The Board of NOLAA met on Wednesday, April 7, 2010, at the new NOLAA Home. In attendance were 8 Board Members including Pierre Chelala, Joe Khadige, Paul Daher, Henry Nahra, Nasseeb Saadeh, Pierre Bejjani, Rick Ganim, Charbil Biri, and two guests Dick Ganim and Julie Ganim.

Treasurer’s Report: $27,000 is in the checking account $5,100 is in scholarship fund. The Board requested a written financial to be presented in future meetings. Need to start thinking about ways of raising funds to pay for the mortgage and operating costs of the new building.

New NOLAA Home:

· Renovation work is progressing.

· The Board entrusted Pierre C. and Rick G. to make a final decision on the alternate kitchen hood offered by John Harb after evaluating the costs and confirming that it will work within the provided space and that it can be vented to the outside.

· The Board voted to buy 2 more tables and 20 chairs.

· The Board voted to spend $650 on an engineering study for the removal of the corner wall between the meeting rooms.

· Joe K. will solicit proposals for a security/alarm system.

· Joe K. will propose a video/sound system.

Membership Approval: The Board approved Shereen Asmar, Tania Nemer, Jeffrey Kassouf, Deneen Kassouf, Iskandar Choueiri, John Daher, Elias Hazkial, and Boutros Chaloub applications for membership.

MOTIONS:

· The Board passed a motion to accept Nicole Zarife’s resignation and to accept Rick Ganim as Nicole’s replacement on the Board.

· The Board passed a motion to authorize Rick G. to purchase the Board Directors Liability insurance policy.

· Pierre C. asked all Board members to refrain from submitting motions for vote via e-mails. Any matter that requires the Board’s urgent attention must be presented to Pierre C. who will call for a special meeting.

NOLAA Website: Pierre C. expressed his dissatisfaction with the current format of the website; mainly with regards to the ease of navigation. Joe K. will coordinate a meeting between Pierre C. and Marc Simmons, the website curator, to address Pierre’s concerns.

NOLAA Three Year Operational Plan: Joe K. asked the Board members to review the proposed plan and be ready to discuss during next meeting.

Social Activities:

· Gulf outing: Scheduled for Sunday August 29th at Copper Top in Brunswick Hills. The event will be chaired by Paul Daher and George Nassif. Tickets will be priced at $125/person same as last year. The Board thanked Joe K. for his efforts and authorized him to sign the contract after clarifying the “separate times issue” and the playing order.

· Summer picnic: Cancelled due to budgetary constraints.

· Heritage Ball: Date is set for October 23rd. Julie Ganim presented a detailed timeline and checklist of responsibilities and tasks that must be performed in a timely manner in preparation for the event and stressed the need to designate a chair person and to finalize the list of honorees as soon as possible. Joe K. to confirm with Nicole the status of our commitment to the Lacentre facility.

· Poker Tournament: Nasseeb S. will help Joe K. to plan and organize the event. It will require the commitment of 20 persons that must be trained and be available for a two consecutive days event.

General Session: April’s General Session meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 28th. Finger food will be served after the meeting at a budgetary cost of $300.00

Board Meetings: will move to the first Wednesday of every month at 6 pm.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:20pm

The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 6:00 pm