Minutes from June 11, 2007

Present:
Bob Ruzzo, Angela Masiello, Andrew Budson, Ellen Doherty, Tere Dunne, Colleen Schmidlein, Ann Edwards, Annette Lazili, Marcia Grenier, Alain Grenier, Peg Thompson, Carolyn Gombosi, Jeannette Gould

Meeting Agenda:
Meeting convened at 7:10pm.

The minutes of the May 14th meeting were approved.

Treasurer's Report (Annette Lazili):
There were several transactions this month because of Buffet Way Catering delivering to team meetings, but the account will remain with a positive balance for the end of the fiscal year.

Sub-committee reports:

Activities Committee (Marcia Grenier):
The date for the Annual Family Day is September 9th. Marcia Grenier has agreed to run it again this year with the help of Carol Rosenfield. Marcia asked that people volunteer to help on the day of the event. Tere Dunne has agreed to help with the committee.

Staff Appreciation Committee (Ann Edwards):
Ann Edwards presented on the Staff Appreciation Dinner. The total cost of the event was $4,875. Next year they plan to have another dinner and have only a few things they need to fine tune (name tags, point out volunteer coordinator, etc.) The committee is planning to create circulating themes for the upcoming years. Ideas include a Luau and an outdoor BBQ.

Jeannette Gould will be emailing the members of the organization with the final count of staff that received gift cards donated by the parents.

Fundraising Committee (Angela Masiello):
Angela Masiello reported that on Wednesday, June 20th, there will be a fundraising meeting at the school at 1:30pm. Interest was expressed by several members to start a fundraising effort to raise money to improve the IT department and the website services. Bob Ruzzo volunteered to talk with Rich Martin regarding this matter.

Membership Committee:
The Parents' Organization is interested in being greeters at Parents' Night as a way to welcome new parents and make them feel comfortable, as well as interest them in joining the Parents' Organization.

Legislative Committee (Marcia Grenier):
Marcia Grenier reported that the stated budget was being finalized. If interested in learning more she suggested going to the ARC website.

Participant Items:

Residence Picnic Dates:
Residence Picnic Dates were passed out to members. The dates and time can also be found on the NECC website.

Local Resource List:
Ideas for an updated list were discussed. It was suggested that the resource list, once completed, be posted on the website for both parents and staff of the residential programs to access. It was asked whether parents could be provided with a password to that pool schedules could be put on the web in the future. Marcia Grenier suggested going to local motels/hotels and requesting discounted rates for NECC families. Andrew Budson reported that typically a CFO needs to draw up a contract with the hotel.

Discussion Group Ideas:
Ideas for discussion groups was brought up. Suggestions included "Alumni" parents and Kim Keogh having a roundtable discussion about adult services. A DMR representative could report on how to get services for your child. Someone could present about local resources such as the MetroWest Autism Alliance or ARC.

Parents' Org Speaker Ideas:
It was suggested that Dr. Toppleberg present an update on medications. Bob Ruzzo suggested that his neighbor John Nadworney present on his book about Financial Planning.

Next meeting:
There will be NO meeting in July. Next meeting will be August 13th at 7pm.

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