ERA Board of Directors Meeting Thursday, May 3, 2007 Scott Fureman, Chris Thompson, Jim Thomas, Dan Smith, Alan Melton, Kenny Turner, Joe Bradish, Henry Henke, and Mike Dietrich were in attendance. Newly elected President Jim Thomas suggested changing the meetings to the last Thursday of the month at 7:30 pm E.T. All attending members can make the May 31″ meeting except Joe Bradish. The second agenda item was the elections in Portland on April 29″. Chris and Scott were not in Portland, but all were provided minutes of the Portland board meeting by Bob Thomas. The elections followed Robert’s Rules of Order. A new Canadian regional VP candidate was discussed, as Fraser Cox has retired and was hard to reach. He will be contacted to determine if he will continue in this position. Harald Kober was suggested as a replacement. Members discussed the trade show. Polly Shea’s official count showed that 118 rebuilders attended. Jim Thomas noted that they were interested and gained a lot from attending. The round table discussion Saturday afternoon was especially good this year. Alan Melton’s idea of having the questions in writing was very successful. In addition, the vendor prizes were well received and appreciated. Seminar attendance was good. Between 60-75 people attended the Joe Davis, Jim Thomas and Mohammed Samii seminars. The feedback that was received was all positive. The lack of Portland attendance was a concern and the board briefly discussed how to get more attendance at future trade shows. Mike Dietrich knew of three rebuilders from his area that were first-time attendees at the trade show. They came specifically to visit computer software booths. Alan will get results of the training survey conducted in 2003 by Dick Vensel with the hope of increasing attendance. Jim Thomas felt the current each price of the Counterman’s Guide was too high and should be reduced to the $12.95 range. Scott and Joe concurred and felt it was more important to get the book in ERA member’s hands at a reduced profit. Jim stated that as a non-profit organization, we could get better postage rates. None of the board members knew the exact cost of the book, so the matter was tabled until the next meeting when Chris and Jim will bring complete information. The jacket giveaway was well received and several were sold at the show. A new lower price was considered but not decided at this time. Alan Melton will keep us advised of some potential changes in the advisory board. Jim Thomas wants to use the office of the President as the first approach to any problems that arise within the ERA. He did this successfully in his first week as the newly elected President. Meeting adjourned at 8:20 pm ET. Respectfully submitted, Joe Bradish Secretary