WA-BC – AFS Chapter
EXCOM Teleconference Meeting Minutes
December 4, 2008
Attending: Larry Dominguez, Rachel Keeler, Geraldine Vander Haegen, Lisa Harlan, Mark Pedersen, Julie Henning, Jim Shannon, Tad Schwager.
Minutes: No minutes were approved.
Officer Reports
President: Larry had a follow-up call with a Squaxin tribal biologist regarding the South Sound Conference to coordinate regarding the conference.
Past President: No report.
President Elect: Jim attended a meeting in Sedona Arizona, representing the WA-BC chapter. The WDAFS 2009 annual meeting will be May 3-7 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Jim sent a logo design to EXCOM for review and comments. This is the only logo design so far and EXCOM would like to get more submittals. A motion was passed to put out a contest to the WA-BC membership for a new logo design, with a cash prize to the winner. Larry will send a listserve announcement out on Dec 5th with a submittal deadline in late December. Larry will administer the logo contest.
Rachel will submit an announcement regarding the WA-BC 09 AGM to the AFS Parent Society, requesting the event be added to their calendar.
Vice President: Mark requested an update on the status of the National Fish Habitat Action plan. Larry will check with WDAFS regarding the status and report back.
Mark reviewed the Puget Sound Partnership action agenda and did not see any major issues. The comment period was very short, only a day or so. It was passed on Dec 1st, 2008 but the funding source has not been identified.
Mark will send out a listserve announcement in January requesting nominations for awards for the 09 AGM.
NOAA Fisheries sent a notice regarding an upcoming conference being held on the east coast.
Secretary/Treasurer: The official name for the chapter is as follows:
Washington-British Columbia Chapter; and the official abbreviation is: WA-BC
All present agreed to these as the official representation for the chapter. Julie will be changing the banking documents to reflect the name change.
Newsletter Editor: Rachel sent an announcement of the 09 AGM to be included in the next WDAFS newsletter.
Topics
UW Student Outreach: The meeting was held to explain the benefits of belonging to an AFS chapter and how to start a student subunit. The meeting went very well and most of the EXCOM were able to attend (Larry, Julie, Mark, Jim) as well as Tad. Undergraduate and graduate students were present and several expressed a lot of interest. Tad will follow up with them in January to get a sub-unit formed, as well as to encourage participation in the 09 AGM. He will email other schools to try and have the same informational meeting at their locations.
Puget Sound/Georgia Basin: The Shark Symposium was accepted as a poster session and all but one person agreed to present in this format. Mark will determine whether they would also like to present as a session at the WA-BC 09 AGM.
AGM 2009: It was agreed to communicate the availability of financial support for student presenters and volunteers by stating on the website “registration waivers available”. It will be important to clarify the time commitment expected in return for the registration fee waiver for volunteers.
The draft contract with Little Creek Casino was sent out for review. Questions were raised regarding the pricing in the accommodation section. Larry will coordinate with Eric and LCC to clarify the rates. The contract needs to be signed by Jan 2, 2009.
Archive: The key issues to be decided are how to submit items to the archives and where the information will be stored. It was generally agreed that electronic storage of information is preferable to hard copy, given the lack of a physical location for the chapter and transboundary issues. The following information categories were identified as important to archive: 1) Info that will assist future management of the chapter, 2) meeting minutes, 3) official documents, such as IRS and banking, 4) correspondence, 5) sponsorship documentation. Jim suggested using a Google account for archiving, which is very secure, requiring a password to be accessed. Lisa will resume posting minutes upon approval by EXCOM, once Brian sets up access for her.
2009 Symposia Update: Discussion deferred.
Co-convening Updates for 2009 AGM: Discussion deferred.
WDAFS Retreat Summary: Discussion deferred.
Old Business: None
New Business: None
Next Teleconference: December 18, 2008 at 7:30am. There will not be a call-in on January 1st.