Minutes of SWANA Rocky Mountain Chapter Monthly Board of Directors Meeting - Attachment A

International Board Update
By Dick Sprague

I attended the midyear SWANA International Board meeting on June 23 – 24, 2008, in Silver Spring, MD. This was my first trip to Silver Spring, and it was interesting to see the SWANA Headquarters.

One of the highlights of the meeting resulted from the Wisconsin Chapter reaching out to small haulers in the western part of the state. Larry Hougom, one of the owners of Hilltopper Refuse and Recycling Service, attended the IB meeting to learn about SWANA, and to teach us about his needs. Hilltopper is a family-owned 30- to 35-truck operation, and he is trying to become more proactive rather than reactive to business and regulatory requirements. Hougom cited dealing with bad debt, methods for passing along fuel cost increases, workman’s comp, OSHA and DOT requirements as areas where small haulers need assistance. He gave an example of a recent informational meeting at which a DOT inspector showed how he evaluates the roadworthiness of a packer truck. Hearing first hand what the inspector looks at was invaluable to Hilltopper. SWANA’s cost structure is not an impediment to being a SWANA member if there is real knowledge gained from the membership.

Another highlight involved outreach to another part of our solid waste community, one which is growing rapidly: native Spanish-speaking service providers. SWANA will be translating the quizzes associated with the Waste Screening Course as soon as the course update is completed sometime this fall or winter. During 2009, SWANA will evaluate the market for these translated quizzes. If they are successful, SWANA plans to translate the quizzes related to MOLO, Transfer Station and C&D Courses as those are updated. These updates and translations will also consider International Units (SI), as well as standard U.S. units to facilitate understanding in the Spanish-speaking community.

The IB took several notable actions during the meeting. We approved the following items:

The FY 2007 Audit and Management Letter. The audit was clean with a few items for Management to consider. SWANA remains very financially healthy.
The FY 2009 – 2013 Strategic Management Plan. This Plan describes the future growth of the organization.
The FY 09 Program Plan, which provides an operations plan and budget for the next fiscal year.

The IB also approved Provisional Chapter status for the Puerto Rico Chapter. If the Puerto Rico Chapter fulfills certain administrative and operational requirements (e.g., development of Chapter Bylaws, and conduct of regular Chapter meetings) in the next year, it will become a full Chapter at Wastecon 2009 – and the first new chapter in more than 10 years!