ELECTRICAL REBUILDER’S ASSOCIATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING Wednesday, May 5, 2004 The meeting began at 7:05 pm eastern time via conference call. Mike Schroeder, Alan Melton, Polly Shea, & Bob Thomas were present. Chris Thompson was present for the start of the phone call but had to leave early. First item of business was the show, only two weeks away. Polly reported that the number of exhibitors was down from the previous show. This was due to several who had either closed or had been bought out. Because the show has moved farther east this time, several others, located west of Kansas City, would not be returning because of the increased distance. Polly said she would send out a list of exhibitors and an updated schedule of events by week’s end. She also stated that a few small non-exhibiting companies were requesting admission at a reduced rate. One was semi-retired (business closed) and another was an independent warehouse. It was suggested the semi-retired individual could join under the individual member category, so long as his intentions did not include selling. It was pointed out that independent warehouses are separate businesses and would have to pay as such to attend. Bob suggested that Polly use EMS as an example when explaining this to independent warehouses. Mike reported that he was still negotiating with Dell on the computer for the show, and noted it would be ordered before the weekend, to guarantee delivery. Bob reported that Wes Grueninger had made lots of progress with the new website, but that it would not be operational by the show. Some parts of the site will be finished, but the membership section is not one of them. The goal is now to have a demo homepage and forum set up, so at least parts of the site can be shown at the ERA booth. Bob said that Wes did not want to rush the project and sacrifice functionality. The primary goal is still to build the best website possible to meet the needs of the association. Alan reported that he met with Jeff Reynolds and Bill Gager at the Vancouver Electrical Clinic last weekend. He said that Jeff has proposed a jointly sponsored event in Niagara Falls in the spring of 2005. Alan informed him that our 2005 show would be held in the northeastern US, during the later part of May. Jeff said they would put as much space as possible between their event and ours, with the hope that we will participate in some way.