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 chairman of each committee or organization, followed by their report. The committee and sub-committee chairmen 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:
The Planning Committee has developed the membership survey, which is scheduled to launch via e-mail in February. It will primarily be a web based survey feeding directly into a database.
The Membership Committee is developing ways to identify why members of less than three years are inclined to not renew their membership and is reviewing ways to market the new Conservation Membership.
The Grants Committee is close to filing our first grant application.
Progress:
The annual appeal raised over $15,000 of which just under $8,000 was designated for Great X.
The Membership committee has started conducting exit interviews and collecting data.
The membership committee has provided new letters to use for renewal members.
The fund raising chairman, Eve Proper, has filed for the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) acceptance. If this is approved, it would be the result of years of work by Paul Stevens, Dave Irving, and Ted Kayes who have worked diligently over the years to provide a timely, audited financial statements which is required for the CFC and other grant organizations.
The PR Committee’s web page is providing very useful based on the increased number of inquires.
The next available Board of Governors meeting that can be hosted will be in Spring 2006 as the others are scheduled as follows (Huntsville, New York, & Spring 2006).
In addition to the monthly meeting of the Birmingham Grotto, I have attended the following caver functions during this reporting period:, Annual Birmingham Grotto Guntersville Getaway Weekend Campout,
The Nominating Committee has confirmed candidates scheduled to run in the 2005 election.
Problems:
The Great X "pledge" Web Page needs a serious overhaul. Thousands of dollars of pledges have not been realized which is offset by thousands of dollars of donations not recorded. We intend to turn the "pledge page" into a "donor" page.
The NSS Awards Committee provided an incorrect award recipient listing to the NSS News editor.
The 2009 Bid will not be for San Antonio as previously hoped. Alternatives are being sought and a presentation is expected during the meeting.
It is important to note that "every committee who has not done so and seeks funding," should contact the grants committee chairman regarding your specific needs in detail. Prepare to explain why you need these funds, how your committee will utilize the moneys, and a list of expenses associated with your goal or project.
Motion Actions:
At the October 18, 2003 meeting of the NSS Board, the following resolution was passed:
"The President shall attempt to obtain easements for permanent access from private landowners owning land above Great X Cave to permit visitors to the Great X Cave Preserve to visit cave passages under their property. No new funding is authorized."
The cave has so few visitors a year, the cave entrance was not unknown before the NSS purchased the property, and the landowners have not shown displeasure or unease about cavers caving under their property. Easements may alert the landowners to the risks of caving and their liability risks as landowners. They could close their cave passages. It would seem prudent to let sleeping dogs lie, as we say in the east. I hadn't considered "kicking skunks" as Ken relates below.
If we really want to pursue easements in the long term, then perhaps we should allow the preserve committee the opportunity to first get to know the neighbors, and bring up the discussion later. I believe that I, through Bob Montgomery, have "attempted" within reason to accomplish what was asked via the motion in question; other than discreetly asking some prominent BLM members, to further pursue this would probably involve money (you should recall that none was allocated in the original motion); and we've received legal advice that the NSS "should probably not pursue the issue unless forced into it."
As you may recall, this motion was presented at the very END of the October 2003 meeting. No previous discussion was available. This motion was not on the agenda, it was submitted on the spot as a write-in motion. The Board decision was made from the verbal information provided without the consultation of any real estate lawyers (with the possible exception of Dave Taylor whose legal specialty I am not aware of). In summary, I believe I have provided you with sufficient information and have accomplished the motion's intent. Furthermore, I do not intend to pursue this further. If the Board wishes for me to continue this process, I would welcome a motion to that effect. This time; however, lets do it in advance as a published agenda item so that the membership has time to comment if they see fit.
November 28, 2004
As directed by NSS President Scott Fee, I brought up the subject of "underground easements" for access and use of Great Expectations Cave where it underlies private properties not owned by the NSS with Ken Wagner, the attorney who worked with us on the purchase of the Great X Property. I left several messages for Ken and he eventually responded. He summed up his thoughts on the subject with the statement "Don’t kick a skunk."
He said that since the private lands to the west of the Preserve, overlying the cave, are "split estate" lands, meaning the mineral rights are separate from the surface rights, that the mineral owner, the federal government, probably controls the subsurface rights including the cave. Ken indicated that it might take a significant amount of research to resolve this issue since he was not aware of this subject having been addressed in court in Wyoming. Ken suggested that the NSS, instead of spending a large sum of money on research, should probably not pursue the issue unless forced into it. Hence his statement about a skunk. He further suggested that, if the NSS wanted to, they could pursue discrete research by looking at the Federal Cave Resource Protection Act to see if it addresses the issue. Additionally, the NSS could have an individual discretely ask the BLM for their opinion on the issue of whether the mineral owner controls the subsurface rights.
Thank You,
Bob Montgomery
Preserve Manager
Bill Tozer (Chairman), 765-778-3259, wtozer@aol.com
Committee Members:
Barbara am Ende, 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, G. Thomas Rea, Geary M. Schindel, Gordon L. Smith, Jr., Linda Starr, Lee Stevens, Dr. George Veni
Progress:
The 2005 award nominations are in and look very good. The award nominations have been submitted to the AC for evaluation. The nominating material for OS and HM will be distributed to the Board so that they may select these awards at the spring meeting.
Plans:
The AC will provide recommendations for the 2005 awards to the Board at the spring meeting. After the Board meeting, the AC will begin preparing the Awards program for the 2005 Huntsville, AL convention. All recipients will be notified so that they may attend the convention and be recognized. Plans are to have photos for all recipients so that they may be displayed with a power point program at the awards banquet.
Problems:
The NSS NEWS 2004 award article incorrectly listed the fellows. The correct list was posted on the electronic boards and a correction was submitted to the NSS NEWS. A letter was sent to those incorrectly listed as well as their nominators. The fellow’s list in the Fall Board report is correct. There are no problems in the selection process for 2005 at this point. The process is moving along according to schedule.
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 should have a web page up later this spring. They will get the information out once the meeting location details are worked out.
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. I received e-mails from groups who may want to host meetings for the spring and fall of 2006, but no formal bid 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:
On January 26, 2005, I mailed out our Combined Federal Campaign application. If we are accepted, this will allow federal employees to donate to the NSS through their workplace campaign.
We have found a webmaster for Great X. Scott Parvin has graciously volunteered to handle it.
In the fall we sent out the annual fundraising letter. Since we don’t code solicitations, we cannot track with any certainty what mailing people are responding to. At least, that info isn’t reported to me. Presumably the office can see that someone used the enclosed pledge card. Between the mailing of our fall fundraising letter and the end of the year, we raised $17,618.90 via 296 donations (average size = $59.52). Not all of these donations can be attributed directly to the letter (for example, it includes my monthly credit card donation). I don’t know how this compares to an average two-month period. I was pleased to see that a great number of those donations were directed toward Great X. Second most popular were Save the Caves and unrestricted.
| Fund | Donations in $ | No. of Donations |
| Cave Acquisition | $1,046 | 32 |
| Cave Preserve | $140 | 6 |
| Conservation Support | $25 | 1 |
| Education Grants | $50 | 1 |
| Endowment | $1,970 | 26 |
| Great X | $7,932.90 | 83 |
| Headquarters | $45 | 4 |
| International Exploration | $10 | 1 |
| International | $125 | 2 |
| Mitchell | $5 | 1 |
| Guilday | $25 | 1 |
| NCRC | $111 | 4 |
| Stone | $122 | 8 |
| Corrie | $1,085 | 4 |
| Save the Caves | $630 | 23 |
| Tytoona | $25 | 1 |
| Unrestricted | $4,209 | 93 |
| Vandalism Deterence | $29 | 2 |
Problems:
A member tried to rent via Alamo and found out the number was outdated. Thanks to Annette Oeser for calling them and finding out what the new number was – for a moment there I thought we had been dropped. However, since we’re still keeping this benefit, we need to make it known.
MBNA contacted Ted Kayes about renewing our credit card deal, despite the fact that I had given them my contact information about six months ago. Hopefully it is straightened out – at least we managed to get it renewed.
The Great X campaign is stalled at about 53 percent. The initial momentum is gone and there has been no major push lately. I’m waiting to hear from Bob and John if they have anything planned.
Plans:
In May, I will be taking Principles and Techniques of Fundraising through the Fundraising School at the Center on Philanthropy. This week-long course normally is $995, but it looks as if my graduate program may pay for it.
In the shorter term, I will get our Alamo number out there. I don’t want to spend too much effort on such a little-used fund raiser, but it should be available on our website at least. Also, I need to get serious about pushing something for Great X. If we do an event at convention, I would like to orient it toward that. Unfortunately, I have no idea at this point if I’ll be able to attend convention or not.
Hazel Medville (Chairman), 703 860-0134, hazelmedville@verizon.net
Progress:
In late December, Ron Kerbo called me to ask if the NSS had a signed copy of the NSS/NPS agreement approved by the NSS Board in October 2001. After much searching by the Office and calls to Mike Hood, e-mails, etc. It was determined that :
1) The original sent by the NPS in the summer of 2001, was sent attached to the CRF (Pat Kambesis) agreement. In late September 2001, Ron Kerbo asked Pat to check if she had it; she did and I sent her Mike Hood's mailing address. Mike doesn't remember if he received it.
2) In April 2003, a search was made of the NSS files for a signed copy. When one could not be found, I requested a copy from Ron Kerbo. (The Office was to e-mail me when they received it.)
3) Ron Kerbo called in December requesting a copy of the signed agreement. There was no copy at the NSS; it was probably wasn't found by NPS in April 2003. Ron said that the current lawyers in Washington are glad that it is missing because the NPS is no longer issuing such agreements. Normal volunteer agreements are the current vogue with perhaps letters saying we like each other's organizations.
So we have an agreement that was never signed by the NSS because it was either lost in the mail (my post office had anthrax as did the major government facility in DC) even though it was supposed to be sent from Kentucky to Ohio. Or it is sitting in someone's file lost. Or ...
January 5th, 2005, I e-mailed Ron asking if he would check with the lawyers there about the validity of the 2001 agreement since the NPS had signed it and the NSS Board approved it as written even though a signed copy could not be found. I haven't heard from him yet.
No other actions taken.
Plans:
Follow through on the NPS agreement with Ron Kerbo and perhaps the DC office.
Problems:
Other than the above mentioned problem and the usual internal communications, none.
Donna Cobb, 205-987-0872, dndcobb@bellsouth.net, Chairman
Committee Members: Carol Childress, Eric Johnson, Andy Messer, Kyle G. Crider, & Tom Hagood.
Progress:
Carol Childress has written a grant that includes an approach letter, cover letter, an executive summary and a narrative, a preliminary budget, organizational background report, and a basic plan to measure the NSS use of the grant funds that will be submitted in the next few weeks. In addition, she is developing a schedule of deadlines for submission of grant applications to multiple granting organizations. The schedule will be made available to your committees as soon as possible.
I am continuing to identify funding opportunities available to the NSS and working with Carol to develop strategies to reach our goal of funding as many NSS projects as possible. Due to the lengthy delay in receiving the audited financial data we missed important deadlines, but are working toward the submission of as many grant requests as possible in 2005.
We recently received the audited financial data.
An experienced Grants Administrator to the NSS has been appointed and we are pleased to welcome Ted Kayes to the NSS grants team. As our new NSS Grants Administrator, Ted will receive a copy of any grant requests our committee submits on behalf of internal organizations and will work to create any procedures to satisfy the granting organization’s requirements. A Grants Administrator permits the NSS to monitor the progress of the grant, all expenditures and that the moneys are used appropriately. We are very excited to that Ted has agreed to take on this challenge!
Problems/Needs:
If your committee seeks funding, please contact us regarding your specific needs. Prepare to explain why you need these funds, how your committee will utilize the moneys, and a list of expenses associated with your goal or project. Please do not send a "We need money," type of request. The more detail you can offer, the better prepared we are to get the money you need for your project! Every granting organization has different requirements. Once we know what you would like to fund and we identify an appropriate resource, we will e-mail you the specific requirements for that foundation. Once you have met the stated requirements and we have received your initial application, we will submit your request and forward a copy of the completed application to our Grants Administrator for review and monitoring.
Jennifer Pinkley recently resigned from her position on the NSS Grants Committee. Although we are deeply saddened by her decision and will miss her hard work and dedication to our goals, we wish her well.
We need of volunteers willing to join the NSS grant team even if you have never written a grant! We need willing volunteers to help to identify companies and foundations that offer grants for conservation, education and more.
Remember that your employers will often fund education and conservation projects or offer matching grants!
Plans/Goals:
To develop short-term (three to five years) and long-term
(five years and beyond) funding goals and objectives with the
various committees and office personnel for, but not limited to:
The NSS office (includes staff, travel expenses, equipment,
software, etc.)
Library
Karst Journal
Cave/land purchases
Educational and conservation programs
Brochures
Other educational materials as developed by the respective
committees
In addition, we are sending a letter outlining what we need from you for grant applications. As stated previously, each granting body has different requirements for their grants, but we are working on a schedule of submission deadlines and a generalized outline of required information to apply on your committee’s behalf.
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. Updated pre-registration information, on-line registration capability and revised dates for presenters are finally 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 will be presented at that time.
Progress:
Correspondence to the NSS International Secretary was handled. Recommendation on inviting foreign speleologists was provided to an NSS grotto planning to fund a visit by Rumanian cavers.
Problems:
Addressed separately in the report from the 2009 International Congress Bid Ad Hoc Committee, the unexpected loss of the UTSA facility as primary venue for the proposed event is discussed in detail. Officials at the university would not provide written contracts and disclaimed the actions of the former special event coordinator in making verbal commitments. We’ve resumed the search for a facility capable of hosting 2009.
Joel B. Stevenson (Chairman), 828-669-0126, cavelaw@jbs-law.com
Progress:
During the time since my last report the Committee has accomplished the following activities:
Mon Sep 20, 2004 to Sat. Jan 22, 2005
Date - Activity - Description - Time (hrs)
Wed Dec 22, 2004: receive & read e-mail from Scott Fee re grotto website matter. e-mail to Scott acknowledging & advising that I will be unavailable last week of Dec
Tue Dec 21, 2004: Receive e-mail from Scott Fee message attached re: grotto website matter. Review & confirm receipt to Scott
Fri Dec 17, 2004: review e-mail from S Fee [with attachments embedded] re: complaint about a grotto website from NSS member; respond to Scott's inquiry via e-mail.
Fri Nov 19, 2004: Review e-mail from Scott requesting liability wording for proposed NCKI/Journal contract. Reply to e-mail.
Fri Nov 19, 2004: read and respond to e-mail from Scott Fee re: question about confidentiality of e-mails
Sat Nov 6, 2004: respond to inquiry from "BL" re FOI Act's possible application to the Journal.
Wed Oct 20, 2004: Receive, read & respond to e-mail from Kevin Smith addressing my questions about Circular A-110
Mon Oct 18, 2004: receive and respond to e-mails from Scott Fee [3] re: questions arising from yesterday's e-mail comments on Journal contract.
Sun Oct 17, 2004: Review notes & file on Journal/NCKI proposed contract. Review e-mail from Scott Fee re: proposed changes to Art. III of proposed contract & address each section in e-mail to Scott.
Sun Oct 17, 2004: Address e-mail from NSS member & discussion bd moderator, re: question of possible defamation on NSS discussion board. View postings on discussion board.
Tue Oct 12, 2004: receive, review, & respond to inquiry from T Rea re: personnel matter
Tue Oct 5, 2004: receive President's Report & review Legal Committee report. e-mail to Scott re: error in font and request correction before report distributed.
Mon Sep 20, 2004: receive e-mail from NSS Member re: possible defamatory messages on NSS discussion board. Go to board and read messages. Nothing appears to be defamatory.
Total Time: 8.40 Hrs.
Problems:
There are no new problems to report.
Plans:
I will remain available to address inquiries from members of the Board, officers, and any members who contact the Legal Committee
Roswell Jones (Chairman), (H)(412) 367-3522, wrj48221@comcast.net
Progress:
The voting machine was in Pelham in time for the board meeting. It required a small amount of repair, which was done.
Plans:
It will be in San Antonio in time for the next board meeting. Also at the next board meeting I am going to try to use my laptop as the recording device for the meeting. I will still use the cassette machines until I’m sure of the new system works. I hope to convert to CD’s because cassette machines are not as common as they used to be. In addition, CD’s are cheaper. I think that I will be able to burn the CD’s on the spot.
Problems:
None.
Eric Weaver, Chairman, weaverem@uc.edu
Progress:
We have continued our efforts in conducting exit interviews for members who have not renewed. An initial observation has been that a primary number of respondents indicated that they planned to renew shortly. A recommendation that has been made is that we provide a payment system that allows NSS members to elect to be automatically renewed annually by credit card (similar to SCCI’s renewal approach).
Since we were primarily receiving feedback from late renewers and not from our primary objective (members who have left the NSS), we have begun to focus on making contacts with members who have not renewed after three months. However, from the information that we have gathered from the respondents, we have been able to develop an exit interview that will attempt to not just be a customer service tool, but a way to quantify non-renewed member’s responses.
The Membership committee has also continued to make contacts with new members from their designated areas. Recently, we recruited several more additions to the Membership committee in order to widen our range of states that had direct contacts. We have been gathering articles from various entities within the NSS. These articles are designed to describe what their group/section/position within the NSS is doing and be an article that is of general interest and/or impact a large portion of readers. We have placed these articles in the Yahoo group for Grotto Newsletter editors/webmasters. This action has provided substantial impact as many of the editors saw this as an opportunity to fill their newsletters and to help further the cause of the NSS. An eventual hope is to be able to deliver these to all grotto newsletter editors on a routine basis. These articles should inform NSS members what the NSS is doing and what is available to them and also to market this information to grotto members who are not NSS members.
Dawn Ryan completed an article announcing the Conservation membership category. It will be included in the Conservation issue of the NSS News. The NSS website has been updated to include this category. More will be discussed about the Conservation membership in the Plan section.
Plans:
We will continue our exit interviews. With the new format, additional helpers, and the new requisite regarding who we contact, we should be able to analyze the data we receive and be able to provide a report in July describing former member responses as to why they have discontinued their membership. It is hoped that this will shed more light into services that we are lacking or need to enhance for greater member satisfaction and to indicate any significant troublespots.
We would like to develop a web resource for new NSS members that will provide information on what the NSS has to offer and to encourage new members to become involved. We will continue to solicit articles that we can provide to the grotto newsletter editors and try to enhance this effort. The next step for us is to make ourselves more widely known and to be used as a resource. A major part of this will be through the development of a web presence. Another step will be an effort to work with "membership people" in the grottos, in particular providing them with a greater awareness about the NSS so that they are motivated to and can better provide this information to grotto members. We will also want to recognize grottos with the highest number/ratio of (new?)NSS members.
We will be looking into ways to market the Conservation membership. We are currently in the development process for an electronic mailing describing the Conservation membership that encourages the receiver to "Tell a friend" (similar to the mailing from the Karst Conservancy in Florida). This would reach current NSS members and allows them to send it to others who may be interested. This allows the possibility of hitting an external market, while being selective at the same time (the NSS member is determining who may be interested). If this is successful, we may explore this approach further. Additionally, it has been noted that the Conservation membership, in particular the Conservation Life Membership should be encouraged and the members recognized. We will be looking at ways to provide this recognition.
Problems:
None
Cheryl Jones (Coordinator), 703-442-8499, cheryl.caver@verizon.net
Plans:
Plans for the 2005 Symposium in Albany, NY, progress and its Web page is up.
Progress:
2003 NCKMS Proceedings were published in January.
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 for 2005 Board Election:
Complete ballot layout, composition, and proofing.
Submit ballot for printing and mailing. Ballots will be mailed out of Huntsville, AL this year using the NSS bulk-mailing permit.
Receive and account for all valid ballots on tally sheets by the deadline.
Recheck count with supervision from the Verification Teller.
Notify NSS President and all candidates 40 days before the NSS Convention per the Bylaws.
Notify the NSS Board of Governors via e-mail correspondence.
Send to Convention all ballots and final tally sheets for inspection by the candidates and/or delivery to the NSS Archivist.
Notify the membership of election results via an NSS News, August issue article.
Follow up:
Follow Up from 2004 election: Completed a second tallying of ballots by return postmark and begun a statistical listing by state. This information can be compared to the Membership Manual data of membership by state to achieve return rate by state annually. It was mentioned that if we can see who is NOT voting, appeal could be made to those states or regions to investigate complacency reasons and/or work to increase return rates. See attachment A. Please note 100% accuracy is impossible to achieve accounting for factors such as: several ballots received in one envelope (having no postmarks), ballots sliding through the postal system with no postmark, postmarks that encompass a region vs. specific state, mailing of ballot outside one's home state, etc.)
Progress of 2005 NSS Election:
Published December NSS News article advising membership of candidate solicitation, confirmed candidates to date, contact information, and submission deadlines, etc. at least 45 days prior to the deadline for nominating petitions per the Bylaws.
Continuing solicitation of candidates via personal phone calls. To date, I have eight confirmed candidates with six serious maybes. 96 members have been considered for nomination and 39 of those declined the nomination. Several have stated they would like future consideration including 20 members wishing to be contacted for the '06 election. I also now have a small list of "emergency candidates" who will run or seriously consider running if I ever have a slim year again.
Ballot submission guidelines were sent to confirmed candidates and others requesting details of the election process and responsibilities of serving as a Director.
Asked for Scott Fee's help to address concern of a potential candidate (since declined for this year) who works as a federal employee. An excerpt from the potential candidate’s e-mail: "I asked our legal department if there are any prohibitions against Federal employees holding office. I was told there is a prohibition in 18 United States Code against Federal employees serving as a Director, if fiduciary responsibilities attach to the position. Our lawyer was concerned about which state NSS is incorporated. State law may attach the duties even if the association does not include them in its by-laws, charter, etc. She said this issue can be quite complicated and could prohibit me from participating." Although I saw nothing in the Bylaws, I also questioned conflict of interest for members serving on the NSF, since every time I contact one as a potential candidate, he declines stating conflict of interest as one of the reasons. The answer came back that there is nothing that prohibits a member from either working as a federal employee or serving on the NSF and the Board simultaneously and that there is no financial responsibility attached to a member serving as a Director on the Board.
Confirmed intention to use my Huntsville printer again this year and communicated this year's timetable and high probability of larger job size due to increased number of candidates this year. (Impact to my budget remains unknown until I have finalized the number of candidates.)
Contacted NSS Office to verify eligibility of confirmed and strong maybe candidates.
Sent Stephanie a courtesy e-mail regarding timetable for transmission of membership zip files to printer and money transfer to our bulk mailing account at the post office.
Completed ballot layout as far as I can at this point.
Problems with 2005 NSS Election:
No problems to report other than the usual lack of courtesy in return correspondence by potential candidates contacted by me several times and procrastination of confirmed candidates to submit their ballot materials.
Kelly Norwood (Chairman), 770-723-9040; e-mail kelly_norwood@dnr.state.ga.us
Plans:
KWI will be holding their annual meeting on March 5, 2005, at the headquarters of the Cave Research Foundation (CRF), near Cave City, Kentucky. The meeting will be followed by an banquet which will honor Dr. Nick Crawford, founder of the Karst Field Studies Program at Western Kentucky University, for his profound influence over many students including some of the top karst scientists today. The banquet begins at 6:30 pm, and the public is welcome with registration and a fee of $35.00. Checks should be made out to the Hoffman Environmental Research Institute, and mailed to: Hoffman Institute, Western Kentucky University, ESP 318, 1 Big Red Way, Bowling Green, KY 42101.
I am planning on posting an announcement regarding the KWI meeting on the NSS Discussion Board and other caver forums I have identified. An announcement has already been made for TAGnet by Pat Kambesis.
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 no completion date for this book as of yet.
As mentioned in my fall report, KWI is still planning two karst science conferences for 2006. Hopefully they can confirm dates and locations for these soon.
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:
The Encyclopedia of Caves and Special Publication from the Epikarst Conference (October 2003) has been completed. The publications are available for purchase from the KWI web site (http://www.karstwaters.org/). Ms. Emily Davis of the KWI will likely have copies available through her company, Speleobooks, as well.
Problems:
None.
Patricia E.Seiser (Liaison), 505-887-7356, pseiser@plateautel.net.
Plans/Progress/Problems:
Currently things are pretty much on hold with NCKRI in terms of developing extended cooperative agreements with the NSS. NCKRI/NPS is working on developing NCKRI’s action plan which when fully developed and approved should aid in facilitating specific co-operative agreements with the NSS. Unfortunately there is no time frame as of yet. It should be noted that NCKRI is very interested in keeping communication lines open and is interested in working with the NSS to the full extent possible, now and in the future.
Rane L. Curl (Liaison), 734-995-2678, ranecurl@umich.edu
Rob Robbins (Committee Member)
Plans:
To continue to seek instances of NSS groups and members volunteering with TNC cave projects and publicize them on the Liaison committee website.
Progress:
Heather Garland, the TNC Liaison to the NSS, has had information about the NSS/TNC MOU and a link to the NSS Liaison site posted on their Hubbard's Cave Preserve website (one of the TNC cave projects where NSS members have been volunteers). The site is:
http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/tennessee/preserves/art10128.htmlThe
Liaison Committee website at caves.org/committee/nsstnc was updated in late 2004.
Problems:
A little confusion has arisen about the reporting function for NSS/TNC Liaison within the NSS structure. The Liaison function itself is in the President's Dept, with Rane Curl listed as the Liaison with TNC, while the function is also listed in the Administrative VP's Dept. (Conservation Committee), with H. Garland listed as the Liaison with TNC. This will get sorted out in the course of reviewing the MOU between TNC and NSS.
David Luckins, (Chairman) deluckins@aol.com
Plans:
The long term plans of the committee have been previously detailed to the Board and may be found, on the web, within the President’s Report. In the short term, the committee has focused on developing the membership Survey
Progress:
The questionnaire has been developed. Substantial input was received from committee members and from the Board.
An NSS NEWS article will appear in February alerting members to the Survey. Regular Members of the Society, with e-mail address, will be notified by e-mail of the URL so they can complete the Survey. The News article alerts other, non-wired, members of the process to obtain a paper copy of the survey.
Problems:
None.
Jay Jorden (Chairman), (214) 202-6611, jjorden@texoma.net
Committee Members: Matt Bowers, David McClurg, Jack Hissong, and Sandra Hissong.
Progress:
With the committee’s Web page component having been posted for several months now, we’re getting an increased amount of inquiries through the media@caves.org address posted there. That’s a benefit because it raises our visibility. Accessibility is greater for media representatives wanting general information and/or answers to questions in real time. Also, the "press kit" information is available on demand through the site and that’s also a positive development. Before, we were making it available, but through individually telephoned or e-mailed requests. Thanks again to webmaster Melanie S. Peterson of the IT Committee and board members who reviewed the page before it was on-line. The PR material is posted to: http://www.caves.org/press …
Since the last report in September, the committee has also been working with organizers of the 2006 convention in Bellingham, Wash., to help set up publicity. The committee is also helping with news releases.
In the three months since the last report, the committee has worked to produce a poster and other publicity related to the proposed U.S. bid for the International Congress of Speleology in 2009. And a number of media inquiries have been fielded.
Details:
In the most recent inquiries we answered, a Los Angeles producer for a planned documentary on Bill Stone wanted contacts for information. A reporter for the San Angelo (Texas) Standard-Times writing a feature on Caverns of Sonora sought NSS and caver info. We helped to secure photos for an Israeli journalist writing in that country’s geographical magazine, Masa Acher, and an editor for the Guinness Book of World Records. An Oregon television producer received info on the Ape Caves near Mount St. Helens. An underwriting specialist (Northwestern Mutual) wanted information on caving for life insurance research.
FYI, her response to our information was reassuring: "Your input has been very helpful. When comparing the annual fatalities to estimates of number of participants, I am in agreement with you that caving presents little extra mortality risk."
The committee is working with George Veni and John Moses on the ICS bid, specifically on a promotional poster to be exhibited at ICS meetings in Mexico and in advance of the 2005 International Congress of Speleology in Greece.
Plans:
Following discussion about publicity for Society awards, 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:
As always, please let me know of any specific PR concerns or needs either from the officers or the board.
Lee Stevens
Progress:
The draft minutes of the November 2004 Board of Governors meeting have been circulated, corrected and posted on the web. Special thanks to Kitty Wooldridge of Birmingham who was able to take my place at the November meeting.
Plans:
Timely production of the Board of Governors meeting minutes.
To further pursue development of a computer based method for recording the motions and votes during the Board meetings. A NSS member has expressed interest in developing a new vote recording system. No time frame has been established for completion of the system.
Problems:
None at the moment.
Vince Kappler, 973-579-2116, vkappler@nac.net
Progress:
I have found a commercial printer that will copy the manual updates for approximately half what I had been paying. The reduced printing costs and the increasing number of Directors able to use the Web version of the manual have substantially reduced my costs for each set of updates I prepare and mail.
Appendix F to the Board of Governors Manual: Policy Statements for the Use of Society Caves has been completely revised. This appendix contained the management plans for our caves and was very difficult and expensive to keep current as the number of preserves increased and the plans evolved and were revised. The most current management plans are now posted on the preserves pages of the web and the Board of Governors Manual now directs you there. (Thanks to Tom Rea for creating the links on the Web version of the manual.)
Manual updates from the November meeting were prepared and mailed in early January.
Plans:
) Continue to convert the manual to MS Word one file at a time.
2) Prepare and circulate manual updates as quickly as possible.
Problems:
None
Gordon Smith (Chairman), 812-945-5721, glstis@aol.com
Plans:
I continue to monitor relations between cavers and show caves.
Progress:
I visited five show caves and several former show caves in Ohio this past fall. Also represented the NSS at the annual NCA Convention and visited several show caves in Missouri (Meramec, Talking Rocks, Marvel and Crystal). Coordinated program between NSS cavers and owners of Squire Boone Caverns to do some renovation work in the cave. Coordinated visit of Roy Davis to Wyandotte and Squire Boone to evaluate problems in both caves.
Problems:
None that I am aware of.
George Veni and John Moses, Co-Chairmen
Problems:
San Antonio, Texas, will not be the location proposed for the 2009 International Congress of Speleology (ICS). It was discovered in late December 2004 that the Special Events Coordinator at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) was making promises about UTSA that she was not able meet or authorized to make. Her assurances that the UTSA Provost and Vice-President were committed to holding the ICS at UTSA proved false, and her all of her information about UTSA facilities and their availability proved false or exaggerated. After meeting with the UTSA Vice-President and facilities directors, it was clear that UTSA couldn’t host the ICS due to scheduling conflicts and other lesser issues.
Progress:
All potential venues in San Antonio and the surrounding area have been examined as possible sites for the ICS. Most proved too expensive, too small, too far from camping, or unavailable due to scheduling conflicts. Two potential venues have been located: New Braunfels High School in New Braunfels, Texas (30 minutes from San Antonio on I-35 and host city of the 1964 and 1978 NSS Conventions), and Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas (1 hour from San Antonio on I-10). Both venues have been apprised of the problems with UTSA and are including multiple staff members to insure proper coordination and the presentation of accurate information.
Plans:
Information on the two potential venues is being collected. A team from the Bid Committee will visit both sites for a final, detailed evaluation during the weekend of February 19–20, 2005. Their recommendation will be submitted to the Board members as a PowerPoint presentation and with evaluation forms that compares these sites and those initially considered for the bid last year. Both sites will be reserved for a tour by interested members of the Board on March 6, 2005. Only one site will be visited, the one selected by the Board during the meeting of March 5, 2005. If one of the Texas sites is not selected, the tour will be canceled and other sites around the country will be evaluated or reevaluated as potential venues.
2/14/05