REGULAR BOARD MEETING

MINUTES

December 12, 2001

The North Carolina Board of Mortuary Science met for a duly scheduled Board Meeting on December 12, 2001, at 9:00 a.m. in the Board’s office located at 2321 Crabtree Boulevard, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Present: Nancy Rorie, President; Paul Harris, Vice President; Elliott Futrell, Stuart Cozort, Darryl Hart, Julia Jordan and Bill Groce.

Also Present: Mark E. Henderson, Executive Director; Barry Bloch, General Counsel.

Others Present: Patricia Hayes.

Stuart Cozort gave the invocation.

President Nancy Rorie called the meeting to order and Mr. Henderson swore in Bill Groce.

Ms. Rorie then read the Board of Ethics statement, Governor Easley’s Executive Order #1. No one expressed any conflict of interest at this time.

Mr. Hart submitted the minutes in Mr. Leavitt’s absence. Mr. Futrell made the motion to accept the minutes and Mr. Harris seconded. The motion carried.

President Rorie turned the meeting over to Vice President Harris. Mr. Harris called the hearing to order at 9:08 am for the North Carolina Board of Mortuary Science vs. Kyle Peacock, Phillip Smoak and Peggy Peacock, OAH #01BMS0298, Board #M99-013. Ms. Rorie and Mr. Cozort excused themselves since they were on the Disciplinary Committee at the time the matter was brought before the Board. Attorney for the defendants, Brian Howell, waived their appearance and supported the recommendations made by the Administrative Law Judge in June 2001. The Board’s attorney, Barry Bloch, also recommended adoption of the recommendations made by the Administrative Law Judge in June 2001.

At this time a motion was made by Mr. Hart to go into closed session to deliberate whether to take disciplinary actions against these licensees. Ms. Jordan seconded and the motion carried.

Upon proper motion, the Board returned to open session.

Mr. Futrell made the motion to accept the Administrative Law Judge’s decision in the matter of NCBMS vs. Kyle Peacock, Phillip Smoak and Peggy Peacock. Mr. Hart seconded and the motion carried. Ms. Rorie and Mr. Cozort did not participate in the deliberation or vote.

Ms. Rorie then called for Committee Reports since the NCBMS vs. Rogers & Breece case was delayed until 11:00 am.

Finance: Mr. Cozort stated he was available for questions regarding the ten-month recap shown in the financial reports. Mr. Cozort submitted the 2002 Proposed Budget for approval. Ms. Jordan made the motion to accept the Budget and Mr. Harris seconded. The motion carried.

Personnel: Mr. Futrell made the motion to approve the 3% Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan for the year 2002. After discussion, Mr. Harris seconded and the motion carried.

Disciplinary: Mr. Hart stated the Committee had met prior to the Board meeting. Mr. Bloch handed out the Disciplinary Report. After reviewing, Mr. Hart made the motion to approve the recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee. Ms. Jordan seconded and the motion carried.

Preneed: Mr. Harris stated there was no report other than the Activity Report in the Board Book. Mr. Henderson responded to questions from the Board regarding the Report.

Continuing Education: Mr. Hart yielded the floor to Mr. Harris to report on the December 11^th Clinic. Mr. Harris stated there were approximately 105 attendees and appeared to be well received from the cards he had reviewed.

Executive Director’s Report: Mr. Henderson reported that SB571 passed and under Section 1.31 Windell Daniels has been appointed to replace Julia Jordan effective January 1, 2002. The appointment of George Parrott to replace Stuart Cozort had been made without statutory authority and he had checked with Jane Gray in the Speaker of the House’s office and she concurred that the appointment had been made in error. Ms. Gray will notify Mr. Parrot of the error by letter.

Mr. Henderson had attended and spoke at the Crematory Authority seminar in Goldsboro on November 14. There were over 100 people in attendance and he felt his presentation on behalf of the Board had been well received.

Mr. Henderson updated the Board on the Department of Labor accreditation of the trainee program. A DOL packet will be sent to each trainee’s supervisor. Completion by the licensees other than the time to complete the forms. Mr. Henderson will present more information at the January or February Board meeting.

Mr. Henderson spoke at a NCFDA District Meeting in Morganton last week and visited three funeral homes while he was in that area.

The Board’s accounting system will be changed from Peachtree Accounting to QuickBooks 2001 on January 1, 2002. Many of the accounts now listed on the Financials will be eliminated or combined to simplify the Board’s financial reports.

Mr. Henderson will begin work on the Preneed Manual before the end of the year.

Mr. Henderson will meet with the Crematory Authority in January after they set their next meeting date of January 28 or January 30.

Mr. Windell Daniels, the new Board member from New Hanover County, will be sent a welcome packet before the January Board meeting.

Attorney Report: Mr. Bloch submitted the Activity Report for the Board’s review and reported thirteen matters had been handled in the Disciplinary Committee meeting prior to the Board meeting. Mr. Bloch reviewed his activity in the 90 days of his employment regarding his most frequently asked questions.

Unfinished Business: Findings of fact and conclusions of law and rulings had been submitted by both parties regarding the NCBMS vs. Butler, Case M00-033. Since there was not a quorum present, it was postponed until later in the meeting.

President Rorie turned the meeting over to Vice President Harris at this time. Mr. Harris called the meeting to order at 10:40 am for the North Carolina Board of Mortuary Science vs. Robert Breece, Jr., Osborne Owens and Rogers & Breece Funeral Home, OAH #00BMS1763, Board #V00-002. President Rorie and Mr. Cozort excused themselves since they were on the Disciplinary Committee at the time the matter was brought before the Board. Attorney A. Dolph Berry spoke on behalf of Robert Breece, Jr., Osborne Owens and Rogers & Breece Funeral Home and Mr. Bloch spoke on behalf of the Board. The Board heard both sides present the case. Mr. Berry submitted findings of fact, conclusions of law and rulings to the Board. Mr. Hart made the motion to go into closed session to deliberate whether to take disciplinary actions against a licensee. Mr. Futrell seconded and the motion carried.

Upon proper motion, the Board returned to open session.

Mr. Hart made the motion to uphold the decision made by the Administrative Law Judge and Mr. Groce seconded. Motion carried.

At this time President Rorie opened the floor to nominations of officers for the year 2002. Mr. Cozort nominated Mr. Harris as president. Mr. Hart seconded. Mr. Cozort moved the nominations be closed and Mr. Hart seconded. Ms. Rorie called for the vote, which was unanimous, and Mr. Harris was named as President.

Mr. Cozort nominated Mr. Leavitt for Vice President and Ms. Jordan seconded. Ms. Jordan moved the nominations be closed and Mr. Cozort seconded. Ms. Rorie called for the vote, which was unanimous, and Mr. Leavitt was name Vice President.

Mr. Cozort nominated Jack Briggs for Secretary and Mr. Futrell nominated Alex Lee. Ms. Jordan moved the nominations be closed and Mr. Harris seconded. Ms. Rorie called for the vote. Mr. Hart, Mr. Harris, Mr. Futrell and Mr. Groce voted for Mr. Lee. Ms. Rorie, Ms. Jordan and Mr. Cozort voted for Mr. Briggs. Mr. Lee was named Secretary.

The officers for the year 2002 are Paul Harris, President; Harvey Leavitt, Vice President; and Alex Lee, Secretary.

Mr. Henderson presented the 2002 Board calendar. Mr. Cozort made the motion to accept the dates as presented. After much discussion, Mr. Hart made the motion to approve the January 9, 2002 meeting date and table the rest of the calendar until that meeting. Mr. Cozort withdrew his motion. Mr. Harris seconded and the motion carried.

Informational Items: Mr. Henderson stated several articles were included in the Board books for review. Mr. Henderson gave out the Committee listings for 2002 and stated Mr. Harris would like them to be given back to him before year-end.

Ms. Rorie presented gifts to Mr. Futrell and Ms. Jordan for serving on the Board. Ms. Jordan made comments to the Board and thanked them for her gift.

Mr. Harris presented Ms. Rorie with a gift for serving as Board President.

The meeting was called into recess so the Board members could eat lunch.

Following the lunch break, the Board entered into closed session at 1:40 to deliberate whether to take disciplinary actions against a licensee in the case of Board vs. Butler. Mr. Leavitt participated by telephone, with Ms. Rorie, Ms. Jordan, Mr. Futrell and Mr. Harris. Mr. Hart did not participate since he sat on the Disciplinary Committee at the time the matter was brought before the Board and Mr. Groce did not participate because he was not present and did not hear oral arguments.

The Board returned to open session at 1:52. A motion was made by Mr. Harris to: 1. Renew both Butler Funeral Home’s preneed establishment license and Betty Butler’s individual preneed license; 2. Place both on six-month probation; and 3. Review by Disciplinary Committee in six months following audit of preneed records by the Board inspector. The motion was seconded by Mr. Leavitt and the motion carried.

The meeting was then adjourned.

Nancy G. Rorie, President

Darryl Hart, Acting Secretary