ELECTRICAL REBUILDER’S ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Wednesday, March 1, 2006 The meeting began at 7:40 pm EST via conference call. Dan Smith, Mike Schroeder, Chris Thompson, Jody Nava, Scott Fureman, AJ Campbell, Hank Henke, Alan Melton and Bob Thomas were in attendance. Mark Kothe of the APRA joined the call to talk about Internet access at the convention center. The first item discussed was the upcoming show. Mark Kothe worked out a reasonable solution to the high price of Internet access at the Charlotte Convention Center, and he joined the call to explain. He said that Smart City, the vendor for exhibitor services in Charlotte, will allow the association to set up a wireless network, so long as each computer using the network is assigned an ISP address. This means the charges would be $125 per computer for the address plus $995 for the access drop. Mark has lined up several exhibitors with a total of six computers to use the network. That drops the price to under $300 per computer, much better than the advertised price of $1295. Mark volunteered to handle arrangements for the service. Mark also agreed to set up the network from either the APRA or ERA booth, which will be adjacent to one another. Everyone present thanked Mark for taking the initiative to find an affordable solution for those vendors needing Internet access at the show. Next show topic was a gift for ERA members who attend the show. Scott Fureman, the show committee chairman, said he had researched having parts counter mats made with the ERA logo. The price was close to $10 each in quantities of 500. Everyone liked the idea of a counter mat, but after some discussion, it was decided that $5,000 was just too much money to spend on something to give away. Everyone agreed that if the quantity could be cut in half, Scott should proceed. If not, an alternative should be found. Mike noted that time was getting short. Jody asked if the revised bylaws could be moved up on the agenda so she could leave the meeting early. Bob made note of a few areas that might require re-wording, and those areas were discussed. Jody announced she would not be able to attend the show, but said she would ensure the revised bylaws were finished in time for the Board of Advisors meeting in Charlotte. Dan talked briefly about the AERAC event in Niagara Falls the previous weekend. He said about 75 rebuilders attended Joe’s seminar, and the event was considered a success. He used his laptop to demonstrate the ERA website and, as previously decided, he offered members of the AERAC use of the ERA website for $50 (US) per year. He also noted that all but one of the attendees had computers in their shops. Next item on the agenda was the nomination committee. Alan stated the committee has held two meetings and they should be able to wrap up their work within a week. He noted they had all of the Board of Directors positions filled, and were working on adding some new members to the Board of Advisors.