AFF Meetings

MINUTES
September 14, 2009

MEMBERS PRESENT:
Class of 2010 – Barbara Bagay, Virginia Olive
Class of 2011 - Michal & Nachman Gendelberg, Patty Infantino, Robert Kersellius, Carol & Basil Smith
Class of 2012 - Mariya Brown, Barbara Colaco, Theresa Hansen, Lou & Robert Penn, Jane Reilly, Michele Rolleri, Suny Sawey, Magda Schorpion, Sheila & Jon Sterling
Class of 2013 – Tom & Barbara Braun, Darlene Cornacchia, Jane Greenman, Donna Herman, Carol Kennedy, Yogesh & Prerna Shingala, Gregg & Robin Tabakin, Debbie Van Orden
                        Dr. Sonia Garcia Laumbach, Jean Martin
                       
The meeting convened at 7:45 PM, following dinner.

Co-Chair Ms. Patty Infantino welcomed everyone, and introductions were made. 

The minutes were approved from the May 4th meeting. 

White Coat Ceremony:

It was a special event with Dr. Tallia being the keynote speaker and President Owen attended the ceremony and said a few words also.

Jane Reilly was the speaker for AFF and asked the new parents to come out and join.   The AFF doesn’t fund the WCC any more.

Dr. Laumbach commented upon the increased involvement of parents in the WCC, thanks to the efforts of Jesse Hochkeppel from the Orientation Team.  Jesse contacted all the parents to write the letters to their child.  One parent said her daughter didn’t get her letter on the day of the WCC.  A suggestion was made that maybe putting a number on the letter to correspond to the student might help to prevent this from happening again.

One parent of a 2013 student thought Jesse did a very good job and that his daughter was touched by the letter.  He was very impressed with Jesse.

Mariya Brown asked if we could get the number in the family unit.  She felt communication was very good.  Wrote to Orientation Committee stating what a great job they did.

Orientation BBQ:

It was suggested that the Invitation to the Orientation BBQ state exact time frame for the BBQ.  All other BBQ information was fine.

Having the BBQ back to back right after the WCC worked well for out-of –state relatives.  Discussion on when to have BBQ in the future beginning vs. end of orientation occurred without a final decision.

Volunteer activities should be in the beginning of Orientation week.

Students requested a larger selection of clothes to be displayed at the BBQ.  Lou Penn wants to have clothes within 5 palates of colors.  She will be adding gym bags and towels to the line.  They want to reduce inventory, want to simplify items and purchase new items.

Financial Report:

$1500 was allotted for the portable podium and $3,000 allotted for the Orientation BBQ.

Fred Shafler has a contact at Champion and was able to get for the students $1,000 worth of sports equipment.  Dr. Laumbach wrote him a “Thank you” letter.

There have been more expenditures in the last few years but have gone for very good causes.  Patty Infantino mentioned that without having to fund the WCC that the AFF has more money to spend.

Two Class of 2012 students came in to discuss their experiences abroad, thanking AFF for supporting their growth during med school.

Stitches Report:

Lou Penn stated that the next clothing sale would be Oct. 3rd at Family Day.  She put flyers in the 1st year student mailboxes.  We need stock for Family Day.  Family Day is from 8:30 AM – 1:00 PM so parents need to be there to set up the clothing at 7:30 AM.

Lou wanted to have sale dates in October, November and December and this was supported by members.  Clothing sale dates to be added to website.

She needs more money to replenish some of the stock and will try to sell off some old items that will cover their costs.

Lou would like to get into more in-person or mail-in ordering.  She already sent out some items and received checks from the students.  We could do ordering once a month and then send out the orders.  It was suggested that maybe we could take orders at Family Day.

Dr. Laumbach mentioned that the Peer Mentors were given a nice gym bag this year and the students loved them.  Lou would like to get them for Stitches.

Jon Sterling motioned to allot up to $4,000 for clothing, etc.  Jane Reilly seconded and it was approved.

Lou will make up a new clothing order form.

Student Travel:

Dr. Laumbach stated that several students are requesting AFF travel funds and encumbered funds are low.  Jon Sterling motioned to put aside up to $1,000 in travel funds.  It was seconded and approved.

Fundraising:

Jane asked Jon if he wanted volunteers for the fundraising committee.  The Share and Care Letter can happen any time throughout the year.  Bob Penn suggested to drop money down and not to have donations starting at $25.  Jon mentioned how many letters can you send out?  The 1st letter gets a good amount, the 2nd not as good and the 3rd letter is not really good at all.

We need manpower to send out the letters.  Send letters to people who didn’t give or make phone calls.

40% of AFF funding comes from clothing sales
40% comes from donations
20% from somewhere else

Volunteers can come early at the November 16th meeting to stuff the letters and form in envelopes for the fundraising mailing.  Student Affairs will provide the envelopes and postage.

Media Library:

Dr. Laumbach spoke about the Media Library situation.  It will be staffed with an IT person and students will have 24-hour card access.  The plan is to have every lecture posted on the I-phone within 4 hours.

The Library will be restructured.  Texts will still be available.  The physical space will still be there.  Resources all will be there and students will have more flexibility in accessing materials.  They will still have the old exams to study available.

Jon Sterling asked if the library line was taken out and the answer was yes.  Students will have access to librarians but not in this building, either at the MEB library or the Rutgers Library.

Dr. Laumbach Report:

Dr. Laumbach reported on some events and meetings for the students, i.e. orientation week, WCC, introduced to Career counseling meeting, Student Leader meeting.  Second years had their orientation.

Three quarters of the class have already started applying to programs.  Dr. Laumbach mentioned the Student Wellness Program and that students can access independently.  Their visits or contacts there will not be shared with the Student Affairs office.  She also mentioned the Cognitive Skills Program available for students who need help.

The next AFF meeting will be November 16, 2009.

Respectfully submitted,

Jean A. Martin