Valentine’s Day has come and gone, hopefully not too much overindulgence in the chocolate. The Board meeting the day before Valentine’s Day had more than enough cookies and candy. Yesterday, out of curiosity, I looked up what the day after Valentine’s Day was and found Singles Awareness (Appreciation) Day. According to Dictionary.com, “The origin of Singles Awareness Day,..., is often credited to journalist Dustin Barnes. According to Barnes, he came up with the idea as a high school student in 2001 along with his fellow single friends as a lighthearted way to celebrate their single status.” So there you have it. 

Board meeting – the Legislature

• Kay Faris, ASURA President, told the Board that she, Don Dotts, chair of the Government Liaison Council, along with a few other ASURA members would be meeting with Kendra Burton, the ASU Exec Director, State Relations, Govt and Comm Engagement and ASURA’s University Liaison, to discuss what ASURA could do to help the University in its legislative efforts.
• Pat Schneider, a member of the Government Liaison Council, reported on legislative bills of interest. There are three ASRS bills, one to extend the agency for another eight years and two to update existing statutes. There is a bill which would eliminate the ability of a family member to take a ballot for a homebound person to a voting center. Finally, Pat prepared a report on attending the Virtual Day at the Capitol put on by the Arizona Retirement Security Coalition, an ASRS lobbying organization. The report, along with other items, details the ASRS bills discussed earlier. The report is well worth reading, especially if you are in the ASRS retirement plan.
• Will Stasi, ASURA Immediate Past President, and Kay Faris reported on attending the President’s Breakfast. Will said it was different from previous breakfasts in that President Crow did not give a state of the university talk but rather gave a presentation about the new medical school and request from the Legislature for $50 million. Pat Schneider mentioned that the Capitol Times had done a “Morning Scoop” piece on the Arizona healthcare initiative which she felt was very informative and well worth watching if you want to understand what is being proposed. There was some discussion from Board members questioning the success of this initiative.

Liability Insurance

For thirty plus years ASURA has operated with no liability insurance, assuming we did not need any. I did a quick search of the Annual Reports and Board minutes and could find no mention of liability insurance, plenty of references to health insurance.

Last summer, when the travel committee was contemplating offering a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon, Partha Dasgupta, our Treasurer, brought up the question of what happens if someone is hurt during the trip? We all thought it would be the touring company’s liability but we really did not know.

To help the Board understand the liability issue, the Board invited Denise Blommel, a long time Arizona attorney, to help the Board better understand ASURA’s liability. Denise started her presentation saying she was sharing her thoughts as a “Board” member not as a lawyer.

 

The basic question about liability insurance is: Who will cover the risk if an injury occurs at an ASURA event / tour? Is it ASU, ASURA, the vendor, or you personally as a member of the Board?

• If ASURA is not covered by ASU there are two types of liability insurance to consider: General liability and Directors and Officers insurance.General Liability Insurance – When we schedule an event at some facility or with some company, we need to know if the venue / company has indemnification for ASURA. If the venue / company has indemnification then they, the vendor, are going to cover the risk.
• Directors and Officers (DNO) Liability Insurance – DNO insurance addresses the case where an officer or director is sued. DNO insurance provides indemnification for the officers / directors relative to their role in the management of the association.

It was a very informative presentation, giving ASURA some things to think about; which is more than we have done for thirty years. Kay Faris, Maria Hesse, and Partha Dasgupta will continue to research this and will eventually make a recommendation to the Board.

Board voting

The election of new Board of Directors is in full swing. The current turnout is a bit thin (120). If you have not voted please take 2 minutes to vote to show your support for these volunteers.