Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
January 22-23, 2006

Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC

Present: Bruce Drewes (ID LTAP), Lisa Harris (KS LTAP), Terry McNinch (MI LTAP), Patsy Anderson (KY LTAP), Linda Howe-Steiger (CA LTAP), George Huntington (WY LTAP), Marie Walsh (LA LTAP), Ed Stellfox (MD LTAP), Chris Ahmadjian (MA LTAP), Clark Martin (FHWA), Cameron Ishaq (FHWA), Gib Peaslee (FHWA), Lisa Pogue (LTAP Clearinghouse).

Absent: Evan Hong (CA/NV TTAP)

President Bruce Drewes called the meeting to order at 9:05 AM and welcomed NLTAPA members who were also attending.

Review EC meeting agenda. The following changes were suggested: Add an update about LTAP involvement with the UTCs to Monday's session; Add review of a draft NLTAPA member brochure to Monday's session; Add a brief work group updates for External Communications and Professional Development. George Huntington moved and Linda Howe-Steiger seconded to approve the EC agenda as changed. The motion passed unanimously.

Review NLTAPA business meeting agenda. A few items were rearranged on the agenda. It was also clarified that focus group discussions during the latter part of the meeting will cover: 1) the LTAP six tasks (led by Bruce Drewes), 2) Clearinghouse services (led by Ed Stellfox), and 3) Internal communications and communicating best practices (led by Chris Ahmadjian).

January 2006 Treasurer's report. Duane Smith answered a few questions about the treasurer's report. Duane will present the report at the business meeting and Bruce will ask members to accept it.

NLTAPA Possibly Becoming a Member of the Transportation Curriculum Coordinating Committee (TCCC). Discussion to be rescheduled due to absence of presenter from FHWA.

NLTAPA work plan. Bruce reviewed a draft work plan and budget for January 2006 through July 2007. Changes suggested by the EC: Allocate $300 each for conference calls for the Product Development and Partnerships Work Groups; Note that the beginning balance listing in the document for NTLAPA funds is for July 2005; Note that the ending balance is for June 30, 2007. Terry McNinch made the following motion, seconded by Patsy Anderson: The EC accepts the draft work plan and budget with changes discussed and the President will submit the document to membership for their concurrence. The motion passed unanimously.

Role and Responsibilities (R&R) Update. Cameron Ishaq provided a verbal report of where he sees the status of the R&R process. He reviewed completed items and the items placed in a "parking lot" for further review by this group. Completed items:

• Internal Program Report. FHWA's snapshot report will be expanded to serve this purpose. FHWA to take the lead.
• Strategic Planning Committee. A charter has been adopted and this group is under way.
• LTAP Clearinghouse. New RPF, steering committee and new contract this year. Structure is in place.
• Program awards and recognition. R&R had developed some recommendations included adding awards for current efforts. NLTAPA's Professional Development Work Group is moving forward with this effort.
• Annual and regional meeting planning. NLTAPA is moving forward with these items and with a proposal for NLTAPA taking ownership of the annual conference and a larger role in developing the program, with FHWA.

Need more discussion by the R&R Group:

• Staff development. NLTAPA has taken on some of this, but more discussion is needed.
• Program promotion. FHWA and NLTAPA both have a role in this.
• Partnerships. The R&R group will be addressing the issue of how FHWA and NLTAPA can work together to maximize partnerships and share information etc.
• LTAP/TTAP branding. Ensure coordination between FHWA and NLTAPA on how the Program and the Association are branded.

Cameron recommended that the R&R Group meet again in Spring or Summer 2006 to finish their recommendations.Dan Cady noted that Region 7 had difficulty getting a good number of suggestions for agenda items for the 2005 LTAP conference in Dubuque. He suggested that the EC take more of a lead in determining the annual meeting agenda. Cady suggested developing a definition of the purpose of the meeting to help the agenda planners, and identifying roles of FHWA, NLTAPA and the region in developing the program and activities during the conference. Duane Smith asked how the pending changes from the R&R can be institutionalized to provide continuity. Cameron noted that it is up to the current and new representatives to keep this going. The R&R discussion was tabled, to be continued on Monday.

Bruce thanked the Centers who attended the EC meeting.

The EC recessed at 10:10 AM and reconvened on Monday, January 23 at 9:15 AM.

R&R, continued. Cameron Ishaq reviewed the main points from the day before. After some discussion, the EC directed Bruce Drewes and Cameron to plan a 2-day meeting of the R&R Group, preferably in Spring 2006, to finish their recommendations.

Some work group updates:

• Program Strategies Work Group. Evan Hong and Bruce Drewes have been working on a proposal for a revised governing structure for NLTAPA. Bruce reviewed the main points of the document. The EC discussed the pros and cons of different officer configurations. Bruce and Lisa Harris will provide guidance for the Clearinghouse in taking on some of the administrative duties of the Association, like taking minutes. Clark Martin offered to work with NLTAPA to see how FHWA can help ease the workload of the EC. Regarding regional structure, some goals the EC discussed were to maintain working relationships that exist, examine what purposes the structure serves, and consider how the officer structure and the regional structure are related in making an effective organization. One idea discussed was to divide the Centers by type of center rather than geographical regions, such as universities, tribal, DOT. Another idea was to divide the Centers by nature of customer needs. The EC discussed the issue of DOT Centers not being well represented because they can't travel. Clark Martin offered to have a discussion with DOT Center directors to see how FHWA can help remedy this situation. Bruce suggested soliciting help from AASHTO. Bruce will convene a small group to refine the restructuring proposal for continued discussion by the EC at the Spring meeting and presentation to the members at the summer LTAP meeting.
• Partnerships Work Group. Marie Walsh and Patsy Anderson distributed a rough discussion draft entitled "Partnership Work Group Report" dated January 5, 2006. The report was prepared by a small work group formed to evaluate how NLTAPA is working with partners and how it can be more effective. The group will re-clarify goals of partnerships and criteria for consideration as a partner. The group is considering having different levels of relationship, such as associate and corporate memberships, which could help bring in revenue. The group would like to identify potential partners rather than having them come to us. Clark Martin noted that two activities drive NLTAPA partnerships: reauthorization and program needs. Clark offered to look into FHWA providing some support for partnerships. Marie welcomed comments on the group's work. Discussion will continue at EC conference calls. For current partnerships, partnership liaisons are each drafting a brief work plan and road map for Center participation.
• Internal Communications. Chris Ahmadjian reported about the focus group discussion held on Sunday about best practices and internal communications. Topics included regional meetings and how to communicate and share best practices in LTAP. The focus group suggested gathering best practices at regional meetings and share them at a session at each national LTAP meeting. Such a session is already planned for the 2006 conference. The group discussed the logistics of administering an Internet forum and recommended staying with T2ALL as a communication mechanism for now. There is a T2ALL archive and Chris will talk with Lisa Pogue about getting this on the Program Web site.Lisa Harris reviewed a draft brochure entitled "National LTAP Association: A Primer for Members," designed to provide basic information about the Association to LTAP directors and staff. George Huntington suggested adding more information about the work groups and standing committees and what they do. Clark Martin suggested adding program information and statistics and how the Association supports the overall Program. Linda Howe-Steiger noted that the above brochure contains information not of interest to outside audiences and that an external brochure would also be useful. The EC will work with FHWA to develop a program brochure for external communications. The Clearinghouse will add the internal brochure, once completed, to the welcome wagon and LTAP handbook.
• Professional Development. Linda Howe-Steiger presented proposed criteria for the Ray Griffith Award that would reward national extraordinary service and leadership for retired or active individuals in the LTAP community. Duane Smith noted that criteria for the award already exist. Bruce Drewes recommended a blending of the two. Duane will send current criteria to Linda. The name of the award might be changed to the National Program Achievement Award. The Professional Development Group will develop a revised draft of criteria, for EC approval.

Vendor Guidelines. Duane Smith reviewed a proposal for how a vendor program could be coordinated for LTAP annual conferences. He asked for feedback before the EC's February conference call (send comments directly to Duane). Lisa Harris will share data from a survey of 2005 vendors at the next EC conference call.

Status of NLTAPA 501c3 filing. Duane Smith reported that the original filing paperwork appears to be lost. The EC decided to re-file. Bruce Drewes will investigate the options for filing as a nonprofit corporation and the cost of hiring an attorney for filing, and will report by the March EC conference call.

Regional rep orientation packet. Lisa Harris reported that the draft orientation packet has been sent to EC by Evan Hong, and Evan has received five responses so far. Send any more comments to Lisa-H before the February conference call.

Clearinghouse Steering Committee. Donna Shea recommended that the EC's representative to the Steering Committee report regularly to the EC to keep them apprised of that group's work, and to avoid duplicating efforts. Lisa Pogue reported that the Steering Committee met at TRB and discussed having a newsletter article collection, LTAP 101 development, how NLTAPA work groups can tie in into Clearinghouse activities, and having an editorial board to identify the best of LTAP newsletter articles to share with other Centers.

LTAP Involvement with University Transportation Centers (UTCs). Terry McNinch reported on research his Center has done for the EC about LTAP and UTC involvement. Nine Centers reported involvement with a UTC. Some experiences have been positive and some not. Clark Martin noted that the UTCs have three major tasks: research, transportation education and technology transfer. Clark said technology transfer is not currently a UTC strength and that suggested that NLTAPA focus on learning more about the UTCs and how we can work together. Bruce Drewes will report about his January meeting with the President of CUTC at the February conference call.

National LTAP Conference Planning. Terry McNinch distributed a draft structure for NLTAPA taking the lead in organizing the conference. Terry asked for EC comment.

The Executive Committee adjourned at 11:50 AM.

Minutes submitted by Lisa Harris, Kansas LTAP, NLTAPA Secretary