REGULAR BOARD
MEETING
MINUTES
December 10, 2008
The North Carolina Board of Funeral Service met for a duly
scheduled Board Meeting at 9:00 a.m. on December 10, 2008 at the Board’s
office,
Present: Mark Blake, President; Larry Andrews, Vice
President; J. T. Willoughby III, Secretary; Rudy Lea, Frank McCree,
Also Present: Paul
Harris, Executive Director; Stephen N. Dirksen, General Counsel; Fred Jordan
with the N. C. Eye Bank, Dorman Caudle with Carolina Donor Services, Funeral
Service licensee Dan Funchess, Betty Stoddard and Herb Reichlin with the
Funeral Consumers Alliance, Larry Stegall and Pat Hayes with North Carolina
Funeral Directors Association, Jack Nichols with Allen & Pinnix, and
Mr. Blake called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. and led
the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Willoughby
had the invocation.
Mr. Blake read the Ethics Awareness & Conflict of
Interest Reminder and no member recused themselves at this time.
Mr. Blake asked for public comment and there was none. The visitors in attendance identified
themselves.
Mr. Blake recognized Mr. Willoughby for the presentation of
the November minutes. Mr. Andrews made
the motion to accept the minutes and Mr. Lea seconded. The motion carried.
Continuing Education:
Staff has received a request from a licensee that had attended a program
at the NFDA convention in
At this time Mr. Parrot made the motion to go into closed
session to consult with the attorney regarding cases M06-019, V07-013, V07-028,
V07-068, M07-001 and M08-001 and Case M07-010.
Mr. Lea seconded the motion and it carried.
Upon motion by Mr. Briggs and second by Mr. Andrews, the
Board returned to open session. Mr.
Nichols was directed to proceed with Case M07-010. No action was taken regarding the other
cases.
Finance/Personnel:
Mr. Briggs presented and reviewed the report. Mr. Briggs deferred the meeting to Mr. Harris
for discussion on the 2009 Budget.
Discussion ensued. Mr. Briggs
made the motion to accept the Finance Report only. Mr. Lea seconded and the motion carried. Question ensued regarding the budget. Mr. Blake tabled the budget vote until later
in the meeting.
Laws, Rules & Legislation: Mr. Briggs stated the Rules Review Committee
was scheduled to meet December 18.
Preneed Committee:
Mr. Andrews presented the preneed report. Discussion ensued. Mr. Willoughby made the motion to accept the
report and Mr. Parrott seconded. The
motion carried. Mr. Andrews stated the
Preneed Committee had met prior to the Board Meeting and deferred discussion to
Mr. Harris.
1)
The Department of Insurance has approved the Unity Financial
Trust documents and the Committee was recommending a letter be drafted to Unity
and other companies, which establish “trusts” to own policies requesting
explanation as to how they believe this is in compliance with North Carolina
preneed law.
2)
Several pending applications for new preneed establishment
licenses are being held while waiting for proof of the bond. Staff mailed a letter to these applicants on
November 5 informing them they had until December 1 to provide proof of the
bond or the applications would be forfeited.
Committee is recommending notification to the applicants the
applications have been forfeited and new applications and fees will have to be
submitted for the preneed application.
3)
Staff would like to publish notice in
Mr. Willoughby made the motion to approve Items 1 and
2. Mr. Andrews seconded and the motion
carried.
Clinics: Mr. Lea informed
the Board that 39 licensees and 10-12 students attended the November 19 clinic
in
Disciplinary Committee: Mr. Parrott presented the report with one
addendum. Mr. Dirksen suggested tabling
the addendum. Mr. Briggs made the motion
to approve the Disciplinary Report with the exception of the addendum. Mr. Lee seconded. Discussion ensued. Mr. Blake called for the vote and the motion
carried. The addendum was tabled until
later in the meeting.
Traineeship:
Mr. Blake stated staff recently registered a trainee with a start date
of November 1. Trainee has worked for
the establishment since April 2008 and requested credit for wok done since that
time. Committee recommends denying this
request. Discussion ensued. Mr. Briggs made the motion to accept the
recommendation by the Trainee Committee and Mr. Willoughby seconded. The motion carried.
Exam Committee:
Mr. Blake stated Castle has asked to include the web portal fee in the
standard contract but has place very clear language that this is a one time fee
with all the other details the Board requested.
Mr. Parrott made the motion to approve.
Mr. Lea seconded and the motion carried.
November testing results—Two people took the exam for the
first time and both passed.
Crematory:
Mr. Harris stated the Crematory Authority was recommending that Form
BFS-56G be approved combining Forms 56A, B and C. Discussion ensued. Mr. Briggs made the motion to allow
crematories to use the new form in lieu of Forms 56 A, B and C and directed the
staff to begin rulemaking. Mr. Andrews
seconded and the motion carried.
The Cremation Authority would recommends adding a line for
the permanent ID number on existing forms.
Mr. Andrews made the motion and Mr. Parrott seconded. The motion carried.
At this time Mr. Blake called for a 5-minute recess. The meeting reconvened at 10:45. Mr. Blake thanked the Board members for
attending the Christmas dinner on Tuesday night. He stated Mrs. Daniels and her son and Mrs.
White and her nephew attended and were presented with a Board member photo,
which included Mr. Daniels and Mr. White.
Other Committee Reports: There were none.
Mr. Blake recognized Inspector Susan Cox for comments.
Attorney Report: Mr. Dirksen presented his
report. Hearings were scheduled for 11
a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. today.
The staff recommended dismissal of the 2 p.m. matter Mr. Andrews made the
motion to dismiss the 2:00 p.m. matter.
Mr. Lea seconded and the motion carried.
The 2:15 p.m. matter is the item that was tabled under Disciplinary. Staff has received a signed consent order but
is waiting for the fee today. With
regards to the 9:00 a.m. Thursday hearing, staff has received a first request
for a continuance and President Blake granted the request as presiding
officer. The 1:30 p.m. Thursday matter
is pending. This concludes the report.
Executive Director’s Report: Mr. Harris submitted the
Inspectors Monthly Status Reports for November.
Since the November 12, 2008 Board
Meeting fourteen reports have been filed.
Establishment Changes: New
Funeral Home—Evans Funeral Home, Williamston; Change of Ownership—Hillside
Funeral Home,
Renewals as of December 8: 44 establishments, 341 individuals
New funeral service
licensees: Richard Osborne, Jr.
New funeral director
licensees: Cecil Miller, Jr., Thomas
Strayhorn
New trainees: Charles Turrentine, Jr., Shalonda Bobbitt,
Jenine Brown, Kyle Emerick, Alisha Wallace-Smith, John Ayers, Joseph Smolenski
III, April Locklear, Jason Rhodes, Landon Cloer
New Unaffiliated licensee: J. Vernon Peterson Funeral Director Licensee
Staff Ethics Report: Mr. Harris stated he had interaction
with the Funeral Directors and Morticians Association of NC, Inc., NCFDA and
FCAT. As a speaker at a District NCFDA
meeting, Mr. Harris had received a dinner gift card, which he will return.
Mr. Harris updated the members on
the Rulemaking. The additional laws and
regulations, and all past Board newsletters have been included on the
website. Tryphina Wiseman has been
nominated by the FD&MA of NC, Inc. for appointment to the Board. Staff has been notified of the death of
former Board Member Jim Peninger who served on the Board during the late
1970s. Mr. Blake and Mr. Harris were
guest on WPTF last week.
The FTC and Preneed Review is
schedule for December 18 with only licensees that have been required to attend
this class by consent order. New Board
Public Appointee Elizabeth Webber is schedule for an orientation on December
19. At the January 14 meeting, the Board
will set the recovery fund interest rate for 2009 claims.
Mr. Blake informed the Board of
the death of Larry Kinsey from
New Business: Mr. Blake opened the floor for
nomination of 2009 officers. Mr.
Willoughby nominated Mr. Andrews for President.
Mr. Briggs made the motion the nominations be closed and Mr. Andrews be
elected by acclimation. Mr. Parrott
seconded and the motion carried.
Mr. Briggs nominated Mr.
Willoughby for Vice President. Mr.
Andrews seconded and the motion carried.
Mr. Willoughby elected Vice President.
Mr. Andrews nominated Mr. Parrott
for Secretary. Mr. Willoughby seconded
and the motion carried. Mr. Parrott was
elected Secretary.
Mr. Blake congratulated the new
officers and thanked the Board for the support he had received during his
tenure as President.
Mr. Blake made comments regarding
problems with between doctors and vital records with the entry of hip fractures
or fall on death certificates.
Public Comment: There was none.
Mr. Blake called for a five-minute
recess to set up the room for the 11:00 a.m. hearing regarding the Baird
matter.
The Board reconvened at 1:18
p.m. Mr. Parrott made the motion to go
into closed session to discuss personnel performance reviews. Mr. Andrews seconded and the motion carried.
Upon a motion by Mr. Briggs and a
second by Mr. Willoughby, the Board entered into open session. Mr. Briggs made the motion to adopt the
budget with a minor adjustment. Mr. Lea
seconded and the motion carried.
Mr. Blake asked about the status
of the cases discussed related to the closed session. Staff has not received any new information
from Mr. Nichols.
Mr. Harris stated the consent
order check with regards to M08-001 was now in the Board’s office. Mr. Willoughby made the motion to accept the
Disciplinary Committee recommendation regarding the Addendum to the
Disciplinary Committee Report. Mr.
Andrews seconded and the motion carried.
At this time Mr. Blake recessed
the Board meeting to hear Case M08-016.
Mr. Blake reconvened the Board
meeting at 3:10 p.m. and deferred to Mr. Harris. Staff has not received any notification
regarding the continuance of the 1:30 Thursday matter. Jack Nichols has said to proceed with the
continuance and assume the signed document will be received. Mr. Blake made the motion to grant the
continuance. Mr. Andrews seconded and
the motion carried.
Informational Items: A letter of condolence regarding
the loss of T. E. White; letter from Andy Thompson stating he did not want a
recount for the Crematory Authority election; New Jersey website regarding
electronic filing of death certificates; 2007 NC Resident Deaths showing method
of disposition. Discussion ensued.
With no further business before
the Board, the meeting was initially adjourned at 3:17. The staff had one more matter that was not
included earlier and Mr. Blake immediately reconvened the meeting in order to
consider the unexpected expenses pertaining to Board litigation. Following discussion, Mr. Willoughby made a
motion to pay the expenses. Motion was seconded by Mr. Lea and passed
unanimously.
Mark
Blake, President
J.T.
Willoughby III, Secretary