Author: Gavin M. Northey

21 May 2024 | AKSNA Regular Board Meeting

Posted on by Gavin M. Northey

Alaska School Nutrition Association
PO Box 21256
Juneau, AK 99802

21 May 2024
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. AKDT

The meeting is hosted on Zoom and is open to all members in good standing. To request the Zoom link and password, contact Gavin Northey, AKSNA President, by emailing president@aksna.org.

I. Call to Order

II. Roll Call

Voting Members

PresentName and Title
Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS, President *
Tanya Dube, SNS, President-elect
Trevor Bridgewater, SNS, Treasurer and Past-President (2022-2023) †
Sandie Ponte, Secretary, and Past-President (2021-2022) ‡
Carlos Perez, Chairman, Communications Committee
Susan Pougher, Chairwoman, Public Policy and Legislation
Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, SNS, Chairwoman, Nutrition Standards & Education Committee ‡
Sue Lampert, Past-President (2020-2021)
Quorum is established when five or more voting members are present
* The President votes only in the event of a tie
† The immediate Past-President votes in the event that they hold another position with voting rights
Quorum is established when five or more voting members are present
‡ Newly elected board members are granted voting rights immediately following election, however, one person may only be granted one vote

Non-voting Members

PresentName and Title
Tracy Hulett, Member At-large
Tonia Parfitt, Chairwoman, Awards and Recognitions Committee

III. Adoption of Agenda

IV. Consent Agenda

A. Minutes of Previous Meeting(s)

Minutes of the 16 April 2024 meetingDownload

B. Financial Reports

C. Membership Report

  • 100 Members
    • Director: 16
    • Manager: 68
    • Employee 10
    • State Agency: 5
    • Retired: 1
  • 44 in grace

V. President’s Report

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

A. Office 365 Replacement

VI. Treasurer’s Report

Trevor Bridgewater, SNS

VII. Standing Committee Reports

A. Public Policy & Legislation

Susan Pougher

B. Member Services

No chair

C. Communications

Carlos Perez

1. Mush On News

Carolos Perez

2. Web Site

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

3. Social Media

Trevor Bridgewater

D. Conference Committee

Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, SNS

Attachments

Conference-BudgetDownload

E. Food and Vendor Expo Committee

Tanya Dube, SNS

E. Nutrition Standards & Education Committee

Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, SNS

VIII. Ad-hoc Committee Reports

A. Awards & Recognition Committee

Tonia Parfitt

B. Foundation Committee

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

(No update)

IX. Member Comments and Testimony

Member comments and testimony

X. Unfinished Business

No unfinished business

XI. New Business

A. Updates to Arctic School Food Service Innovation Competition

Multiple updates are included for consideration

  • Boiler plate changes
  • Changes to address presentation (loosely based on results of last year’s vote)
  • Changes to expand eligibility to non-members (and add member preferences), not based on any request, introduced to expand nominations
  • Changes to address travel reimbursement procedures
Arctic_School_Food_Service_Innovation_Competition_2024Download

XII. Announcements / Good of the Order

XIII. Adjournment

Next meeting date and time to be determined

16 April 2024 | AKSNA Regular Board Meeting

Posted on by Gavin M. Northey

Alaska School Nutrition Association
1120 Huffman Rd. Ste. 24
PMB 791
Anchorage, AK 99515

16 April 2024
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. AKDT

The meeting is hosted on Zoom and is open to all members in good standing. To request the Zoom link and password, contact Gavin Northey, AKSNA President, by emailing president@aksna.org.

I. Call to Order

II. Roll Call

Voting Members

PresentName and Title
Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS, President *
Tanya Dube, SNS, President-elect
Trevor Bridgewater, SNS, Treasurer and Past-President (2022-2023) †
Sandie Ponte, Secretary, and Past-President (2021-2022) ‡
Carlos Perez, Chairman, Communications Committee
Susan Pougher, Chairwoman, Public Policy and Legislation
Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, SNS, Chairwoman, Nutrition Standards & Education Committee ‡
Sue Lampert, Past-President (2020-2021)
Quorum is established when five or more voting members are present
* The President votes only in the event of a tie
† The immediate Past-President votes in the event that they hold another position with voting rights
Quorum is established when five or more voting members are present
‡ Newly elected board members are granted voting rights immediately following election, however, one person may only be granted one vote

Non-voting Members

PresentName and Title
Tracy Hulett, Member At-large
Tonia Parfitt, Chairwoman, Awards and Recognitions Committee

III. Adoption of Agenda

IV. Consent Agenda

A. Minutes of Previous Meeting(s)

Minutes 23 – 24 March 2024 Board RetreatDownload

B. Financial Reports

C. Membership Report

  • 100 Members
    • Director: 17
    • Manager: 67
    • Employee 10
    • State Agency: 5
    • Retired: 1
  • 2 in grace

V. President’s Report

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

VI. Treasurer’s Report

Trevor Bridgewater, SNS

VII. Standing Committee Reports

A. Public Policy & Legislation

Susan Pougher

B. Member Services

Remembers sent to multiple directors for member award nominations

C. Communications

Carlos Perez

1. Mush On News

Carolos Perez

2. Web Site

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

3. Social Media

Trevor Bridgewater

D. Conference Committee

Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, SNS

E. Food and Vendor Expo Committee

Tanya Dube, SNS

E. Nutrition Standards & Education Committee

Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, SNS

VIII. Ad-hoc Committee Reports

A. Awards & Recognition Committee

Tonia Parfitt

B. Foundation Committee

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

(No update)

IX. Member Comments and Testimony

Member comments and testimony

X. Unfinished Business

No unfinished business

XI. New Business

A. Dropbox Replacement

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

Several board members report the Dropbox account does not work. Upon further investigation, AKSNA will need to purchase every board member a Dropbox license to maintain the account as-is.

If we replace the current email system (Zoho) and Dropbox for a single solution for file storage and email, this would reduce the total cost. The two best solutions are Google and Microsoft 365.

AKSNA-Dropbox-OptionsDownload

XII. Announcements / Good of the Order

XIII. Adjournment

The next meeting will be 21 May 2024

23 – 24 March 2024 | AKSNA Board Retreat

Posted on by Gavin M. Northey

Alaska School Nutrition Association
1120 Huffman Rd. Ste. 24
PMB 791
Anchorage, AK 99515

23 – 24 March 2024
23 March: 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
24 March: 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

This meeting is in-person and open to new and incoming board members.

I. Call to Order

II. Roll Call

Voting Members

PresentName and Title
Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS, President *
Tanya Dube, SNS, President-elect
Trevor Bridgewater, SNS, Treasurer and Past-President (2022-2023) †
Sandie Ponte, Secretary, and Past-President (2021-2022) ‡
Carlos Perez, Chairman, Communications Committee
Susan Pougher, Chairwoman, Public Policy and Legislation
Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, SNS, Chairwoman, Nutrition Standards & Education Committee ‡
Sue Lampert, Past-President (2020-2021)
Quorum is established when five or more voting members are present
* The President votes only in the event of a tie
† The immediate Past-President votes in the event that they hold another position with voting rights
Quorum is established when five or more voting members are present
‡ Newly elected board members are granted voting rights immediately following election, however, one person may only be granted one vote

Non-voting Members

PresentName and Title
Tracy Hulett, Member At-large
Tonia Parfitt, Chairwoman, Awards and Recognitions Committee

III. Adoption of Agenda

IV. Consent Agenda

A. Minutes of Previous Meeting(s)

B. Financial Reports

C. Membership Report

  • __ Members
    • Director: __
    • Manager: __
    • Employee __
    • State Agency: __
    • Retired: __
  • __ in grace

V. President’s Report

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

A. Board Orientation

VI. Treasurer’s Report

Trevor Bridgewater, SNS

VII. Standing Committee Reports

A. Public Policy & Legislation

Susan Pougher

1. Legislative Action Conference Update

2. USDA Updates: How to support SFAs

Susan Pougher

3. Advocacy for State-Funded Universal Free Breakfast

Trevor Bridgewater, SNS

B. Member Services

Need a committee chair

C. Communications

Carlos Perez

1. Mush On News

Carolos Perez

2. Web Site

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

3. Social Media

Trevor Bridgewater, SNS

D. Conference Committee

Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, SNS

E. Food and Vendor Expo Committee

Tanya Dube, SNS

E. Nutrition Standards & Education Committee

Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, SNS

VIII. Ad-hoc Committee Reports

A. Contract Executive Director Committee

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

B. Awards & Recognition Committee

Tonia Parfitt

IX. Unfinished Business

No unfinished business

X. New Business

A. Bylaws Amendment 2024-04

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

Bylaws Amendment 2024-04

An amendment to update the numbering schema, update the format of the Bylaws to be web-first and ADA-accessible.

The numbering schema shall be:

  1. Article: Uppercase Roman numeral
  2. Section/Paragraph: Decimal
  3. Subparagraph: Lowercase letter
  4. Clause: Lowercase Roman numeral
  5. Subclause: Decimal
  6. 2nd Subclause: Uppercase letter

This amendment may be adopted by the Board of Directors without a vote of the membership p;ursuant to Article XII Section B, Paragraph 2 of the Bylaws.

B. Alaska Food Policy Council Member

Trevor Bridgewater, SNS

C. New Director Support

Susan Pougher

D. Creation of the School Nutrition of Alaska (SNAK) Foundation 501(c)3 – Planning Phase and Encumbrance of Funds

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

E. Bylaws Amendments

Tanya Dube, SNS

F. Budget Requests FY2025

Trevor Bridgewater, SNS

G. Board Manual and Procedures

1. Conference Manual

Tanya Dube, SNS

2. Finance Manual

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

At this point, we have about a third of an update that I started last year

We need to make some decisions if there are specific finance procedures that need to be updated now, and decide if there is any timeline on the completion of the remaining Finance manual

3. Other manuals / procedures

Tonia Parfitt / open to anyone

XI. Announcements / Good of the Order

XII. Adjournment

The next meeting will be 23 – 24 March 2024

20 February 2024 | AKSNA Regular Board Meeting

Posted on by Gavin M. Northey

Alaska School Nutrition Association
1120 Huffman Rd. Ste. 24
PMB 791
Anchorage, AK 99515

20 February 2024
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. AKDT

The meeting is hosted on Zoom and is open to all members in good standing. To request the Zoom link and password, contact Gavin Northey, AKSNA President, by emailing president@aksna.org.

I. Call to Order

II. Roll Call

Voting Members

PresentName and Title
Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS, President *
Tanya Dube, SNS, President-elect
Trevor Bridgewater, SNS, Treasurer and Past-President (2022-2023) †
Sandie Ponte, Secretary, and Past-President (2021-2022) ‡
Carlos Perez, Chairman, Communications Committee
Susan Pougher, Chairwoman, Public Policy and Legislation
Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, Chairwoman, Nutrition Standards & Education Committee ‡
Sue Lampert, Past-President (2020-2021)
Quorum is established when five or more voting members are present
* The President votes only in the event of a tie
† The immediate Past-President votes in the event that they hold another position with voting rights
Quorum is established when five or more voting members are present
‡ Newly elected board members are granted voting rights immediately following election, however, one person may only be granted one vote

Non-voting Members

PresentName and Title
Tracy Hulett, Member At-large
Tonia Parfitt, Chairwoman, Awards and Recognitions Committee

III. Adoption of Agenda

IV. Consent Agenda

A. Minutes of Previous Meeting(s)

Minutes of the 9 January 2024 Regular Board MeetingDownload
Minutes of the 23 January 2024 Annual Business MeetingDownload
Minutes of the 24 January 2024 Special MeetingDownload

B. Financial Reports

C. Membership Report

  • 105 Members
    • Director: 18
    • Manager: 67
    • Employee 12
    • State Agency: 6
    • Retired: 2
  • 11 in grace

V. President’s Report

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

A. Board Retreat

Annual Board Retreat
Anchorage Midtown Hyatt Place
23 – 24 March 2024
10:00 a.m.

Agenda to be published soon

VI. Treasurer’s Report

Trevor Bridgewater, SNS

VII. Standing Committee Reports

A. Public Policy & Legislation

Susan Pougher

B. Member Services

Remembers sent to multiple directors for member award nominations

C. Communications

Carlos Perez

1. Mush On News

Carolos Perez

2. Web Site

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

3. Social Media

Trevor Bridgewater

D. Conference Committee

Tanya Dube, SNS

E. Food and Vendor Expo Committee

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

E. Nutrition Standards & Education Committee

Tiffany Kurani, NDRT

VIII. Ad-hoc Committee Reports

A. Contract Executive Director Committee

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

B. Awards & Recognition Committee

Tonia Parfitt

IX. Member Comments and Testimony

Member comments and testimony

X. Unfinished Business

No unfinished business

XI. New Business

A. Mailbox

B. Certificate of Deposit

XII. Announcements / Good of the Order

XIII. Adjournment

The next meeting will be 23 – 24 March 2024

Arctic School Food Service Innovation Competition Nominees

Posted on by Gavin M. Northey

The complete text of the nominations for the Arctic School Food Service Innovation Competitions ins included on this page. Nomination forms are presented verbatim; AKSNA nor its Board of Directors represent the veracity of the nominations.

Tiffany Kurani (Anchorage School District)

Anchorage School District - Tiffany Kurani Service Cart
Anchorage School District - Tiffany Kurani Service Cart
Anchorage School District - Tiffany Kurani Service Cart

The Anchorage School District has stated its intention to transition from pre-packed, overwrapped ready-to-heat meals toward freshly prepared and served meals on a traditional cafeteria line for approximately six years.  In this time, a lot has been said, but little has been done.  The COVID-19 pandemic and lingering impacts such as supply chain and staffing challenges have hampered progress; however, in the past year, Anchorage has begun to actualize this reality.  There are many entities that could share credit for this achievement, however, in my opinion, Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, is a stand-out individual who has made meaningful contribution to Anchorage’s progress.

A significant challenge in Anchorage is that there are over 60 elementary schools which are compact and designed specifically for the heat-and-serve food service model, leaving little room for the necessary equipment to implement scratch or speed-scratch service and to implement a traditional cafeteria line that can handle the volume of students who pass through Anchorage’s schools.  The cost for full school renovations is neither financially nor politically viable for Anchorage, except perhaps in a few select schools.

Tiffany prototyped a cart that could meet the logistical and operational needs within the restrictive space and environments most commonly found in Anchorage schools.  The cart was build from off-the-shelf parts at an affordable price that allowed Anchorage to mitigate the equipment and space hurdles that had previously prevented them from implementing hot meal service and allowed the ASD team to work through the remaining challenges such as staffing and food delivery to successfully launch a traditional-style meal service at multiple elementary schools ensuring that students have access to higher quality meals that are served fresh as they come to the line.

There is no doubt that the implementation of fresh, traditional-style meal service in Anchorage schools has been a team effort; with that said, this competition allows for just a single individual’s accomplishment’s to be recognized, and I therefore nominate Tiffany Kurani for her specific contributions toward developing the physical service platform.

One may argue that serving meals fresh from the line is not an innovation, in fact, this has been done as early as around the 1930’s and earlier.  School districts that serve ready-to-heat meals like Anchorage come from a culmination of convenience and expedience-focused services and products such as the Automats and TV dinners; both known for convenience and cost effectiveness, but are not known for quality.  There is significant savings, or economies of scales, for districts that centralize cook staff; however, once a district such as Anchorage has invested into this service model, it can seem an insurmountable task to change direction; the cost of renovating 60 school kitchens would reach into the tens of millions of dollars.  For that reason, the creation of a cost-effective solution that frees Anchorage to pursue a traditional service style within its current limitations is indeed innovative and warrants commendation for the Anchorage Student Nutrition team.

Laura Homan (Anchorage School District)

Anchorage School District - Laura Homan - Traditional Service
Anchorage School District - Laura Homan - Traditional Service
Anchorage School District - Laura Homan - Traditional Service

ASD’s dream of traditional service at all schools would not be a reality without the passionate efforts of Laura Homan.

Laura spearheaded Student Nutrition’s long-standing vision of discontinuing plastic, overwrapped, pre-packed hot meals, and transitioning sites to traditional meal service. 

Thanks to her fast-moving logistics and onsite training, Laura has transformed three elementary schools into traditional service in less than one semester, and her list is growing.

Hundreds of Elementary students receive openly prepared food, freshly plated on their meal trays in front of their eyes.

Laura was responsible for developing and implementing all required training for school staff. She not only set up most of the equipment and designed the layout for service flow, but she also did much of the leg work, getting the millions of pans, ladles, lids, containers, and buckets to start the program!

She continues to be the communication liaison between schools, staff, and Student Nutrition and performs site visits with heads of ASD to seek out the next wave of schools for Traditional service.

Laura’s innovation has expanded access and improved the quality and presentation of school meals to kids; she has increased meal counts by site and reduced waste by tons! The community and school support behind Laura and her development has been tremendously positive.

Student Nutrition and the Anchorage School District owe Laura a deep debt of gratitude.

23 January 2024 | AKSNA Annual Business Meeting

Posted on by Gavin M. Northey

Alaska School Nutrition Association
1120 Huffman Rd. Ste. 24
PMB 791
Anchorage, AK 99515

23 January 2024
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. AKDT

BP Energy Center
1014 Energy Court
Anchorage, AK 99508

I. Call to Order

II. Roll Call

Voting Members

PresentName and Title
Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS, President *
Tanya Dube, SNS, President-elect
Trevor Bridgewater, SNS, Treasurer and Past-President (2022-2023) †
Sandie Ponte, Secretary, and Past-President (2021-2022)
Carlos Perez, Chairman, Communications Committee
Susan Pougher, Chairwoman, Public Policy and Legislation
Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, Chairwoman, Nutrition Standards & Education Committee
Sue Lampert, Past-President (2020-2021)
Quorum is established when five or more voting members are present
* The President votes only in the event of a tie
† The immediate Past-President votes in the event that they hold another position with voting rights

Non-voting Members

PresentName and Title
Tracy Hulett, Member At-large
Tonia Parfitt, Chairwoman, Awards and Recognitions Committee

III. Adoption of Agenda

IV. Consent Agenda

A. Membership Report

As of 9 January 2024

  • 106 Members
    • Director: 17
    • Manager: 67
    • Employee 14
    • State Agency: 6
    • Retired: 2
  • 13 in grace

V. President’s Report

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

A. Transparency

B. Bylaws Amendments

The AKSNA Board of Directors proffers the following amendments to Bylaws

Draft of Amendments to BylawsDownload
AKSNA Bylaws (November 2020)Download

C. President’s Awards

Recognition of members that have served the board and association

D. Dean Hamburg Award

Recognition of a member who has dedicated their career to serving school nutrition programs in Alaska.

VI. Treasurer’s Report

Trevor Bridgewater, SNS

Statement-of-Activity-2023-07-01Download
StatementofFinancialPosition-2023-12-31Download

VII. Standing Committee Reports

A. Public Policy & Legislation

Susan Pougher

B. Member Services

SNA has opened nominations for member awards in the categories of Director of the Year, Manager of the Year, and Employee of the Year. Please consider recognizing a member.

Nominate a Member

C. Communications

Carlos Perez

1. Mush On News

Carolos Perez

2. Web Site

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

3. Social Media

Trevor Bridgewater

D. Conference Committee

Tanya Dube, SNS

E. Food and Vendor Expo Committee

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

E. Nutrition Standards & Education Committee

Tiffany Kurani, NDRT

VIII. Ad-hoc Committee Reports

A. Contract Executive Director Committee

This committee has been tabled until February 2024

B. Awards & Recognition Committee

Tonia Parfitt

Arctic School Food Service Innovation Competition

IX. Member Comments and Testimony

Member comments and testimony

X. Unfinished Business

No unfinished business

XI. New Business

TBD

XII. Election

XIII. Adjournment

The next meeting will be 20 February 2024

9 January 2024 | AKSNA Regular Board Meeting

Posted on by Gavin M. Northey

Alaska School Nutrition Association
1120 Huffman Rd. Ste. 24
PMB 791
Anchorage, AK 99515

9 January 2024
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. AKDT

The meeting is hosted on Zoom and is open to all members in good standing. To request the Zoom link and password, contact Gavin Northey, AKSNA President, by emailing president@aksna.org.

I. Call to Order

II. Roll Call

Voting Members

PresentName and Title
Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS, President *
Tanya Dube, SNS, President-elect
Trevor Bridgewater, SNS, Treasurer and Past-President (2022-2023) †
Sandie Ponte, Secretary, and Past-President (2021-2022)
Carlos Perez, Chairman, Communications Committee
Susan Pougher, Chairwoman, Public Policy and Legislation
Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, Chairwoman, Nutrition Standards & Education Committee
Sue Lampert, Past-President (2020-2021)
Quorum is established when five or more voting members are present
* The President votes only in the event of a tie
† The immediate Past-President votes in the event that they hold another position with voting rights

Non-voting Members

PresentName and Title
Tracy Hulett, Member At-large
Tonia Parfitt, Chairwoman, Awards and Recognitions Committee

III. Adoption of Agenda

IV. Consent Agenda

A. Minutes of Previous Meeting(s)

Minutes of the 19 December 2023 AKSNA Board MeetingDownload

B. Financial Reports

C. Membership Report

  • 106 Members
    • Director: 17
    • Manager: 67
    • Employee 14
    • State Agency: 6
    • Retired: 2
  • 13 in grace

V. President’s Report

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

A. Plan of Action submitted

The format of the report has changed, however, I have submitted the report with similar substance as previous years

Alaska SNA Plan of Action 2023 – 2024Download

B. Board Retreat and March Meeting

Board members should have received a poll regarding the Board Retreat and March Meeting

C. Nominations / Elections

Reminder that nominations and elections will open soon

VI. Treasurer’s Report

Trevor Bridgewater, SNS

VII. Standing Committee Reports

A. Public Policy & Legislation

Susan Pougher

B. Member Services

Reminder, start thinking of members who are deserving of a Director of the Year, Manager of the Year, and Employee of the Year award. SNA will open nominations soon.

C. Communications

Carlos Perez

1. Mush On News

Carolos Perez

2. Web Site

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

3. Social Media

Trevor Bridgewater

D. Conference Committee

Tanya Dube, SNS

E. Food and Vendor Expo Committee

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

E. Nutrition Standards & Education Committee

Tiffany Kurani, NDRT

VIII. Ad-hoc Committee Reports

A. Contract Executive Director Committee

This committee has been tabled until February 2024

B. Awards & Recognition Committee

Tonia Parfitt

IX. Member Comments and Testimony

Member comments and testimony

X. Unfinished Business

No unfinished business

XI. New Business

TBD

XII. Announcements / Good of the Order

XIII. Adjournment

The next meeting will be 20 February 2024

19 December 2023 | AKSNA Regular Board Meeting

Posted on by Gavin M. Northey

Alaska School Nutrition Association
1120 Huffman Rd. Ste. 24
PMB 791
Anchorage, AK 99515

19 December 2023
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. AKDT

The meeting is hosted on Zoom and is open to all members in good standing. To request the Zoom link and password, contact Gavin Northey, AKSNA President, by emailing president@aksna.org.

I. Call to Order

II. Roll Call

Voting Members

PresentName and Title
Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS, President *
Tanya Dube, SNS, President-elect
Trevor Bridgewater, SNS, Treasurer and Past-President (2022-2023) †
Sandie Ponte, Secretary, and Past-President (2021-2022)
Carlos Perez, Chairman, Communications Committee
Susan Pougher, Chairwoman, Public Policy and Legislation
Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, Chairwoman, Nutrition Standards & Education Committee
Sue Lampert, Past-President (2020-2021)
Quorum is established when five or more voting members are present
* The President votes only in the event of a tie
† The immediate Past-President votes in the event that they hold another position with voting rights

Non-voting Members

PresentName and Title
Tracy Hulett, Member At-large

III. Adoption of Agenda

IV. Consent Agenda

A. Minutes of Previous Meeting(s)

AKSNA Board Meeting Minutes 14 November 2023Download

B. Financial Reports

C. Membership Report

  • 105 Members
    • Director: 16
    • Manager: 67
    • Employee 14
    • State Agency: 6
    • Retired: 2
  • 7 in grace

V. President’s Report

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS,

VI. Treasurer’s Report

Trevor Bridgewater, SNS

VII. Standing Committee Reports

A. Public Policy & Legislation

Susan Pougher

B. Member Services

C. Communications

Carlos Perez

1. Mush On News

Carolos Perez

2. Web Site

Gavin Northey

3. Social Media

Trevor Bridgewater

D. Conference Committee

Tanya Dube, SNS

E. Food and Vendor Expo Committee

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

E. Nutrition Standards & Education Committee

Tiffany Kurani, NDRT

VIII. Ad-hoc Committee Reports

A. Contract Executive Director Committee

This committee has been tabled until February 2024

B. Awards & Recognition Committee

This committee needs a chairperson

IX. Member Comments and Testimony

X. Unfinished Business

No unfinished business

XI. New Business

A. Appointment of Awards and Recognitions Committee Chairperson

The president submits for appointment, Tonia Parfitt, for Chairwoman of the Awards and Recognition Committee.

B. Acceptance of North Coast Seafoods Presentation Proposal

Andrew Wilkinson of North Coast Seafoods in Boston, Massachusetts submitted a proposal to present, “Kelp Is On the Way.” The board must vote to allow commercially-sponsored/commercially-presented sessions.

North Coast Seafoods Presentation ProposalDownload

XII. Announcements / Good of the Order

XIII. Adjournment

The next meeting will be 9 January 2024

14 November 2023 | AKSNA Regular Board Meeting

Posted on by Gavin M. Northey

Alaska School Nutrition Association
1120 Huffman Rd. Ste. 24
PMB 791
Anchorage, AK 99515

14 November 2023
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. AKDT

The meeting is hosted on Zoom and is open to all members in good standing. To request the Zoom link and password, contact Gavin Northey, AKSNA President, by emailing president@aksna.org.

I. Call to Order

II. Roll Call

Voting Members

PresentName and Title
Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS, President *
Tanya Dube, SNS, President-elect
Trevor Bridgewater, SNS, Treasurer and Past-President (2022-2023) †
Sandie Ponte, Secretary, and Past-President (2021-2022)
Carlos Perez, Chairman, Communications Committee
Susan Pougher, Chairwoman, Public Policy and Legislation
Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, Chairwoman, Nutrition Standards & Education Committee
Sue Lampert, Past-President (2020-2021)
Quorum is established when five or more voting members are present
* The President votes only in the event of a tie
† The immediate Past-President votes in the event that they hold another position with voting rights

Non-voting Members

PresentName and Title
Tracy Hulett, Member At-large

III. Adoption of Agenda

IV. Consent Agenda

A. Minutes of Previous Meeting(s)

Minutes of the 17 October 2024 MeetingDownload

B. Financial Reports

C. Membership Report

  • 90 Members
    • Director: 15
    • Manager: 57
    • Employee 10
    • State Agency: 6
    • Retired: 2
  • 4 in grace

V. President’s Report

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS,

VI. Treasurer’s Report

Trevor Bridgewater, SNS

VII. Standing Committee Reports

A. Public Policy & Legislation

Susan Pougher

B. Member Services

C. Communications

Carlos Perez

1. Mush On News

Carolos Perez

2. Web Site

Gavin Northey

3. Social Media

Trevor Bridgewater

D. Conference Committee

Tanya Dube, SNS

E. Food and Vendor Expo Committee

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

E. Nutrition Standards & Education Committee

Tiffany Kurani, NDRT

VIII. Ad-hoc Committee Reports

A. Contract Executive Director Committee

This committee has been tabled until February 2024

B. Awards & Recognition Committee

This committee needs a chairperson

IX. Member Comments and Testimony

X. Unfinished Business

No unfinished business

XI. New Business

XII. Announcements / Good of the Order

XIII. Adjournment

The next meeting will be 19 December 2023

17 October 2023 | AKSNA Regular Board Meeting

Posted on by Gavin M. Northey

Alaska School Nutrition Association
1120 Huffman Rd. Ste. 24
PMB 791
Anchorage, AK 99515

17 October 2023
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. AKDT

The meeting is hosted on Zoom and is open to all members in good standing. To request the Zoom link and password, contact Gavin Northey, AKSNA President, by emailing president@aksna.org.

I. Call to Order

II. Roll Call

Voting Members

PresentName and Title
Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS, President *
Tanya Dube, SNS, President-elect
Trevor Bridgewater, SNS, Treasurer and Past-President (2022-2023) †
Sandie Ponte, Secretary, and Past-President (2021-2022)
Carlos Perez, Chairman, Communications Committee
Tiffany Kurani, NDRT, Chairwoman, Nutrition Standards & Education Committee
Sue Lampert, Past-President (2020-2021)
Quorum is established when four or more voting members are present
* The President votes only in the event of a tie
† The immediate Past-President votes in the event that they hold another position with voting rights

Non-voting Members

PresentName and Title
Susan Pougher, Member At-large
Tracy Hulett, Member At-large

III. Adoption of Agenda

IV. Consent Agenda

A. Minutes of Previous Meeting(s)

19 September 2023 AKSNA Board MeetingDownload

B. Financial Reports

C. Membership Report

  • 91 Members
    • 15 Directors
    • 57 Managers
    • 11 Employees
    • 6 State Agency
    • 2 Retired
  • 2 in grace

V. President’s Report

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS,

VI. Treasurer’s Report

Trevor Bridgewater, SNS

VII. Standing Committee Reports

A. Public Policy & Legislation

B. Member Services

C. Communications

Carlos Perez

1. Mush On News

Carolos Perez

2. Web Site

Gavin Northey

3. Social Media

Trevor Bridgewater

D. Conference Committee

Tanya Dube, SNS

E. Food and Vendor Expo Committee

Gavin Northey, MBA, SNS

E. Nutrition Standards & Education Committee

Tiffany Kurani, NDRT

VIII. Ad-hoc Committee Reports

A. Contract Executive Director Committee

This committee has been tabled until February 2024

B. Awards & Recognition Committee

This committee needs a chairperson

IX. Member Comments and Testimony

X. Unfinished Business

No unfinished business

XI. New Business

A. Installation of Public Policy & Legislation Committee Chairperson

The president appoints Susan Pougher as the Public Policy & Legislation Committee Chairperson. Does the Executive Board approve?

B. Food and Vendor Expo Rates

Shall AKSNA increase the rates for the 2024 Food and Vendor Expo by $25 for Early Ptarmigan registration and $65 for Standard rates? If approved, the new rates shall be:

Booth Type \ Fee ClassEarly Ptarmigan *Standard
Full Booth$875$1,065
Shared Booth †$625$765
* Early Ptarmigan rates applied to registrations complete by the 15th of December if full payment is received on or before the first Federal banking day of January
† A shared booth is one occupied by not more than two exhibitioners who are represented by the same broker

C. Conference Registration Fees

Shall AKSNA raise the rates for Conference Registration by $20 for Directors and State Agency members, $15 for manager members, and $10 for employee members and eliminate the seldom-used day rate option? If approved, the Early Ptarmigan rate shall remain a 20% discount rounded to the next five-dollar increment; the new rates shall be:

Member Type \ Fee ClassEarly Ptarmigan *Standard
Director / State Agency Member$180.00$220.00
Manager Member$155.00$195.00
Employee Member / All Other Member Types$110.00$135.00
Non-Members †$240.00$295.00
Board Members ‡$0.00$0.00
* Early Ptarmigan rates applied to registrations complete by the 15th of December if full payment is received on or before the first Federal banking day of January
† Membership determined at the time of registration
‡ Eligible Board Members include the President, President-elect, Secretary, Treasurer, active Past-Presidents, Standing Committee Chairpersons, and Members At-Large

D. Establishing Expo Passes

Shall AKSNA establish a fee for persons interested in attending only the Food and Vendor Expo of $25 for adults and $10 students? If established, the rate shall be:

Attendee TypeRate
Registered Conference Attendee$0.00
School District or FSMC employee *$25.00
Student †$10.00
* No persons that are not affiliated with AKSNA, School Nutrition, or an Exhibitioner shall be permitted entry to the exhibition floor
† Must be accompanied by an adult from the sponsoring school district

XII. Announcements / Good of the Order

XIII. Adjournment

The next meeting will be 14 November 2023 (note this is the second Tuesday of November)