Florida Chapter American Fisheries Society

22^nd Annual Business Meeting Minutes

13 February 2002

Withlacoochee Training Center, Brooksville, Florida

 

Meeting Agenda, Minutes, & Treasurer Report

President Peter Hood called the meeting to order at approximately 6:30 pm.  It was determined that a quorum was present and the meeting agenda was adopted.

Secretary-Treasurer Wayne Bennett stated that current Florida Chapter AFS assets as of 11 February 2002 were $29,840.78.  The assets were presently divided into two accounts; a money market account containing $21,091.78, and a mutual fund containing $8,713.00. 

Poor performance by the money market account over the last year had resulted in net losses to the Chapter’s investment (the total loss was not known).  Wayne related that the Morgan Stanley-Dean Witter, accounts manager (Dave Shougal) had suggested moving the money market funds into a managed account that would insure the fund remained balanced and continued to serve the objectives and goals of the Chapter.  Several concerns were voiced by the membership:

• Members were concerned over having funds controlled by someone not directly involved with the Chapter who may not be as responsive to our financial objectives.
• Some members would rather have the money moved to lower risk/lower return account.
• It was unclear how fees associated with a managed account may be assessed and how or if they may affect future asset growth.
• Several members were reluctant to abandon the money market account at this low point in market performance, citing the possibility of compounding current losses by not having a fund in place to take advantage of future market rebounds.

Doug Scheidt made a motion to take no action at this time with regard to moving the Society’s money market account into a managed fund.  The motion was seconded by Russ (??) and unanimously approved.

Bob Wattendorf moved to accept the meeting minutes and move on, the motion was seconded and approved.

Committee Reports

Rottmann Scholarship

Chuck Cichra gave a brief history of the Rottmann Scholarship now in its 6^th year.  Four Masters Degree students applied this year, and there were no Ph.D. applicants.  He reminded members that applications are due in mid-January and suggested more effort be put into Scholarship advertising next year.  Winners were then announced:

• The Masters category winner was Bridget Tiffany (University of West Florida)
• Honorable mention went to Jodie Rummer (University of West Florida)

It was decided that $400 would be awarded to the winner and $100 to the runner-up.

Student Travel Scholarships

Chuck Cichra announced that 20 travel scholarships were awarded to students.  He also noted that 15 of these students were also giving papers at the meeting.  The following students were recognized for having been awarded a travel scholarship:

• Jeffrey Grim, (U Tampa) 
• Jessica Beck, (FIT)
• Bridget Tiffany, (UWF)
• Kristen Henry, (UF)
• Earl Lundy, (UCF)
• Chad Hanson, (FSU)
• Phil Stevens, (UF)
• Nann Fangue, (UWF)
• Kevin Dockendorf, (UF)
• Rummer, Jodie (UWF)
• Jeff Hill, (UF)
• Cheyenna Reber, (UWF)
• Katie Fitchett, (UWF)
• Heidi Wallman, (UWF)
• Jaime Greenawalt, (UF)
• Tim Bonvechio, (UF)
• Rebecca Drake, (UF)
• Linda Martin, (UWF)
• Troy Thompson, (UF)
• Jean Lockwood, (SFCC)

Special Report on the Rottmann Scholarship Fund

Larry Connor reported that the Rottmann Scholarship Fund had not faired well in the current depressed economic market.  The current fund value of $5170 generated an income of $322.  Larry noted that with a yearly expenditure of approximately $550, is clear that the fund cannot support itself at current growth rates.

Larry Connor made a motion that $6000 of the $7580 that the Chapter made hosting the 2001 Southern Division Meeting be placed into the fund to insure that it remain self-sustaining.  Kevin Grant seconded the motion.

In discussion, Rich McBride stated that the original concept of donations from outside sources had never materialized.  Larry confirmed that only $600 had been donated to the fund since its inception.

Rich offered a modification to the original motion to stipulating that up to $6000 of Chapter funds would be placed in the Rottmann Fund on the condition that one-to-one matching funds were secured from outside sources over the next two-years.  The motion was seconded by (???).

In further discussion, Chuck Cichra, and Rich McBride agreed to oversee and follow-up on the donation process.  Larry Connor volunteered to write the initial draft of the donation letter draft that would be sent to potential donors.  Peter Hood recommended that other members interested in helping with this cause contact Chuck Cichra, or Rich McBride.

The McBride modification of the Connor proposal was unanimously passed by the membership.

Newsletter

• John Benton reported that three newsletters were sent out along with one special edition advertising the 2002 FAFS Brooksville Meeting.  He also thanked Jodie Rummer for her UWF Institutional Profile contribution, and hoped other programs would also make similar contributions. 
• John reported that he would not be in charge of the newsletter for the upcoming year.
• Peter Hood called for volunteers to take over the newsletter duties.
• Kimberly Tugend volunteered to take over newsletter duties with unanimous member support.  Her e-mail address is: kit@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu

Student Concerns

 

(First name?) Shenker could not attend the meeting and no topics were forwarded for discussion.

 

Legislative

 

Pat Fricano could not attend the meeting and no topics were forwarded for discussion.

 

Raffle

 

Tom Maher related that this year’s raffle prize donations were at an all-time high, largely due to a single generous donation by “Uncle Homer”.  Tom Maher went on to encourage all members present to donate generously to the raffle, as the proceeds go to pay for student lodging and meals at Chapter Meetings.

 

Website Update

 

Bob Wattendorf reported that website support by the parent organization was not in the Chapter’s best interest due to uncertainties about the host server and cost, He stated that the University of Florida would continue to host the Chapter website for the upcoming year.  Several members commented on the good look and professional quality of the current web page and thanked Bob for his hard work.

Southeastern Division Update

Larry Conner acting as the current AFS Southern Division -Vice President conveyed greetings from the Southern Division.  He also related that this year marks the 50^th annual Southern Division Meeting.  The meeting will be held in Cooksville Tennessee and will include presentations on the history of various Southern Division Chapters as well as a revival of the Student Leadership Committee seminar and meeting.  A key focus at the Southern Division meeting will be mentorship with a special luncheon on the topic and the announcement of a Hutton (Johnson??) Fisheries Biology Scholarship for High School students interested in Fisheries Biology.  Scholarship recipients will serve an internship with a fisheries biologist mentor and receive a $1000/month stipend.

On a different topic, Larry Connor noted that voter response to recent Southern Division elections was miserable.  In an attempt to improve voter response, ballots will no longer be included in the Southern Division newsletter but will be sent to members as a special mail out.  In addition, Southern Division elections will move away from the South Eastern to the mid-year meeting in hopes of attracting more voters.

Important Announcement on the FAFS 2003 Meeting

• Peter Hood announced (to raucous cheers) that the Florida Chapter AFS meeting would be held in Brooksville at the Withlacoochee Training Center again next year.
• He also conveyed a message from the Training Center personnel, that due to a shift in the Forestry Department’s training focus, there is no guarantee that the meeting could continue to be held at the training facility.
• Peter asked that all members investigate other potential meeting sites capable of providing meals and accommodations for approximately 70 to 100 people.   These suggestions would be submitted to Peter who agreed to compile the list and circulate it to the Executive Committee.

Nominating committee

Bob Wattendorf announced the nominees for each FAFS office.

• President-elect candidate running unopposed was Wayne Bennett (current Secretary-Treasurer)
• Secretary-treasurer candidates were John Benton and (???)

Peter Hood called for other nominations.  None were forthcoming.

Kevin (Grant??) made a motion that nominations from the floor be closed.  Mike Allen seconded and motion was carried unanimously.

The membership elected Wayne Bennett and John Benton to their respective posts.

New Business

• Peter Hood relinquished the floor to Kathy Guindon-Tisdel who was installed as the new Chapter president.
• The Chapter recognized Peter Hood for his service as president with a framed Certificate of Appreciation.
• Peter Hood called for a review of the Chapter by-laws and asked that volunteers interested in helping with the project contact him following the meeting.

Adjournment

 

Larry Connor made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  Rich McBride seconded.  The motion was unanimously carried and the meeting was adjourned at 7:40 pm.