COMBINED ORGANIZATIONS OF NUMISMATIC ERROR
COLLECTORS OF AMERICA (CONECA)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS (BOD)
ACTIONS FROM 01/01/2014 – 12/31/2014
Jason Cuvelier Secretary
The CONECA Board of Directors called the following meetings and voted on the following motions:
Motion: by Mike Ellis (4/27/2014) seconded by Jason Cuvelier
COMBINED ORGANIZATIONS OF NUMISMATIC
ERROR COLLECTORS OF AMERICA (CONECA)
GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE
GUIDELINES
The CONECA Grievance Committee is a standing committee established in the CONECA By-Laws.
“A Grievance Committee consisting of a minimum of three members of the club, one of whom shall be a Board member who chairs the committee, shall be appointed by the President. All grievances against a member of the club shall be submitted to and investigated by this committee. The committee shall do its best to resolve the grievance. However, should the committee be unable to do so, the Chairman of the Grievance Committee shall brief the Board Secretary on the findings and recommendations of the Grievance Committee. The matter will then be presented to the Board for a vote upon resolution of the situation. The decision of the Board is final; failure to comply with the decision of the Board could result in disciplinary action by the Board.” (Article V. Section 4)
It is chaired by a member of the Board designated by the CONECA President and includes at least two other CONECA members appointed by the President.
When a member of the Board receives a written complaint about a CONECA member, (s)he shall forward it to the Chair of the Grievance Committee with a copy to the CONECA Secretary.
The Grievance Committee Chair, in consultation with the other members of the Committee, shall promptly determine whether or not the complaint is a grievance that should be handled by the Committee. If the complaint is a grievance to be handled by the Committee, the Chair shall contact the person making the complaint, confirm that (s)he wishes to proceed with the grievance procedure, and request any additional information the Committee may need to assess the grievance.
For example, the Grievance Committee may choose to handle a grievance against a member who is alleged to have made frequent specific public statements that discredit CONECA. Or, it may choose to handle a grievance against a member who has accepted a fee to examine or attribute a coin, but has not fulfilled the agreement within a reasonable time.
At a minimum, a grievance that will be handled by the Committee should contain:
– The full name of the person filing the grievance.
– The full name of the CONECA member against whom the grievance is being filed.
– A detailed and specific account of the problem that prompted the grievance.
– The efforts made by the person filing the grievance to rectify the situation.
If the complaint is not a grievance that should be handled by the Committee, the Chair shall notify the person making the complaint that it is not being accepted as a grievance to be handled by the Committee and the reason why.
For example, the Grievance Committee may choose not to handle a grievance that is already being handled in another forum such as a court of law, in mediation, or in a grievance procedure by another organization. Or, it may choose not to handle a grievance against a member who made a mistake in a transaction but took steps to correct the error in a reasonable amount of time.
After reviewing the grievance that has been accepted for assessment, the Committee shall contact the CONECA member against whom the grievance has been filed and inform him/her of the name of person filing the grievance and the details of the grievance, suggest that (s)he contact the person filing the grievance to discuss and rectify the situation, and request a written response to the grievance describing the actions (s)he has taken to rectify the situation or provide an explanation as to why the situation should not be handled by the Committee.
If the member against whom the grievance has been filed does not respond in 21 days, the Committee shall presume the grievance is substantiated and forward it to the CONECA Secretary for action by the Board. If the person against whom the grievance has been filed does respond, the Committee shall discuss both the grievance and the rebuttal, make efforts to help the parties resolve the grievance, then make an assessment and send it and a recommendation to the CONECA Secretary.
The Grievance Committee should move with deliberate speed, but delay completing its assessment as long as it appears that the parties are making progress toward rectifying the situation.
The Grievance Committee’s assessment and recommendation could include:
– The grievance has been resolved, and the Board of Directors should take no action.
– The grievance is unresolved and unfounded, i.e., more likely to be untrue than true, and the Board should take no action.
– The grievance is unresolved and unsubstantiated, i.e. just as likely to be true as untrue, and the Board of Directors should take no action.
– The grievance is unresolved and substantiated, i.e., more likely to be true that untrue, and the Board should take some action such as a written warning or suspension or expulsion from the club.
Unless the Board of Directors sends the grievance back to the Committee for further assessment, the work of the Committee is done when its recommendation is sent to the Board of Directors. The Committee has no authority to take any action on the grievance other than facilitating resolution, making and assessment, and making a recommendation to the Board.
The Committee Chair shall keep a summary of the grievance which will include the name of the person against whom the grievance was filed, the name of the person filing the grievance, a short summary of the grievance, and a note of the Committee’s recommendation to the Board. The log shall be forward to the Chair’s successor.
End
Passed
Yes: 9
No: 0
Abstain: 0
Motion: made by Al Raddi (7/16/2014), seconded by Jon Sullivan:
I move that we commence the 2014 CONECA annual meeting
Started by Mark Lighterman
Board reviews Jim Motley report.
Motion: made by Jim Motley (7/30/2014) seconded by Michael Howard
As Membership Chair I make a motion that Dues remain the same as last year.
Passed
Yes: 6
No: 0
Abstain: 0
Motion: made by Jim Motley (7/31/2014) seconded by Al Raddi
I make a motion to leave the Honorary Membership as is.
Passed
Yes: 9
No: 0
Abstain: 0
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERSHIP
At the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center – Room 40 Rosement, IL
On Saturday August 9, 2014 at 10:00 AM
Members Present
Keith Bock
Jon Sullivan
Al Raddi
Alex Ness
Joe Ceravone
Mike Maino
Jim Motley
Bob Mills
Mark Lighterman
Peter Lukic
Jim Cauley
President Mark Lighterman called the meeting to order.
I. After introducing the members of the Board of Directors present, Mark noted that the Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors had been held online, and the Board:
– Elected Mike Howard and Jason Cuvelier as the club’s annual Outstanding Members.
– Voted to maintain the current dues structure.
– Voted to maintain the current coin examination and attribution fee structure.
II. Mark Announced:
– Upon the death of club Treasurer Jim Checkovich, the Board learned that the club’s status as a tax exempt non-profit educational organization (IRS Code, 501[c] [3]) had lapsed. It has been restored retroactively.
– There are two Board Seats – Seat 4: Public Relations and Elections and Seat 8: Errorama and American Numismatic Association (ANA) Liaison – for which there are no candidates for 2015.
III. Board Seat Reports
A. Board Seat 1: Membership by Jim Motley
– Club membership is holding steady at around 650.
– Thirteen states have CONECA State Representatives.
B. Board Seat 2: Publications by Mark Lighterman
– Errorscope has a new printer and the club is saving money.
– CONECA is applying for non-profit mailing status in the hope of saving more money.
C. Board Seat 3: Youth Director by Jon Sullivan
– The “What’s the Error” contest for Young Numismatist (YNs) continues to appear in Errorscope.
– A YN won one of this year’s CONECA Literary Awards.
D. Board Seat 5: Webmaster by Jim Motley
– Jim has been filling in for an ailing Ken Potter.
– The CONECA Forum is active and has about 1,700 members
– A lot of “behind-the-scenes” work has been and still needs to be done on the web site, and Peter Lukic has been recruited to help.
E. Board Seat 7: Recognitions and Historian
– The 2014 awards have been given out.
– The “Club History” section on the web site is up-to-date.
– The new CONECA Librarian Jon Sullivan has taken possession of all the holdings.
F. Board Seat 8: Errorama and ANA Liaison by Mark Lighterman
– The CONECA Awards banquet was held at Gibson’s Restaurant and will be held there again in 2015.
– Unfortunately, there were no error coin exhibits at this year’s ANA show.
Mark adjourned the meeting at approximately 11:00 AM
Submitted by Al Raddi