November 2017 Board Meeting Minutes

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AZTWS Board Meeting

Meeting Minutes – Final

November 27, 2017

4:00–5:00 pm

[Download the PDF]

Attendees: Kay Nicholson (President), Tiffany Sprague (President Elect), Andrew Jones (Treasurer), Jessica Moreno (Corresponding Secretary), Holly Hicks (Board Member), Scott Sprague (Past President), Callie Hartson (Volunteer Opportunity Coordinator), Chris Carrillo (Membership Chair)

Board Members Absent: Audrey Owens (Board Member)

Action Items:

  • Andrew will submit a feature article about bighorn sheep and mountain lion work being done by AGFD for the newsletter.
  • Tiffany will ask Richard Ockenfels, Tice Supplee, and Dave Brown if they would submit newsletter articles reflecting on the history of the chapter.
  • Holly will remind students who received funding to attend parent society conference to submit an article for the newsletter.
  • Jessica and Chris will work to set up an online membership and communication system for our chapter.
  • Scott will check in with Dean about web passwords and other questions.
  • Kay will reach out to Grand Canyon University contact (and copy Holly) to see if she has questions about setting up a TWS chapter or needs help navigating the process.
  • Tiffany will contact BLM for additional information on the Leave No Trace workshop to determine if it’s appropriate for AZTWS to host.
  • All board members should either participate in the BISCUA Doodle poll or let Kay know if they would prefer not to participate in the meeting.
  • Kay will coordinate 50th anniversary t-shirt creation.

Motions:

  • August 2017 meeting minutes approved. Tiffany motioned. Andrew seconded. Passed unanimously.
  • September 2017 meeting minutes approved. Tiffany motioned. Andrew seconded. Passed unanimously.
  • October 2017 meeting minutes approved. Andrew motioned. Jessica seconded. Passed unanimously.
  • Tiffany motioned to adjourn the meeting. Holly seconded. Passed unanimously.

Proceedings:

Approval of past board meeting minutes

  • August 28, 2017
    • Tiffany and Andrew noted a couple edits needed. Kay will make these edits.
    • Tiffany moved to approve. Andrew seconded. Passed unanimously.
  • September 18, 2017
    • Tiffany moved to approve. Andrew seconded. Passed unanimously.
  • October 30, 2017
    • Andrew motioned. Jessica seconded. Passed unanimously.

Old Business

  • Jessica will contact the CE grant applicant to let her know that the beetle book proposal does not qualify for a CE grant (and will copy Kay). Done.
  • Jessica will hide the political Facebook post. Kay will talk with Jon to see if he wants to repost this coming from him, rather than from the chapter. Done.
    • Note: We are not allowed to lobby for or against a political candidate – need to stick to the issue, rather than discuss a person in any way.
  • Tiffany to create bylaw wording for board member removal. Ongoing.
  • Scott to review revised sections of JAM manual to determine what revisions are still needed; incorporate existing revisions into manual. Ongoing.
  • Jonathan Hicks to arrange memorial in JAM program for the late founder Cory Gray of Coda Net Guns. Ongoing.
  • Tiffany will provide language requesting a newsletter editor to send to our email list. Ongoing.
  • Tiffany will touch base with Holly about contacting students to get articles for “Student Corner” in the next newsletter. Ongoing.
  • Kay will coordinate with the parent society regarding legal counsel on AZTWS’s affiliation with BISCUA. Ongoing.

Current Business

  • Treasurer’s Report (Andrew)
    • Andrew working on quarterly report and plans to have done by the end of this week.
    • Annual reporting to parent society due by Jan. 31, 2018. Andrew determining what information needs to be included and if an audit is needed.
  • Newsletter Report (Tiffany)
    • Andrew will submit a feature article about bighorn sheep and mountain lion work being done by AGFD.
    • 50th anniversary of AZTWS – Tiffany will ask Richard Ockenfels, Tice Supplee, and Dave Brown if they would submit pieces reflecting on the history of the chapter.
      • Could include a piece about the history in each 2018 issue.
    • Student Voice – Holly has received a draft from ASU and will remind others who received funding to attend parent society conference.
    • We need a newsletter editor! Tiffany included an announcement in the newsletter and will get something out to the email list.
  • Membership Report (Chris)
    • We’ve never had an active vs. inactive list. The parent society maintains a list of people who pay through its system. Dean had been maintaining an email list that included the parent society list and paper and PayPal memberships. When Chris took over the email list, he added new people to this list, which included active and inactive members.
    • Updating the membership list (Jessica)
      • We can maintain a list of active vs. inactive members and non-member supporters.
      • Jessica investigated free online membership systems and prefers Member Planet, which would enable us to keep track of members and communicate easily with them – all in one system. People can also see and update their membership online. We can link our PayPal account to the online system.
  • Webmaster’s Report (Dean)
    • Dean not on call. Scott sent Dean a note with questions from Jessica and will check in-person with him later this week.
  • Opportunities Report (Callie)
    • A couple new job postings are up on the website.
    • November’s calendar was full. Callie is now working on filling December and January calendars.
    • Callie will post a couple of open positions with AGFD.
  • Student Liaison Report (Holly)
    • Holly has contacted schools about JAM. One school has sent info about attending.
    • Prescott Chapter has been engaged in TWS activities. All officer roles have been filled. They plan to attend JAM and may participate in Quiz Bowl.
    • Holly put Adrienne Crawford from Grand Canyon University in touch with the parent society after she expressed interest in starting a student chapter, but hasn’t heard anything further. Kay will reach out to Adrienne (and copy Holly) to see if she has questions or needs help navigating the process.
  • Conservation Affairs (Jon)
    • Jon Hanna not on call.
  • Continuing Education (Stan)
    • Stan not on call.
    • Potential workshops
      • BLM asked if we’d be interested in hosting a Leave No Trace workshop, either as part of our Techniques Workshop (either Friday before or Sunday after) or separate. Tiffany will ask for additional info on what will be covered.
      • Endangered Species Act workshop – AFS person contacted Scott about hosting an ESA workshop for our chapter, co-hosted by AFS or USFWS. Scott gave him Stan’s info.
  • Nominations and Awards (Tiffany)
    • Nominations
      • Special election for Recording Secretary ends Dec. 8. Be sure to vote!
      • Regular election – 7 candidates for 3 positions. Tiffany will send out the ballot as soon as the special election ends to avoid confusion.
    • Awards
      • 15 nominations for 6 awards. Tiffany is forming an awards committee to review.
      • We will order AZ plaques again ($25/plaque + $5/metal label) through James Dominguez.
  • Borderlands Institute for the Study and Conservation of Understudied Animals (Kay)
    • BISCUA will not be under umbrella of AZTWS but might be a project. Working on setting up a meeting with Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center and David Brown. If people are not interested in participating in this meeting, let Kay know.
  • Fun Shoot (Kay)
    • Will need to be in spring if we host one.
  • 50th Anniversary t-shirt
    • Meagan quoted $40 to do a design for us – she will send us a proof before finalizing. Kay will give Meagan the go-ahead to proceed.
    • Kay has a contact for ordering t-shirts ($15 each).
  • Congrats to Andrew on successfully defending his thesis!
  • Next meeting on December 18.

Adjournment at 5:20 p.m.

  • Tiffany motioned. Holly seconded. Passed unanimously.