President's Report

National Speleological Society, Inc.

Board of Governor's Meeting

March 22, 1997

President's Comments

Budget

Traditionally, the winter months are filled with collecting necessary data to support development of budget recommendations. This cycle has continued that tradition. While Paul Stevens will report in detail in his Secretary-Treasurer's report, I would like to comment on the continuing maturing of the process used to develop this year's budget proposal.

Over the past three years we have worked to bring the elements needed to develop sound, realistic budgets together. It is my judgment that we are at the point where the process for developing the budget is sound and the results are realistic. The process involved the following steps:

1. The committees, working with their officers, developed expense estimates based on plans for the coming year. Incidentally, those plans will become the basis for the P₃ reporting format so that you can monitor the committee's progress.

2. Concurrently, the Secretary/Treasurer developed a preliminary income estimate based on historical data and special events planned for the coming year. (New edition of On Rope, for example)

3. The expense estimates and the income estimates were united in a trial budget and the Secretary/Treasurer e-mailed it to all the officers for review prior to the EC meeting. This has been a goal for the past three years, but was only realized this year, thanks to Paul Stevens efforts. Having a trial budget well before the EC meeting permits each officer to go back to the committees and adjust the plans/budgets with committee "buy-in."

4. At the EC meeting, the latest expense data and the data from the previous year was used to adjust the expense estimates. While a goal in previous years, this is the first time we've had truly up-to-date expense information to use in projecting the end of the year bottom-line. A special thanks to Dave Irving for making this happen. With up-to-date information we were able to (at last) see what committees were achieving their plans while under-spending their budgets and to see what committees needed more to achieve their plans.

5. Finally, all the officers agreed to a conservative income estimate. It is likely we have understated the income side. There are potential streams of income that are not reflected in the budget (convention surplus, for example).

In each Spring President's Report, I've devoted a fair amount of text to the Budget. No one likes budgets. They a difficult to develop, hard to read, and (unless you're intimate with the details) difficult to understand. Since I've been an officer, this has been, perhaps, the most difficult budget to develop because we are truly strapped for cash at this time. The addition of Stevens and Irving to the process, however, has helped to bring the process to a more professional level and I am pleased with the maturity of the process.

Legal Issues.

The Board has received my letter concerning a change of strategy in the handling of the Barton Hill Karst Preserve lawsuit. We have changed our attorney and will become more aggressive in presenting our concerns to the Court. While this action is regrettable, the consensus of the Preserve Committee and the NSS Legal Committee was that the move was necessary.

I have concerns for the welfare of the members of the Preserve Committee based on reports of belligerence by the adjacent landowner and have encourage two actions; be totally non-confrontational, and do not visit the property alone.

Counsel indicates we have very legitimate issues to bring before the Court, but as with any legal action, the outcome is not certain.

Affinity Programs

We continue to have issues with our credit card program. Last fall, Louise Hose and others, were solicited by telephone to upgrade their NSS credit cards and to consider other financial services. As you may recall, during Jeanne Gurnee's Presidency, our contract with MNBA expired. MNBA attempted to have us sign another contract. The NSS Legal Committee objected and offered revisions. Since that time MNBA's legal staff have been evaluating our proposals and we, by mutual, agreement, are continuing under the old contract. The "extended" contract prohibits phone solicitation.

We have several reservations with MNBA. Since we began business with them, it appears they have offered other societies more favorable terms than we enjoy and more attractive amenities (such as the organization's logo on the card). Additionally, we have not had a continuing relationship with MNBA. In my terms as president, we have had three account managers. None of these managers seemed to be aware of any of the issues we have discussed with their predecessors. Our most recent account manager has just come "on-board" in the past month.

I have asked our Fund Raising Committee Chairman, Greg Glazner, to do the following. First, aggressively pursue a wrap-up of the new contract. Concurrently, seek an alternative card program.

Director Bill Bussey reported he had trouble using the NSS discount with Alamo. The agency he rented with reported they could not find the NSS in their computer. I used the NSS discount over the Christmas break in Miami without problem. Alamo suggests Bill may have encountered a "store" that was reluctant to give a discount in a busy period.

Oregon Caves

This issue of climbing in certain Oregon caves continues. NSS members have found themselves dealing with the Access Fund over the issue of climbing apparatus in caves and cave entrances. Access Fund, is an organization of similar size to the NSS, with one objective being to represent and protect the interests of climbers and to engage in actions that protect accessibility of climbers on Federal lands.

Conflicting ethics make for a natural conflict. On one side we have cavers, expressing a "leave not trace" philosophy and on the other side we have climbers using (and leaving) technical climbing aids and gymnast's chalk in the entrances to caves.

I was contacted by Oregon cavers for advice and suggested the following:

1. Form a Conservation Task force

2. Focus energy on deciding what is best for the caves and develop a "strawman" management proposal using that premise.

3. Strive to be the resource "expert" for the Federal land managers. In all areas make the land manger your friend.

4. Seek areas of cooperation with other land users where possible but do not focus on reacting to other organizations.

Dave Jagnow will mentor this CTF.

It is my expectation that we will see issues associated with caver/climber conflicts surface in other areas of the country. A successful outcome of the Oregon situation has the potential to be a model in other areas.

User Fees

The issue of user fees for caving on federal lands has surfaced in the Southwest again; this time on Forest Service lands. I have asked Ray Keeler to head an ad hoc committee to represent NSS members and their concerns to the Forest Service. Ray will have a status report during at the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Reports of the Permanent Committees

The committee chairman, their address, and e-mail address are provided. Reports were requested in the P₃ format: Plans, Progress, and Problems. While P₃ does facilitate a common, short, reporting format that makes reading easier for Board members, its most important asset is that it encourages committees to see their task as setting plans in place and then working to accomplish those plans. Committees with well formulated plans find it much easier to get their plans reflected in the budget than those who do not engage in forward planning.

Administrative Memo

Jean DeVries

2370 Chippewa

Jennison, MI 49428-9135

<devriesj@aol.com>

Plans:

Hope to publish a minimum of 3 issues this year, pending submission of material.

Progress:

Will solicit and edit material for late March/early April, August, and November/December issues.

Problems:

No reported problems at this time.

Awards Committee

Mike Hood

23 Wells Ave.

Dayton, OH 45431-1420

<mhcaver@aol.com>

PLANS:

Lee Stevens has asked to step down as the Certificate of Merit Sub-Chairman effective after the 1997 convention. She will remain on the committee as a member at large. Bill Steele is also resigning from the committee effective April 15th. The Outstanding Service and Honorary Member certificates will be reprinted. The OS certificate needs to have another signature line added with the addition of the Operations Vice President. The Honorary Member certificate is being redone to include signature lines for the Board of Governors, the same as the OS certificate.

PROGRESS:

The results of the awards committee balloting will not be completed in time for this report. It will be forwarded no later than Feb. 28th. Bill Bussey has been selected as the new Certificate of Merit Sub-Chairman and will take over the duties immediately after the 1997 Convention. Linda Starr has been invited to join the committee as a member-at-large, replacing Bill Steele, effective April 15th. I'm waiting for her reply at this time. The Awards Committee home page will be up and running on the NSS Home Page soon. Hopefully, this will improve awards visibility and result in an increase in nominations for 1998. The committee will also aggressively solicit nominations from the field. By better publicizing the awards program, I hope interest will increase, and with it, nominations.

PROBLEMS:

The number of nominations for 1997 was alarmingly low. We received no nominations at all for Honorary Member, Bicking, and Science Awards. The Bicking and Science nominees for this year were from last year's nominations. We only had one for the Conservation Award, and Fellow nominations were also down. Thom Engel's letter in the November 1996 NSS News regarding lack of recognition of volunteers was discussed by the committee. The consensus of the committee was to encourage the NSS President to begin awarding the Certificate of Appreciation for outstanding work. Officers should recognize their outgoing committee chairs with a letter of appreciation, and committee chairs should recognize their outgoing members with a letter of appreciation.

President's comments: I have some reluctance to use the "President's Certificate of Appreciation" in this manner. In my mind, such use serves to substitute a less rigorous review system in the place of the awards review system. Additionally, use of the CofA would have the effect of establishing another award. My preference would be for the Board and the Awards committee to push at all levels of the society for greater participation in the awards selection process. The CofA, in my judgment is an excellent tool for recognizing the cooperative efforts of non-NSS individuals who support the goals of the Society. As usual, I can be subjected to corrective thinking if the Board so desires.

Board Arrangements Committee

Tom Pollock

21 Kingsley Way

Freehold, NJ 07728-1628

<tjpollock@aol.com>

No Report: Board meetings are scheduled, or proposed, through Fall '98.

Bylaws Committee

Bill Mixon

14045 N. Green Hills Loop

Austin, TX 78737-9229

<billmixon@worldnet.att.net>

When I became chairman of the Bylaws Committee, the president asked me to review in particular the definition of the relationship between the NSS and its Internal Organizations with regard to liability concerns and other issues discussed during the board's meeting with a non-profit-organization lawyer in Richmond a year and a half ago. Evelyn Bradshaw, chairman of the Internal Organizations Committee, has provided me and Joel Stevenson, chairman of the Legal Committee, with all material she supplies to IOs that has any bearing on legal matters, and Joel has reviewed this, as well as the text about IOs in the Bylaws and Appendix D of the Acts of the Board. He reports that things appear to be in better shape than he expected, but that some sort of explicit statement that the NSS does not control the actions of IOs should be made. I would guess that this could be put in the IO Policy and hence not require any amendment to the Bylaws. Joel will be at the meeting in Pittsburgh, and we will discuss the matter further that weekend. There are no motions at this time.

During the last BOG meeting, the board passed an Act authorizing the office to accept membership applications over the Internet. At the time, I thought that the provision that new members have to sign a statement that they support the goals and conservation policies of the NSS was merely an Act, which would be superseded by that new board action. However, I discover that the provision is in fact at the beginning of Bylaws Section 1. For the agenda of the coming meeting, I have submitted a motion to amend the wording there, preserving the intent, but removing the explicit requirement for a signed application in writing. Unless this amendment is passed, it will not be possible to accept membership applications transmitted over the Internet.

John Wilson, the Administrative Vice-President, has divided his department into divisions, each headed by a chief. So far these appointments of what amounts to assistant vice-presidents have been informal, with no board approval. As chairman of the Bylaws Committee, I feel that this proposed new structure would require an amendment to the Bylaws, since the existing administrative structure of the society, with officers heading departments consisting of committee and commissions, is defined in the Bylaws in Section VI. I have suggested appropriate wording for a motion to amend the Bylaws in that way to John, and there may be a motion to that effect on the agenda for the coming meeting.

I assume that the preliminary agenda will reach board members in time to constitute the required 30-days notice for passing Bylaws amendments by a two-thirds vote.

President's Comments: The proposed bylaw change to support John's assistants became a simple motion. As you know, the agenda was e-mailed on February 20, 1997 and snail mailed the following weekend.

Fund Raising Committee

Greg Glazner

7689 West Frost Drive

Littleton, CO 80123

<ad574@freenet.ushsc.edu>

This is my first report -- so don't look for perfection (you wouldn't get it anyway!). Things are just getting started and not fully in gear yet. Mostly what we (I at the moment) have been doing is gathering information. As you know, there has not been a concerted money-raising effort at the Society in some time.

Plans:

Before work can begin though, we need to know where we stand. To this end, Paul Stevens has been contacted regarding the status of all NSS Foundation funds (I will also contact Dave Irving). We need to know:

o Fund balances

o History of cash flows into and out of the funds

o Types of donations typically received by the fund (e.g. cash, donations in kind, annuities, etc.)

I will also contact fund recipients to find out some of the things they are doing with the money. The purpose is to be able to create an informative and hopefully entertaining PR piece to send to potential donors. This may be done something like the 1996 Convention ad packet to allow for changes in message to suit the occasion. Hopefully the PR will be in draft form in a month or so.

Where will the money come from? We must pursue sources outside the current NSS membership. We must give potential donors are reason to support our organization.

Some money may be available in the form of grants, but this will take grant administration. We will seek to recruit other fund-raising committee to help out.

We also need to explore in further detail, forms of donation other than cash. Many charitable organizations rely on gift annuities, gifts of securities and bequests for a portion of their funding. These vehicles require a lot of accounting resources. We need to determine if they are available prior to pursuing this.

We also need to think about encouraging monthly pledges and other periodic giving. This will require mailing reminders.

There are, of course many other ideas that haven't even been broached yet. Since I know very little about the subject at this point, some homework will be in order. Hopefully by the next report, we'll have more concrete ideas and some tactics to implement them.

Progress:

I have handled a donation information request from Ms. Ann Gavell in memory of her son Charles "Chip" Dear. Art Palmer will be writing an obituary and request for donations to the NSS Exploration Fund.

Problems:

Just lack of information. I mostly need current financial information to set up a budget.

Philosophically, I don't want NSS fund raising to be intrusive, nonetheless we want to explore every reasonable avenue available. We need to set some high, yet realistically achievable financial goals and work toward them.

President's comments: Greg is off to a good start. At an appropriate time, we may wish to consider funding training for Greg in the development of grant proposals.

International Secretary

Dr. John Holsinger

Department of Biology

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA 23529-0266

< JRH100F@viper.mgb.odu.edu >

PROGRESS:

There have been three inquiries about obtaining grants from the International Participation Fund. Further information and application forms were sent out in response. As it turned out, two of the potential applicants had serious interests but their requests were not the kind normally funded by this kind of grant. Nothing has been heard to date from the third potential applicant, although the project briefly described appeared to meet our criteria for funding.

One of the un-funded requests was for travel funds to support participation for a single individual in a program involving 15 to 20 delegates on an information trip to South Africa. The other request was for funds to support a student exchange program.

Although this committee is not directly involved, It appears that planning for the 12th International Congress of Speleology is moving along quite smoothly. I haven't heard anything from Martina Golden recently, so don't know what she might be doing at the moment to promote the congress in North America. Nevertheless, I anticipate a large NSS delegation in Switzerland in August.

PLANS:

Nothing specific at this point, except to encourage NSS member participation in international speleological affairs, such as the upcoming congress and UIS.

PROBLEMS:

This office has still not received a copy of the materials from the UIS meeting in Colorado last August.

President's comments: 1. John has indicated a desire to step down following the UIS meeting and a replacement will be sought.. 2. Martina, who is a member of my grotto, reports the UIS committee has tended to "go it alone" on handling relations/questions with NSS members. Her involvement as a Swiss national and an NSS member came about during the Texas convention at the suggestion of the UIS organizing committee.

Legal Committee

Joel Stevenson

1509 BB&T Building

Ashville, NC 28801

<cavelaw@wnc.com>

Plans:

Try to forward several backlogged matters to an NSS member atty. who has volunteered to help with committee matters, if she is still willing. To continue to respond to inquiries as they come in.

Problems:

Substantively, none to speak of. Administratively, finding time to respond promptly to all inquiries.

Progress:

The change of attorneys in the Barton Hill litigation - don't know if Dworkin has been substituted yet, but a copy of the petition he will file [has filed?] came across my desk a week or so ago. I will follow up on that in a couple of weeks when time allows.

Tytoona cave - Reviewed the Penn. Conservancy proposals for "conservation easement" and advised Medville to tell them to submit a more reasonable proposal.

On Rope II - Reviewed the Twilley e-mails and sent you my concerns. I'll be available to discuss with Smith or McClurg as needed.

Misc. - Have answered several inquires from individual members regarding conveying property to the Society, regarding the need for and the availability of liability releases. Gave Stevens a short opinion on the NCRC incorporation question. Was asked to review the NSS insurance policy by [I think] Stevens & e-mailed back asking if there had been any changes since the policy was originally reviewed. Got no response, so I assume there were no changes.

President's comments: 1. Results of the ballot approving the addition of legal fees was unanimous of those responding. One director did not respond. 2. I have signed a contract, on behalf of the society, with the new attorney, and signed notarized documents to be filed with the court authorizing the change of attorneys. 3. I have authorized Doug Medville to spend up to $250.00 for legal advice concerning deed restrictions for the proposed Tytoona acquisition. (Depending on my budget status, I may need Board approval for some amount to cover this expense.)

Logistics Committee

Roswell Jones

1951 Roosevelt Road

Pittsburgh, PA 15237-1036

<wrjones4822@worldnet.att.net>

No Report--Jonesy is at the meeting.

Membership Committee

Bill Karpowicz

24 Beebe Road

East Haddam, CT 06423-1010

<william.karpowicz@us.ms.philips.com>

Plans:

After talking to Dave Luckins the following plans are to implemented by the Membership Committee.

To increase the NSS membership first by contacting previous NSS members who let their membership lapse over the past 2 years. A letter will be drafted and reviewed by the Membership Committee. This letter will be sent to 200 dropped members to get an idea of the success of such a program will have in the future. Of those 200, all inquiries not providing a positive result, i.e., renewal of membership, will be sent a questionnaire to get feedback as to why they didn't renew.

The second bullet item is to get those cavers that belong to grottos but don't belong to the NSS to join the NSS. A program should be put in place to get the grottos to help here by offering a either a break on their grotto membership or even a two for one deal, join the NSS and get their grotto dues waved for that year. This should be in conjunction with some kind of award for the grottos that are willing to make the sacrifice

Progress:

Very little has been done to go after new cavers and reinstate dropped members. Hopefully this will change with the above mentioned projects

Problems:

None to report

National Cave Management Symposium Liaison

Janet Thorne

411 Marney Dr

Coraopolis, PA 15108-3137

<wesbike@aol.com>

Plans :

I plan to attend the Steering Committee meeting at the MO Convention and the '97 NCMS in Bellingham, WA.

Progress :

There is progress being made toward organizing the '97 NCMS.

PROBLEMS:

No problems I know of, unless you haven't budgeted for me to attend.

To supplement my NCMS Liaison report, last Friday (2/7/97)I flew to Nashville for a couple of reasons:

1. I met with David Campbell, TNC's representative on the Steering Committee, and told him about (#2)

2. I attended part of the Saturday Board meeting of the Southeastern Cave Conservancy. SCC basically covers TAG country, although they also are looking at cave acquisitions in FL and other states. I had distributed to a number of cavers the NCMS Steering Committee request for bids for the 1999 Symposium; the bid is to be approved by the Steering Committee at its upcoming Convention meeting. One copy of my request went to John Van Swearingen IV ("JV") in his role as the contact for the Huntsville Grotto; he is on the SCC Board and referred it to them. Bottom line is that the Board was quite interested and excited by the possibility and voted to submit a bid.

David Campbell had said that, if SCC wanted to submit a bid, the TN-TNC would co-sponsor and participate fully, since they are very much involved in cave acquisition and management in their multi-state area. JV also mentioned the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge and others in AL, and I suggested that they get F&WS co-sponsorship through Bob Curry.

It was quite a successful trip, and I believe that a strong bid can be pulled together by this group for 1999.

National Park Service Liaison

John Scheltens

303 N. River Street

Hot Springs, SD 57747

<102370-2314@compuserve.com>

John reports no activity during this period. He also indicates a desire to step down when a replacement can be found.

Nominating Committee

Ted Kayes

8031 Whittington Dr.

Richmond, VA 23235

<tedkayes@richmond.infi.net>

Plans:

Ballot will go out at the end of March.

Progress:

Ballot positions received from Tozer and Tiderman

Problems:

(not requiring assistance at this time) Ballot positions are needed from: Stringfellow, Sira, Peacock, Gary Moss , Joe Levinson, Peri Frantz, Lynn Fielding, Rochelle Devereaux, Bill Bussey, Andy Belski, Aulenbach.

Outdoor Group Liaison

Matt Joerin

Po Box 61873

Vancouver Wa 98666

No Report

Public Relations Committee

Jay Jorden

11201 County Road 132

Celina, TX 75009-2527

<jjorden@texoma.net>

PROGRESS: In the five months since the last report, the committee has continued its task of fielding media inquiries and promoting the Society's safety and conservation goals. It also is aiding the Cave Conservation and Management Section's publication efforts and helped contribute to the special conservation issue of the NSS News.

PLANS: The chair is working on a PR article for the News in conjunction with plans for an IMAX® film on caving. The chair had a recent opportunity to view a screening at the new TI Founders' IMAX in Dallas, getting some new contacts and ideas. The background sheet for the Society, along with the committee's files, need updating. A press kit is also envisioned. Input and development time is necessary.

DETAILS: Members responded by letter, telephone and e-mail with prospective authors and also publicists working with television programs. Contacts included a reporter for Cable News Network, several prospective authors and magazine writers.

Feedback: The committee continues to receive clippings from earlier efforts and will work closely in the future with a media columnist for the News.

PROBLEMS: The chair's e-mail has changed. It's now through Internet Texoma at <jjorden@texoma.net> The learning curve has been steep in NetScape and Eudora, but progress is ongoing.

Recording Secretary

Lee Stevens

5964 Seabright Rd.

Springfield, VA 22152-1738

<lestevens@aol.com>

Plans:

To continue to produce the Board of Governor's meeting minutes in a timely way.

Progress:

The production of the most recent meeting minutes has gone smoothly. We should all thank Bill Mixon for his excellent proof-reading skills and preparation of the attachments. His help has been invaluable.

Problems:

None at present.

Secretary to the Board

Vince Kappler

10 Hollyhock Way

Newton NJ 07860

<vkappler@nac.net>

PLANS: I plan to familiarize myself with the manual format, prioritize what needs to be done to bring the manual up to date, and develop a schedule that will get updates out in a timely fashion.

PROGRESS:

I have started working on the manual (2/1) and have contacted people about deadlines.

PROBLEMS:

Until I determine the backlog of work required to bring everything up to date, it is difficult to estimate how long it will take to achieve my plan for a timely turn around for updates.

President's comments: All materials were transferred to Vince by February 7, 1997 and he has begun the process of getting things up to speed. We continue toward the goal of loading the entire Manual on the NSS Website with a search engine. Once it is in-place, it is our intent to cease sending copies to those committee chairs with web access.

I was very pleased to see the changes to the manual in the mail on Saturday, February, 22, 1997. I have suggested to Vince that pre-punched holes would be appreciated in the future.

Show Caves Liaison

Gordon Smith

9850 North Skyline Dr.

Floyds Knob, IN 47119-8821

No Report: Gordon will be at the meeting in conjunction with his activities on the NSF.

The Nature Conservancy Liaison

Dr. Rane Curl

Dept of Chemical Engineering

Dow Building

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2136

<rcurl@cyberspace.org>

Tina and I continue to communicate - irregularly - on the TNC/NSS Liaison. I think I told you that the TNC finally appointed her the official liaison (after some confusion over the TNC liaison with the Cave Management Symposia committee). We do have plans, but they are not formalized yet.....so there is nothing to report.

Youth Group Liaison

Jack Hissong

8716 Quarterhorse Dr.

Indianapolis, IN 46256-4327

Jack reports the NSS portion of the revised brochure on Scouting and Caving has been completed and is being review by the Boy Scouts of America. At this point we are planning to print the revised brochure, although it is possible that the Scouts may elect to handle the printing.

Ad Hoc Committees

Planning for the Future of the NSS

Tom Pollock

21 Kingsley Way

Freehold, NJ 07728-1628

<tjpollock@aol.com>

A motion is on the agenda to make this a permanent committee

Caver Training

Ed Sira

<aedsira@aol.com>

Progress:

Had a meeting with Tom Rea on Sunday February 9th and have the text of the Guide to Responsible Caving in Toms computer. Photographs have been selected to go into the publication. Tom is now in the process of formatting and editing the text.

Plans:

It has been determined that $3,000.00 to $4,000.00 will have to be raised to cover the cost of printing the publication and fund raising is underway.

Problems:

The only problem I can see at this time is not having enough funds to complete this booklet and get it distributed. A color cover is preferred but again this will be determined by the funds available.

President's Comments: No funds were allocated in the 1997-98 Operating or Capital Budgets. Instead, it was decided to "fund raise" for this project.

Speleo Field Camps

John "Chuck" Hempel

<johncave@aol.com>

Bob Addis

Chuck writes, "My committee is still alive and working dreadfully slow due to my being overly committed and a baby on the way. (you know how those things screw up your plans) I reported earlier that the test Speleo Camp was a success and that we had 20+ people attend despite poor advertising. Bob Addis and I need to plan next years events. I expect to see Bob at the Met banquet this weekend so some of our plans will be ready for Pittsburgh. We have determined that the Idea works, that it is well received by the membership, and that I am being a lousy ramrod. Take care see you in Pittsburgh."