The EACC Board of Directors convened for its final meeting of 2021 via Microsoft Teams on Thursday, October 28. After a brief recap of the success of our Annual Gala and our EACC TRANSFORM events, the Board moved to its formal agenda, quickly approving the minutes of its July meeting and receiving a financial report for Q3. Then EACC Executive Director Todd Schwartz outlined a draft 2022 EACC Program Calendar, which anticipates a significant waning of public health concerns and therefore a return of programs like our Company Briefing Series, as well as some possible new programs, facilitated by the permanent addition of Claudia Schroeder to the EACC Director, Events and Projects.
The board then reviewed the draft slate of candidates for the 2022 Board of Directors. [As has been reported elsewhere, both our membership and board structure are undergoing significant change this year.] Board President Dominic Franchini outlined the current draft board slate that reflects the current commitments. He expressed gratitude to those members who would leave the Board at the end of the year (most of whom have years of faithful service), and reminded them that they can still play an active role in supporting the EACC. He thanked those remaining on the board and also noted that we expect to welcome at least 5 or more representatives of operating companies to the Board in 2022. Finally, he noted that the slate is not final, and said there was time for board members to reclama their decisions to depart. Schwartz said the final slate would be sent with the Official meeting notice on Monday, November 8 – and set Friday, November 5 as the last date for current board members to notify us of their intentions to remain on the board.
Executive Director Schwartz also gained board approval for the EACC to become a member of the non-partisan coalition Ohio Business for Immigration Solutions and for the Executive Committee to work with him to finalize compensation packages for EACC staff for 2022.
Schwartz also provided an update on the 2022 Membership renewal cycle and the implementation of our new membership structure. The responses to date have been positive with a good number of members indicating their intentions to renew and even upgrade their memberships (including those firms which had already upgraded earlier in 2021). However, we still are waiting for confirmations from many members and we won’t have a truly clear picture until membership invoices start going out next week.
Board President Franchini closed the meeting with a toast to our departing Board members and thanks to all for their hard work and support.