Attendees

1. Status Report on Associate Director's Priorities and the National Partnership Office Activities - Chris Jarvi and John Piltzecker
   
   
   1. New Council Co-chair Feedback
      
      No nominations were submitted by April 19. Marty Sterkel has indicated his willingness to serve as chair until the planned October meeting. The council feedback was that it was a great offer - thanks Marty.
   
   
   
   2. Budget Hearing Follow-Up
      
      Chris Jarvi reported that the budget hearing before the House Appropriations Committee went well. The Director was able to meet with members prior to the hearing. Partnership construction projects and the National Park Foundation GAO Report were discussed but were not the focus that they were last year. The Committee indicated that the NPS has made progress in addressing the Committee's concerns.
      
      ACTION ITEM: Chris Jarvi asked John Piltzecker to coordinate a phone conference with the regional partnership coordinators to discuss the implementation of the Building Better Partnerships Construction Process.
   
   
   
   3. Partnership Construction Projects Transmittal to Congress Update
      
      Updating the discussion at the meeting, two transmittal letters will now go to the Hill. One is the initial consultation letter for the Peopling of America project. The other is the review/approval of two Yellowstone projects. A third letter highlighting completed projects was reviewed by Debbie Weatherly and will not be required. The Partnership Office will be working this week to facilitate the movement of the two transmittals through the Department.
   
   
   
   4. DO-21 Update
      
      The update on the Director's Order on Donations and Fundraising (DO #21) has been placed on a fast track at the request of the Appropriations Committee. The Partnership Office is working to get the revised DO into the Federal Register by mid-May for both internal and external review. The goal is to complete the revision process by mid-July. The Partnership Office will be working to ensure that the section of the DO pertaining to corporate marketing is consistent with the corporate marketing agreement being developed by the NPS and the National Park Foundation. A reference guide will be part of the revised DO.
   
   
   
   5. Status of Agreements with National Park Foundation
      
      
      • A Corporate Campaign Agreement is currently in development between the NPS and the National Park Foundation. Chris Jarvi is hoping to have this wrapped up this week. A copy of the agreement will be sent to the Council once it is in final.
      • A General Agreement between the NPS and the Foundation was finalized in March. Please contact John Piltzecker if you would like an electronic copy of the agreement.
      • An agreement between the NPS and Foundation regarding the newest Proud Partner, Unilever, is in development concurrently with the Corporate Campaign Agreement.
      • The GAO study of the NPS and Foundation recommended clarifying the language in DO 21 on Proud Partner exclusivity. This will be done in the revised document being prepared for review.
   
   
   6. Report on Junior Ranger Campaign Kick-off and Unilever Proud Partner Announcement
      
      On April 21, The National Park Foundation, with the support of Mrs. Laura Bush, Secretary Norton, Director Mainella and several Members of Congress, announced the "Connecting our Children to America" $10 million fundraising campaign to benefit the NPS Junior Ranger program. Mrs. Laura Bush serves as Honorary Chair of the campaign. Funds raised through the campaign will:
      
      
      • Double the number of children participating in the Junior Ranger program, to one million each year;
      • Increase the number of parks that offer the program;
      • Create an online component, called WebRanger;
      • Translate materials into Spanish and other languages; and
      • Create a permanent endowment to fund ongoing innovation.
      
      On April 27, Vin Cipolla, President of the National Park Foundation, and Director Mainella announced Unilever as a new Proud Partner of America's National Parks. Unilever is the longest-standing corporate partner of the National Park Foundation and is now the Foundation's fifth "Proud Partner," indicating that their level of commitment and financial contribution to our national parks will be among the highest in the nation. Unilever's Proud Partner commitment is expected to exceed $22 million in four years. The event coincided with this year's Harry Yount Award program, which was sponsored by Unilever.
   
   
   
   7. Status of the Partnership Program Coordinator, Partnership Training Manager and Tourism Positions
      
      Chris Jarvi is waiting on the list of candidates for the Tourism position. "Certificates of Eligibles" for the Partnership Program Coordinator and Partnership Training Manager have been received and are being reviewed by the Partnership Office.
   
   
   
   8. NPS Advisory Board-Philanthropy Discussion Update
      
      The NPS Advisory Board's Philanthropy Committee efforts are proceeding. John Debo, Superintendent at Cuyahoga National Park, agreed to serve as lead staff to assist LaJuana Wilcher from the Advisory Board. A draft "charge"letter has been written to officially engage the Advisory Board to take up this issue.
   
   
   
   9. Departure of Jill Nicoll at NPF
      
      Julia Washburn reported on the departure of Jill Nicoll, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the National Park Foundation. Please contact the Foundation if you would like Jill's contact information.


2. Workgroup Reports
   
   
   1. Building Better Partnerships Work Group
   2. Capacity-Building Work Group
   3. Communications and Marketing Work Group
   4. Foundations Statement Work Group
   5. NPS/NPF Coordination/Communication Work Group
   6. Training Work Group
   
   Each group reported out. No immediate action items for this call.



3. Other Business
   
   Fall Partnership Council Meeting Update: the fall Council meeting is still scheduled for October in Omaha. Look for updates at upcoming call-ins.



4. Next PC Teleconference Call
   
   The next Partnership Council teleconference calls are:
   1. Tuesday June 7, 2005 from 3-4 p.m.
   2. Tuesday July 12, 2005 from 3-4 p.m.
   3. Tuesday August 2, 2005 from 3-4 p.m.
   4. Tuesday September 13, 2005 from 3-4 p.m.