Quarterly Consumer Section Advisory Council Teleconference

11-21-03  3:00pm EST

Attendance:            Lee Boon, Natalie Fleury, Stuart Robbins, Walt Bitler

Introductions and warm-up.

Natalie informed the council that she is preparing a presentation for the annual ACR international conference in Sacramento, California.  She will coordinate with Dr. Maria Rosa Cattaneo from Argentina, Dave McNabb from Canada, and possibly others from other countries regarding consumer ADR programs and related issues including mandatory consumer arbitration programs.  Lee will send Dave McNabb's email address to her.  There was a discussion about accessing reference information and sharing with section members through discussion forums and chat groups.  Walt suggested that both are possible.  Natalie and Walt will coordinate regarding potential research tools.

It was agreed that initiating participation from members through several different means would be beneficial to the section and would improve communication.  Walt will begin to build the web site as soon as possible, and the section discussion forum and chat groups will be formed the second quarter of the year.  There was a discussion regarding clarification of the current release to publish.  Lee agreed to clarify with Lynne Kinnucan the exact requirements since ACR announced a more liberal policy at the leadership meeting in Orlando.  There was also a discussion about posting section newsletters on the web since it has been prohibited by ACR in the past; however, Walt has been able to access them on the internet.  Lee will also ask for clarification about whether or not ACR still requires that they not be posted.  Stuart suggested getting time-related confirmation about a reply.

Lee informed the council that the projected budget for the year includes money for a combined reception with the International section at the annual conference in Sacramento, money for teleconferences, and money for promotional items to attract new members in addition to standard administrative costs.  Membership increased more than was expected the first two years, so there is some discretionary income that the board is encouraging the section to spend.  Stuart suggested considering including a third section to the reception to defray costs for that expense.

Walt will send personal emails to all members along with a survey after Thanksgiving.  He will be sending a new e-zine to section members every other month and the newsletter is published quarterly.  Sending the e-zine to other section chairs was discussed.  The council asked Lee to send an email to them letting them know we would be sharing our e-zine with them.  Lee will also send Walt a brief summary of the agenda from the leadership meeting in Orlando which included information about new IT changes, help with budget planning, new policy regarding publishing releases, and suggestions for improved communication within sections for him to post on the web page.

Adjourned  4:05pm EST