NPIC-AFS
May 8, 2008 Teleconference Meeting
EXCOM Teleconference Meeting Notes
Attending: Eric Knudsen, Rachel Keeler, Jim Shannon, Mark Pederson, Larry Dominguez, Keith Wolf, Todd Kassler, Julie Henning
Reports
Officers
President.- Eric stated that we are in need of a person to serve on the Environmental Concerns Committee. He will write up a description of this position and will use the listserve and newsletter to advertise for this position. There was discussion about initiating an election soon for the Vice President position and Assistant Newsletter Editor position. Julie will develop the ballot. On the ballot will list the candidates and their statements, as well as the name change proposal. The ballot will go out after the newsletter.
President-Elect. No report
Vice President.- No report other than the 2009 AGM which is discussed below.
Secretary/Treasurer.- Julie reported that she has hired an accountant that specializes in non-profits to complete the 2007 taxes. The cost will be between $300-$400. The tax return is due May 15. Julie also reported that Lisa Harlan will gradually begin serving as Assistant Secretary/Treasurer.
Committees
Outreach.- We are in need of a new webmaster. There was discussion on the possibility of hiring someone to review the website and make recommendations regarding both the layout and the technical approach for managing the site. The goal is to have the website be more user-friendly. There was discussion about whether we should have a new webmaster first before trying to hire someone to review the website. It was decided to send out an announcement advertising for a new webmaster.
Newsletter Editor. – Rachel has been working on gathering articles for the newsletter. She is waiting on the president’s address from Eric. Eric mentioned a new idea for doing future newsletters. He described the idea that included sending out a headliner email that links those headlines to articles on the web. Rachel will examine other newsletter alternatives and come up with a recommendation.
2008 AGM wrap up.- Larry is sending out an email to all presenters to announce that he is assembling all presentations and they will be posted on the web. Keith Wolf and Greg V. will be assembling their session presentations.
2009 AGM Planning. – Tentatively Jim has scheduled the 2009 AGM for April 20-23 at the Little Creek Casino in Shelton. Jim is working with the casino to get names for recommendations and other events that we can visit to examine how they put on large conferences.
There was a volunteer signup sheet at the Western Division to help with 2009. There were a few people that signed up and those names will be passed on to Jim. Also, Jim will send an email to engage Craig Busack on the planning of 2009 AGM. The hope is he will help find chairs for some of the sessions.
2011 Planning.- Eric, Cleve, and Larry presented an organizational structure for planning the 2011 AFS Annual Meeting, to be hosted by NPICD, which is expected to draw up to 3,500 attendees to Seattle. Eric described the proposal that included a partnership between AFS and SFF to organize the conference. They presented this idea to AFS at Western Division and received positive feedback. A copy of the proposal is attached below.
Motion: Rachel motioned to approve the draft partnership between AFS and SFF to organize the 2011 meeting. Jim seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Marine Fisheries.- Mark Pedersen will try to organize a teleconference including Bill Mavros and Tad Schwager to discuss the future and organization of the Marine Fisheries Committee.
Old Business — None
New Business – None
Next teleconference – the next teleconference will be at 7:30 AM on May 22.
A Partnership Between
the AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY,
NORTH PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL CHAPTER,
and the
SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES FOUNDATION
for
Co-Organizing the 2011 American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting
PURPOSE
The American Fisheries Society (AFS) will convene its Annual Meeting in Seattle on September 1-8, 2011. The AFS North Pacific International Chapter (NPIC) will be the host Chapter for the conference, which is expected to draw upwards of 3,500 individuals. Organizing and staging a conference of this magnitude will require a huge effort by NPIC. Initial planning is already underway. Organizational activities will increase exponentially as the meeting approaches. NPIC’s efforts will be directed by two General Co-Chairs, assisted by two Program Co-Chairs, approximately 20 committee chairs, and at least 50 additional volunteers. Increasingly sophisticated conference planning and documentation procedures, ever-growing time demands upon AFS members, and the necessary marketing among the highly competitive conference “culture”, necessitates an innovative approach on this prestigious international event.
AFS and NPIC recognize that a professionally and financially successful meeting depends on the quality of preparations; the attractiveness of the Program and plenary speakers; social events, workshops and tours that promote social interaction and showcase local amenities; and effective advertising, publicity and fundraising. AFS and NPIC further recognize that, while many individuals will volunteer to help with planning and implementing the conference, the chapter cannot rely solely on volunteers to ensure the success of such a large event.
The Sustainable Fisheries Foundation (SFF) desires to assist in organizing the 2011 AFS conference, a role traditionally played by fisheries agencies but which is gradually declining under worsening budget constraints. SFF has extensive experience organizing successful fisheries conferences, including several large meetings convened jointly with NPIC and the Western Division AFS (see below). SFF’s involvement would significantly increase the success of the 2011 AFS Annual Meeting. As agreed to with NPIC, Cleve Steward, Executive Director of SFF, would serve without compensation as Conference Co-Chair. Eric Knudsen, SFF’s Conservation Program Director, would chair the 2011 Fundraising Committee. SFF would also be responsible for the fiscal administration of the meeting, and would provide all necessary bookkeeping services.
AFS would receive the at least the usual net revenue from the Annual Meeting (approximately $100,000.00) and, if SFF and NPIC are successful at raising additional funds under this partnership, AFS would receive additional revenue, up to a maximum of $200,000.
To ensure a successful fundraising effort, a portion of the funds raised will be used to offset SFF costs. Under the proposed partnership, SFF would receive a fraction of the net proceeds, to be used for two purposes:
- As partial compensation for fundraising, accounting, and administration; and
- To fund a high-profile fisheries project that is mutually agreed to by SFF and NPIC. Further detail on the types of projects that might be considered for funding is provided below.
The proposed arrangement would ensure that sufficient funds are raised to cover conference expenses and to meet or exceed the amount of revenue that AFS typically receives from the Annual Meeting. Additional benefits that can be expected to accrue from the arrangement are described below.
BENEFITS
This partnership will enhance the goals of both organizations, but will particularly support the AFS mission as follows:
- Ensure that 2011 local and regional fundraising is the most successful to date, by seeking support from non-traditional, corporate sponsors, as well as traditional sponsors.
- Develop and implement creative solutions for conference cost savings by planning well in advance of the conference date.
- Increase pre-conference promotion and coordination with other organizations that will generate additional conference attendance and new AFS memberships
- Help to solicit additional trade show participation
- Reduce the conference workload on NPIC chapter volunteers and demonstrate whether this can be a model for other chapters’ involvement in hosting AFS in ensuing years
- Support a project that benefits fisheries conservation and/or education of mutual interest to AFS and SFF
RESPONSIBILITIES
The partnership of AFS, NPIC and SFF will greatly enhance the success of the 2011 AFS Annual meeting. It will also promote the goals and mission of each organization. The relative respective roles and responsibilities under this partnership are outlined below.
- SFF Responsibilities:
- Provide a key staff member to assist the AFS General Co-Chairs and the Program Chair in the overall conference planning process (see Figure 1) and to Chair the 2011 Fundraising Committee.
- Provide an administrative assistant to help track budget, fundraising, and other organizational activities for the 2011 planning activities.
- Ensure that fundraising targets are met such that AFS, NPIC, and SFF income goals and project support needs are realized.
- Ensure that costs are controlled wherever possible and by encouraging in-kind donations that reduce costs.
- Promote the conference and recruit potential conference attendees who are not AFS members.
- Solicit local and regional vendors and organizations to participate in the AFS Trade Show, with a goal of encouraging those organizations to donate funds beyond the basic trade show fees (to be paid directly to AFS), thereby increasing the usual fundraising effort.
- Assist in other planning duties as required, such as soliciting symposia and keynote speakers, identifying social venues, advertising, and ensuring that sponsors are well-recognized in the program, on the web, and at the conference.
- Organization and implementation of a fisheries-related project mutually agreed to by SFF and NPIC (see list below), using funds generated from this agreement.
- AFS and NPIC Responsibilities:
- Local arrangements and accommodations, program coordination, trade show, and associated activities (see http://www.npic-afs.org/team-2011/).
- Coordination between the General Co-Chairs, Program Chair, and the SFF senior staff member.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
AFS has realized an average of about $100,000 net proceeds from its annual meeting over past few years. Net proceeds represent the balance remaining after all conference-related expenses have been paid from funds raised for the conference including contributions, in-kind contributions, registration fees, and other income generated by the parent Society and the subunits. Costs include all expenses for planning and implementing the conference. The SFF activities under this partnership will enhance the likelihood of AFS netting, at a minimum, $100,000, not counting in-kind contributions. With the proper incentives built into the partnership, there is a good possibility that AFS will receive an even greater amount.
Under this partnership, NPIC and SFF will ensure that diligent conference budget management will result in registration fees and other expenses paid by conference attendees that are kept affordable, as in previous annual meetings.
To achieve these goals, we propose to implement a fiscal management and fundraising approach similar to the one used for the 2005 AFS conference (Anchorage), which was the most financially successful annual meeting to date. We also intend to draw upon lessons learned from other AFS conferences, the 2004 World Fisheries Congress, and other recent professional meetings that generated significant income.
LOCAL FUNDRAISING
A primary purpose of the partnership is to ensure that local fundraising goals are met to support the conference, and for AFS, NPIC, and SFF to realize their income targets. Fundraising will include contributions solicited from agencies, NGOs, AFS subunits, corporations, and private organizations. The fundraising described in this partnership only applies to the local fundraising effort, to be managed by SFF. (It is assumed that the AFS parent Society will raise approximately $80,000 from traditional sources, as they have for past conferences.) This partnership is separate from other agreements between the AFS parent Society, NPIC, and the Western Division of AFS, as potential co-conveners of the 2011 Annual Meeting.
Based on past conference financial statements, we have established a minimum local fundraising goal of $100,000, with an ultimate target of $200,000, to be contributed to the AFS Annual meeting budget. For comparison, recent annual meeting local committee fundraising resulted in $124,500, $90,399, and $91,250 in 2005, 2006, and 2007, respectively.
SFF, serving as the NPIC Local Fundraising Chair, will raise funds from government and non-government organizations that have contributed to past conferences, and also from non-traditional sources, including major corporate sponsors in the Seattle area. Furthermore, as part of its fundraising effort, SFF will solicit donations of major in-kind contributions, such as food, beverages, entertainment, printing and publicity.
Incentives for maximizing the fundraising effort are to be included in the local fundraising partnership. The following table illustrates an example how funds raised by the local organizing committee (SFF) would be allocated to the AFS Annual Meeting budget, SFF, and the AFS-SFF Special Project under different fundraising scenarios.
| Total funds raised by SFF | % to 2011 budget | Total to 2011 budget | % to SFF for costs | Total to SFF for costs | % to SFF/AFS Special Project | Total to SFF/AFS Special Project |
| Up to $130,000 | 77 | 100,000 | 23 | 30,000 | ||
| $130,000 – 220,000 | 68 | 150,000 | 16 | 35,000 | 16 | 35,000 |
| $220,000 — $300,00 | 67 | 200,000 | 13 | 40,000 | 20 | 60,000 |
COST CONTROL
On the other side of the ledger, high costs can consume much of the income raised. Therefore, conference organizers, with SFF assistance, will seek to reduce costs wherever possible during the 2011 planning process. To ensure an acceptable level of quality, NPIC and SFF conference organizers will develop quality standards that will be used to guide spending decisions. In particular, savings can be gained early in the process by preparing a budget as soon as possible and requesting planning subcommittee chairs to identify their costs well in advance. Once these costs are identified, a concerted effort will be focused on reducing costs by modifying plans, finding alternate vendors, or soliciting in-kind contributions.
AFS-SFF Special Project
In addition to serving as the primary fundraising activity for the 2011 conference, a spin-off benefit of this partnership will be that SFF will organize and execute one or more special projects that will improve some aspect of fisheries. The exact nature of the special project remains to be agreed upon by NPIC and SFF, but some possibilities are listed below. In addition to making a difference in a specific fisheries program, this project will be publicized and promoted at the 2011 conference as a partnership between AFS and SFF.
- International Fisheries Policy Dialogues: Addressing future challenges in the management and conservation of North American fisheries resources through a series of regional policy dialogues. Fisheries experts and policy makers will convene in facilitated two-day workshops under the aegis of AFS Divisions. Recommendations will be compiled and presented at the AFS Annual Meeting, communicated to key elected officials, and used as a basis for new AFS-sponsored initiatives.
- Sustainable Fisheries, Climate Change and the Future: Principles and methods of sustainable fisheries management and how to apply them in a rapidly changing environment;
- Native Salmon Campaign: Integrating traditional knowledge and indigenous people into Pacific coastal salmon conservation initiatives;
- Habitat Without Borders: Creating habitat restoration partnerships with neighboring countries to restore and protect transboundary aquatic ecosystems;
- Salmon Sanctuaries Project: Developing an international refuge system as a cornerstone of wild salmon conservation.
By implementing one of these important projects, both AFS and SFF will be contributing to the recovery and advancement of fisheries and aquatic resources that both organizations fully support. A successful outcome on this special project will set a trend for future Annual Meetings that will become a legacy for AFS.
Recent experience has repeatedly demonstrated the benefits of partnerships in creating the most successful ventures. Using innovative and progressive methods, this cooperative partnership provides the opportunity to create the most successful AFS Annual Meeting on record, as well as generating a new opportunity for advancing fisheries conservation.
Appendix – Summary of Sustainable Fisheries Foundation activities related to this partnership.
The Sustainable Fisheries Foundation is an international (U.S. and Canada) 501(c)(3) research and education foundation started in 1994 to promote a balanced approach to fisheries resource management and use, so that Pacific salmon and trout populations remain viable, productive, and accessible to future generations. The SFF works closely with other non-governmental and scientific organizations on a number of salmon-related initiatives, most notably the development of a Sustainable Fisheries Strategy for West Coast Salmon and Trout Populations; the Timber, Fish and Wildlife process in Washington State; and the King County Watershed Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 8 (Greater Lake Washington Watershed) Conservation Plan.
Among other salmon-related projects, SFF has participated as chair and/or primary organizer for 13 major scientific symposia and conferences over the past decade, each attended by 250 to 900 participants. SFF’s responsibilities for many of these events included significant fundraising and organizational activities. SFF was the lead or co-lead organizer on several of the events listed below.
- “Toward Sustainable Fisheries – Balancing Conservation and Use of Salmon and Steelhead in the Pacific Northwest,” Victoria, British Columbia in 1996.
- Publication: Sustainable Fisheries Management:Pacific Salmon. 2000. Knudsen, Steward, MacDonald, Williams, and Reiser, editors.
- “Forum on Sustainable Fisheries,” 1996 Salmon Homecoming Forum. Seattle, Washington.
- “Moving Salmon Up the Political Agenda,” 1997 Salmon Homecoming Forum. Seattle, Washington.
- “The Sustainable Way to Salmon Recovery,” 1998 Salmon Homecoming Forum. Seattle, Washington.
- “NAFTA, Environment and Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest,” EPA-Quileute Indian Tribe Conference. 1999 Salmon Homecoming Forum. Seattle, Washington.
- “Sustainable Fisheries of North America”, Symposium at the 2001 AFS Annual Meeting in Phoenix.
- Publication: Sustainable Fisheries of North America, 2002. Knudsen, MacDonald, and Muirhead, editors. AFS Special Publication.
- “Towards Ecosystem-Based Management and Salmon Recovery in the Columbia River Basin: Co-operative Approaches to Addressing Trans-boundary Issues and Concerns,” 2002 Western Division American Fisheries Society, Spokane, Washington.
- “Instream Flow Science and Management: Developing a Comprehensive, Ecosystem-Based Approach,” 2003. University of Washington, Seattle.
- “Forum on Reconciling Fisheries with Conservation,” 2004 World Fisheries Congress, Vancouver, British Columbia.
- “2004 World Fisheries Congress, Vancouver, British Columbia. (Fundraising Chair)
- “Forum on Reconciling Fisheries with Conservation,” 2004 World Fisheries Congress, Vancouver, British Columbia.
- “Pacific Salmon Environment and Life History Models: Advancing Science for Sustainable Salmon in the Future” Special Symposium, 2005 Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, Anchorage, Alaska.
- Publication: Pacific Salmon Environment and Life History Models: Advancing Science for Sustainable Salmon in the Future. In preparation. Knudsen, Michael, Steward, editors. AFS Special Publication.
- 41st Annual Conference of the American Water Resources Association, 2005, Seattle, Washington.
Co-convened the 2007 North Pacific International Chapter American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Tacoma, Washington.