Service Dogs of Florida, Inc.
Minutes of the meeting on: March 7, 2010
First official meeting of the officers.

President: Kenneth Lyons
Sec: Patricia Schiavoni
Tres: Ronald Schiavoni

Spectators: 12

All three primary offers were present, quarum fulfilled.
This meeting took place at: Long Horns Steak House meeting room, at the New Mall in Winter Garden

Meeting was opened at: 6:05pm
Reading of last meetings minutes: None

Old Business: None, first meeting.

New Business:
The president presented the updated Articles of Incorporation to the board which included several changes and additions to fulfill the IRS 501c3 requirements. Also presented was our Conflict of Interest Policy, and By-Laws. Much of the base information was provided by our mentor organization, Colorodo Service Dogs, Inc. A motion was made and seconded by the Secretary to approve the new docs, motion passed.

The board reviewed the "Dept of Ag solitation permit" application, prepared by the president and voted to send it in.

It was mentioned that several items still need to be completed and should be ready by the next meeting.
Have the Solicitation Permit in hand, get a Bank Account in the schools name, offer donation tabs on our website and hopefully have 501c3 status as quickly as possible.

The treasurer noted that we need the board to be a little larger to make voting more practical. Once the volunteer staff grows we may bring that topic to the table. Until then the Treasurer and Secretary have the voting power with the president acting as a tie breaker. It was noted that as a 501(c)3 we will exercise the option to publish all our finances upon demand. Every receipt will be availabe as well as each public donation amount, contributors will not be visible. This will ensure that all purchases, income and program expenses are clearly related and open to public inspection. This should also assist the IRS in making it's determination to prevent insider transactions. The voting board will grow to 7 when enough trusted individuals are available (Dec 2010?). We will have no paid staff or employees for at least the first year and rely 100% on donations from the public, staff and volunteer network.

The president noted that in the IRS 1023 form the officers are listed to have a maximum compensation of $60,000 combined (40/10/10) and stated this was just to allow the officers to be paid when the school has sufficient funding to offer paid staff. Until then, the organization is entirely volunteers and expects to remain that way for the first three (3) years. The secretary asked about expenses and after discussion, the school will pay for, or reimburse volunteers who get, items directly related to operating the school. The president used the example of the computer and projector, which he personally bought for the school and will turn in the reciepts for reimbursment when the school has an income to support the purchase. These items are essential to operating the school and doing our ADA presentations to the general public.

Before next meeting we hope to have a few puppies in training and recruiting puppy raisers and staff to assist the organization.

The next meeting is set for July 3rd, 2010, location to be decided.

Meeting was closed at: 9:37pm

Respectfully submitted,
Patricia Schiavoni, Secretary & Kenneth Lyons, President