Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Open Board of Directors Meeting
San Bernardino Community College District
114 S. Del Rosa Drive San Bernardino, CA 92408
Minutes
Present: Pete Aguilar, Dimitrios Alexiou, Carole Beswick, Deborah Barmack, Tom Brickley, Erin Brinker, Ann Bryan, Bill Easley, Dick Hart, Lowell King, Ed Lasak, Lois Lauer, Bill Lemann, Neil Macready, John Mirau, Kristine Scott, Larry Sharp, Steve von Rajcs, AJ Wilson and Ray Wolfe.
Guests: Rebecca Boydston, Sue McKee, Vicky Ostermann and Frank Reyes
A brief closed session was held prior to the start of the Open Board Meeting. Board members had been previously contacted via e-mail regarding proposed changes in the bylaws so a vote could be held on June 12, 2012.
M/S/P: Change the Bylaws (deleting section 5.06 President/Chief Operating Officer and adding 5.06A Chief Executive Officer and 5.06B President)
M/S/P: Nomination of Deborah Barmack for President of Inland Action
John Mirau proposed Steve PonTell for membership.
The Open Board Meeting was called to order.
Announcements: 1) The invitations for the CTC Reception that will be held on June 27, 2012 from 5p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Maloof Foundation have been sent. Please Rsvp at your earliest convenience. 2) Suggestions for speakers were requested for the June 10 and 17 meetings.
M/S/P: Minutes of the May 29, 2012 meeting
Pete Aguilar introduced Steve PonTell, Board Member, The California Endowment.
Steve PonTell is new a Board member of The California Endowment. He expressed his appreciation for the business leaders that are involved in groups such as Inland Action. Of the some 53,000 businesses in San Bernardino County only a small fraction are involved and this involvement is now more important than ever.
There are four arenas of involvement that are critical to our region. In all these areas we must be strategic rather than reactive.
1) State level
2) Federal level
3) Wall Street (the world of finance)
4) Endowments
Focus can not only be on the State and Federal levels. We should also be assertive in the world of finance. An unfortunately poor reputation of San Bernardino County precedes us and we need be more thoughtful about how Wall Street perceives our area. Mr. PonTell used as an example the recent episodes with stock price fluctuations for Citizens Bank. Stock prices were driven down by the idea that “all banks” in the Inland Empire must be in trouble after a handful had failed.
Of the $4.5 billion donated annually by foundations, San Bernardino receives some $3.00 per capita compared to $51.00 received by Riverside. The state per capita average is $119.00 This discrepancy can in part be remedied if we can have better representation on all boards including major corporate boards such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, The Gas Company, Edison, etc. Increased representation from our area will equate to more interest and focus for San Bernardino County. Clearly our County has many pressing needs and deserves.
The California Endowment is a private, California-focused health foundation. Their goal is to expand access to affordable health care for underserved communities, and invests in fundamental improvements for the health of all Californians. Founded in 1966 The Endowment was established as a result of Blue Cross of California’s creation of its for-profit subsidiary, WellPoint Health Networks. The Endowment is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with regional offices in Sacramento, San Francisco, Fresno and San Diego. Program officers and associates actively work throughout the state to identify, support and partner with community-based organizations. The California Endowment currently has $3.5 billion and gives $150-200 million per year.
Rather than a State wide approach, their new strategy is to narrow their focus in hopes to transform selected areas. They have selected 14 communities in the State to direct a majority of their funding. Although San Bernardino was considered they were not selected. There is speculation that San Bernardino was not chosen as they are seen as having too much political angst and in-fighting.
The California Endowment two priorities are Mission Related Investments (MRI).
1) Invest in business that will help their mission. They will raise money for businesses willing to open with healthy foods in areas that do not have access to healthy foods.
2) To help the 14 communities and investment grade businesses that are in alignment with their mission.
San Bernardino County has successfully laid down the groundwork for serious consideration for funding first with a County Vision. Now numerous Cities have agreed to the vision and have passed an “alignment of strategic intent”. These actions show that the cities and county are working together with the same vision. These fundamental steps are needed in order to be considered by most Foundations and Endowment funds. It is recommended Inland Action cultivate membership and relationships with the large foundations which are allocating funds throughout the State.
A Q&A period followed.
Meeting adjourned at 8:25 a.m.