NABIE’s annual event always includes a board meeting held on the day preceding the start of the conference. This year board members spent most of Thursday, February 11, 2010 discussing and voting on a number of issues. Inclement winter weather and business obligations prevented the attendance of some members, but a quorum was achieved and the board’s agenda moved ahead.
Fiscally, NABIE continues to be in acceptable condition. Continuing careful financial practices along with a quest to maintain good value – especially in terms of annual conference costs – are top goals for NABIE’s board. NABIE will also begin using the services of an independent certified public accountant (CPA) firm to provide an annual review of NABIE fiscal matters as well as to prepare tax filing documents.
Although the certification entity that NABIE established (Building Inspection Engineers Certification Institute, BIECI)) remains as the agency administering certification, it is now a stand alone organization. As such, the funding provided by NABIE in the form of a loan over the years to allow it to become established has now been fully repaid.
The weather extremes of this winter and the impact on conference attendance caused the board to formalize a refund policy concerning conference fees. Attendees who pay advanced registration and cancel up to 14 days prior to the start of the conference will be eligible for a full refund. If cancellation becomes necessary for any reason later than that (inclusive of weather), a 50% refund will be issued. While NABIE does not want to be in the trip insurance business and can rarely secure similar refund policies from meeting venues, the board recognizes that some form of refund policy had to be put in place after dealing with this year’s weather events.
The board also endorsed the concept of examining the NABIE inspection standards with an eye toward modification. Ultimately a committee of five members is envisioned and more movement in that area can be expected in the future.
Work on various NABIE organizational documents including the by-laws and certificate of incorporation is complete. Although the work does not materially alter these documents, they were in need of considerable editing to bring them up to date. The suggested edits will be forwarded to NABIE’s legal counsel in Virginia (where NABIE is incorporated) in the coming months for further review and comment.
A number of website related issues were also discussed. A considerable effort is planned to address a number of web-related matters and while none are overly serious this is a good time to tackle several needed changes. It is especially timely to do this now since the BIECI website (www.bieci.org) has just gone on line.
No venue for the NABIE Annual Conference 2011 has been set, but locations are under consideration. One attractive location is in Myrtle Beach and can offer lodging at a price not seen by NABIE members in many years. Both the time of year and the fact that it is a conference center all contribute to a considerable cost savings. The coming months will find NABIE leaders looking at that and other venues.
The fall board meeting location has not yet been finalized, but may include Philadelphia, PA or Alexandria, VA. Philadelphia offers the convenience of an easily reached airport location, somewhat central for board members. The Alexandria location has similar benefits, and is also home to NSPE. In addition, Alexandria will be scouted by the NABIE Executive Director and NABIE President during their attendance at the CESB meeting of March 31st.
*This article had been posted in the Spring 2010 edition of The Examiner.
