Accountability and transparency has heightened since Enron and other corporate scandals. As a result, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has raised the standards of scrutiny in areas including financial disclosure and conflicts of interest in the for-profit as well as the nonprofit arena. Because fundamental legal principles and complex tax laws govern the work of nonprofit boards and individual board members, it is important that board members be mindful of their legal responsibilities to protect themselves and their organizations.

As a result, the Oklahoma Museums Association is offering regional workshops in April to educate staff, board members and volunteers on the many legal and ethical responsibilities of board members. The information presented is applicable to museums of all sizes and disciplines.

The workshop will cover such topics as duty of care, duty of loyalty, and duty of obedience. Other items to be discussed include state statutes, Secretary of State requirements, Attorney General, State Auditor and the Internal Revenue Service.   Jeri Towler, a graduate of Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma school of law is presenting the workshop. Her practice is limited to tax-exempt organizations.

Regional workshop locations and dates are April 7- Oklahoma City, Downtown Metropolitan Library; April 8-Tulsa, Sherwin Miller Jewish Museum of Art/Tulsa Jewish Community Center; and April 9 -Ardmore, Ardmore Convention Center.

Each workshop is from 1:30pm-4:00pm. The same information will be presented at each workshop. Registration is $30 for OMA members and $40 for non-members. As a way to encourage staff and boards members from the same organization to attend together, the second individual may register at 50% of the regular registration fee. The registration deadline is March 28.

Registration can be completed online at https://payments.auctionpay.com/ver3/?id=W035893 or by using the form at http://www.okmuseums.org/uploads/documents/2008RegistrationTemplate.doc A limited number of scholarships to students, staff or volunteers representing museums in Oklahoma, who are members of OMA, are available. Those interested in applying for a scholarship should complete the application no later than March 18. The application is available on the OMA Web site at http://www.okmuseums.org/secondary.php?section=4&catid=55 programs and services page.

Partners and sponsors of the OMA regional workshop series include Oklahoma Arts Council, Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits, The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation, Ron Norick Downtown Metropolitan Library, Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art/Tulsa Jewish Community Center, Ardmore Convention Center, Charles and Lynne Schusterman Family Foundation, and ConocoPhillips.

The Oklahoma Museums Association (OMA), a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, has been fulfilling the mission of supporting museums with their efforts to educate, inform and entertain since 1972. OMA is a valuable resource to museums as they serve their communities. OMA is the primary provider of information and professional development to the staff, student interns, volunteers and governing boards for Oklahoma's 300+ museums, historical societies, historic sites, zoos and botanical gardens, historic houses, living history museums, tribal cultural centers and other museum-related institutions.  For more information, visit the OMA website at http://www.okmuseums.org/ or call 405.424.7757.