WA-BC – AFS Chapter
EXCOM Teleconference Meeting Minutes
January 8, 2009
Attending: Larry Dominguez, Geraldine Vander Haegen, Lisa Harlan, Rachel Keeler, Jim Shannon, Eric Knudsen.
Minutes: Minutes for Dec 18, 2008 were approved pending minor edits by Eric Knudsen.
Officer Reports
President: Larry brought up the need to define and formalize the process for using email for the EXCOM to vote on proposed items. Eric will draft a procedural paragraph describing voting by email for the EXCOM to review.
WDAFS has sent a request to all Western Division chapters for symposia proposals with a submittal deadline of Jan 16. Larry is not sure if he will be able to attend the meeting in Albuquerque (May 3-7). Eric is considering a symposia proposal for this meeting.
Past President: The Parent Society is currently allowing membership dues for our chapter to be optional, but it should be mandatory, so we are probably not collecting as much chapter dues as intended. The Treasurer will be asked to follow up on this.
Fund-raising for the AGM09 is on par with last year around this time, with commitments from 5 sponsors already.
President Elect: See AGM 2009 topic.
Vice President: No report.
Secretary/Treasurer: No report.
Newsletter Editor: Rachel will post a notice on the website regarding the Western Division Riparian Challenge. Larry will send out a Quarterly letter from the President in the next few weeks, which can be included in the next newsletter. A listserve will be sent out after the registration fees for the AGM09 have been finalized. Chapter elections are coming up which will also be included in the next newsletter.
Topics
Puget Sound Georgia Basin Conference: Our sponsorship of this conference has been finalized at $2500, which will include 10 student registrations. An announcement should be sent out soon letting student members know free registrations are available on a first come first served basis. Eric will coordinate with Tad Schwager to get the word out to students. Eric will be attending the conference.
AGM 2009: Registration fees were discussed and it was agreed to structure the student member/non-member fees with a difference equivalent to the Parent Society membership fees. Fees for regular member/non-member attendance will be structured at a difference approximately half the cost of AFS membership. Jim will adjust fee structure and distribute to EXCOM. The registration page will hopefully be up by next week.
Larry is working on getting entertainment for the big social on Wednesday night and is considering a Native American comedian. The suggestion was made to open the event to the general public, which could help offset costs.
Contact should be made again with people who attended the planning meeting in November to keep them engaged.
Jim will assess number of symposia to date. Little Creek Casino has enough space for 4 concurrent sessions if needed, 3 are currently planned.
Sponsorships/Scholarships/Financial Assistance: Chapter funds are available to provide support and should be distributed as part of outreach to build membership. A budget would be helpful at this point to prevent over-committing funds.
State of the Salmon Conference: Motion passed to sponsor at $1000. Rachel and Eric will plan on covering the conference.
2010 Habitat-Fishery Calendar support for South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group: This is an opportunity to sponsor and get exposure for the chapter.
Hunting and Fishing for the Truth: General support was expressed for a donation to this cable TV outdoor education program. Larry will further research their needs.
Old Business: None
New Business: None
Next Teleconference: Thursday, Jan 22, 2009 at 7:30am.
WA-BC – AFS Chapter
EXCOM Teleconference Meeting Minutes
January 22, 2009
Attending: Larry Dominguez, Geraldine Vander Haegen, Lisa Harlan, Rachel Keeler, Jim Shannon, Eric Knudsen, Julie Henning, Mark Pedersen.
Minutes: Minutes for January 8, 2009 were approved.
Officer Reports
President: Larry is preparing invitations to AGM 2009 for Parent Society EXCOM and will contact Gus Rassam directly, as well as Bill Francine and Scott Bonar (President of WDAFS). He will also invite David Dicks from Puget Sound Partnership. He is asking Ray Hillborn from University of Washington to be Plenary Speaker. Larry is looking at getting a comedian for the Wednesday night entertainment possibly with music afterwards.
Larry made a video announcement for the AGM 2009 which will be posted on the website.
Past President: Eric is working on obtaining sponsors for the AGM2009 and it is proceeding well. He will send a list of current sponsors to the EXCOM.
President Elect: Jim has been focusing mainly on the symposia of which there are currently 10 confirmed and 1 possible on Precautionary Principle. He is working with Mark Pedersen on scheduling the symposia. Jim is working with Craig Busack regarding ideas for Plenary Speakers. The block of rooms are reserved and the Program at a Glance is up on the website. The Abstracts deadline is February 15 and the goal is to get the Program Outline on the website as soon as possible so that people will start to plan attending the conference. Mark suggested space be reserved for contributed papers.
Vice President: Mark has started drafting descriptions of the awards and Jim will send him what he had put together for last year. The EXCOM will approve awards from a list of nominees. The suggestion was made to announce award recipients by posting on the website and including them in a newsletter.
Secretary/Treasurer: There are on-going issues with IRS regarding proof of non-profit status. IRS recently changed the filing requirements and now requires all non-profits to file taxes. In 2007 we had to re-apply for a Tax ID Number and having been trying since then to provide sufficient documentation proving non-profit status. Julie is talking with the Parent Society AFS and other chapters to try and resolve this issue.
Newsletter Editor: Newsletter submissions are needed by the end of the month. Rachel will include AGM 2009 info in the newsletter.
Topics
AGM 2009: The contract with Little Creek Casino has been signed and the check sent. Julie will retain an official copy of the contract for record-keeping purposes.
Ideas were requested to reduce paper use at the conference. The suggestion was made to put the program on a CD or thumbdrive, which raised the question whether hard copy is more likely to be viewed in the future. A suggestion followed to possibly put minimal info in hard copy and extensive info on CD or thumbdrive.
Guidelines to Presenters needs to get posted on the website very soon.
Megan Moore is working on gathering raffle prizes. Eric reminded the group it is very important to engage everyone who attended the planning meeting at LCC in November. It was proposed and agreed upon that EXCOM have a meeting at Little Creek Casino on March 26 from 10:00am-2:00pm for EXCOM and all AGM folks. The March 19 EXCOM meeting would still occur but be abbreviated.
Sponsorships/Scholarships/Financial Assistance: A request for financial support was received from Freshwater Mussel who will be having a conference. Julie has put together a budget for 2009 for all sponsorship/scholarship/financial aid awards and is recommending a cap on how much is contributed. EXCOM will review this budget.
Eric expressed support of financial assistance particularly for students as we need to get students involved in the AGM. He will put something together to add into the next newsletter.
The following motion was passed “The WA-BC Chapter will provide $500.00 to the Western Division Meeting In Albuquerque, NM to be combined with 2011 AFS contribution of $500.00 for combined sponsorship and representation with a table at the Western Division Meeting.”
A request was received to support the South Puget Sound Calendar.
Old Business: None
New Business: None
Next Teleconference: Thursday, Feb 5, 2009 at 7:30am.
WA-BC – AFS Chapter
EXCOM Teleconference Meeting Minutes
February 5, 2009
Attending: Larry Dominguez, Geraldine Vander Haegen, Lisa Harlan, Rachel Keeler, Jim Shannon, Eric Knudsen, and Mark Pedersen.
Minutes: No minutes were approved.
Officer Reports
President: Larry will likely attend the Western Division AFS meeting, but is not able to fully commit at this point. He and Mark LaRiviere have been working together getting a comedian lined up for the Wednesday evening entertainment for AGM 2009. He has talked with the LCC staff about opening the event up to the public and they are very open to that. Larry is working on getting the Fish and Wildlife Director (for plenary speaker), and Ray Hilborne for Plenary speaker. He has a meeting later today with the Squaxin tribe to coordinate for the AGM. He is preparing the mid year report for WDAFS. There is no update on the Fish Habitat Initiative.
Past President: Eric sent poster guidelines to Mark who will post them on the website. Eric attended the State of the Salmon Conference, which had about 500 attendees. He made some good contacts regarding the possibility of having the 2010 AGM in British Columbia.
President Elect: Jim is communicating with symposia chairs and they are all solid with their symposia. He and Eric worked on the website.
Vice President: Mark will try to get the Call for Nominations for Awards on the website this week. Jim will get AGM 2009 posters and flyers to Mark on Sunday who will take them to the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin conference next week.
Secretary/Treasurer: No report.
Newsletter Editor: Rachel attended the State of the Salmon Conference and talked to students at the Poster session regarding AFS membership. The Newsletter will go out February 12th in order to precede the deadline for Abstract submissions on February 15th. There have not been many submissions for this Newsletter so far.
Topics
Freshwater Mussel Conference: An announcement for the conference will be included in the upcoming Newsletter and a motion was passed to sponsor the Freshwater Mussel Conference at $300. Mark P. will follow up with Julie to get the check to the appropriate person.
Old Business: None
New Business: None
Next Teleconference: Thursday, Feb 19, 2009 at 7:30am.
WA-BC – AFS Chapter
EXCOM Teleconference Meeting Minutes
February 19, 2009
Attending: Larry Dominguez, Julie Henning, Lisa Harlan, Rachel Keeler, Jim Shannon, Eric Knudsen, and Mark Pedersen.
Minutes: Minutes for January 22nd and February 5th, 2009 were approved.
Officer Reports
President: Larry submitted the WA-BC Quarterly Report to WDAFS who will pass it along to the Parent Society AFS. He has started an Excel spreadsheet capturing significant events and contributions, which will remain a permanent record and can be passed to future presidents. It was suggested that it be stored in the Archives.
A final decision has been made for the logo re-design, although a few minor changes were suggested. Larry will discuss with the designer whether a couple of renditions can be retained to use for different purposes. One version will need to be used right away.
The contract with the Wednesday evening comedian has stalled because of difficulties connecting with the right person at Little Creek Casino (LCC). Larry will try to make contact with the Events person instead of Ricky.
Larry met with the Squaxin tribe with the following results:
1) Sqauxin folks do not think they can provide salmon because of unavailability and uncertainty of abundance.
2) Alcohol cannot be served without it being distributed by facility staff – very strict about serving minors – this would eliminate the option about having beer served at the restoration site: instead it might mean a trail would be out to the debris jam project where shellfish can be served as part of poster social
3) Larry solicited about the potential level of their funding for the poster show, regardless if they could not provide salmon – they felt there could be some contribution but could not commit to an amount for conference sponsorship in terms of dollar amount.
4) They can provide a 15-20 minute welcome ceremony prior to plenary with Tribal chair welcoming.
5) With my request for native American perspective in plenary, they recommended having Jim Peters round out the plenary. It would be a good fit for 3 perspectives in the plenary (Tribal, Agency, University/international)
6) They also suggested a lunchtime speaker who is a council member and could share – in story form – many cultural resource perspectives on topics that we could suggest. Charlene Krise is very knowledgeable about cultural history, passionate, executive director of their museum, and board member of Washington Museum association. She might be able to speak on uncertainty alluding to cultural identity, changes in perspectives of upcoming generation of Native Americans, etc…
7) They identified a great layout for the spawning run which is among the trail system of the proposed golf course. Spawning run coordinator will need to flag the route.
They could provided a more formalized drum dance at the Wed evening dinner – perhaps kicking off our Wed evening activities and dinner
Overall – it did not seem promising for any large cash sponsorship – that is not a final since it will still go through Jeff Dickinson and Andy Whitener.
Course of Action: Larry follow with formal request for participation. Stelzner will talk again to Jeff Dickinson about funding amounts for sponsorships. They recommended Dickinson as a plenary speaker – but I thought otherwise and preferred a tribal member who could speak policy. Larry send follow-up memo to clarify Squaxin poster session involvement. Larry did not ask one of their persons if they could chair the session since he wasn’t sure there was a poster chair or not.
Past President: Eric represented the chapter in two recent conferences, working on fundraising and sponsorship. The table at the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin conference was very good. He developed the announcements for the open EXCOM positions.
President Elect: See AGM notes.
Vice President: Mark got announcements out in the Newsletter. He has been making calls and contacts with Canadians regarding the 09AGM and a possible site for the 2010AGM. He will work with Julie to get a budget together for the 09AGM.
Secretary/Treasurer: Julie has sent a letter to IRS explaining and documenting our status as a non-profit. The CCR allows federal entities to transfer funds to other organizations, but we need to be set up with the federal system to transfer funds greater than $2500.
Newsletter Editor: The newsletter went out and looked good and all the hyperlinks worked great. Larry suggested we look at how WDAFS deals with their Newsletters.
Topics
09AGM: The Abstract deadline passed and 97 abstracts have been submitted. This includes some posters. They will need to be reviewed. He suggested extending the submission deadline to the end of the month. A fourth room may be needed to accommodate all presenters. Jim will see if a video of the Habitat Conference, which is occurring the previous week, can be shown at our conference.
Larry suggested having a poster template on the website and asking Keith Wolf for reduced cost printing for posters. A reminder should be sent out to the membership regarding early registration ending March 20th. Julie has promotion codes for students and Eric has promotion codes for sponsors.
Old Business: None
New Business: None
Next Teleconference: Thursday, Mar 5th, 2009 at 7:30am.
WA-BC – AFS Chapter
EXCOM Teleconference Meeting Minutes
March 5, 2009
Attending: Larry Dominguez, Lisa Harlan, Julie Henning, Geraldine Vander Haegen, Rachel Keeler, Jim Shannon, Mark Pedersen, and Keith Wolfe, Tad Schwager.
Minutes: No minutes were approved. Lisa will send minutes for Feb 22 and Mar 5 via email. Approval will be by email vote.
Officer Reports
President: Larry is looking for someone to represent him at the WDAFS. Julie is willing to do this and will check with her work commitments. We have started posting our logo, although still refining minor details. Keith has sent Brian six “ai” files of the logo, which can be manipulated.
Past President: Larry reported that Eric has been very busy soliciting sponsorships for the AGM.
President Elect: Jim and Julie looked at preliminary budget for 09AGM, and found that the entertainment costs had not been budgeted. Food had been discussed and the decision made to go with heavy hors d’oeuvres at $20/person not a plated dinner at $25-30/person. Given that the number of people attending the event is hard to predict it’s less expensive to go with hors d’oeuvres. Larry will talk to LCC regarding better pricing on having a buffet.
Vice President: Mark will be ordering the plaque and certificate for Past President. He has not heard anything yet for annual awards.
Secretary/Treasurer: Julie and Mark put together an operating budget. Julie received a response letter from IRS saying that her letter has been received and they are still doing research.
Newsletter Editor: Nothing new to report.
Assistant Newsletter Editor: Nothing new to report.
Topics
Environmental Concerns Committee: Made some progress re-energizing Environmental Concerns Committee prompted by SFF’s initiative regarding the raw sewage release the city of Victoria into marine waters. Julie, Larry and Mark had a meeting with WDFW’s Phil Anderson requesting support for the AGM, but have not heard back yet. Phil was invited to be a Plenary Speakers.
09AGM: The comedian is asking $1200 for the evening and the band is asking $1250. The budget would be in the $4-5,000 range including food, entertainment, and lodging for entertainers. The evening can be opened to the Reservation with a cover charge, which could help alleviate the costs. The comedian could help throughout the awards and raffle as well as do his performance. A motion was made to have the comedian but not the band and go with background music. The motion stands. Additional guests will be an extra charge. Julie will put a box on the registration page, after a description of the evening is posted onto the website. Larry will do the entertainment description. Julie will talk to Ricky at LCC to arrange flexibility with the buffet.
Megan Moore is organizing raffle donations. Jim will get a report from her of what has been donated so far will be posted on the web. Any raffle donations can be sent to Megan and/or Jim. The Spawning Run currently doesn’t have a lead, so Larry will see if a tribal person can take the lead. The program will be finalized after the Abstract deadline has been reached. One person has utilized the poster session framework so far.
Don Williams does underwater videos in Puget Sound and is currently showing on public television. He is willing to show his videos during the Plenary lunch and would like to get his travel costs covered. Jim will send the EXCOM his website.
Jim and others have been experiencing some difficulty getting a response from Ricky over the last couple weeks, so it may take some extra effort to get answers to questions.
36 people have registered so far. Early registration closes March 20th. The next two listserve announcements should be sent to remind members of the early registration deadline of March 20th.
A discussion took place regarding whether proceedings are planned for the conference. One will be done for PNAP (Mark, could you please fill in?)
20 students have submitted so far. Free registration has been offered to the first 11 students who submit abstracts, and after that reduced rates will be offered. The chapter is also offering free registration for student volunteers. Tad has been asked whether the chapter supports student travel to other conferences, such as WDAFS.
Old Business: None
New Business: None
Next Two Meetings: Thursday, Mar 19th, 2009 at Little Creek Casino from 10:00-2:00. This meeting will be open to anyone wanting to be involved in the AGM. We can support travel costs for any students who attend. Thursday, Apr 2nd, 2009 by teleconference.