National Speleological Society, Inc.
Board of Governors Meeting
San Antonio, Texas
March 5, 2005
The 199th regular meeting of the NSS Board of Governors was held March 5, 2005, in the conference room of the Edwards Aquifer Authority Building in San Antonio, Texas. President Scott Fee called the meeting to order at 9:00 A.M. Lee Stevens was present as Recording Secretary.
OFFICERS:
Scott Fee, President
Gordon Birkhimer, Executive Vice President
Steve Ormeroid, Administrative Vice President
G. Thomas Rea, Operations Vice President
Paul Stevens, Secretary-Treasurer*
Ted Kayes, Secretary-Treasurer (See Item #7)
DIRECTORS:
Hazel Barton
Linda Devine
Cheryl Jones
Joe Levinson
Bill Klimack
Bill Liebman
Douglas Medville
Martha Mills
Gary Moss
Philip Moss
Kevin Smith
Bernie Szukalski
PROXIES:
*Ted Kayes for Paul Stevens
*Paul was present for the entire meeting. He requested that Ted Kayes proxy for him during the first half of the meeting because of his inability to speak due to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease)
President Fee introduced Geary Schindel, the local coordinator for the Board meeting. Geary welcomed everyone to San Antonio and outlined the scheduled events and logistics for the weekend.
Hearing no objections, President Fee declared the minutes approved as published.
(A) President
Additions to the submitted written report are as
follows:
The NSS application to become part of the Combined Federal Campaign ( Equivalent to the United Way but for federal employees) has been filed and is under review.
The survey developed by the Planning Committee has been posted on the web. All are encouraged to participate.
A new site, Schreiner University, Kerrville, Texas, has been chosen by the NSS committee preparing the U.S. bid to host the 2009 International Congress of Speleology.
The Chairman of the NSS Grants Committee has resigned.
Philip Moss recommended that written clarification of the fiduciary responsibilities of a NSS Director be added to the existing Director’s job description.
Additions to the submitted written report are as follows:
Norm Thompson reports that publication of On Caves and Cameras has slipped 6-8 weeks due to last minute reviews. The book may not be ready for sale at the Alabama convention.
American Caving Accidents has not been published yet due to lack of a cover photo according to editor Bill Putnam. The Board unanimously agreed that ACA should be published as soon as possible.
(C) Administrative Vice President
Additions to the submitted written report are as follows:
The National Cave Rescue Commission has just finished a complete restructuring of the instructor certification program.
The Warrens Cave Preserve in Florida has been cleared of the damage caused by the hurricanes last Fall.
The Board advised the AVP that including reports from KEEP (Karst Environmental Education & Protection) in the AVP report is unnecessary since KEEP is not an internal organization of the NSS.
The addition to the submitted written report is as follows:
It may be necessary to replace the roof on the White house (The building across the street from the NSS office used for storage). The OVP has requested a local caver who is in the roofing trade evaluate the existing roof and provide an estimate if re-roofing is needed.
The addition to the submitted written report is as follows:
The outstanding balance on the Great X Cave mortgage is now $95,000.
(A) 2004 NSS National Convention (Michigan) – No updates received.
(B) 2005 NSS National Convention (Alabama) – Kevin Smith – oral report
(C) 2007 NSS National Convention (Indiana) – Jo Ellen Kimmel – oral report
Recess
President Fee declared a short recess at 10:45 A.M.
Reconvene
The meeting was reconvened by President Fee at 10:55 A.M.
NEW BUSINESS
Rea moved: Appendix D to the Acts (NSS Policy for Internal Organizations) is revised as follows:
Replace the reference to Act 64-14 with Act 64-145 (a typo).
Each Internal Organization shall have the following responsibilities to the Society:
1A. They shall submit an annual report to the Internal Organizations Committee, containing <a list of the members of the organization that notes who is an NSS member and claims this organization as their IO> <<the mailing address of the organization>>, a list of the organization’s officers with their respective NSS numbers <and mailing addresses, identify> <<, the names of >> two organization members <<(with e-mail addresses or telephone numbers) >> who are to be listed in the NSS Members Manual as contacts, <the mailing address of the organization> <<the URL of the organization's Web site (if any), if the organization has changed its constitution or bylaws since the last report>>, and whether copies of the organization’s publications are being submitted per Section C of this Paragraph. <<If the constitution or bylaws have been changed, copies of the new documents must be provided to the committee.>> The committee may request additional information, but the completion of it must be labeled as optional. Reports must be submitted prior to a date set by the Committee.
Seconded by P. Moss.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
Jones moved: Strategies to promote or advertise NSS membership in non-caving publications shall be approved by the NSS Board.
Seconded by Kayes.
P. Moss moved to substitute item # 6b.
Seconded by Liebman.
VOTE on the motion to substitute:
In favor: P. Moss
Opposed: Rest
Abstaining: Liebman
FAILED
Jones moved to amend:
Any strategy developed by an NSS Committee to promote or advertise NSS membership in a non-caving media shall be submitted to the NSS Board for approval. Agreed to by unanimous consent.
P. Moss moved to refer the motion back to Jones for further clarification.
Seconded by Liebman.
VOTE to refer:
In favor: P. Moss, Medville
Opposed: Rest
Abstaining: Liebman
FAILED
Rea moved to table. Seconded by Szukalski.
VOTE to table:
In favor: Rest
Opposed: Kayes TABLED
P. Moss moved to substitute:
The NSS shall not recruit members from outside the caving and scientific community. The NSS is permitted to solicit donations from outside the caving community.
At 12:09 P.M., President Fee declared a recess for lunch and the closed meetings of the Board and the Directorate.
President Fee reconvened the meeting at 3:05 P.M.
Chairman of the Directorate, Gary Moss, announced the election of Bill Tozer as President-elect and Ted Kayes as Secretary-Treasurer. The president-elect will take office at the July 2005 Board meeting. Ted Kayes takes office immediately since Paul Stevens can no longer fulfill the duties of the office due to the progression of Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease).
On behalf of the Board, Gary acknowledged Paul’s achievements as Secretary-Treasurer and thanked Paul for his many years of dedicated service to the Society.
President Fee reported that the recipients of NSS Awards for 2005 had been selected or approved.
Rea moved: Act 43-368 is revised to read as follows:
The Board of Governors may, each year at the convention, award several Certificates of Merit, each for a specific recent accomplishment in cave exploration, study, or conservation or which furthers other goals of the Society. Ordinarily no more than three accomplishments should be honored each year. The awards shall be selected with the advice of the Awards Committee. For each such award, up to three individuals or organizations responsible for the accomplishment shall be named and presented with copies of the certificate. If an individual recipient is a member of the Society, his status as a Certificate of Merit recipient shall be recorded in the Society's membership records.
Seconded by P. Moss.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
Jones moved: Board Act 41-430 is amended to read:
The National Speleological Society, in consequence of its purpose of supporting research in the geological sciences and in the conservation of geological resources, will seek membership in the American Geological Institute (AGI).
<If accepted as a member society of the AGI, > The Society appoints its Section of Cave Geology and Geography to act <in all respects> as its representative to the AGI, and authoriz<<es>><ed> the Section to appoint delegates to represent the Society at AGI meetings. The NSS Board shall confirm such delegates and they shall be listed with the Executive Vice-President's Department.
Annual dues for Society membership in the AGI will be paid by the Society and included in the annual budget. <Annual dues shall not exceed $300 per year. Matching funds for the annual dues shall be provided by the Section of Cave Geology and Geography. >
Seconded by Klimack.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
Birkhimer moved: Appendix P is amended to read (changes below. All else remains the same.)
NSS PROJECTS
<NSS STUDY GROUPS>
POLICY
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Seconded by Rea.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
Birkhimer moved: Board Act 88-386 is amended to read:
The Board of Governors reaffirms the importance of cave location, exploration, and survey as basic tools in speleology and the Research Advisory Committee is instructed to continue support of appropriate surveys requesting designation as NSS Projects <or Study Groups,> including research grants within available funds.
Seconded by P. Moss.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
Birkhimer moved: Board Act 60-226 is amended to read:
Definitions and Policies are defined for various Society field activities in Appendix P to the Acts. <The category of Non-Research project, as an NSS Activity, is added to Appendix P. Granting on Non-Research Project status shall be by the Board of Governors. >
Seconded by Klimack.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
Fee moved: Mr. Kenneth D. Potter will be made a Life Member of the NSS in consideration of his part of the generous donation of the Potter Nature Preserve (Cherokee County, Oklahoma) that was donated to the NSS in 2004.
Seconded by P. Moss.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
Note: Mr. Dennis Potter, the co-owner of the property has been made a Life Member of the NSS.
Fee moved: The NSS authorizes the International Secretary or his designee to present a bid to the International Union of Speleology (UIS) to <<host>> <hold> the 2009 International Congress of Speleology <at the University of Texas, San Antonio campus, in San Antonio, Texas><< at Schreiner University, Kerrville, Texas>>.
Seconded by Barton.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
Levinson moved: Act 84-324 is suspended and the 2005 NSS Members Manual shall be published in September 2005.
Seconded by P. Moss
VOTE:
In favor: Rest
Opposed: Medville, Liebman, Birkhimer, Kayes, Smith
Abstaining: Jones
PASSED
Stevens moved: The FY05/06 Operating and Capital budgets are approved.
P. Moss seconded.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
Ormeroid moved: The Audio/Visual Production Committee (Act 97-491) is dissolved.
Seconded by Szukalski.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
Jones moved: Board Act 80-179, Subscription Rate, is amended to read:
<Effective January 1, 2000, a year's subscription to the NSS NEWS will be $21.00 (domestic) and $30.00 (international).>
<<The subscription rate for the NSS News sent to domestic addresses is set at 10% less than the Associate membership dues, rounded to the nearest dollar. International rates are the domestic rate plus the postage surcharge as set for members with Mexican and Canadian addresses. >>
Seconded by Kayes.
P. Moss moved to amend: delete "at 10% less than" and insert "is equal to" in the first sentence; delete ", rounded to the nearest dollar." and insert a period after "Associate membership dues".
Seconded by Smith.
VOTE on the motion to amend:
In favor: Medville, Szukalski, Birkhimer, P. Moss, Smith
Opposed: Rest
Abstaining: Liebman, Levinson
FAILED
VOTE on the motion as written:
Unanimously
in favor
PASSED
Jones moved: Board Act 81-637 Journal of Cave and Karst Studies Subscription Rate is amended to read:
<Effective January 1, 2000, a year's subscription to the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies is $21.00.>
<<The subscription rate for the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies sent to domestic addresses is set at 10% less than the Associate membership dues, rounded to the nearest dollar. International rates are the domestic rate plus the postage surcharge as set for international members with Mexican and Canadian addresses.>>
Seconded by Liebman.
(A) P. Moss moved to amend: Delete "10%" and insert "30%" in the second line.
Seconded by Rea.
VOTE to amend:
In favor: P. Moss
Opposed: Rest
FAILED
(B) Kayes moved to refer the motion to the President to appoint a committee to investigate the optimum amount to be charged for a Journal subscription.
Seconded by Barton.
VOTE to refer:
In favor: Devine, Klimack, Mills, Medville, Szukalski, Kayes,
Barton
Opposed: Birkhimer, Rea, Ormeroid, G.Moss, Levinson, Smith,
Jones, P. Moss
Abstaining: Liebman
FAILED
VOTE on the motion as written:
In favor: Rest
Opposed: P. Moss, Mills
PASSED
Jones moved act 07-626 is amended to read:
07-626 <Annual> <<Corporate>> Report
<The NSS Board of Governors supports the preparation of an > <<An NSS corporate report will be published on an annual or biennial basis, depending on funding, use, and need.>> The purpose of this report is to communicate our goals, accomplishments, and activities to non-NSS organizations with which we interact <<and to present our most recent audited financial statements>>. The report is directed to federal and state agencies, grant awarding foundations, other conservation and scientific organizations, and any other individuals or groups with which the NSS needs to communicate.
Seconded by Barton.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
Jones moved Board Act 41-038 is amended to read: 41-038 Scope of Affiliation
Where the goals of the Society are served by <<an>> association with <<another organization, an agency, or >> a coalition of organizations, and no obligation is assumed through this association that is contrary to the constitution, or bylaws of the Society, the Society will seek to <<establish a formal affiliation >> <become part of said coalition>. The <<NSS>> representative(s) to the <coalition> <<other group/agency>> shall be approved by the Board of Governors. Recommendations for representatives shall be sought from appropriate committees and Sections. Such <coalitions> <<affiliations>> and Society representatives shall be listed in any regular directory of the Society. The representatives to each coalition shall submit <<regular reports as requested.>> <an annual report to the President of the Society.> Any change in the Society's commitment <in a> <<to an organization, agency, or>> coalition must be approved by the Board of Governors.
Seconded by Liebman.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
Rea moved: The contract between the NSS and Larry E. Matthews for production of the book Dunbar Cave, The Showplace of the South, is approved. The Bookstore is authorized to reorder this book without further approval in quantities of 500 or less whenever supplies run low.
Seconded by Devine.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
Jones moved: The role of an NSS liaison to another organization (including government agencies) is to ensure the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or other agreement between the two organizations is fulfilled and continues to be valid, and to enhance the effectiveness of efforts of either organization on matters of joint concern, including: seeking and promoting ways the NSS and the other organization can work together and pursue co-operative projects and programs; encouraging the influence and participation of the Society in the other organizations activities; being a conduit for information between the two organizations; and fostering NSS visibility among scientists, land managers, and non-members in cave and karst related fields reached by the other organization.
Seconded by Kayes.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
Jones moved: Strategies to promote and advertise NSS Membership by any committee of the NSS in non-caving publications must be approved by the Board of Governors before implementation. <<The NSS reaffirms its commitment to follow Act 72-239. >>
Seconded by Kayes.
P. Moss moved to amend: Insert as the last sentence, "The NSS reaffirms its commitment to follow Act 72-239."
Seconded by Devine.
VOTE to amend:
In favor: Rest
Opposed: Smith, Kayes
Abstaining: Jones, Rea PASSED
VOTE on the amended motion:
In favor: Rest
Opposed: None
Abstaining: Kayes PASSED
Fee moved: An open discussion is held for a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes.
Seconded by Klimack.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
President Fee declared the discussion period open at 5:20 P.M.
The following topics were discussed:
1. Ted Kayes urged everyone to get an NSS credit card. The NSS earns money when an account is opened and also whenever the card is used. There is no annual fee.
2. American Geological Society Dues – George Veni stated that the NSS Geology and Geography Section is current for any AGI dues payments owed to the NSS. Previously, the NSS and the Section split the cost of the AGI dues.
3. Cheryl Jones asked the status of the air miles donation program that would help pay travel costs for NSS Directors. Philip Moss suggested that such a program also include the travel costs of those who travel costs are already paid by the NSS. The Board felt that this program would fall within the responsibility of the Fund Raising Committee, and asked President Fee to follow up.
4. Kevin Smith recommended that the time and costs incurred by NSS volunteers (Volunteer Value) be sent to the NSS Office so that this information will be available for Society use when applying for matching grants.
5. George Veni recommended that groups like the Texas Speleological Society and similar activities that are not NSS internal organizations be listed in one place the Members Manual or cross-referenced so that members will be able to easily find their contact numbers.
6. Bill Klimack reported some preliminary numbers on those who filled out the NSS survey posted on the web.
President Fee declared the session closed at 5:35 P.M.
Fee moved: The Board of Governors expresses its appreciation to Texas Cave Management Association, the Edwards Aquifer Authority and the Bexar Grotto for hosting our meeting and providing excellent meeting arrangements.
Seconded by Mills.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
P. Moss moved: The meeting is adjourned.
Seconded by Levinson.
VOTE:
Unanimously in favor
PASSED
President Fee declared the meeting adjourned at 5:36 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Lee Stevens
Recording Secretary
4/11/05