SWS SOUTH CENTRAL CHAPTER
Spring Business Meeting Minutes
June 10, 2003 – New Orleans, LA

The Business Meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists South Central Chapter was called to order at 5:20 PM by Marge Holland, President. Holland thanked all present and past Board members for their efforts on behalf of the Chapter.

General Comments:

1. Holland noted that Ron Boustany, Mark Ford, and she are preparing a document that will describe President-elect, President, and Past-president duties; this document will assist with future Chapter business management.

2. She announced that a proposed $10 increase in dues was discussed at the International Board meeting, and noted that it is important for Chapter members to attend the business lunch on Thursday to participate in a discussion of the proposed increase and in the general membership vote on this issue.

3. Holland recognized two members for their contributions to the Chapter over the past few years: outgoing Secretary/Treasurer Rebecca Howard and SWS 2003 meeting chair Lisa Gandy.

Quorum: Holland asked for a determination of a quorum, which was declared by Secretary/Treasurer Rebecca Howard. A total of 54 members was present; meeting business commenced.

Guests and Visitors: Holland requested recognition of guests and visitors to this year’s meeting. Lisa Gandy introduced new member Dr. Edmund Buckner of the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff. Six students from the University introduced themselves as well.

Minutes: Copies of the minutes from the October 2002 meeting in Baton Rouge, LA were distributed by Howard to meeting attendees for review. A motion was made to accept the minutes, and the motion passed.

Treasurer Report: The spring financial report was distributed to attendees by Howard (Attachment A). The report summarized deposits and withdrawals to the Chapter account that have occurred since October 2002, when the last Annual Financial Report was presented to the membership. Total Chapter assets as of June 1, 2003 were $8,729.15. The CD opened in April 2001 matured in April 2003, and the amount of $2,205.03 was rolled over into the checking account. The Chapter portion of the 2002 membership fees in the amount of $1,800.00 was deposited in October.

Standing Committees:

1. Membership – Howard reported that official Chapter membership for 2002 was 450. This number is down slightly from the usual membership level of 470 over the past few years. The decrease is also apparent at the Society level, where present membership decreased by about 18% over the past year. She distributed a handout that lists membership for all Society Chapters, and noted that the South Central Chapter remains ranked at fifth largest in terms of membership numbers. Howard reported that 15 new members – 5 regular and 10 student – were recruited during the Chapter Fall 2002 meeting.

2. Program – Paul DuBowy deferred discussion until New Business.

3. Nominations – Ron Boustany announced that the next election in the Spring of 2004 will have open slots for President-elect, Secretary-Treasurer and two Board members. Ron asked that people began to consider nominations for these offices, and either email suggestions or bring them to the Fall meeting.

4. Affiliations/Special Issues – Sam Faulkner agreed to chair this committee at the Fall 2002 meeting, but was not present to submit a report.

5. Archives – Chair Ron Boustany reminded members that the archives are maintained in a file box at the National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, LA. The archives were started in 1999, and contain paper copies of newsletters, past meeting documentation, national board meetings, fall meeting registration forms, and other materials. Howard brought the archives box to the meeting, and invited people to look through the files and suggest any additional materials.

6. Bylaws & Standing Rules – Chair Ron Boustany noted that a new Standing Rule on contributions to outside organizations was passed at the Board meeting the previous evening. Howard recently made some corrections and format changes to the previous (WordPerfect) version of the Bylaws & Standing Rules, and will update the document with the new Standing Rule.

7. Issues Committee – Chair Sam Faulkner was not present and did not submit a report.

8. Special Committees –

a. Darrin Dantin, chair of the Chapter website, asked for suggestions for new information that people want to see, and requested that he be informed of any problems that people find.

b. Lisa Gandy, chair of the SWS 2003 committee, provided a brief update of the meeting progress. She noted that registration is approaching 750, and that a few more walk-ins are expected. She also stated that students are still needed on Thursday and Friday to run AV equipment, and that $10 will be waived from the meeting registration for each hour worked.

Old Business
Future Meetings – Paul DuBowy noted that the Chapter covers an area of 600,000 sq miles, and that only the Canada and Australia Chapters cover a larger area. He reiterated his point made at the last meeting (Fall 2002) that the Chapter should seek to hold future meetings in areas not yet covered by past meetings.

Fall 2003 Meeting – Chair Bob Nairn announced that plans for the Fall 2003 meeting at the University of Oklahoma are progressing well. The meeting dates are October 15-18, and the site is the Lake Texoma Biological Field Station. He noted that this will be the first time the meeting has been held in Oklahoma. Possible topics for workshops include: Restoration of Stream/Riparian Habitats, Vegetation Identification, and GIS Applications. The field trip is in the planning stages, but possibilities include a visit to a reservoir ecology study location or to a stream restoration site. Nairn noted that he has booked the very popular ‘Itchy Possum and the New Saturday Night Tractors Band’ for the social on Friday evening. Estimates for the cost of lodging and meals for the Friday – Saturday meeting is $100; plan on about $100 more for lodging and meals during the workshops in addition to the registration fee. He asked people to watch for email and hardcopy information on the meeting, and invited everyone to attend and to encourage student participation.

Fall 2004 Meeting – Paul DuBowy announced that the Fall 2004 meeting will be held in Pensacola Beach, FL and is being organized by Darrin Dantin. Although Florida is not within the South Central Chapter Boundaries, he noted that Pensacola is located just east and south of the Alabama border, which is a Chapter state that has never held a meeting. It is hoped that there will be participation of Chapter members from Alabama, and recruitment of new members. DuBowy noted that the South Atlantic Chapter planned to vote during their meeting this evening whether to participate to make this a joint Chapter meeting. GERS (Gulf Estuarine Research Society) has also been invited to participate, but they typically hold spring rather than fall meetings and this may present a problem.

New Business
Installation of New Officers: Holland announced the installation of the following new Chapter officers:

President: Paul DuBowy

President-Elect: Scott Jecker

Secretary/Treasurer: Matt Stahman (to serve a one-year term in place of Shannon Holbrook, elected but recently moved from Chapter area)

Board Members: Bob Nairn

Carol Thompson

Marge Holland became Past-president, and handed the meeting direction over to Paul DuBowy.

Chapter Contribution: Howard announced that the Board has voted to contribute $500 to the Carrie Lynn Yoder Memorial Scholarship for Conservation Ecology of Coastal Environments at Louisiana State University. The fund was established as a legacy for Carrie, who was a graduate student in Biology at LSU and was a member of the SWS South Central Chapter. Carrie was abducted from her home and murdered in March 2003.

Chapter Bylaws and Standing Rules: DuBowy noted that several copies of the Bylaws and Standing Rules were distributed, and also that they are posted on the Chapter website. He asked everyone to review the document, and to propose any needed changes at the Fall meeting.

Adjournment
A motion was made to adjourn, the motion passed, and the meeting was adjourned by President Paul DuBowy at 6:00 PM.

Prepared By:
Rebecca Howard, Secretary/Treasurer

Attachment A
Spring Financial Report
June 10, 2003 – New Orleans, LA

June 1, 2003
A ccount Balance $8,729.15
Certificate of Deposit (deposited to checking 5/13/2003)
Total Assets $8,729.15

Activity since last Annual Report (October 1, 2002):

Expenses for Fall 2002 Meeting: $2,142.12

Chapter net proceeds from Fall 2002 Meeting: $883.58

Fall 2002 Meeting New Member Recruitment: 15 [10 student, 5 regular]

Chapter Membership 2002: 450

Prepared By:
Rebecca Howard, Secretary/Treasurer