SWS SOUTH CENTRAL CHAPTER
Fall Business Meeting Minutes
October 23, 2009 – Denton, TX

Click here to download Minutes

Officers
Julia Cherry – President - Present
Ken Krauss – Past President - Present
Matt Stahman – President Elect - Present
Robbie Kröger – Treasurer - Present
Adam Williams – Secretary - Not Present

Board
Lisa Webb (Current Member) – Present
Emily Greer (Current Member) – Not Present
Diane DeSteven (New Member) – Not Present
Chuck Walker (New Member) – Not Present


Business Meeting
President Julia Cherry called the Business Meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) South Central Chapter (SCC) to order at 4:00 PM and welcomed all attendees. A special thank you was given to the University of North Texas and especially Dr. Kevin Stevens, Dr. Mike Smart and their students for hosting this meeting and doing such an excellent job.

Quorum:  In the absence of Secretary Adam Williams, President Cherry declared a quorum. A total of approximately 38 SCC members were present.

Minutes:  Copies of the minutes from the SCC Spring business meeting in Madison, WI, were distributed for review. A motion was made to accept the minutes by Carol Thompson; the motion was seconded by Jeff Raasch, and was then approved by a vote of the membership.

Treasurer Report:  Treasurer Robbie Kröger distributed the Treasurer’s Report. As of October 20, 2009, the checking account had a balance of $11,619.69 with an additional $4,379.66 in a Certificate of Deposit, for total assets equaling $15,999.35. Treasurer Kröger noted that we have not yet received the membership disbursement from SWS headquarters, but it was expected sometime in November. President Cherry noted that this meeting will net somewhere close to $2,800 in proceeds, thanks in great part to the generous donations ($1,200) and sponsorships of the University of North Texas.

Standing Committee Reports:

• Membership. In his Treasurer’s report, Robbie Kröger noted that the Society of Wetland Scientists currently has 3,222 members, 405 of which belong to the SCC (12.5%). Society membership was 2,701 and SCC membership was 294 prior to the 2009 fall meeting in Denton. It is hoped that Society membership will increase as a result of this meeting. In the absence of Chair Williams, no membership committee report was presented.
  
  
• Program – No report.
  
  
• Nominations – No report.
  
  
• Affiliate Societies –  No report.
  
  
• Archives –  President Cherry noted that all hard copies of the SCC archives are now located at one location, the U.S. Geological Survey National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, LA, in the care of Archivist Rebecca Howard. Efforts are underway to convert archives to digital media.
  
  
• Bylaws & Standing Rules – No report.
  
  
• Issues Committee – No report.

Special Committee Reports:

• Chapter Logo Contest. In the absence of Chair Lisa Gandy, President Cherry reported that Dr. Gandy and the Logo Contest Committee completed the contest and a new logo has been chosen. The contest generated 23 designs from 21 artists in FL, AL, AR, and TX. Six finalists were chosen. Ms. Beth Bradford of Arkansas Tech University in Russellville won the contest and the $100 prize. President Cherry unveiled Ms. Bradford’s wonderful submittal; a silhouette of bald cypress trees overlain with a stylized egret in the general shape of a linked S and C for South Central. President Cherry also recognized 1st runner up, Reata Strickland of the University of Alabama, and 2nd runner up, Jason Kyser of Kyle, TX. Honorable mentions were given to Jason Kyser for a second submittal and Amy Cohen for her beautiful submittal. This contest was an incredible success and thanks went out to Lisa Gandy and all who participated on the committee, which was mostly composed of past SCC Presidents. President Cherry also thanked the 21 artists that submitted such wonderful designs. Plans were mentioned for using some of the other designs on future SCC T-shirts.
  
  
• Chapter Poster. In the absence of Chair Emily Greer, President Cherry reported that the poster design had been selected and the poster would be printed in the near future. Anticipated cost of producing the poster is $500 - $600. The poster will be available to take to regional meetings to advertise Chapter activities and to attract new members.
  

Old Business:

• LSU Student Club Update: President Vanessa Tobias provided the SCC with an update of recent and upcoming events at LSU. On November 15, the LSU Student Club will host an inaugural wetland graduate student symposium designed to foster communication among various disciplines at LSU that focus on different facets of wetland science. The LSU Student Club is active in many community activities and holds frequent fundraisers.
  
  
• Undergraduate Mentoring Program: Past President Ken Krauss reminded the membership that the SCC are making plans to support (with up to $2,000) travel to the SWS Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City for one student chosen by the SWS Diversity Program. Past President Krauss serves on that committee for SWS. This program is funded by the National Science Foundation Page 3 of 4 and covers all meeting costs for students from underrepresented groups; students submit applications and are selected by the SWS Diversity Committee. There is a stipulation that the funds must support a student attending a school located in the geographical region covered by the SCC. Future SCC participation in the program will be evaluated after the Salt Lake City meeting.

New Business:

• New Student Affiliation/Club in Alabama. Ms. Anna Braswell, working with seven universities in Alabama, is seeking support in establishing an overall Alabama statewide student SWS club. Ms. Braswell asked for mentoring support as she works to establish a student club by next semester.
  
  
• T-shirts. President Cherry suggested a committee be formed to develop new t-shirts for the chapter. Dr. Cherry mentioned that she will ask Lisa Gandy if she might be interested in chairing such a committee.
  
  
• 2010 Elections. Past President Ken Krauss asked if anyone knew of any interested parties for the upcoming elections for President Elect, Secretary and two board members. He will put out a call for nominations by April.
  
  
• Future meetings. The next SWS national meeting will be held in Salt Lake City, UT. The next SCC fall meeting will be in Oxford, MS, hosted by Dr. Marge Holland and Rani Menon. The 2011 national meeting will be held in Prague, Czech Republic. Fall 2011 SCC is still up in the air, but suggestions were made for Russellville or Little Rock, AR. Another possibility may be a joint meeting with the South Atlantic Chapter and/or the Society for Ecological Restoration. President Cherry asked whether or not we might be interested in hosting a national meeting in 2012 or 2013, possibly in Austin or Mobile.
  
  
• Student awards. President Cherry mentioned that the board had voted and approved increasing the student travel award to the national meeting to $800 for the winner of the student presentation at this year’s meeting. The runner up would receive $400. The upcoming 2011 meeting in Prague would require a higher award due to increased travel costs. The suggestion was made to combine both awards and give a total of $1200 to next year’s winner in Oxford, MS. More discussion is anticipated from the board.
  
  
• Website update. No changes were suggested at this time.

Other Business:

• Past President Scott Jecker volunteered to conduct one or more regional technical workshops for the SCC. These workshops would generate additional revenue to support student travel awards, as well as recruit new members to the chapter.
  
  
• Past President Jeff Raasch noted that Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is looking for sponsors to assist in reprinting Stutzenbaker’s Gulf Coastal Wetland Plant Identification book. The book is currently out of print. Jeff said TPWD may reprint 1,000 copies. Could SCC funds be made available to help with printing costs? Perhaps $1,000? TPWD is paying between $12,000 and $15,000. Andy Nyman suggested we ask for several copies to be used in silent auctions, and that instead of fronting funds for the reprint efforts, that perhaps SCC could agree to buy the first allotment of copies totaling $1000. Jeff suggested the SCC would receive recognition in the book itself. Thoughts and discussion about the role of SCC in the production of this book continues.

President Cherry called for a motion to close the Business Meeting. The motion was made, seconded, and approved by vote. The meeting ended at 5 PM.

Prepared by Matt Stahman
November 7, 2009

ADDENDUM:
Congratulations to the 2009 Fall Meeting Student Presentation Winners:
1st Place – Micah Tindall (Arkansas Tech University)
2nd Place - Nicholas Enwright (University of North Texas)
Honorable Mention – Darinda Dans (LSU AgCenter)