Attachment A-1
President's
Report
Awards Committee
Board Arrangements Committee
Bylaws Committee
Fund Raising Committee
Government Liaison Committee
Grants Committee
International Secretary
Legal
Committee
Logistics Committee
Membership Committee
National Cave and Karst Management
Symposium Coordinator
Nominating Committee
NSS/KWI Liaison
NSS/NCKRI Liaison
NSS/TNC
Liaison
Planning Committee
Public Relations Committee
Recording Secretary
Secretary to the Board
Show Caves Liaison Committee
2009 International Congress Bid Ad Hoc
Committee
Scott Fee, (205) 856-9177, president@caves.org
There are 21 committees, commissions, publications, etc. in the Department of the President (PRES). In this report, I provide the name, phone number, and e-mail address of the chair of each committee or organization, followed by their report. The committee and sub-committee chairs have provided the information in this report, although I’ve made some spelling, formatting, and minor editorial adjustments.
For detailed address information of any committee chairman, please refer to the NSS Members Manual or go to: http://www.caves.org/nss-business/bog/table-4d.html#President
Alternatively, you may contact me directly and I will furnish you with the appropriate contact information.
Plans:
Progress:
Problems:
Bill Tozer (Chairman), 765-778-3259, wtozer@aol.com
Committee Members:
Barbara am Ende, Mike Backe, Gale Beach, Evelyn Bradshaw, Bill
Bussey, Donald G. Davis, Michael Dyas, Scott Fee, Dr. Daniel
Fong, Dr. Cato O. Holler, Jr., Mike K. Hood, Roy Jameson, Pat
Kambesis, William Mixon, Gary Moss, G. Thomas Rea, Geary M.
Schindel, Gordon L. Smith, Jr, Linda Starr, Lee Stevens, Dr.
George Veni
Progress: The Awards committee recommendations were presented to the Board at the March meeting. These and the HM and OS awards were designated at that meeting. Recipients have been notified so that they may attend the convention. The HM and OS certificates have been prepared . Everything is on schedule for the convention awards program .
The awards certificates were redesigned in the style of the HM and OS certificates. (The NSS logo is a faint background in the certificate.)
Plans: The power point program of award winners will be prepared for the awards presentation. The annual Awards committee meeting will be held at the convention. The year the first hour of the meeting will be open to the membership. The intent is to describe the different awards, provide suggestions on how to write a nomination, and answer questions.
I will step down as Awards Committee Chairman effective with the Huntsville Convention. A new volunteer is needed.
A call for nominations will be sent to the NSS NEWS for the September issue.
Problems: As always, the awards committee needs support of the Society by providing good nominations for all awards.
Mike Hood (Chairman), mhood@caves.org
Plans: I will continue to seek hosts for meetings by posting announcements on the various e-mail groups, NSS Discussion Board and NSS News. I will also stay in frequent contact with those groups hosting meetings to make sure they are moving along and to assist them if needed.
Progress: The Heldersburg-Hudson Grotto is hosting the Fall 2005 meeting and I have been communicating with Christa Hay, who is in charge of the planning. They are progressing very well and have a basic web page up. The complete web page should be ready by convention.
I am actively pursuing hosts for the spring 2006 meeting and beyond. I have placed announcements about looking for hosts on the various e-mail groups, NSS Discussion Board and NSS News. A bid to hold the Spring 2006 meeting has been received from the Dallas/Fort Worth Grotto and a motion to accept the bid is on the agenda for the convention Board of Governors meeting. I have a pending bid for Spring 2007, but nothing substantial, other than an interest, at this time.
Problems: None.
Tom Rea (Chairman), 765-653-4423, tomrea@caves.org
Progress: There has been no activity in the Bylaws Committee this term.
Plans: Respond when my cage is rattled.
Problems: None.
Eve Proper, Chairman, eproper@iupui.edu
Progress: I have been struggling to contact MBNA – our previous contact left the company. However, they finally agreed get our credit card application online. I’ll let Scott and/or Bill know when this happens.
The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) turned down our application. They cited reconciling issues in comparing the audited financial statements and the IRS Form 990 both which were prepared by our auditor.
A replacement fund raising chairman is being sought. Scott has placed an ad in an upcoming NSS News and have circulated it on the NSS Web Site, NSS Discussion Board, and various e-mail distribution listings.
Plans: I am, per Bill’s request, going to look into having a different look for the MBNA card. Also, a fundraiser is planned for Convention. We’ll sell Great X logos for $5 through the bookstore. This would be like the March of Dimes campaign you see at your local retail merchant with the Great X logo’s covering the bookstore walls with the names of the donors.
Problems: MBNA is hard to get a hold of, but I believe that has been resolved. The Great X gentlemen are even more difficult to get a response from.
I have tendered my resignation.
Hazel Medville (Chairman), 703 860-0134, hazelmedville@verizon.net
Progress:
Both BLM and NPS are writing new cooperative agreements with the
NSS. The BLM CA will include a mechanism for funding future
projects.
Invited 10-15 government employees to the Tuesday sessions on this year's convention. I also sent copies of the Biennial Report with the invitations.
Gave out the remaining copies (5 or so) of the Biennial report at the NCKRI meeting I attended in May at Soccorro, New Mexico.
I attended an AGI Government Affairs Council meeting on June 4th in Alexandria, VA. Much of the meeting was spent discussing the AGI efforts this year with suggestions for better ways to do the work from some members whose societies also "lobby". Those who did not lobby agreed that AGI should continue their efforts to make members of the House and Senate aware of science and it contributions and to try to protect the budgets for scientific research. I and another society empathized that our concerns were strongly linked to the land managing agencies (BLM, TVA, NPS, USFS) and felt that some AGI effort should be expended in those areas. AGI is going to look into a program called "Grass Roots" which notifies society members of issues coming before congress or committees and then directs and tracks the responses.
Plans:
Distribute copies of the NSS Biennial report to congressional
staff and offices where the congress member is on committees
related to caves and cave science (Interior, Science, etc.). Also
send to NPS, USFS, and BLM directors and managers of cave related
functions in Washington, DC and at units or regions with cave
resources. Will request State Cave Surveys provide names of state
and local government officials to who I should send a letter and
a report.
Work with Ron Kerbo (NPS) and Jim Goodbar (BLM) to finalize Cooperative Agreements and present them to the Board for approval. I will ask that the agreements be sent through me so I can track them. (I can also pick up the signed (by government) agreements at the DC offices and deliver the NSS signed copies back to the appropriate offices in DC and the NSS office.)
I received a draft MOU from the NPS. I should be able to report something on it at Convention.
Problems:
WR Halliday and others have been asking about the missing 2001
NPS Cooperative Agreement. I have suggested that because the NPS
signed it and the NSS Board agreed to sign it, it should be
considered in effect even though it was probably lost in the
Brentwood (DC) Post Office anthrax problems in the fall of 2001.
Vacant
Committee Members: Carol Childress, Eric Johnson, Andy Messer, Donna Cobb, Kyle G. Crider, and Tom Hagood.
Progress: Essentially nothing was accomplished during the last quarter.
Problems/Needs: Carol, the committee grant writer, has been employed as a full-time grant writer. Her position limits her free time and had indicated that she feels another grant writer is needed to stimulate the committee into productivity. In addition, the previous Chairman had resigned during the quarter and we have advertisements out seeking a replacement.
John L. Moses (Secretary), 915-921-0535, johnmoses@excite.com
Eleanor Larson (Committee Member) Santa Barbara, CA
Tom Lera (Committee Member) Falls Church, VA
Plans: The 14th International Congress of Speleology will be held in Athens, Greece, August 21 – 28, 2005. The venue outside of Athens has undergone several changes and updated pre-registration information and on-line registration capability are available on the Congress web site at: www.14ics-athens2005.gr
The NSS International Secretary attends as the US’ voting delegate. The formal proposal by the NSS to host the next (2009) International Congress in Kerrville, Texas (revised location) will be presented at that time. Also, the delegates to the International Congress will vote to elect a new board of directors (the Bureau) of the International Union of Speleology. Dr. George Veni has served as the NSS’ unofficial member of the Bureau since the death of Dr. George Huppert. With the endorsement of the NSS President and concurrence of the NSS Board of Governors, we will ask Dr. Veni to stand for election to the Bureau at the upcoming International Congress in Athens.
Progress: An award of $1,500 was made through the International Participation Grant program to NSS member Jason Gulley of Somerset, Ky, for the "Nepal Glacier Cave Project." The NSS Board of Governors recommended and approved a $500 International Participation Grant to assist a speleologist from China (Dr. Yuan) to attend the NSS convention. Also, assistance was provided to a group of Birmingham, Alabama NSS members, who are sponsoring a Rumanian speleologist in traveling to the U.S. for the NSS convention in Huntsville. Letters of invitation on behalf of the NSS were sent to the invitee and to the U.S. Consulate in Rumania to assist in securing a visa.
A request for funding a student on a university-sponsored expedition to Japan was reviewed and was not accepted for funding. Addressed separately, in the report from the 2009 International Congress Bid Ad Hoc Committee, a Memorandum of Understanding between the NSS and Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas is in preparation. Kerrville will be the revised site of the proposed 2009 International Congress of Speleology.
Correspondence to the NSS International Secretary was handled.
Problems: None but this will be my last report from this address at Hueco Tanks. I’ve accepted a new position with Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. and will be working and living in the city of El Paso.
Joel B. Stevenson (Chairman), 828-669-0126, cavelaw@jbs-law.com
Progress – Activities since date of last report:
Thu Apr 28, 05 - Time Entry - 0.20 hours: e-mail from S Fee w/ contract attachment for review. Send e-mail to S Fee that attachm't won't open, request re-send. Rec'v response from Scott. Contract [cafeteria reservation for Convention] already signed, therefore he advises no need to review
E-mail response to Scott:
Wed Apr 13, 05 - Time Entry - 0.20 hours: tel call from atty B. Bennett w/ questions re: development problems on sinkhole plain S of MCNP. Ref. by R Brucker. Her primary question: whether FCRPA might apply [it does not]. Discuss legal theories for possible court action.
Thu Mar 31, 05 - Time Entry - 0.30 hours: review proposed contract w/ Space Center & e-mail Scott Fee & Bruce Wallace re same.
Fri Mar 18, 05 - Time Entry - 0.20 hours: read misc. e-mails copied to me re: convention contracts. No responses necessary.
Tue Mar 15, 05 - Time Entry - 1.40 hours: Re: ’05 Convention - review campground contract. copy and insert parenthetical comments where necessary. e-mail to scott with cover message.
Mon Mar 14, 05 - Time Entry - 0.30 hours: read and respond to additional e-mail concerning Tucks Cave incident copy e-mail messages and sent to S Fee with short cover message.
Tue Mar 8, 05 - Time Entry - 0.20 hours: receive & read e-mails from Kayes & Kettles re Tucks Cave question. reply to Kayes
Mon Mar 7, 05 - Time Entry - 0.40 hours: receive and read e-mail from Mike Kettles re; incident at Tucks Cave, Fla. & respond copy e-mails to Kayes
Mon Feb 28, 05 - Time Entry - 0.20 hours: call from NSS member Robert Brooks w/ question re: potential liability of local [Fla] landowner for cave gate. advised him to contact CDS and see if they can put him in touch with a local resource. Asked him to call back if that did not pan out.
Plans: I will continue to be available to consule with the President, Board Members and Officers in regard to any matters of a legal nature, and will respond to any inquiries from members that I may receive.
Problems: None of which I have been made aware.
Roswell Jones (Chairman), (H) 412-367-3522, wrj48221@comcast.net
Progress: The voting machine was in San Antonio in time for the board meeting. Furthermore, I shipped the laminator to the registration committee of the 2005 convention. I have finally been able to find repair parts for the backup machine. It will be repaired and I will carry it to the convention, in case it is needed.
The test of recording the board meeting on my computer and then burning the meeting to CD’s worked. I plan to use this system for the next board meeting.
Plans: I will have the voting machine at the convention as usual. I will take care of it for the board meeting.
Problems: None.
Eric Weaver, Chairman, weaverem@uc.edu
Plans: We are currently working to put together a membership packet for new grotto members. Once this has been developed we are going to be sending these to grottos and encourage them to distribute these to their new members. We are still working on a plan to develop some type of incentive program to encourage grottos to help us build the NSS membership. The cost for mailing the packets would probably be the most significant expense in this endeavor. However, we could minimize this expense by getting estimates from each grotto regarding how many of these they would need in year and then sending these out annually or as an as needed basis. I would expect that the number of packets would be in the range of 1000. The only other expense would be folders. I expect that this cost will still go over our $200 budget but would anticipate that it would be less than $400. The proposed contents would be: Cover letter, an introduction to cave safety, a demo copy of the NSS News and Journal, introduction to caving basics, "Perks" coupons (hopefully). We are also working to put together a website that we hope will target the interests of new members. Within this site we are hoping to compile various articles that would give the member a broad overview of essential caving skills, caving ethics, and basic karst science. We are also looking at trying to develop resources to provide small "perks" to being a member of the NSS.
Progress: We are continuing with the exit interviews. There have been a few set backs due to the loss of participation by some members due to additional commitments. This now appears to have stabilized. Unfortunately, despite the relatively large size of this committee, there does not appear to be any way for us to conduct the number of exit interviews necessary (approximately 200 exit interviews a month) and still be able to address other membership issues. It was decided that each committee member would continue to do the exit interviews for their selected states. We are currently discussing the appropriateness of utilizing an e-mail survey to conduct the survey for the states that we do not have a committee member working with.
Problems: Without having a dedicated IT person (in particular in the area of web technology, such as html, Java, and PHP) for this committee, it is difficult to do any type of marketing (even internal marketing). For example: Several months ago, it was recommended that we use an html e-mailer to encourage our members to "tell their friends" about the conservation membership. It is my understanding that there has never been anyone available to fulfill this request. There are many opportunities we have had to make ourselves more visible, but we have been stopped without this valuable resource. We would like to have someone on the IT committee committed to helping the membership committee with IT marketing needs. Specifically, enhancing the NSS website to better accommodate renewals and new memberships, setting up html e-mailers to keep members informed regarding membership opportunities(such as Conservation Membership), and keeping the Membership Committee informed on IT options that may help facilitate marketing strategies.
Cheryl Jones (Coordinator), 703-442-8499, cheryl.caver@verizon.net
Plans: - Plans for the 2005 Symposium in Albany, New York, progress and its web page is up.
The Steering Committee meeting will be held Convention Tuesday.
Hazel Medville will chair the NCKMS Steering Committee meeting, and act as the NSS representative, in my absence.
Problems: - None
Montana Autumn Spencer (Chairman), 260 982 7792 Cavrbab@earthlink.net
Brent M Grist, 50247SU, Verification Teller: David D Seng, 24371RE, Committee Member
Plan:
Progress:
Vote tallies are listed alphabetically below:
Gary Barnes AL 554
Thom Engel NY 741
Peri Frantz CA 748
Cheryl Jones VA 1136
James Lewis TN 887
Gary Moss VA 843
Don Paquette IN 582
Doug Robertson AR 823
Eric Weaver OH 543
Problems:
Continued low ballot return rates (being addressed in Plan above).
In an attempt to make the election process more transparent to members and potential members, increase awareness of and interest in the voting process, and encourage communication between candidates and members, we chose to add the platform statements to the NSS Discussion Board this year. This resulted in increased scrutiny of our Director candidates by the membership. I believe a member has the right to question a candidate on their platform statements, other NSS and caving issues not addressed in the platform, and level of both caving and professional experience they possess. I do not believe they should fall under personal attack and vendetta.
I understand the NSS Board does not control the DB, but is there some way for us to establish/enforce protocol, above and beyond the DB conduct rules which obviously did not work in at least one situation, to prevent slanderous, non-proven, fact-debatable accusations and character remarks from being posted and getting out of hand? Once something is in print or said verbally in front of a group, all the retractions and apologies in the world do little to erase what was said from the minds of the readers/listeners. A second incidence occurred within a small group discussion at a regional event after which one of those in attendance chose to e-mail portions of that discussion regarding a candidate's past history to cavers NOT in attendance, thus spreading non-proven information.
a. I have lost at least one potential candidate over this
year's ordeal.
b. This does not create a strong selling point for me to anyone
who witnessed or heard of these events esp. when my Committee and
Board do nothing to prevent this type of ill behavior.
c. Is the NSS at legal risk for slander, libel, defamation of
character, etc.?
Two less serious issues:
Lack of response to the membership by some of our candidates. I know we can not and should not control what folks personally choose to do and not do, but I thought it interesting and embarrassing that more than one caver contacted me this year after my posts to "contact the candidates" advising me that more than one of this year's candidates had never responded to our members' correspondence and questions. I was very disappointed to hear this and know this as a perfect example of why there are ill feelings of the membership towards the Board. Cavers that are not willing to speak to and with the membership and represent ALL our voices and the majority preference in their voting, not just their own, have no business being in a leadership role.
Duplicated return ballots (mentioned above in Progress). I had member criticism and attack of my ballot rule that states: "Only original ballot cards will be valid and duplicated or photocopied ballots will be discarded." I was told I was making a "hollow threat" unless I took a measure to insure ballot security. Honestly, I do not think there is large scale concern at this time, but the member is right. With modern duplicating machinery and computer programs, it would take minimal effort to duplicate ballots. Several options have been discussed but not costed out. All seem cost prohibitive at this time.
Kelly Norwood (Chairman), 770-723-9040; e-mail kelly_norwood@dnr.state.ga.us
Plans: The next KWI conference is currently scheduled for 2006. This conference will not be an "open" conference, but rather will be a working conference for approximately 100 karst scientists/students. The goal of this conference will be to produce a stand-alone publication containing major scientific ideas in several fields of speleology. This will be the first of this type of conference (that I have heard of), and should produce a wonderful publication.
As of last winter the KWI was planning two conferences for 2006; however, the Paleoclimate conference has been cancelled. KWI is working with Bogdan Onac and the Climate Change meeting he is planning for May 2006.
KWI is a sponsor for this year’s Sinkhole Conference to be held on September 24-28, 2005, in San Antonio Texas. I am planning on attending provided my work will agree to pay for it. I believe they will since they paid for my attendance at the last Sinkholes conference two years ago.
The KWI is still working on the Benchmark book, which will compile many of the ‘pioneering papers’ in karst science from the past 50 years or more. There is still no completion date for this book as of yet.
As always, my plans are to continue to forward all KWI information out to the NSS membership, and to promote open communication between NSS scientists (of which KWI persons are included) about their science projects. As soon as the conferences are announced, I will have the announcements posted on EPA conference, session, and continuing education web boards/lists.
Progress: I attended the March 5, 2005, KWI annual meeting at CRF in Kentucky this winter. The meeting was very informative regarding the operations of the KWI. Most of the Board Members were at the meeting, so I got to put a face with a name for those I had not met before. A few of the discussions at the meeting concerned the NSS. Discussions included NSS displays and information and potential partial sponsorship of a coffee break or such at the next KWI conference, discussion of including the NSS as an affiliate to the KWI, and discussion of the need to change the titles and wording of the KWI publications being sold on the NSS web pages.
I discussed several of these things with both Scott Fee and Cheryl Jones to get guidance on making these things happen. I am drafting a letter request for the NSS to be officially "affiliated" with the KWI that should be signed by the directors at the July meeting. Following signature, the letter will be sent to the KWI for acceptance. The NSS association with the KWI is a win-win situation for both entities. The NSS benefits from getting their name posted on the KWI affiliates web page and thus be a more visible entity with karst scientific community. Via e-mail the NSS board members have tentatively already agreed to the affiliation.
Problems: None.
Patricia E.Seiser (Liaison), 505-887-7356, pseiser@plateautel.net.
Plans/Progress/Problems:
NCKRI is currently undergoing some major changes as it
moves under the NMT umbrella and into a 503c3 organization. At
this point, Hazel Medville has the best picture of how this may
affect relations with the NSS, as she is on the committee
instigating the changes. My understanding is that the change will
probably benefit the NSS in terms of better (and less
restrictive) funding for NSS programs, such as outreach and
research. NCKRI will be presenting information regarding the
changes at the NSS convention this year. Until everything is said
and done, and signed on the dotted line things will remain on
hold.
>From Hazel Medville:
I attended an NCKRI meeting on May 17-18 at New Mexico Tech,
Soccorro, New Mexico
Who attended: NCKRI Staff, NPS Staff associated with NCKRI, Ron Kerbo, Jerry Trout, Jim Goodbar, NM Tech personnel including Penny Boston, Carol Wicks (KWI), Don McFarland (NSS Research Advisory Committee as rep from undergrad program), Len Vacher (U So. Florida- PhD program), Geary Schindel (Water Resources), Harv DuChene (for AGI), Jack Hess (for GSA), Nick Crawford (WKU, Masters program)
What happened: Basically after a day of discussions NCKRI decided through the attendees to form as a 501c3 organization with the non government types being voting members of the board of directors and the government types being non-voting members (Trout, Goodbar, Kerbo, and Dave Shafer (NPS)) (12 members total).
Louise's position will transfer to a NMT slot rather than NPS and it will be openly advertised, probably this fall. She plans to bid on the slot if the NPS doesn't decide that it would be illegal (government types frequently can't work as a "consultant" in the office for which they worked as a government employee for a set period of time).
Harv DuChene is the chairman of the new board, Nick Crawford is vice chairman and a CPA from NMT is Treasurer. I am leading the by-laws and incorporation effort with 2 lawyers and Jerry Trout (historian); we hope to have the paper work ready by July. Other committees include Stewardship, Library and Data Information, Education/Research Council, and Public Outreach.
I'm sure that Louise and Penny will put out more detailed minutes before the convention.
Rane L. Curl (Liaison), 734-995-2678, ranecurl@umich.edu
Rob Robbins (Committee Member)
Progress: Discussion has continued with Heather Garland, TNC Liaison to the NSS. This has clarified the problems (see PROBLEMS) with the current MOU between TNC and NSS, and suggests that the MOU be revisited.
It is expected that the joint NSS-TNC traveling display will be at the 2005 NSS Convention.
Heather Garland reports that she has not received any requests or questions from within TNC seeking advice or volunteers from NSS.
Problems: It has become apparent that, although the TNC has named Heather Garland as their Liaison to NSS, there is in fact no such job assignment in TNC that represents all TNC activities concerning caves. Likewise, TNC has no corporate wide policy or infrastructure concerning caves. All cave related activities are at the TNC Chapter level. Heather Garland's job is solely as the Cave and Karst Program Manager of the Tennessee Chapter of TNC. Neither she or anyone else is employed to coordinate or even monitor TNC-wide cave-related activities.
Other Chapters of TNC also have projects concerning caves, and these Chapter project leaders undoubtedly exchange information at times, but contact from the NSS concerning caves must ultimately be the responsibility of NSS, through each separate TNC Chapter.
The overlapping "claims" of the NSS departments of the President and the Administrative VP to the NSS-TNC Liaison function have not been resolved within NSS, to my knowledge.
Plans: To continue the discussion with Heather Garland toward finding ways to attain the objectives of providing TNC with access to NSS member expertise and volunteers. Revisions to the MOU should then be a natural consequence of a revised working relation.
Bill Klimack, Interim Chairman,
Progress & Plans:
Bryson (2004) suggests that planning for non-profit
organizations, simply put, consists of three steps: (1) Figure
out where you are, (2) Figure out where you want to be, and then
(3) Figure out how to get from where you are to where you want to
be. Step (3) is the actual strategic plan. The plan is useful,
but usually much value is obtained from the strategic planning
process. Additionally, often the end state of (2) is never
reached but instead serves as a guide post or objective, until
modified by later planning. This document an the record of the
Board of Governors (Board) planning sessions conducted in the
summer and again in the fall of 2004 serve as a statement of
where we are, or at least where we (the Board and the membership)
believe we are.
This means the Board should review the assessment of where we are, and begin discussing where we should be. The record of the Board planning sessions was held until completion of the survey. That record and this document should now be released to the Society’s members.
The NSS member survey was administered in February and March 2005 using a web page to elicit responses. The questions were reviewed and edited by members of the Board of Directors as a whole, with survey development primarily by Martha Mills and Bill Klimack. The web page was linked to a database, hosted pro bono by a colleague, Steve Henderson. The survey was announced in the NSS News, through the Society’s web page, and, less formally, through internal organization e-mail lists and by word of mouth. There was no monetary cost to the Society.
There were 910 elicited responses, including routine tests of the database. Eliminating those records that were tests or clearly spurious entries, those with no data, left 899 records. Removing entries with duplicate NSS numbers left 887 records. Entries were considered valid when the NSS number matched the zip codes in the NSS office membership records. Removing those with mismatching zip codes (125 records) and those with no zip codes (36 records), left 726 records which were considered valid.
The results of the member survey are presented on the NSS Business Web Page. Where a Likert scale was used to assess agreement with a statement, the tables provide the frequency count of the various responses. The modal response, the most frequent answer, is emboldened. The median answer, that for which half of the answers are above and below, is underlined. Assigning numeric values to the agreement, -2 to "Strongly Disagree" and so on, permits calculation of the mean answer which is provided in square braces. This statistic assumes that there is equal distance between categories for the respondents. "No opinion" answers are not used in calculating these descriptive statistics; only the frequency count is provided.
Comments were edited for grammar and spelling and to redact references to individuals unless it was required for clarity. Comments regarding organizations were not redacted.
Problems: Dave Luckins has resigned from this committee. In the interim, Bill Klimack stepped forward. We are actively seeking a permanent committee chairman.
Jay Jorden (Chairman), (214) 202-6611, jjorden@texoma.net
Committee Members: Matt Bowers, David McClurg, Jack Hissong, and Sandra Hissong.
Progress: The committee prepared a news release on the new NSS book, Dunbar Cave, the Showplace of the South, by Larry E. Matthews. The media@caves.org address posted on the committee’s Web page component continues to draw inquiries from reporters and others. Also available online is a background file or "press kit" along with other information. The PR material is posted to: http://www.caves.org/press
The committee, since the last report in January, has also been working with organizers of the 2006 convention in Bellingham, WA., on pre-convention publicity.
Also, work continues with George Veni and John Moses on the International Congress of Speleology bid for 2009. The committee chair attended a Latin American speleological congress meeting in Monterrey, Mexico, where information was also presented on the bid. A promotional poster has been prepared for exhibit at meetings, including the 2005 International Congress of Speleology in Greece.
Details: Research on Bill Stone continued to dominate media interest over the period. Esquire magazine featured him in a one-page layout in the December 2004 issue. A follow-up from Stone appeared in the February issue. Another reporter for Esquire magazine sought information on caving in the southeast.
A press release was prepared for the new NSS book, Dunbar Cave, the Showplace of the South, by Larry E. Matthews. First explored by Native Americans 8,000 years ago, Dunbar is one of America's major caves.
Plans: The committee plans to work with the Awards Committee, board members and officers to raise awareness to members and to journals and organizations in the communities appropriate for each recipient. Besides journals, magazines and other publications in science, conservation, government agencies, etc., media representatives in the geographical areas where the recipients live are good targets. Another project in the works by a committee member is a media response protocol for cave rescues.
Problems: Please let me know of any specific PR concerns or needs
Lee Stevens, lee_stevens@comcast.net
Progress: The draft minutes of the March 2005 Board of Governors meeting have been circulated, corrected and posted on the web.
Plans: Timely production of the Board of Governors meeting minutes.
Problems: In spite of advertisements in various media, no one has volunteered to design and construct a new voting machine for NSS Board meetings. I suggest the search be continued. The present system continues to function and should suffice until a new one can be constructed.
Vince Kappler, 973-579-2116, vkappler@nac.net
Progress:
I have completed converting the Board of Governors
Manual from WordPerfect to MS Word. WordPerfect created problems
when I e-mailed sections of the manual to members and also
limited the options available if I wanted to offer the manual in
a different medium.
After some trial and error with formatting (thanks Scott for comments and suggestions), I was able to burn the several hundred manual files to a CD. The CD is set up as folders and files very similar to how the manual appears on the web. I offered CDs to Officers and Directors and to date, six have requested a copy. It cost over $15.00 to print and mail a paper manual vs. $1.21 to create and mail a CD. I’d expect significant savings as more users elect to use the CD version.
CDs of the manual were mailed to two of the recently elected Directors.
Manual updates from the March meeting were prepared and mailed in late March.
Plans: I’ve asked for feedback on the CDs and I will try to incorporate suggestions to make them more user friendly. I have also solicited comments on the best way to provide updates for the CDs.
Prepare and circulate manual updates as quickly as possible.
Problems: None at this time.
Gordon Smith (Chairman), 812-945-5721, glstis@aol.com
Progress: I have visited several show caves over the past six months and discussed interactions with cavers in their areas.
Plans: I will be attending the NSS Convention (even though it is being held at the worst time of the year for me), the International Congress of Speleology in Greece and the NCKMS in Albany, NY in October. I will also be visiting caves from Germany to Missouri in the next six months.
Problems: Not enough time to fit everything in. No specific problem areas that I am aware of.
George Veni and John Moses, Co-Chairmen
Progress: After review of alternative venues since the unexpected loss of the University of Texas at San Antonio, the Board in March 2005 approved the venue change to Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas (1 hour from San Antonio on I-10). Since then the committee has been active revising the brochure, website, photos, logo, and other materials to reflect this change. Schreiner University has submitted a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that they will hold their facilities and costs for the ICS should we win the bid.
Problems: Some progress has been slow because committee members who put in a lot of time on this bid now must find time to re-do their efforts due to the change in venue. It has been difficult for some members to find the time, but their efforts are paying off, are appreciated, and their delay should not adversely affect the bid.
Plans: NSS attorneys are reviewing the MOA submitted by Schreiner University, which is expected be signed pending the attorneys' approval and/or revisions. Promotional materials are being revised and completed. Some will be ready for review during the committee meeting that will be held during the NSS Convention. Committee members and NSS members not on the committee who are going to the ICS are being recruited to help promote the NSS bid during the Athens ICS this coming August. Currently, no other countries have announced that they will bid.
6/9/05