Southern Division American Fisheries Society Business Meeting Minutes October 2001

President Mike Meador called the Business Meeting to order at 1502. Secretary/Treasurer Dick Luebke determined there was a quorum present. President Meador introduced the current officers as follows: Dick Luebke, Secretary/Treasurer; Marty Hale, Past President; Steve Filipek, Vice President; Jeff Boxrucker, President-Elect. He then recognized other Past Presidents Fred Harris, Rich Noble, Mike Van Den Avyle, Bill Fisher, Bobby Grinstead and Scott Van Horn.

AFS Vice President’s Remarks: Fred Harris told attendees that the Division had been exceptionally well represented the past several years on the parent society’s Governing Board, the main entity running the affairs of the society. Constitutional changes at this year’s national meeting in Phoenix have removed time limits for reduced-cost student membership as well as created a young professional membership category for those in the first 3 years post graduation. This year membership is really being emphasized, especially retention of current members. Fred encouraged everyone to check out the AFS website for additional information. He announced the annual meeting of the parent society would be in Baltimore in 2002 and that in 2004, AFS will be hosting the 4th World Fisheries Conference in Vancouver, B.C.

President’s Remarks: President Meador thanked everyone for the opportunity to serve as President this past year and said he enjoyed working to keep the Southern Division as a leader within the parent society.

Secretary/Treasurer’s Report: Dick Luebke reported that the minutes from the EXCOM and business meetings held in Jacksonville had been prepared and submitted to the Newsletter Editor. Hearing no additions, deletions or corrections to those minutes, Bob Curry moved and it was seconded to approve those minutes and the motion carried. Dick then reported that this past year for the first time all financial records for the Division were transferred to the incoming Secretary/Treasurer at the midyear meeting. The balance of the Division’s main account reported at the 2000 business meeting was in error by $.30, which was corrected. Therefore, the beginning balance for the past year should have been $23,215.27. Income during the past year was $25,627.68 and expenses were $8,998.40, yielding an increase in the account (income-minus expenses) of $16,629.28. The account balance as of August 31, 2001 was $39,844.55.

Audit Committee Report: John Prentice reported the committee met with the Secretary/Treasurer and reviewed all financial records and found that the figures reported above are correct. He then moved and Larry Connor seconded to approve the Treasurer’s Report as presented. Motion carried.

Program Committee Report: Jeff Boxrucker acknowledged the hard work of John Galvez, Jerry Buynak and the rest of the committee for putting together such a strong fisheries program for this year’s SEAFWA. A total of 37 fisheries papers were submitted, of which 35 were accepted for verbal presentation and 31 for publication. In addition, 29 posters will be presented.

Awards Committee Report: Gene Gilliland acknowledged the assistance of the other members of the committee as well as the paper judges from last year’s SEAFWA meeting. He then presented the following awards:

Awards of Merit (given to agencies, universities or organizations making at least two paper presentations at the SEAFWA meeting) presented to Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, West Virginia University, Auburn University, Moorehead State University, Oklahoma State University, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Outstanding Chapter Award presented to Texas Chapter.
Best Paper Award – Honorable Mention presented to Ken Cunningham and Larry Cofer for their paper entitled “Evaluation of Catch Rates of Hoop Nets for Sampling Channel Catfish.”
Best Paper Award – Runner-Up presented to Jeff Slipke, Steve Smith and Mike Maceina for their paper entitled “Food Habits of Striped Bass and Their Influence on Crappie in Wiest Lake, Alabama.”
Best Paper Award presented to Kevin Storey, Warren Schlechte and Loraine Fries for their paper entitled “Field Identification Accuracy for White Bass and Hybrid Striped Bass.”
Distinguished Service Award presented to Duke Energy Corporation.
Outstanding Achievement Awards presented to Phil Durocher (TX) and Scott Van Horn (NC).

Jeff Ross announced the Kentucky Chapter would be co-sponsoring the student paper awards for this year’s SEAFWA fisheries program.

Resolutions Committee Report: Steve Filipek presented a resolution of appreciation to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources for hosting the 2001 Southern Division annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. Dick Luebke moved and Columbus Brown seconded a motion to accept the resolution. Motion carried.

Overview of Chapter Activities: Jeff Boxrucker reviewed some of the highlights of various chapter activities throughout the Division. Most details can be found in the EXCOM Briefing Book.

SEAFWA Representative’s Report: President Meador indicated Mike Armstrong’s report, as it appeared in the EXCOM Briefing Book, would stand as written.

Old Business:

Election Results: Bob Curry reported for Keith Ashley that the Mail Ballot Committee had counted the ballots for the two outstanding Division offices of Vice President and Southern Division Representative to the AFS Nominating Committee and the winners were Larry Connor and Scott Van Horn, respectively. A motion was made by Dick Luebke and seconded by Rich Noble to approve that report and the motion carried.

Leadership Development Committee: Jeff Boxrucker indicated the Division feels it appropriate to pursue leadership development training, as begun at the Jacksonville meeting in February. Leadership training has grown into a parent society effort. Jeff said they will try to put together a 2-day pilot workshop at the annual meeting next year in Baltimore and then, based on feedback from that meeting, develop a 3-4-day training session that can be taken on the road. He is forming a committee to accomplish this task.

Anniversary Committee: Rich Noble reported that everything is falling into place regarding plans for the 50th anniversary of the Division at the 2002 midyear meeting in Little Rock. Plenary sessions will include inside and outside speakers followed by crystal balling (looking ahead to the next 50 years) and then some reminiscing by past Division leaders. Mike Van Den Avyle promoted poster presentations and announced the deadline for “declaring” for same will be November 15. Scott Van Horn announced he would be helping put together the human interest angle of the celebration, focusing on long careers and reminiscing. He also indicated he may need to ask chapters for financial assistance to help retirees attend the meeting.

Installation of New Officers: President Meador introduced the new Vice President, Larry Connor, new President-Elect, Steve Filipek, and new President, Jeff Boxrucker. Jeff’s first official act was to present Mike with a Past President’s plaque.

Incoming President’s Remarks: Jeff Boxrucker reflected on his past participation in Southern Division and encouraged others to likewise participate to enrich their professional careers. He indicated he would continue efforts to somewhat revamp the Student Affairs Committee to better serve and tap our student resources. He plans to continue to foster the work of the Division’s technical committees.

New Business: President Boxrucker mentioned the possibility of changing the annual business meeting from the SEAFWA to the Division’s midyear meeting. We would still have two business meetings each year, but the bulk of the business traditionally accomplished at the SEAFWA would instead be switched to the midyear meeting because it has a much larger attendance. He also mentioned the Division’s poor voter turnout in recent years and efforts to try to increase member participation in voting.

Hearing no further new business, Dick Luebke moved and Larry Connor seconded to adjourn and the motion carried. President Boxrucker adjourned the meeting at 1620.