| SWS SOUTH CENTRAL CHAPTER
Spring Business Meeting Minutes
June 12, 2007
Officers
Gary Pritts (Ensafe) – Current President Present
Andy Nyman (LSU) – Past President Present
Ken Krauss (USGS) – President Elect Not Present
Matt Stahman (SWCA) – Treasurer Present
Adam Williams (Appalachian State) – Secretary Not Present
Board
Kevin Stevens (Univ. N. TX) – Current Board Member Present
Julia Cherry (Univ. AL) – Current Board Member Not Present
Lisa Gandy (Whitenton Group) – New Board Member (2 Yr. Term) Not Present
Rebecca Howard – New Board Member (2 Yr. Term) Present
President Gary Pritts called the Business Meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) South Central Chapter to order at 5 PM. Approximately 14 people attended. Gary welcomed all attendees and congratulated the new officers.
Quorum: President Pritts declared a quorum since more than two members were present.
Minutes: A motion was passed not to read the minutes from the previous meeting. A motion was made to accept the minutes, was seconded, and passed.
Treasurer Report: Treasurer Matt Stahman distributed the mid-year Treasurer’s Report. The checking account currently has $9,827.57 with an additional $4,000 in a CD (matures February 2008). Matt noted that he had not yet seen the Annual Chapter Dues deposit show up in the checking account. Rebecca Howard, former national treasurer, indicated that he should have seen it by now and that he should check after the meeting. At the time these minutes are being written, Matt has since confirmed deposit of $1,628.00 was made on April 19, 2007 by the national Society. This will be reflected in the Annual Treasurer’s report this fall.
Membership: Treasurer Matt Stahman reported that the national Society currently has 3,556 members, of which 381 belong to the South Central Chapter. Chapter membership is down approximately 15% from previous years.
Old Business: The vote to split the Secretary/Treasurer job passed at the Fall 2006 meeting in Vicksburg. However, Board Member Rebecca Howard pointed out that the bylaws on the Chapter Website have not yet been changed. Treasurer Matt Stahman indicated that he would make sure the revised by-laws, approved by the vote in Vicksburg, were posted to the website as soon as possible. Matt also indicated he would email the duties of Secretary, Treasurer, and President to the appropriate board members.
New Business:
2008 Bottomland Hardwood Symposium - President Pritts brought up Jeff Raasch’s proposal for $500 to support the upcoming Bottomland Hardwood Symposium in Little Rock, Arkansas. The symposium is entitled “Integrating Science into the Restoration and Management of Floodplain Ecosystems of the Southeast” and is scheduled for March 4-6, 2008 at the Peabody Hotel. Proceedings will be published in a special edition of the “Wetlands”. After some discussion, the board suggested moving on and addressing the issue via email among the board members. Gary Ervin encouraged a member of the SCC to go to recruit new SWS members. Andy Nyman suggested sending the SWS booth. Scott Jecker suggested Lisa Gandy (not currently present) could attend and talk up the SWS SCC. Andy mentioned that Sammy King would be attending.
Website – An attendee suggested a “member news section” for the website to supplement the function of a chapter newsletter. President Pritts pointed out that it could fall into disrepair if no one maintained it. Past President Andy Nyman suggested a link on the website to a list of consultants and/or researchers. Scott Jecker suggested selling the right to get on the list to consultants for $50/each/year.
Committees – President Pritts pointed out that no one currently serves as Newsletter Editor or the committee chair for the Education Outreach Committee. Both positions need to be filled. A quarterly email from the president was suggested. Gary Ervin is considering managing the chapter newsletter via a separate link from our website.
National Society Issues – Andy Nyman noted that the national Society wants to condense the Board of Directors from 15 (with each chapter being represented) down to only 5 representatives. He thinks it’s a bad idea. Andy also felt that Burke and Associates should be forced to compete for our business in planning the national meetings. Rebecca Howard reminded us that Burke did compete for our business back in 2001 and beat out Allan and Associates.
Upcoming Meetings:
National Meeting - The Spring 2008 meeting will be held in Washington D.C. Past President Andy Nyman indicated that the National Board proposed a “no host” national meeting at the Annual Board Meeting in January. However, each chapter host gets 25% of the proceeds from the National Meeting. The proposal was voted down. The 2009 National Meeting will be held in Madison, Wisconsin. The 2010 meeting is still open. Should SCC offer to host? Austin, maybe? Rebecca Howard noted that there is a National Meetings Committee and she is on it.
Chapter Meeting – The Fall 2007 meeting will be hosted by President Gary Pritts at the EnSafe Campus in Memphis, Tennessee. President Pritts reported that Julia Cherry (not currently present) had volunteered to host the Fall 2008 meeting in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This was well received since the SCC has had very few, if any, meetings held in Alabama. Kevin Stevens proposed to host the Fall 2009 meeting in Denton, Texas.
In order to make the social that night at the California Museum, a motion was made to adjourn the meeting and pick up the issues in the fall at Memphis. The motion was seconded.
President Pritts adjourned the meeting at 6:00 PM.
Prepared by Matt Stahman |
