Math Recovery

The February 2013 USMRC Board of Directors meeting was FABULOUS! I'm so proud of the many accomplishments made by the Office staff, Board and Committees over the past six months! Our new Board Members arrived on Thursday afternoon for New Board Member Orientation led by our Center for Non-Profit Management Consultant Dr. Brad Gray, where they were acclimated to their responsibilities as a Board Member for 501 (C) 3 organization. During this session they also learned about USMRC's history, Professional Development Programs, and became acclimated to their Committee assignments and responsibilities. Please welcome Dr. Anne Catena and Mr. Fred Reynolds to the USMRC Board.

Thursday evening, the full Board had arrived and we caught up with our Math Recovery® Friends and colleagues. Our Friday meeting was jammed packed with Committee Reports. Through the reports, obstacles and accomplishments were shared. Our Conference Committee, which is chaired by Patty King and Lisa Wooley, have done a stellar job planning our conference, choosing our site, securing keynote speakers and session presenters and lodging accommodations. Mari Muri, Christina Miller, Lynn Haden and Deb Farley are also part of the Conference team and they too have made major contributions to the planning effort. The Program Development team of Christina Miller and Patty King has been working hard to finalize AVMR 2.2 revisions and trainings. Patty continues to lead our consultant team and is diligently working to bring structure, protocol and equity for our talented team of consultants. The Math Recovery® CEO Search Committee, chaired by Deb Farley, with support from Frank Parsons from the Center for Non Profit Management, provided the Board with an update related to the process and timeline to fill the CEO position. Phil Koury our Webmaster has done an awesome job maintaining our aging website which has many ailments and is in the final phases of launching our new and improved website! Phil has also been instrumental with conference and professional development on-line registration. Our hard working Nashville team, led by Mike Patterson, Interim CEO, Lisa Wooley, Director of Membership and Events and Amalia Hoagland, Director of Operations have been at the helm ensuring seamless service to our clients since September. This team has worked miracles each day and continues to make giant strides and leaps each day to establish top-notch service and products for USMRC membership and districts.

Saturday was a day of thinking and actions. The first half of our day was dedicated to Strategic Planning led by Dr. Gray. Through well-selected and purposeful activities, we created a skeleton structure to begin our Strategic Plan that will guide the organization for the next year. The second half of the day consisted of Committee work. Our Committees continue to work via phone conferences and shared documents between meetings. We dedicated many hours to USMRC to further our mission and vision and remain compliant and respectful of the rules and policy governing our non-profit organization. The Finance Committee, Board Development and Policy Committees spent hours grappling with details and tasks to secure, guide and sustain the organization. The Finance Committee members are Lynn Haden (Chair), Anne Catena and Yvette Panasowich. Vicki Breneman (Chair), Sharon Ficara, Mari Muri and Fred Reynolds serve on the Board Development Committee. The Policy Committee members include Kory Obenshain (Chair), Cathy Briand and Deb Farley. As the Chair of the Board for USMRC, I know I have the most dedicated and passionate math educators beside me, and I am grateful and appreciative for all of their efforts.

Lastly, the Executive Committee has worked tirelessly since the August meeting maintaining contact with our Nashville Team and consultants to make the best possible decisions with the information and data presented. There are many weeks when 2-3 evening phone conferences monopolized our time, but every minute of service provided was done out of compassion for the organization that we serve. The Executive Committee team is composed of Yvette Panasowich (Chair), Mari Muri (Vice Chair), Lynn Haden (Treasurer) and Carolyn Olijneck (Secretary). I don't know what I would do without this team of analytical and critical thinkers who have always been there to provide input, guidance and expertise at a moment's notice.

Sunday concluded the winter meeting with a formal Board of Director's meeting. At this meeting, we approved a few policies, renewed our RtI status on the National Board of Response to Intervention site and appointed a new Interim CEO. Welcome to the USMRC family Dr. Gary Hauk. Gary comes highly recommend and qualified with a wealth of experience working in the non-profit sector. The Board is working on creating a legacy award to exemplify and honor Math Recovery® practitioners that we hope to unveil at the Denver Conference. After three days of intense meetings and mind numbing work, the hard working USMRC Board of Directors returned home with many committee to-do lists and assignments. We look forward to seeing you at the Annual Conference and Annual Membership meeting being held in Denver this year. Yes, there will be a meeting of the USMRC membership held during the Annual Conference. Another groundbreaking accomplishment your dedicated Board of Directors has implemented.