October 29, 1999
October’s EXCOM meeting was held at the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission’s Falls Lake Office in Northside. EXCOM members in attendance included: Dave Coughlan (President), John Crutchfield (President-Elect), David Yow (Past-President), Chris Taylor (Student Subunit President) and Chad Thomas (Secretary/Treasurer). Others in attendance included Scott VanHorn (Nominating Committee Chair) and Bob Goldstein (Newsletter Editor).
CALL TO ORDER:
Meeting was called to order by President Coughlan at 10:00am. Minutes from the Annual Business Meeting held in Danville, Virginia (27 January 1999) were reviewed by Chad Thomas, and a motion was made (D. Yow) and passed (D. Coughlan) to accept the minutes as presented. The minutes as read were published in the spring newsletter and on the NC AFS webpage.
OLD BUSINESS 1
1999 NC/VA Joint Meeting - Expenses: President Coughlan commented that the 1999 Danville joint meeting was a success, and led the discussion concerning expenses/income from the meeting. Total income for the meeting was $1,047.97, whereas final expenses were $1,640.40. This resulted in a deficit for the meeting of $592.43. A summary is included in the Treasurer’s report.
1999 NC/VA Joint Meeting - Student Paper Award Winners: President Coughlan reported the student paper award winners from the Danville meeting were George Palmer (1st Place) and Travis Brenden (Honorable Mention). Evaluation sheets for the judging process were given to President-Elect Crutchfield for use at the 2000 Chapter meeting. It was suggested that a presentation’s journal quality might be used in the event a tiebreaker was required. EXCOM decided to make the scoring sheets available to all speakers at the 2000 Chapter meeting as a way to improve future talks by providing constructive criticism.
National AFS Meeting - Expenses: Secretary/Treasurer Thomas reported the NC AFS Chapter received $4500 for their part in hosting the AFS Annual Meeting in Charlotte. The Chapter was also reimbursed $1000 for its seed money contribution made to the annual meeting. A financial summary with final budget calculations provided by Secretary/Treasurer Thomas is attached as Exhibit A.
1999 National AFS Meeting - Raffle: President Coughlan read a summary of raffle proceeds compiled by Kim Baker, Raffle Chair. Although actual figures may differ slightly, it appears the NC AFS Chapter will receive approximately $3,807.80 of the final raffle proceeds. The Raffle/Auction Report provided by Kim Baker is attached as Exhibit B.
1999 SEAFWA Student/Professional Mixer Donation: President Coughlan reported a $500 donation in support of the student/professional mixer to be held at the 1999 SEAFWA meeting in Greensboro was presented to Fred Harris, SEAFWA Meeting Coordinator.
NEW BUSINESS:
2000 Chapter Meeting: President Crutchfield presented plans for the 2000 meeting. These plans are described at the beginning of the newsletter.(see opening pages). EXCOM agreed to provide 3 hotel rooms for student attendees traveling to the 2000 meeting.
Environmental Concerns Committee: EXCOM expressed concern over the plight of NC’s coastal rivers after Hurricane Floyd. Bob Goldstein provided an update on the status of the sargassum FMP (see elsewhere in this issue).
Treasurer’s Report: Secretary/Treasurer Thomas reported a balance as of October 29, 1999 of $9781.63, not including raffle income (~$4,000) we have yet to receive.
Newsletter Items: Bob Goldstein would attempt to have the newsletter out by early November using the existing framework.
Student Subunit: Subunit President Chris Taylor reported 11 NCSU students attended the 1999 Charlotte meeting with five giving presentations. The Subunit hosted a workshop on 10/12/99 by Jim Reynolds on effects of electrofishing. Current activities include an inventory of the fishes of Walnut Creek on Centennial Campus and fund raising for the 2000 Chapter meeting.
Nominations Committee: Scott VanHorn reported Shari Bryant and Bob Curry have agreed to run for President-Elect in 2000. The Secretary/Treasurer nominees are Doug Besler and Kim Baker.
Procedural Manual Revisions: President Coughlan distributed a revised edition of the Chapter Procedural Manual that removes references to the Chapter Constitution. These changes were made after amendments to the bylaws were passed at the 1999 Business Meeting, and after discussion with Joe Margraf, AFS Constitutional Consultant..
Miscellaneous New Business: The issue of hosting a Russian fisheries biologist was reevaluated, and EXCOM decided to take no action. President Coughlan reported over 100 T-shirts printed for the 1999 Charlotte meeting still remain. Since the Chapter has recouped all costs, and has already turned a profit (~$1,000), all remaining shirts will be sold at 5 to Chapter members and $10 tonon-members. Past-President Yow agreed to contact Fred Harris concerning the sale of T-shirts at the SEAFWA meeting in November. EXCOM agreed to recognize Bob Curry at the 2000 Chapter meeting for his leadership as General Chair of the Charlotte Local Arrangements Committee. Bob will be recognized during the Tuesday night social. EXCOM discussed the possibility of posting a NCAFS membership form on the webpage. This item was tabled for further discussion at the 2000 Annual Business Meeting. Subunit President Taylor expressed concern that membership in the student Subunit may be affected by AFS membership requirements (currently $37.50 for students). EXCOM considered providing 5 free student memberships per year to undergraduate students to boost membership. President Coughlan reported the NC AFS Chapter has been asked to host the Southern Division AFS Meeting in 2003. EXCOM decided to take no action on this request at this time.
ADJOURNMENT
At 2:00 p.m. the October 1999, EXCOM meeting was adjourned by President Coughlan after a motion was made by D. Yow and seconded by C. Taylor.
Minutes submitted by Chad Thomas, NC AFS Secretary/Treasurer 29 October 1999