MINUTES ERA Board of Directors Meeting Sunday, April 6, 2008 – Grand Rapids, MI. Start Time: 7:17 AM EDT Attendees: Jim Thomas, Mike Shroeder, Darlene Shroeder, Bill Ernst, Rick Pate, Larry Haggemeister, Joe Davis, Bill Skillings, Ronnie Charnes, Ken Plourde, Azam Rahamat, Daren Roggentien, Dan Smith, Paul Lavoie, Dick Vensel, Wes Grueninger, Bob Thomas, Tom Barrett, Casey Barrett, Mike Dietrich, Hank Henke, Alan Melton, Mark Hoogterp, Jim Talsma, Chris Galbreath, Larry Walters, Harald Kober and Kenny Turner. AGENDA 1. TREASURERS REPORT BY CHRIS THOMPSON (See Attachment) Dan Smith made a motion to accept the Treasurers Report as presented. Ronnie Charnes seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 2. MEMBERSHIP REPORT BY MIKE SCHROEDER (See Attachment) a.) Mike Schroeder gave the membership report because Jerry Kieffer was unable to attend. b.) Six new members were signed in Grand Rapids, which are not reflected in the report. c.) Comments regarding the shrinking membership were made by Jim Thomas, Ronnie Charnes, Larry Hagemeister and Mike Schroeder. 3. a.) The new forum “It Worked for Me”, a Mike Schroeder suggestion, has been well received by the members. b.) Three new websites were sold last year. c.) Wes reported that there are 60-70 regular website users and approximately 40 occasional users. 4. PROPOSAL TO ADD ANOTHER CANADIAN VP a.) Jim Thomas and Dan Smith discussed an effort to add former AEREC members to the ERA. b.) Mike Dietrich made a motion to amend the bylaws to add another Canadian VP. This would create an East and West Canadian VP divided by the Manitoba-Ontario border. Hank Henke seconded and the vote was unanimous to accept. c.) Ken Plourde made a motion to make the above motion a permanent change in the bylaws by the Executive Board of Directors in the future. This temporarily suspended the current bylaws to allow for an East Canadian VP to be elected. Joe Davis seconded and the vote was unanimous to accept. Therefore, the election for East Canadian VP was held 4/6/08. 5. a.) President Jim Thomas presented the following certificates of appreciation: e Blaine White (absent) – Service as NE VP e Bob Thomas – Service as Training Committee Director e Wes Grueninger – “Master Webmaster” e Jim Talsma – Service on Board of Advisors b.) Jim Thomas also presented Alan Melton with a crystal-engraved plaque for service as a Founding- Charter Member of the ERA. A standing ovation followed. 6. PRESIDENTS MESSAGE a.) Jim Thomas expressed appreciation for all those who have helped make the ERA the strong organization it is. He stressed that with a couple of exceptions, all other contributions are voluntary. b.) Jim Thomas discussed the image of the industry as a whole. To summarize Jim’s comments: Our image is very important and needs improvement. The industry needs to fight for its position in the marketplace and a group effort needs to be mounted to accomplish this for the survival of the industry. 7. NEW BUSINESS a.) Wes Grueninger stated that the ERA is currently a North American organization. He has received inquiries from businesses worldwide and asked for discussion regarding their possible membership. Most of these requests were from Chinese suppliers.