November 2018 Board Meeting Minutes

AZTWS Board Meeting

Conference Call Minutes

November 26, 2018

4:00–5:07 p.m.

Present: Tiffany Sprague (President), Jessica Moreno (President Elect), Andrew Jones (Treasurer), Valerie Horncastle (Recording Secretary), Melissa Merrick (Board Member), Audrey Owens (Board Member), Brian Blais (Newsletter editor), Clarissa Starbuck (Webmaster), Chris Carrillo (Membership Committee), Kay Nicholson (Past President)

Board members absent: Holly Hicks (Corresponding Secretary)

Action items

Chris will contact the parent chapter for an updated list of current paid members.
Andrew will send Chris an updated list of current AZTWS members.
Tiffany will send out the 2017 annual report.
All position leads will send annual report items to Tiffany by Jan. 16, 2019.
Audrey will write a small blurb for the winter newsletter on the fall mixer.
Jessica will re-announce the call for award and board nominations.
Tiffany will reach out to folks who nominated someone last year for an award, but didn’t make the final list.
Jessica will let Holly know we don’t need models for the photos of our promotional items available for purchase.

Motions

Approval of September 24, 2018, board meeting minutes – moved by Andrew, seconded by Valerie; passed.
Approval of October 22, 2018, board meeting minutes – moved by Andrew, seconded by Melissa; passed.
AZTWS contribution of $75 for the student mentor lunch at the 2019 JAM – moved by Andrew, seconded by Audrey; passed
Meeting adjournment – moved by Jessica, seconded by Andrew; passed.

Proceedings

Old Business/Previous Action Items

Tiffany will explore setting up a Google Drive list of potential future newsletter articles and reserve of articles to use when needed. Ongoing – Brian Blais will now be the lead for this
Tiffany will send out a Doodle poll for a new time for the December meeting. Done
Jessica will discuss website options with Andrew (e.g., pointing our domains to WordPress rather than using GoDaddy). Ongoing
Jessica will ensure that the template for the online membership and communication system was sent out for review. Ongoing
Jessica and Chris will work to set up an online membership and communication system for our chapter. Ongoing – plan to have finished by the end of the year
After MemberPlanet is updated, Tiffany will ask Chris to download member names from the parent society monthly. Ongoing
Holly will work with Jessica on making an inventory of our promotional items (hats, tshirts, etc.), pricing, and photos for the website. Ongoing
Andrew will schedule audit. Done
Andrew will send out the quarterly report. Ongoing
Valerie will contact Carol Chambers about writing a newsletter article on her research with the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse. Done – Carol will be writing an article for the winter issue
Andrew will resend Aaron Prince’s article for the newsletter. Done
Tiffany will coordinate with Jessica, Rachel, and Bill about JAM registration, abstracts, student papers, etc. to make sure everything is on schedule. Done
Jessica will send out information on board nominations. Done
Jessica will send out information on award nominations for JAM. Done
Holly will send out an announcement about the fall mixer to chapter members and all of the student chapters. Done
Callie will post info about the fall mixer on our calendar. Remove from list
Everyone should review the diversity spreadsheet that Jessica shared and be ready to discuss at the November meeting. Done
Scott to review revised sections of JAM manual to determine what revisions are still needed; incorporate existing revisions into manual. Ongoing
Tiffany will remind committee heads about reviewing revised sections of JAM manual. Ongoing
Tiffany to create bylaw wording for board member removal. Ongoing
Other Old Business? (All) None

Current Business

Newsletter Report (Brian)
- Brian currently has 2 short articles for the winter newsletter. This does not include the feature article on the jumping mouse by Carol Chambers.
- Brian reached out to a U of A student about an article on science communication.
JAM 2019 planning (Tiffany)
- Tiffany will schedule a call with Jessica to discuss the current lack of information for the upcoming JAM. The board had a discussion about what information we still needed.
  - What is our role and what do they need from us?
  - Workshop descriptions
  - What committees need extra help?
  - Is AZTWS doing a workshop?
- We have minutes from the first JAM planning meeting, but have received nothing since then.
- Brett Montgomery will be leading the Quiz Bowl.
- We received 2 funding requests to help support the 2019 JAM.
  - 1 – Student competition and quiz bowl ($275 total)
  - 2 – Student mentor lunch ($75)
- All board members were in agreement that we should help fund the student competition and quiz bowl prizes. There was a discussion about whether we should contribute to the student mentor lunch. Several board members thought we had covered the entire student mentor lunch for last year’s JAM. The SW section is already covering a large portion of the cost ($250 out of $400). The board voted on whether to approve the AZTWS contribution of $75 for the student mentor lunch at the 2019 JAM – moved by Andrew, seconded by Audrey; passed.
- Annual report items are due January 16, 2019. Tiffany will send out last year’s report as a reference. The financial report for the annual report will not be audited. This will happen after the JAM, so the new treasurer can learn the process.
- Andrew, Kay, Melissa, Chris, Brian, Clarissa, and Valerie are all hoping to attend the 2019 JAM in Albuquerque.
Fall Mixer (Audrey)
- Nine people attended the fall mixer, including a few board members, students, and a recent graduate. The mixer started out with a tour of the Tonto Creek fish hatchery where they saw rainbow and tiger trout. Tom Jones, then guided the group on Ensatina salamander surveys. The Ensatina salamanders were introduced in 1980 and have continued to successfully reproduce. Arizona Game and Fish have been trying to determine their range and population. The group found 12 salamanders while conducting the survey and found them in areas that extended their normal range limit (i.e., where they have been previously found). After salamander hunting, Scott Sprague took the group to the elk crossing site and looked at the old and new monitoring equipment. They also visited one of the overpass bridges where Scott led a brief discussion on the project. Bats were observed using the bat boxes by the bridge.
- Audrey will write a small blurb on the fall mixer for the winter newsletter.
Treasurer’s Report (Andrew)
- Audit has been completed.
- Need to put out quarterly report.
- As a side note, Andrew took Katie (SARSEF winner) out for the field day with a biologist. They saw and observed several bighorn sheep for several hours. Katie was very interested and enjoyed the experience.
Diversity (Tiffany and Jessica)
- The board had a discussion on ways to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. We reviewed the diversity spreadsheet that Jessica had put together. There were a few items that the board felt we could start implementing.
  - Highlight (through social media) some of the underrepresented voices such as TWS WOW, TWS EGDWG, Native Outdoors, Latino Outdoors, etc.
  - Consider having a separate committee chair for social media outreach with special emphasis on diversity. The corresponding secretary currently does social media, but having a separate position to concentrate on these areas would be helpful. We will discuss this at the annual business meeting and see if any students or recent graduates might be interested in the position. We could start implementating this now and look for a permanent position later.
  - We are currently doing some of the items on the diversity spreadsheet (such as mentoring), but we could be doing more. We need to come up with ways to advertise mentoring availability. We could post something before the JAM to see if anyone is interested in being a mentor or being mentored. We will do a survey after the student/mentor lunch at JAM to get feedback on the experience and other ways to improve mentoring.
  - For award nominations, make sure we are including minority groups.
Online Shopping (Tiffany)
- Jessica is waiting for photos of items from Holly. Jessica will let Holly know that we don’t necessarily need a model for the items. We can just take pictures of the items lying flat on a table.
Board and Awards Nominations (Jessica)
- For the board nominations, at least one person is interested in every position except the treasurer. Three people are currently interested in being a board member. Jessica is currently working on reaching out to more people.
- For the awards nominations, there is one potential candidate for the Lifetime Achievement Award. Tiffany has received one other nomination for an award. Jessica will make another announcement seeking nominations. Tiffany will reach out to folks who nominated someone last year, but didn’t make the final list.
Membership Report (Chris)
- Still working on Member Planet and hope to have it completed before JAM.
Webmaster’s Report (Clarissa)
- Nothing new to report
Opportunities Report (Valerie)
- Updated the calendar with information on the Gilbert Riparian Preserve BioBlitz and the pronghorn capture. Valerie will add the registration for JAM. Please send any other events or items to Valerie.
BioBlitz (Scott not on call)
- Nothing new to report
Conservation Affairs (Jon not on call)
- Nothing new to report.
Borderlands Foundation for Understudied Plants and Animals (Kay)
- Nothing new to report.
Student Liaison Report (Holly not on call)
- Nothing new to report.
Future Meetings
- Next meeting will be Monday December 17, 3:00 p.m.
Jessica motioned to adjourn, Andrew seconded. 5:07 p.m. adjournment