DATE: May 19, 2005

LOCATION: Hauppauge Village Hall, Hauppauge, New York

TIME: 7:30 PM

PRESENT: BOD Members:
Joan Bedosky    John Ryan   Tom Myles    Pat Zirkel   Dan Bartley    Joan Psotto   Kevin Connors    Tom Dowling   John Mulvey    Phil Megna   Sr. Regina McAuley    Anne Kerrigan

Excused: Joe Kern    Jim Godfrey   Janet Godfrey

Committee Members:
Ann Gribbins    Priest Support
Tom Lloyd    Membership
Dotty Redmond   Mary Steele    Johanna DiGiovanni    Prayer
Judy Grillo    Province Coordinator
George Sheppard   Province Coordinator
Jen McQuaid   Adele Fiorentino   Fran Toth   Penny Duggan    Province Coordinator
Leo Cuomo    Vigils
Marilyn Fitzpatrick

The meeting began with a prayer led by Joan Psotto

The minutes of the April 21, 2005 BOD meeting were read and accepted.

Announcements:
The next BOD evening of prayer is scheduled for September 22, 2005.

The BOD business meeting /retreat is scheduled for June 4th at St. Joseph's in Brentwood.

BOD members are requested to send their comments/ideas to Fr. Joe Lynch at josephlynch99@aol.com.

The July Regional meeting is at the Dominican Motherhouse in Amityville and it is an evening of prayer for members. Thank you to the team who worked on the May Regional. It was a great success!

A motion was put forth by the Executive Committee. It was proposed that all committee report s and questions of regular business be addressed to the Executive Committee as a forum of first resort. A discussion ensued which addressed the pros and cons of the proposal. The proposal passed with one opposed and with one abstention.

An information sheet entitled What does SNAP do? was circulated with compliments of Lisa Braglia, who was unable to attend. As the result of multiple conversations with SNAP leaders and personnel as well as with victims, Lisa Braglia is assembling a resource referral database. This database will include therapists, attorneys, substance abuse counselors, social workers and others who can help the abused. This will be a great service and is in keeping with the goals of the VOTF. Tom Myles of the Compliance Committee reinforced the need for a resource list to support any victims who might come forward and request assistance.

Penny Duggan of the Vigils Committee informed the BOD that she and two other Vigils Committee members had been interviewed by Bob Summerville of "The Voice of the People" talk show on public access radio, KJOY, 98.3. This show was aired on Sunday, May 22, 2005 at 6:30 AM. The conversation/dialogue of the show is respectful and informational.

Tom Lloyd of the membership Committee presented his ideas re LI-VOTF presenting a positive public persona as well as his ideas for future strategic planning for LI-VOTF. Tom has extensive experience in the arena of strategic planning and he is willing to share that expertise with LI-VOTF in order to assist with increasing membership and developing a positive public image for LI-VOTF. Efforts will also be made to discovering and use the many talents of the members of LI-VOTF for the good of our beloved Church. A mailing to the members concerning the "membership drive" will happen in the near future. It was felt that any significant change in the governance and guidance of the Church will most likely occur at the grass roots pastoral level and education is an important part of this effort. Efforts will be made to initiate educational efforts in the area of Pastoral Councils. Dan Bartley will follow up in this area.

A motion was made by Kevin Connors to place a LI-VOTF ad in the SNAP yearly journal which will be published within the next three months. Discussion ensued and the motion passed with one abstention.

Leo Cuomo of the Vigils Committee reported that the Vigils Committee planned to initiate a "Vigils Person of the Year" award. The first recipient of this award will be Ms.Bert Mileski of Greenport. Leo also asked that an announcement be made at every regional meeting re the upcoming and planned vigils.

A motion was made re asking the RVC diocese to release the names of the known abusers of sexual abuse against children as well as the names of those with a credible accusation of sexual abuse against them. Discussion ensued. The motion was rephrased to suggest that LI-VOTF "resend" a slightly edited version of our original letter (LI-VOTF had already sent a letter to DRVC asking for the identification of known/accused abusers). The motion passed.

The Communications Committee indicated that they are looking for a new website maintenance organization. There are two promising leads and Tom Dowling will pursue those leads. Danny Rivera is still employed to assist with the website.

The Legislative Committee reported that there are two bills pending in the New York State Senate and Assembly that address mandatory clergy reporting. These bills have been in committee for three years. There are deficiencies in the Senate bill and so efforts are being made to consolidate the two bills into one bill that will pass. The BOD will be kept abreast of any new developments in this area.

Kevin Connors of the Finance Committee discussed the 2005 annual CMA: he is conducting a straw poll re the appeal. Kevin requested feedback from each BOD member re the CMA in his/her own parish.

Discussion ensued re LI-VOTF PR. Pat Zirkel and Dan Bartley met with Tom Lloyd, Vinnie Meade and Pat Paone re the PR needs. The meeting went well and further meetings will follow as needed.

Judy Grillo will confer with Carol Bongiorno re the tri-fold for the "twenty questions" project. It is a work in progress.

John Ryan of Victims Support reported that he will confer with Pat Paone re planning a regional meeting focused on survivors of sexual abuse. There is also an effort being made to produce a survivor's network of available speakers: not every survivor is ready to be a speaker at a meeting.

Dan Bartley reported that he is running for the National VOTF Representative Council. Tom Myles and Phil Megna are also running. Information will be forthcoming re the elections for this Council. A motion was made to send ballots via postal mail to our members for elections to the VOTF National Representative Council. Discussion ensued and the motion passed.

Discussion ensued re meeting on Church property since a VOTF group near Chicago had such a meeting in protest. Leo Cuomo advised that he had a good relationship with the RVC Police Chief and that any decisions made re such protests should be made light of this relationship. Conversation on this topic will continue.

The Province Coordinators suggested that LIVOTF sponsor at least one LIVOTFcandidate for PFI. Tuition is at least $1000.00 per year. Discussion ensued and the pros and cons were discussed.
Some suggestions:
Perhaps Pastor's Councils could sponsor a parish candidate to PFI.
PFI has a scholarship fund and LIVOTF could be encouraged to contribute.

A motion was made to encourage LIVOTF members to contribute to the PFI scholarship fund. Discussion continued. The motion was tabled until a later date.

Discussion ensued re the formation of a Nominating Committee for BOD elections. No decision re the formation of this committee has been made. The conversation will continue since elections are in October.

Phil Megna announced that the LIVOTF third annual conference will be held on April 22nd or April 29th of 2006. Details to follow.

The VOTF National Convention is in Indianapolis in July. Tom Myles will follow up with gathering info re travel arrangements for anyone who is interested in attending. Members will be reminded of the dates for the convention.

Discussion ensued re the DRVC diocese Priest Senate. It was mentioned that there appeared to be sparse public knowledge concerning that particular committee. In the interest of openness and transparency, it was suggested that LIVOTF send a letter to the Diocese asking for information re the committee. This will be handled by the co-chairs.

The meeting closed with a prayer at 10:30 PM.

Respectfully submitted,