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Present: Ken Cowser, Joe Dykstra, Ben Gaylor, John Roy Gray, Ben Johnson, John Jones, Charlie Kuykendall, Pete Lotts, Dave Reichle, Mary Helen Rose, Joe Setaro, Troy Trotter, Don Wood, Bob Worrell

Opening Remarks. President Dave Reichle reported that he has appointed an Annual Meeting Committee, consisting of Sandy Dean, Chair; Ken Cowser, Marigrace Kirstowsky, Charlie Kuykendall, and Troy Trotter.

He announced also a Medical Benefits Committee with Joe Setaro, Chair; Joe Dykstra, and Bob Worrell. (Others to be added, pending acceptance.) They will track changes in insurance benefits.

Reichle asked Joe Setaro to be responsible for scheduling meetings at ORNL, and Bob Worrell at Y-12.

Secretary & Treasurer’s Report. Mary Helen Rose highlighted her Treasurer’s report, copies of which had been distributed to board members. Balance on hand March 31, 2004, was $45,181.78, with a total of about 2,167 Active Members.

Communications. In Sandy Dean’s absence, Reichle noted that she has forwarded to board members a copy of a BWXT Y-12 newsletter that should be received by retirees any day. She has submitted an article for the next issue. Reichle distributed copies of his "President’s Message," which will be put on our website.

Website. John Roy Gray reported that the website is up to date. He is still forwarding inquiries from retirees to Reichle for response. He again asked board members to look at the site and give him any suggestions. Reichle emphasized that the website is very useful. He often refers people to it for more information.

Member Date Base. No report in Lemon’s absence.

ORNL Benefits Advisory Group. Joe Setaro reported on an initial meeting of the group, which was held at ORNL on April 19. (The board approved at its March meeting Reichle’s designation of Setaro to be CORRE’s representative to the group.) He said the group consists of a small cross section of ORNL employees (six), plus Setaro. ORNL members are: Joe Horton, Bill Craddick, Karen Downer, Lorie Hickey, Bryan Kendrick, and Dave Rupert. Representing management were Kathryn Cogar, Manager of Benefits Communications; and Mark Wagner, Manager of Employee Benefits.

This was an orientation meeting to explain how the group would function, its goals, etc. It was explained that this is not a decision-making body, but one to provide feedback to the Laboratory on benefits components. It is to be a resource to review new programs and plan changes. The Group will meet monthly, on the third Monday of each month, which fits well with CORRE’s meeting schedule. The principal areas to be discussed are Health Care, Retirement Programs, Communications, and Recruitment.

The Benefits Advisory Group needs to be aware of the many facets that affect benefits:

ERISA law

National trends

HR Objectives (retain, recruit, and motivate staff members)

The Laboratory’s agenda

DOE oversight (DOE must approve changes consistent with DOE Order 350.1)

Employee/Retiree needs

Communications, both with employees and retirees, needs improvement and will be a point of discussion in future meetings. The method of funding of fringe benefits will also be discussed.

The question of comparison of ORNL’s benefits with other DOE sites and universities came up and the latest copy of the Benefits Evaluation will be made available at the next meeting. This Benefits Evaluation is performed every two years by an outside consultant and is a requirement of DOE O 350.1. The latest copy does not include the last two years, since that evaluation is currently underway and is not due until August.

Legislative Committee (Pete Lotts, Chairman; Ken Cowser, Kaye Johnson, John Jones, and Bob Keil; Dave Reichle and Joe Setaro, ex officio). Lotts reported that the Committee met prior to the CORRE Board Meeting and reviewed a draft of a slide presentation, copies of which he distributed. He asked board members to send any comments by e-mail to Kaye Johnson by close of business Thursday. Another board meeting was scheduled for 1:00 p.m., Wed., April 28, at the Senior Center to further review and finalize the presentation.

Cowser has developed an action plan for the committee, which calls for completion of briefings to contractor management and ORO by the end of May; and briefing of Legislative staff members by July 15. After that, we want to contact about 40 members of the state legislature, plus city and county officials, asking them to support resolutions on our behalf. Lotts will prepare a package and have it sent to the offices ahead of time. He asked for board volunteers to make follow-up calls or visits to the offices.

Lotts stated that the Legislative Committee will need a lot of publicity once the presentations have been completed in May and June.

Lotts and Setaro went to Rep. Duncan’s open house and talked to him about CORRE. Duncan stated that he prefers that Wamp take the lead, but that he would be very supportive of Wamp’s office.

Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m.

Mary Helen Rose, Board Secretary