Attachment D

National Speleological Society
Operations Vice-President’s Report

July 4, 2005

Table of Contents:

Operations Vice President
Archivist
Audio-Visual Committee (Slides)
Audio-Visual Committee (Video)
Cave Files Committee
Headquarters Facilities Committee
Internal Organizations Committee
Information Technology Committee
Discussion Board Subcommittee
Office Automation Committee
Market Analysis Committee
NSS Library Committee
Operations Manager
Photo Archives Committee
Speleo-Museum Committee

Operations Vice President
Tom Rea; 765-653-4423; tomrea@ccrtc.com

The Department of the Operations Vice President consists of 11 committees, plus the NSS Operations Manager and the NSS headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama. The committee and sub-committee chairmen have provided the information in this report, although, being an editor, I have edited it to my liking. I have listed the telephone number and e-mail address of each committee chairman below. Additional addresses and contact information for all people in this report can be found at:
http://www.caves.org/nss-business/bog/table-4d.html

Progress:
Cheryl Jones coordinated the design of special certificates for life and conservation life memberships. Also the special letters for new life and conservation life members has been rewritten for Stephanie to send out with the membership certificates.

I have split the discussion board off into a sub-committee of the Information Technology Committee and appointed Wayne Harrison as administrator. Wayne has rewritten the Terms of Service with the approval of all the moderators and the problems we had previously seem to have melted away. See Wayne's report below.

Problems:
No one seems is responding to my widely advertised search for a new chairman of the Information Technology Committee. I solicited one person who refused and answered an e-mail expression of interest in "helping." When I responded that I was looking for a Chairman I received no further response. This is an extremely active and important position. I would appreciate it if every Board member would shake the bushes among their acquaintances looking for a viable candidate.

Archivist Committee:
J. Reynolds Duncan, Jr; 256-852-4522; reynolds.duncan@worldnet.att.net

January 22, 2005

Plans:
Continue with the review, sorting, and integration of Archives material. We will be traveling in Canada from June through September and may not have easy access to the Internet. Will continue to respond to requests concerning the Archives via e-mail.

Progress:
Responded to a few requests for information. Sorted and filed more of the boxed material.

Problems:
None.

Audio-Visual Committee (Slides):
Timothy C. White; 256-508-1908; kd4goc@bigfoot.com

Nothing to report

Audio-Visual Committee (Video)
David Socky; 540-989-7693; sockydr@cox.net

May 2005 Audio-Visual Aids Committee Report
David Socky
May 29, 2005

Progress:
Produce New educational video

Tray Murphy has expressed interest in helping with an educational video about caving for children.

No progress

Convert more VHS programs to DVD format

DVD is becoming the format of the future. More and more people are requesting programs on DVD.

No progress

PDF Library catalogue

Produce a ‘downloadable’ PDF catalog of the slide and video library.

No progress

Update descriptions in library

Most of the descriptions for the video and slide selections are very terse, and not very helpful. Programs need to be reviewed and better descriptions written.

I have updated a few programs, plus new entries are getting complete descriptions right away.

Plans:
Convert slide programs to CD format

Last year, Roswell Jones (Jonesy) gave me four computer CDs in which he had digitized NSS slide shows, including the narration, so they can be shown via computer/video projector. The conversion looked very good. Another plus is the fact that it is no longer necessary to have a tape player in order to get the narration. Since slide projectors are becoming rare and video projectors are coming down in price and becoming more prevalent, converting slide shows in this manner could be a great way of increasing rental.

My plan is to work with Jonesy in getting more slide shows converted and into the AV library.

New video entries coming

This years video salon has eight entries. six amateur and two professional. These will be entered into the AV library as soon as the convention is over.

Problems:
none

Cave Files Committee:
Richard Blenz; 812-825-2345; rblenz@ucs.indiana.edu

Progress:
The NSS Cave Files march ahead. I have received and integrated into the files

the complete listing of caves in the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Hawaii, New Mexico, Indiana, Virginia, and Georgia.

The grand total for caves in the U.S. for which I have some sort of reference is 44,065 as of today. I am trying to get people to identify caves for which I have no county (695) and no state or county (150).

Actually some of these "lost" caves even have maps without data showing. Tennessee is now up to over 8,900 caves with VanBuren County in the lead, by density, with a cave in every 250 acres or so. One of the quadrangle (7 1/2 minute) sheets in VanBuren has a cave in every 150 acres or so. These are not shelter caves and the like because Tennessee has a 50-foot minimum limit on reporting caves.

Jackson County, Alabama is the leader of just raw caves with 1,907 caves in the county but with their large area (about 1,200 square miles) their density drops off to third in the U.S. after Van Buren and White in Tennessee.

Plans:
To continue as ever.

Problems:
I don't have problems; I make problems.

Headquarters Facilities Committee:
Jim Hall; 205-772-9829; jimehall@cs.com

Progress:
Nothing new to report

Internal Organizations Committee:
Keith D Wheeland; 814-238-2057; kwheeland@psualum.com
Evelyn Bradshaw; 540-785-4048; ebradshw@midatlanticbb.com

Submitted by Keith D. Wheeland with input from the Committee members

Progress:
I/O Information on the Web:
The I/O web site at www.caves.org/committee/i-o/ is kept up to date.

The general information for Regions, Sections, and Surveys on the NSS website is updated manually by Gary Bush.

Annual Reports.
Here is the progress of the submission of Annual Reports from Grottos, Regions, and Sections as of this date.

2004 Reports:
Submitted via the Web 225 97.4%
Submitted by e-mail 00.0%
Submitted by USPS 6 2.6%
Total 231

Dave Taylor received reports from nine Surveys.

I/O - New, Reinstatements, and Inactivations:
Two grottos have not submitted their annual reports. Many attempts have been made to reach these two grottos. They will be inactivated and the NSS members who have designated them as their Primary Affiliation will be notified.

Little Rock Grotto (342) (AR)
Powell Mountain Grotto (287) (VA)

Plans:
We will continue to be proactive in making improvements to the chartering procedure, annual report procedure, and resolutions of issues brought to the attention of the I/O Committee. Eric McMaster has continued to make improvements to the online report submittal process.

Problems and Issues:
I have stopped using the mail system that was set up on the NSS server to notify I/Os of important announcements. I have instituted a system on my computer that requires more work, but appears to be effective.

The old system sent out emails OK, but because the sender address didn't match the server ID, many e-mail providers treated the e-mail as spam and deleted the message even before it reached the intended recipient.

Thanks:
I thank the Board for responding to my request to change the policy for I/Os concerning the Annual Report. It is another step in streamlining the annual report process without reducing the benefit to the NSS.

Please address any questions or comments to kwheeland@psualum.com .
Co-Chairmen: Keith D. Wheeland and Evelyn Bradshaw.
Members: Gary Bush, Eric McMaster, Esty Pape, and Dave Taylor.

Information Technology Committee:
IT Team Chairman: Kelley Prebil; 650-520-3150; webmistress@molokovelloct.net

No report received.

NSS Discussion Board Subcommittee:
Wayne Harrison; pinecamguy@gmail.com

Progress:
The NSS Discussion Board now has Threads: 1,374, Posts: 11,966, Members: 861.

The first thing I did when I took over as administrator of the board (called the "DB") a few months back is to give the current moderators full authority to oversee the board, including banning users—based on a set of rules that the moderators were asked to draw up (called the "TOS" or "Terms of Service"). This makes administering the rules more fair, because a lone person no longer decides punishment. We have updated the Terms of Service for the forum — making them more streamlined and easier to understand. The new TOS were posted on the forum June 4.

The next thing I did was to make it easier to find the DB by using a forwarding Web address of www.cavechat.org. This address will be used in our advertising banners, which we will make available for individual Grotto Web sites that will take visitors directly to the NSS DB.

Plans:
In the next year, I hope to increase participation on the DB by more NSS and non-NSS members. I have discussed with the moderators the need to make the forum more of a daily destination than a once-a-week destination for cavers. We will do this by posting topical information for cavers, along with interesting questions about caving techniques, styles, likes and dislikes. The DB is used by a very small percentage of NSS members and my main goal is to increase this number and make NSS members more aware of the forum.

I have also implemented the RSS feed section of the forum software, which allows anyone with an RSS reader (or MyYahoo) to monitor current posts on the forum. RSS, which stand for Really Simple Syndication also allows anyone to put the titles of NSS forum posts on their own Web site (clicking on the title would take a person to the NSS DB). While this isn't used much now, its use will increase as computer users get more Web savvy.

As I learn the ins and outs of the DB software (vBulletin) I will endeavor to clean up the look of the forums and make them more professional in appearance. I have already replaced some fuzzy graphics with crisper renditions.

The NSS DB is indexed by Google so posts made on the DB can be searched on Google. This is important to remember because it means we can draw cavers and potential cavers without them going through the main page of the NSS Web site.

Problems:
None at present.

Office Automation Committee:
Phil Winkler; 302-984-2698; pwink@dca.net

Progress:
Modified the monthly membership report sent to various committees to include the date a member joined the NSS. Created several ad hoc reports to satisfy requests from officers.

Plans:
It is time to update our office computers, operating system and some software. We currently use Windows 98 and Office 95. The computers are over five years old and likely will not even support Windows XP. The security available with Win98 is simply not adequate in today's infectious environment. We will research hardware costs over the next months to ensure good value.

We anticipated we will purchase a new Win2003 file server to replace our aging Novell server, a new wireless network replacing our ethernet and two or more new workstations with Windows XP as the operating system to replace our Win98 machines.

Our office suite is now Microsoft Office 95. This will be replaced with Sun's OpenOffice package which is not only free, but fully compatible with current office suites. We have already switched to Grisoft's anti-viral software and trashed Norton. Our e-mail package will be Eudora rather than Outlook Express and our browser is Firefox rather then Internet Explorer. Firefox is free from Mozilla and highly rated as superior to Internet Explorer.

The majority of these changes represent recommended best practices from some of the top experts in the field including Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal. Microsoft products are both unsecure and expensive and these plans will reduce costs at the office.

Our accounting software, LedgerMaster, and our membership database, NSSTrak, are fully workable in a WinXP environment.

Problems:
None

Market Analysis Committee:
Debra Young; 321-984-0028; suzyoung@bellsouth.net

No report received.

NSS Library Committee:
Chuck Lundquist; 256-883-8926; lundquc@email.uah.edu

NSS Library Report, June 1, 2005

Since the last report, the NSS Library has procured, with funding from the National Speleological Foundation, an

HP Officejet 7410 4800 x 1200dpi 30 ppm

All-in-One Printer (H24 – Q5569A).

This completes the essential equipment needed to for the Library to have a dedicated, computer-monitor-printer-scanner capability. One year ago, the Library was employing a loaned computer and monitor, and was using the printer of the NSS business office. The office had a scanner inadequate for significant Library use.

The dedicated equipment will allow the Library to better serve its clients. Further online expansion of the Library catalog was temporarily on hold pending acquisition of the new equipment, adequate for efficient operation. Online catalog expansion will be an emphasis during the coming year.

Also, since a year ago, the Library has obtained two pre-used, fire and water resistant file cabinets or vaults. These have been cleaned and otherwise reconditioned. They are now in use, holding the most valuable items from the Library collections.

The Library welcomes members who wish to use its collections during the Convention in July. Some such requests have already been received. The Librarian, Bill Torode, will accommodate users on a schedule that also allows him to attend some important Convention sessions.

A Library open-house or visitation is on the Convention schedule for 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 5. If there is enough attendance anticipated, bus transportation will be provided from Grissom High School to the Library, and subsequently from the Library to the auction at the Campground.

Operations Manager:
Stephanie Searles; 256-852-1300; manager@caves.org

Progress:
Annette and I attended the SERA Winter Business Meeting on March 19th in my hometown of Stevenson, Alabama. We took a few items from the NSS Bookstore to have available for members who wanted to shop and spend some money. $500.00 in sales was pretty good for half a day of work.

Annette and her husband, Neil, attended SERA, March 12 – 15th. This was Annette’s first caving event. Annette did an awesome job manning the NSS bookstore and meeting and greeting members. She’s ready for Convention 2005.

Annette, Bill, and I completed the inventory count for FY 04/05. We had developed a professional and friendly relationship with Mercer and Associates, but they are no longer contracted with the NSS. An accounting firm did not audit our inventory count, but Ted Kayes (Secretary-Treasurer), is working on contracting a new firm.

Cave Diving Section made final payment for their copies of The Taming of the Slough.

Dave Irving and Karen Dennis were in the office, May 10 – May 20, this is the time they make their annual visit, so Dave and I can work on closing the fiscal year. Ted Kayes arrived on May 16th. I guess Dave and I are becoming pros at this because everything went smoothly and the good news is we ended up with a surplus.

Dave McClurg was kind enough to create quarter page bookstore ads for the NSS News. Hopefully, these ads will remind NSS members to shop at their NSS bookstore first and increase sales of the bookstore.

Annette has purchased Print Master software and we will soon begin working on creating bookstore ads for the NSS News.

The Board approved the FY05/06 budget. I’ve purchased a scanner for the office and it’s in the works to purchase new computers as well and upgrade the operating system to Windows XP, which I’m hoping will solve some of the Windows error messages and problems with the database (being knocked out of the database, slowness).

Phil Winkler and I will be working with Tammy Owen (local network engineer) to decide the brand of computers we will purchase and possibly upgrading the Novell network to a Windows 2003 server.

I forgot to thank Camille Mueller (former NSS Operations Manager) for filling in for me while I was on maternity leave. Camille paid the bills, processed payroll, and answered employee questions while I was on leave.

Plans:
Prepare for Convention 2005.

Mail out 25-, 35-, and 50-year pins to members who have reached this wonderful milestone.

Purchase new computers for the office and upgrade the operating system and maybe the server.

Complete employee reviews.

Tom Rea and I are in talks with Steve Ormeroid (NSS AVP and Cave Diving Section board member) in possibly storing the Cave Diving Section inventory here in Huntsville and processing all Cave Diving Section book orders.

Problems:
Micca Armstrong has resigned as part-time bookstore assistant to accept a full-time position in her field of study, accounting. We appreciate her service and dedication to the NSS Office. Micca will be greatly missed.

Photo Archives Committee:
Karen Kastning; 540-639-4666; karen@skyhopper.net

Plans:
Long-term plans: To establish a detailed database for research purposes. Primarily working on cleaning of old negatives that were received by the archives in VERY dusty and often mildewed condition. Work is quite slow due to the need to wash each negative/strip one at a time - while taking care not to scratch or further damage the work.

Short-terms plans and activity: Same as last time: work continues to progress (slowly) at putting sleeves on the large-format prints, sorting them into appropriate categories, and filing them.

Progress:
Due to changes in my home and work situations I lost access to some equipment that I had used frequently for the Photo Archives. Therefore, in April I purchased a Light-box for viewing slides and negatives.

The Photo Archives received some prints donated through the NSS Photo Salon (delivered this spring by Ann Bosted).

As mentioned in the plans section, some progress in reconditioning (primarily B&W negatives) and storage activities (large format prints).

Problems:
Same as recent years: I have not obtained any new photos directly from any cave photographers this year. I need a HIGH QUALITY scanner for slides and negatives to make the reconditioning work easier, as some of the repairs may be tackled easier with photo-editing software/tools. A scanner was requested as part of this year's budget request. I will need to purchase a copy stand in the very near future.

Speleo-Museum Committee:
Craig Hindman; 410-792-0742; ctider@us.ibm.com

Progress:
There have been no new donations or collections received

The work on the Web site continues

Plans:
There will be a sampler display of museum items at this year's convention in Huntsville. The convention staff has promised a lockable display case for viewing of items during the week.

Problems:
Nothing to report

6/9/05