the continuing education of the Panel. Plans are to institute Continuing Education program for current judges with study assignments for particular areas and approval programs becoming more stringent. Recommendations made for NFSS Panel Chairman to select a prominent exhibitor/breeder in each mutation field and ask for comments regarding changes in mutations that will be of assistance to judges. A compilation of that information to be sent to each Judge along with a list of papers and books available on finch mutations. Caution taken to assure Apprentice Test addresses mutations. Also, Judges Panel Director to attend the National show and conduct Judging Clinics and give consideration to requiring Judges to "re-qualify" when not having judged a show within a pre-determined period of time.

Please find below the Proposed Budget for 2007 as submitted by each department. We have a difficult year ahead for all of us, but as a "Team" we can pull our financial matters together. As you can see from the submitted budget below, we have very little room for error this coming year and ALL departments will need to stay within the proposed budget. I am in hopes that during the next several months, adjustments will be made to lower some of our expenses and we will start to see a rise in our bank accounts. The End of Year/4^th Quarter Treasurer's Report will be submitted at the 2007 1^st Quarter BOD meeting, as not all information required to finish the report has been received.

NFSS 2007 PROPOSED BUDGET
DEPARTMENT	INCOME	EXPENSE
Bands	$11,950.00	$6,009.00
Finch Shop	$500.00	$500.00
Membership	$22,500.00	$1,450
Awards	$1,750.00	$1,600.00
Affiliations	$1,000.00	$200.00
Finch Save	$0	$0
1^st VP/Regional VP	$0	$200.00
4^th VP Judges Panel	$230.00	$0
Misc	$850.00	$615.00
Journal	$0	$27,012.00
Advertising	$3,000.00	400.00
Website	$0	$149.50
TOTAL	$41,780.00	$38,135.50
PROFIT/LOSS	$3,644.50

You will find below information concerning the Open Issues we have with the IRS. Per Sally's request, I am posting the information as it stands today (12/31/06). If you have any questions or concerns about this matter, please direct your questions to Sally Huntington or Bill Parlee. I will inform the BOD of any other information I receive on this matter.

If the IRS does not receive a tax return from a Tax-Exempt Organization, they may file a "Substitute for Return"for the organization, based on the last return filed with NO deductions allowed. A tax-exempt organization that fails to file a required return is subject to a penalty of $20.00 a day for each day the failure continues (May 15, 2006 to Dec. 31, 2006 would be 230 Days @ $20.00= $4600.00) plus interest (8% compounded daily) and 1/2% per month for failure to pay from the due date of that return which was due May 15, 2006. If the IRS files a "Substitute for Return", NFSS will owe taxes. Four notices are sent to pay the taxes. After the fourth notice, the IRS can take action and begin to levy bank accounts. The IRS could also revoke our 501(c)(3) status.

We have received three notices to file the return to date. The NFSS Treasurer (Lisa Murphy) has sent a letter to the IRS addressing this issue requesting that they withhold any actions of enforcement and has requested a May 31, 2007 time line to complete the form. The last letter was received 12/30/06 (forward from Mark Phelps) stating that the file has now been forwarded to the ACS (Automated Collection System) department for ACTION. The letter dated 12/23/06 requested a response within 10 Days. Due to the fact I did not receive the letter till yesterday, this will not be achieved. The IRS offices are closed till 1/3/07, at which time I will call as well as send a copy (return receipt requested) of the letter sent to Ogden, UT. last week. The Treasurer will notify the NFSS BOD when she receives a response.

The reason the 2005 Form 990 has not be completed is that information from the 2004 return is required. All financial records for 2004 are missing from the Treasury files. A request has been mailed to the IRS requesting a copy of the 2004 Form 990; normally it takes 6 to 8 weeks to receive. If no records are available for 2004, and the return is pulled for an audit, NO deductions will be allowed because they cannot be substantiated. Taxes will be owed plus a 1/2% penalty for failure to pay and 8% interest (compounded daily) from May 15, 2005.

The IRS Form 990 was completed and mailed on 1/5/07. We are due to receive a notice from the IRS (late Feb. to early March) informing us of the penalties/interest we owe for not filing the Form 990 on time (May 15, 2006). I have been informed that we should pay the penalties/interest in full, at which time we can also file a IRS Form 843 (Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement) which I have requested Sally to complete and forward to me. I have been in contact with the IRS concerning this issue several times thus far, and will continue to do so unil this issue is resolved.The penalty of $20.00 per day (since May 16,2006) will stop once the Form 990 is received, BUT the interest (8% compounded daily) WILL continue until the FULL amount is paid. We will have to pay the FULL amount owed before the Form 843 can be filed. Once the Form 843 is filed, (which only covers the penalty NOT interest), it will take approximately 2 months for the review and a decision to be made by the IRS.

The Financial Records for 2004 have been received from Bob French on 1/6/07, which closes this issue.

Cecil Gunby, 4^th Vice-President, Judges Panel, Standards/Research: Not all show reports have been received as of the date of this writing so show and point reports will not be ready for publication until the Mar/April Journal. Ended 2006 with 22 Judges on Panel, 1 new Judge approved during present BOD meeting. One Apprentice passed test and will serve Apprenticeship in '07; 2 other Apprentice Applicants – 1 a Canadian member. Largest show this year was Puerto Rico with 359 entries – most of which are unflighted. Second largest show – NCBS Nationals with 228 birds from Puerto Rico, U.S. , and Canada. Under the guidance of our new 1^st V.P. we are hoping to see a renewed stimulation in the interest of shows which will be of great benefit to the Society. NOTE: Failure to place membership numbers on show reports delays timeliness and accuracy of point assignments.

Bob Peers, 1^st Vice President/Awards Manager & Doug White/Affiliations: During FY 2006, awards and affiliations sales were combined. During FY 2007, there may be separate cost centers established for both. Sales for these 2 departments for 2006 were $2255.50 and expenses were $1807.41, for a profit of $448.09. There were no expenses or current activities report for the 1^st V.P. position at this time.

Brenda Josselet, Membership Director, Pro-Tem: Renewal notices sent to members with expiring memberships back to 8/06; "Thanks for Renewing" letters out to members who joined or renewed through 12/06; membership lists by region sent to Regional V.P.'s with request to assist in contacting current and expired members. Current Membership: Single: 498, Dual 182, Junior 8, Foreign 22, Dual Foreign 2, Affiliates: 24. TOTAL: 712 (not including Affiliates).

Harry Bryant, 2^nd Vice-President/Editor: Journal back on schedule and Jan/Feb issue is at the printer's and to be mailed soon. Mar/April issue being laid out and will go to printer soon. All 2007 issues started. Website moved to new host and now runs faster. New reporting capabilities show various statistics (# of hits, what pages viewed, viewer info – location, their search engine, what browser). Web pages being updated and uploading NFSS journals so available for free download.

Remember to use the NEW band order form effective 1/1/07. Was informed Amazon Books on line is sold out, but NFSS still has a few issues of Breeding American Song Birds left.

MOTION	COMMENT	BY	2^ND	VOTE	STATUS
2006-8	Clarify Motion 2006-1 and provide (1) free, ½ pg ad to Affiliating Clubs sponsoring Regional Shows	Bryant	Josselet	9 Yes 0 Against 0 Abstain	Pass
2006-9	Rebecca Mikel be appointed Exec Sec. Pro Tem (Resume provided)	Bryant	Hansen	10 Yes 0 Against 1 Abstain	Pass
2006-10	BOD forum be closed except during the four regular meetings each year.	Bryant	Josselet	2 Yes 9 Against 0 Abstain	Fail
2006-11	Bob Peers be appointed Region 3 V.P Pro Tem (Bob later submits resignation; see Motion 2006-15)	Bryant	Raspberry	10 Yes 0 Against 0 Abstain	Pass
2006-12	NFSS Judges to distribute NFSS Membership Apps.	Bryant	Hansen	10 Yes 0 Against 1 Abstain	Pass
2006-13	Sharon Dvorak be appointed Finch Shop Mgr (Bio provided)	Murphy	Gunby	6 Yes 4 Against 1 Abstain	Pass
2006-14	Ken Gunby be accepted as NFSS judge (all requirements met)	Murphy	Gunby	8 Yes 3 Against 0 Abstain	Pass
2006-15	Bob Peers be appointed 1^st V.P.	Murphy	Gunby	7 Yes 3 Against 1 abstain	Pass
2006-16	Bill Fiorini be appointed Region 3 V.P. (Bio provided)	Murphy	Gunby	6 Yes 3 Against 2 Abstain	Pass
2006-17	4^th Quarter Meeting be Adjourned	Bryant	Raspberry	3 Yes 8 Against 0 Abstain	Fail
2006-18	Accept 2007 Budget as proposed	Mion	Bryant	12 Yes 0 Against 0 Abstain	Pass
2006-19	4^th Quarter Meeting be Adjourned	Peers	Gunby	10 Yes 0 Against 0 Abstain	Pass