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BOD_Minutes_2009_10_30

MINUTES OF THE
HUNGARIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING – 1:00 PM, OCTOBER 30TH, 2009
HELMSLEY’S SANDCASTLE HOTEL, SARASOTA, FLORIDA
Voting BOD members present: total votes 9 (plus Presidential tie-breaker)
G. Acs, I. Somkuti, G. Baffy, P. Leidl, I. Pirko, Z, Garami, A. Varga
Advisory Board President: P. Forbath (one vote in the absence of L. Mechtler)
I. Krisztinicz, K. Kismartoni, A. Matolcsy, S. Frater, P. Petrusz
Alternates: L. Toth, A. Tarnoki, L. Csathy (voting for Dr. T. Krisztinicz)
Also present: I. Stadler, A. Stadler, S. Mechtler, S. Gergatz (representing J. Bika,
Auxiliary President)
I. Update on Tax Exempt Status
Dr. Peredy updated the Board with regard to the status of out tax exempt status. He has
talked to Dr. Harangozo, who was very understanding and helpful. During the week we
have contacted an accounting firm by the name of Plum Company, PA, the same
accounting firm Carl, the general manager of the hotel uses. The accountant has been a
former employee of the not-for profit division of the IRS in Washington, DC. They
assured us that there will be no lapse and will not need to reapply. We do not have an
estimate of their bill yet, and Dr. Peredy will let the Board know of the cost when it
becomes available.
It also became clear, that if we are not-for profit organization, the State of Florida allows
us to be exempt from sales tax for all the events related to the meeting, as Dr. Kismartoni
previously noted. In order to do that however, we need a Florida tax exempt status. Our
opportunity to get this exemption this year has been lost.
II. MET Membership
Dr. Peredy noted that we have been members of the MET previously and proposed that
we should sign up again for the MET membership and pay through the HMAA. The
membership fee is $80. The HMAA will then send the MET a check for the full amount
for all our members who wish to join the MET. Besides political ones, the benefits of
MET membership include reduced registration fee for the MET meeting in Budapest.
There are other upcoming MET meetings as well to be held in Erdely and the Felvidek,
on which we can participate.2
A discussion was held about our official representation on the MET Board. The Board
agreed that the President should be our official representative, and in case he/she can not
attend a MET Board meeting, the President will delegate another Board member to
represent the HMAA.
III. Hungary Chapter
On the Membership Meeting the members of the HMAA approved the proposed bylaws
change in order to allow for the establishment of the Hungary Chapter. The wording of
the amendment to the bylaws accepted is as follows: “To form a Chapter of the HMAA,
a group of regular, associate, honorary, emeritus or junior members of the Association
who reside in a given geographic area may organize themselves to promote the goals of
the Association”. Dr. Garami suggested that we should use the bylaws of the New
England Chapter as an example for the bylaws of the Hungary Chapter. Dr. Kismartoni
stated that after approving the bylaws change, we should write a letter to Dr. Bodnar to
notify her that the bylaws change was approved and they can go ahead and organize the
Chapter. We will ask them to respond to us by the April BOD meeting and send us their
bylaws for review. The Board agreed. Dr. Acs asked that we should have the report and
proposed bylaws from the Hungary Chapter in advance, so that we have an opportunity to
review these documents before the April Board meeting.
IV. Auxiliary
Following up on the discussion held on Monday’s Board meeting, Dr. Peredy reported
that he had a meeting with the Auxiliary and in his opinion the Auxiliary is alive and
doing well. He would still like to see more involvement of the Board members in the
activities of the Auxiliary. The Auxiliary does not feel the need to have a separate bank
account and we can control the flow of money better with one joined bank account,
controlled by the signature of A. Stadler. Dr. Matolcsy commented that according to their
discussions with the Auxiliary, they feel that there is little communication between them
and the Board. They suggested that the President-Elect should sit automatically on the
Board of the Auxiliary. They also felt that they should have certain autonomy regarding
their modus operandi. Another concern of the Auxiliary was that although their members
volunteer their work, they have to pay a $75 membership fee. Dr. Petrusz noted that
according the bylaws the Auxiliary is a committee consisting of members of the
Association. In this regard, it may be considered a privilege that they have to pay a
reduced membership fee compared to usual members. Dr. Gergatz emphasized the
importance of waiving membership fee for Auxiliary members given the difficulty in
recruiting new members. Dr. Peredy proposed that the Auxiliary should be given the
discretion to set their membership fee and they can consider setting a sliding fee based on
the roles their members pay. Most Board members felt that as members of the
Association, Auxiliary members should pay some membership fee. Dr. Garami suggested
that more young mothers would participate in the Auxiliary, if the Auxiliary had their
meeting in a way that they would not have to leave the children. A discussion was held3
about the question whether the Auxiliary needs it own bylaws, if in fact it is a committee
of the HMAA. It was decided that this issue should be studied further and the Board will
revisit it, however it does not seem to be against the bylaws of the HMAA. In addition, it
was also decided that Dr. Varga will represent the Board in the Auxiliary.
Following further discussion, Dr. Peredy made a three part motion as follows: 1) We
should consolidate the various bank accounts of the Auxiliary and the HMAA and make
sure that two signatures are required for transactions. 2) We recommend to the Auxiliary
not to eliminate membership dues, but rather establish a sliding fee schedule, which
should not be zero. 3) The Board should provide additional support to A. Stadler to assist
the Auxiliary in their functions and to develop a job description for her to clearly outline
her functions. Following a discussion Dr. Peredy withdrew point #2 and it was decided
that the issue of the membership dues for Auxiliary members will be revisited on the
April Board meeting. The Board has voted on the parts #1 and #3 of the motion and the
motion carried unanimously.
V. April 2010 BOD Meeting
The date and time for the April 2010 BOD Meeting is Saturday, April 10, 2010, 12 noon.
VI. Scientific program for the 2010 Annual Meeting (I. Stadler)
The date of the 2010 Annual Meeting is October 24 – October 29, 2010. Dr. Gergatz
suggested that we include the dates of future meetings in the program book and on the
website in order to make it easier for members to plan ahead. Dr. Stadler asked for
suggestions for the title of next year’s meeting and topics for various scientific sessions.
Dr. Peredy suggested that Dr. Matolcsy should organize a session on Emergency
Medicine. Dr. Stadler noted that due to requirements for CME credit, we need a title for
the meeting and he suggested “Current Developments in Clinical and Biomedical
Sciences”. As far as suggestions for topics are concerned, Drs. S. Mechtler and Somkuti
proposed to organize an Ob/Gyn session, Dr. Baffy will organize a Gastroenterology
session, Drs. Garami and Pirko will organize a session on Alzheimer’s disease, Drs.
Kovacs and Krisztinicz will organize an Orthopedics session. Dr. Stadler also proposed a
session on immunology and vaccination.
VII. Old Business
1. Location of the Spring Board Meeting
Dr. Peredy noted that there was a suggestion to move the location of the Spring
Board Meeting from Sarasota to somewhere else. Dr. Kismartoni reminded the
Board that this issue has been raised before and the Board decided against it for
various reasons, including financial ones. Following further discussion the Board
again decided against the suggestion.4
2. Alzheimer’s Disease Session on Annual Meeting
Dr. Garami proposed the introduction of a $50 one day registration fee for those
people outside of the Association who wish to attend the session on Alzheimer’s
disease on the next annual meeting. He also proposed to make this session open to
the general public and include ultrasound screening as well. A discussion was
held about the timing of this session. Dr. Matolcsy raised concerns about our
medico-legal responsibilities regarding screening and medical advice offered to
the general public, and several other members shared his concerns. A discussion
was held regarding potential solutions, although members liked the idea of
screening in general. Dr. Peredy suggested that as this is mostly a program issue,
Dr. Garami should work on this with Dr. Stadler to find an acceptable solution.
3. Recruitment of New Members
Dr. Somkuti suggested that in order to increase our membership we should reach
out first to our inactive members. We should contact them with a proposal to
provide them a financial incentive, such as discounted registration or waiving
registration for one year if they come back to active membership. Dr. Stadler
suggested that active members who bring in a new member or bring back an
inactive member, should receive a discount for his/her registration or membership
fee. A discussion was held about providing these inactive members a one-time
financial incentive and most members supported a discounted registration fee
rather than waiving it all together. Dr. I. Krisztinicz raised the issue that some
people are staying at the hotel using our discounted rate without being members
of the HMAA or registering for the meeting. The Board will follow up with the
hotel to investigate this. Dr. Peredy proposed that rather than offering a
discounted registration fee, we should rather offer free membership for one full
year for inactive members if they participate at the meeting. The offer should
expire one month before the Annual Meeting. Dr. Somkuti proposed that any
member who brings in three new members should receive a free banquet ticket.
The Board unanimously approved both motions as part of a “Membership Drive”
for a one year trial and will revisit the issue at the next Board meeting.
The question was raised whether we can do anything to increase the number of
new members and it was suggested that we should contact the AMA again to
obtain a list of Hungarian physicians practicing in the United States. Dr. Peredy
volunteered to contact the AMA for such a list. He will provide the list to Dr. S.
Mechtler, who will put together a package including a copy of the Archives and
mail it to the prospective members.
4. Thank You Letter from the Bethlen Foundation
Dr. I. Krisztinicz noted that for years we have supported Anna Neni’s chariry in
Erdely and over the years she has collected $1,000 from us. This year we received
a Thank You letter from Aniko Bethlen of the Bethlen Foundation, which she has
read to the Board. We will send a response through Anna Neni.5
VIII. New Business
1. Banquet
Dr. Kismartoni raised some concerns regarding the organization and execution of
the official program at the Banquet, which he believes was the responsibility of
the President and the entire Board as well. He proposed that the banquet should be
much better organized and that a schedule for the ceremony should be formalized.
It was also noted that we should pay more attention to selecting more suitable
keynote speakers, keeping in mind that the keynote speech should not be a
scientific lecture, but rather a lecture giving guidance and vision for the future.
Dr. Forbath volunteered to take responsibility for organizing next year’s banquet
and also to help establish a schedule for the ceremony to formally outline the
sequence of events to follow at the banquet.
It was also decided that the Auxilary will talk to Erika from the Columbia
Restaurant to explore the possibility of organizing an event there. Although
members approve of the current venue for the banquet, the location for next year’s
banquet will be decided on the April Board Meeting. Dr. Somkuti proposed that
we should also look into the possibility of moving the banquet back to Friday if
we find a suitable venue.
It was also noted that we lost approximately $1,200 on the banquet. The Board
decided that the Auxiliary should explore solutions to make sure that we at least
break even financially on the banquet.
2. Award for Physicians in Buffalo Supervising the Exchange Students
As previously discussed with other Board members, Dr. Garami proposed that we
should establish an award or recognition for the physicians who actually take care
of and supervise our exchange students in Buffalo and invite them to give a
lecture at our Annual Meeting. The award should be a teaching award based on
the recommendation of the students. The Board supported the idea and decided
that the Student Exchange Committee should work out the details and report back
to the Board in April.
Submitted by
Geza Acs, MD, PhD
Secretary
HMAA