Reviewthescholarship process June15,2025 Sentlinktoallmemberstoreview.
Blog Topics & Timelines
Topic
Author
New scholarship process
ITEM
4.1:
ASSOCIATION OF AQUATICS PROFESSIONALS
BOARD OF DIRECTOR’S MINUTES
DESCRIPTION: The Board of Directors meeting minutes for the regular meeting held on April 16, 2025, have been submitted for review from the AOAP Secretary on April 24, 2025. The minutes are inclusive of all items discussed during the meeting and have been submitted for entire Board of Directors review no later than Wednesday, April 9, 2025.
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the AOAP Board of Directors held on April 16, 2025.
ATTACHMENT: AOAP Board of Directors meeting minutes, April 16, 2025
Board of Directors Meeting Notes
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Meeting Called to order at 2:38 pm Central Time
I. Roll Call-
a) Attendees: Bob Bradley, Donita Grinde-Houtman, Manda Groff, Cory Hilderbrand, SJ Idel, Ashley Ingram, Tammy Jaster, Joey LaNeve, Helena Machado, Craig Merkey, Alan Mogridge, Bill O’Melia, Gwen Wilcox, Kate Connell, Bob Kappel (2:57 pm), Juliene Hefter, Kirsten Barnes, Mark Basnight
b) Excused:
c) Not Present: Bill Frazier, Helena Machado, Bill O’Melia
II. SWOT Team Reports
III. PESTLE Team Reports
IV. Committee Reports:
a) Conference Education: Gwen Wilcox and Kate Connell, Co-Chairs
o Zoom kickoff meeting is scheduled for April 23, 2025
o Kick off meeting details:
a. Review committee’s timeline
b. Committee’s responsibilities
c. Blog ideas
d. Speaker suggestions
o Kate and Gwen will work on using session evaluations and the after-conference survey results to determine future topics for sessions
b) Drowning Prevention: Manda Groff, Chair
o Hosted a webinar on water safety on April 10, 20 participants joined live
o Blog post went out early, promote aquatic safety plan checklist
c) Governance: Cory Hilderbrand, Chair
o Bylaw review was completed
o May training has been posted and is live for purchase
o Director’s school survey has been sent to faculty
o Re-envisioned the BOD meeting agenda
d) Director’s School: Cory Hilderbrand, Chair
Board of Directors Meeting Notes
o No update at this time
e) Tech School: Bob Kappel, Chair
o Committee met on April 3
o began to compile potential instructors and topics for 2026
o 23 names and topics compiled to date
o Registration is already open for tech school
f) Professional Development: Joey LaNeve, Chair
o First meeting is tomorrow, April 17
o Joey and Christopher Dreybus met to discuss the salary survey.
o Chis is working on drafting a list of questions to ask in this year’s survey to streamline the data analysis process
V. Sub-Committees Reports:
o Member Engagement/Communication: Joey LaNeve, Chair
o Meeting is scheduled for next week
o Stevie Weeks is working on a proposal for an AOAP Award program
o Joey is working on reviewing and editing a couple of blog post that have been received
o Scholarship/Raffle/Silent Auction: Craig Merkey and Gwen Wilcox, Co-Chairs
o Committee meeting was April 1
o Reviewed and discussed each of the components of the committee
● 50/50- add a visual of swim grants/life jackets and recipient testimonial
● Cork Pull- we want to keep this fundraiser, app worked great to pay
● Silent Auction- talked about what other items we could ask for, we want to reach out to Sue Nelson about local silent auction ideas/gift baskets
o Next year we want to create a form to collect what the person donating needs to collect to connect to the purchaser for virtual training or items
o Discuss the option for receipts for department purchases (so it doesn’t just say donation)
o Broader level of vendor involvement
o Committee will begin reviewing the scholarship process
o Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice: Kate Connell, Chair
o First Meeting took place in April
Board of Directors Meeting Notes
o Members expressed their interest in different activities and begam to partner up.
o Set up recurring meetings for the rest of the year
VI. Additions and Deletions
o Silent Auction Ideas- maybe combining smaller donations into 1 and do a drawing
o Maybe look at online options to silent auction
o Donation sticker, a sticker that says I donated
VII. Executive Director Report:
o Broadmoor site visit
o Working on contracts
o Working with a couple different companies to bring in additional revenue
o Working on contracts for transportation to go offsite for social
o Working on Caterers for the board dinner
o We already have people registered for the conference.
o Offer the option to have a printed booklet for an additional cost
VIII. Assistant Director Report:
o Continuing to work on IACET training center accreditation and on website SEO
o Started work on documenting key processes and redundancies for staff roles as outlined in the Strategic Plan
o We had 3 on-demand courses purchased and 8 organizations registered for the mid-year manager training since the last meeting totaling $520
o We also had 12 people attend our March 20 live webinar and 20 attended the April 10 live webinar
o We have 3 live events scheduled next month; May 1 (Hiring), May 15 (Swim Angelfish), and May 21 (Mid-Year Manager Training)
o Had meetings with 2 potential new advertisers/exhibitors
o Member survey finalized and sent out on April 1 with a reminder sent out on April 15
o Kirsten is continuing to keep in touch with our sponsors to make sure that they take advantage of all of their sponsor benefits, and we sent out the first call for speakers to past speakers on April 1
IX. Deputy Director Report:
o Mark is writing a grant, and applied for $500,000 with US Bank
Board of Directors Meeting Notes
o Looking for additional sponsors, at least 1 more sponsor for Monday night
X. Approval of Minutes-
a) March 2025 minutes
o Motion to approve- Bob Kapple
o Seconded by- Donita Grinde-Houtman
o Motion Carried- passed as written
XI. Treasurer’s Report March 2025
o Manda Groff logged into all the accounts and verified that all matched the report.
o Motion to approve report- Joey LaNeve
o Seconded by- Craig Merkey
o Motion passed- approved as written
XII. Bylaw Update
o Motion to approve- Craig Merkey
o Seconded by- Donita Grinde-Houtman
o Motion carried- update approved
XIII. Research Liaison Position
o Approve the addition of an Ex Officio Research Liaison position to the AOAP Board of Directors
o Approve naming Nathalie Martin to serve as the Research Liaison on the AOAP Board of Directors
o Motion to approve the addition of this position and name Nathalie Martin to serve-Tammy Jaster
o Seconded by-Manda Groff
o Motion passed- addition approved
XIV. Fiscal Audit
o There is no need to do an audit at this time
o Recommendation for not doing an audit is from the AOAP accounting firm as well as an auditing firm
o Motion to rescind the approved audit -Cory Hilderbrand
o Seconded by- Gwen Wilcox
o Motion carried- approved to rescind
XV. AOAP Attorney
Board of Directors Meeting Notes
o We are signing an agreement to hire Lathrop GPM LLP based on an hourly rate of $400-$490 per hour as needed
o We aren’t financially obligated to them unless we need them
o Motion to Hire Lathrop GPM LLP – Craig Merkey
o Second- Kate Connell
o Motion Carried- approved
Next meeting: Wednesday, May 21, 2025, 2:30 PM CST via Zoom
Meeting adjourned at 3:29 pm CT
ASSOCIATION OF AQUATICS PROFESSIONALS
ITEM 4.2: TREASURER’S REPORT
DESCRIPTION: The May Treasurer’s Report has been prepared for review by the Board of Directors. The report shows revenues of $438,396.29 and expenditures of $259,563.18 with a balance of $178,533.11. Additionally, the overall account balance is $897,802.91.
RECOMMENDATION: Approve the May Treasurer’s Report dated April 30, 2025.
ATTACHMENTS:
1) May 2025 Treasurer’s Report
2) FY25 Budget Overview
3) YTD Expense Summary
4) YTD Revenue Summary
5) Monthly Expense Summary
BOD Treasurer Report as of April 31,2025
Membership Total AOAP Members: 1,713
Swim Lesson and Life Jacket Grants (April 1 deadline) Swim Lesson Life Jackets 5 11
Revenues and Expenditures for the year to date as of 12/30/2024 – 04/31/2025 (have to stop a few days early due to lag between stripe and going into the bank account)
(overall AOAP Accounts)
(CHASE)
Bank – CD – 15 Months – 5.29% (matures 12/9/25) – updates quarterly only - $225,000 $227,967.47 Bank America – Opened a 7 Month CD – 4.65% (matures on 4/18/25) - $225,000 $230,960.45
$897,802.91
of America CD – Kept in the CD to roll over for another 3 months
CONFERENCE UPDATES:
Conference Registrations: 6 Conference Booklets: 1 AOAP Member Single Booths: 9 AOAP Member DBL Booths: 2
AOAP Member Single End Booths: 4
AOAP Member DBL Endcap Booths: 4
AOAP Non-Member Single Booths: 2
AOAP Non-Member DBL Booths: 1
AOAP Non-Member Single End Booths: 5
AOAP Non-Member DBL Endcap Booths: Employees manning booths: 43 Extra Paid Exhibitors Manning booths: 3 National Build and Program a Pool: 3
ASSOCIATION OF AQUATICS PROFESSIONALS
ITEM 4.3: RESEARCH LIAISON POSITION
DESCRIPTION: As the Association of Aquatics Professionals continues to grow and identify itself as the “one stop shop” for all things aquatics, the Board of Directors needs to continue to maintain itself as the top tier resource for Aquatics Professionals. Creation of a Research Liaison Position will assist in keeping AOAP relevant in regard to the latest research available.
The AOAP Research Portfolio & Information Hub is an initiative designed to support the aquatic community by compiling, sharing, and applying relevant research in drowning prevention, water safety, and aquatic operations.
While valuable research is being conducted by universities, public health organizations, and industry experts, it is often not easily accessible or translated into practical applications for aquatic professionals, facility operators, and policymakers.
This initiative will serve as both an information-sharing network and a working committee, focused on ensuring that AOAP members have access to the latest studies, policy updates, and best practices in a way that supports their work. The Research Portfolio does not conduct new research but acts as a bridge between academic findings, industry applications, and legislative considerations.
The initiative will focus on four key objectives:
1) Curating and Disseminating Research – Compiling and summarizing relevant studies and policy updates for AOAP members in an accessible format.
2) Strengthening AOAP Programs and Training –Integrating research findings into AOAP certification programs, professional development resources, and best practices.
3) Building a Collaborative Research and Industry Network – Establishing partnerships with universities, policymakers, and aquatic professionals to facilitate knowledge-sharing and support applied research efforts.
RECOMMENDATION:
4) Advancing Policy and Legislative Awareness –Tracking water safety legislation and regulatory updates, and providing members with clear, research-supported guidance on policy implications. Nathalie Martin has submitted an extensive proposal for the Liaison position. Nathalie is a drowning prevention advocate with decades of experience in advancing water safety education through high-impact programming, advocacy, and philanthropy. She hopes to strengthen global movements of understanding to support aquatic education worldwide.
1) Approve the addition of an Ex Officio Research Liaison position to the AOAP Board of Directors.
2) Approve naming Nathalie Martin to serve as the Ex Officio Research Liaison on the AOAP Board of Directors.
ATTACHMENT: Research Portfolio and Information Hub Proposal, DRAFT
