MELA Minutes 2024-2025

Northwest Mississippi Community College Carla Ms. Malone, Ms. Angel Nickens; Mr. Aaron Payne, Ms. Kim Steinman Pearl River Community College Ms. Ali Mascagni Southwest Mississippi Community College Mr. Matt Calhoun MS Community College Board Ms. Megan Akins, Dr. Krista LeBrun, Dr. Christa Wilhite

Office

College/Association

Name

President

Mrs. Tequila Sunrise

ICC

President Elect

Mr. Jason Cooley

JJC

Secretary

Mrs. Carmen Brown

MDCC

I.

Preliminaries A. Call to Order: Tequila Sunrise (ICC) B. Roll Call: Carmen Brown (MDCC) C. Approval of February 19, 2025 Minutes

1. Motion to approve: Kim Harris (NWCC) 2. Second to approve: Monica Johnson (CCC) 3. Approved by all 15 community colleges

D. Approval of August 2022 Agenda

1. Motion to approve: Angel Nickens (NWCC) 2. Second to approve: Jason Cooley (JJC) 3. Approved by all 15 community colleges

E. MCCB Reports 1. LeBrun

i. Procurement Updates

1. Dr. Lebrun walked through the complex process of procurement and the transparency required at each stage. She emphasized the importance of understanding the budget and procurement processes for new members of the association. She explained the need for justification when procuring services and shared examples of how this process ensures accountability, such as competitive bids and vendor negotiations. In addition, she emphasized the importance of cost savings and contract renewals, including EBSCOhost, ProQuest, and InfoBase services for libraries. Dr. Lebrun discussed the need for budget amendments due to higher-than-expected usage of services like