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 Ad Hoc Committee
Discussion Board Ad Hoc
Committee
Employee Policy Review Ad Hoc
Committee
Audit Ad Hoc Committee
Bill Tozer (765) 778-3259, president@caves.org
There are 23 committes, 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.
The motion to repeal Act 41-039 the affiliation with the National Parks Association was referred to the President for a report at the November meeting. This affiliation has existed since 1954. The Association function has been to support the National Parks with volunteers and financial assistance. The affiliation exists because of the many caves in the National Park system. In the recent past, the National Parks and Conservation Association (new name but same organization) did not support the NSS/South Western Region position on the National Monument designation. A decision to remove our affiliation would be based upon this point.
Grants Executive Steering Committee was created at the July Convention Meeting. The act directs that a minimum of two members must be from the Board. Two appeals for volunteers have resulted in no response.
For detailed address information of any committee chair, please refer to the NSS Members Manual or go to: http://www.caves.org/nss-business/bog/table-4d.html#President.
Progress:
The Memorandum of Understanding with the National Park
Service has been signed. The Bureau of Land Management wishes to
have a signing ceremony for their Memorandum of Understanding.
Jim Goodbar is arranging the time and place. I have sent a letter
to the Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee expressing support
for the issuance of a stamp commemorating America’s Caves to
be released in conjunction with the International Congress of
Speleology. The Bid to host the International Congress of
Speleology in Kerrville, TX in 2009 was accepted. The Bid
committee has now become the organizing committee.
Plans:
The next major task for the presidents department is
formulation of the operating budget. The EC meeting is scheduled
for late January.
Problems:
The Grant Committee, Planning Committee, and Fund
Raising Committees all need a chairman. These have been
advertised in the NSS News. I contacted each person
listed on the grant writing committee. I received two responses
but neither volunteered to serve as committee chairman. I believe
the frustration of the committee in the past was due to lack of
clarity of grant goals. I see 3 or 4 places to apply for small
grants with clearly defined goals and with excellent chance for
success. A smaller grant is easier to write, execute and fund.
Three $10,000 grants would help the operating budget
tremendously. When the process is working, then we can proceed to
the larger grant ideas. Large grants require management and
accountability. This cuts into the money available for the
project, but most importantly requires someone to take the
responsibility.
I have inquired about professional grant writers. Grant writers charge either a flat fee due whether you get the grant or not, or charge 10%-20% of the grant upon acceptance. The Land Alliance email post discussed the issue of hiring grant writers. There was no consensus on the value of grant writers. Some offered that this actually reduced the chance for some grants. The other side is a professional document, which gives credibility to the applicant. I personally do not see the professional grant writer as a good option for the NSS at this time.
The Planning Committee is most important but needs imaginative thinking people. The committee needs to look 10 to 20 years in advance. We can then begin taking the steps to get us there. Items to consider are the future of the Library, Museum, and Office. What will the membership be like? Will our goals be the same? How do we finance them?
The fund raising committee also remains vacant. There has been no response to the NSS NEWS article requesting volunteers.
All of these committees are important and difficult to fill. I will again advertise them in the NSS NEWS. I would appreciate any names that you may have to offer.
Bill Tozer (Chairman 765-778-3259, wtozer@aol.com
Committee Members:
Dr. Barbara am Ende, Mike Backe, Gale Beach, Evelyn Bradshaw,
Bill Bussey, Carolyn Cronk, Donald G. Davis, Michael Dyas, Scott
Fee, Dr. Daniel Fong, Mike k. Hood, Roy Jameson, Pat Kambesis,
William Mixon, Gary Moss, Dr. Diana E. Northup, G. Thomas Rea,
Geary M. Schindel, Gordon L. Smith, Jr. , Linda Starr, Lee
Stevens, Dr. George Veni
Progress:
The NSS 2005 awards were presented at the Huntsville,
Aabama, Convention. The list of recipients is attached. A power
point presentation was used to project photos of the recipients.
The digital presentation allows recipients to use prints, slides
and digital pictures. The power point program with photos is
stored on a CD for future reference. The call for 2006
nominations was published in the September NSS News. An
article listing the award recipients will appear in the October NSS
News. Cato Hollar resigned from the committee after many
years of service. Carolyn Cronk will be the new Peter M. Hauer
subchairman. George Veni has stepped down as Science subchairman
due to his commitments with the International Congress of
Speleology. The Science subchairman is Dr. Diana E. Northup.
George will remain as a member at large to assist in the
transition. Gary Moss has been appointed subchairman for the
Certificates of Merit. Bill Bussey will remain on the committee
as a member at large.
Plans:
The committee encourages everyone to submit nominations.
Nominations are due by November 15, 2005. The awards selection
process will begin with the nomination deadline. All committee
members participate in the selection of each award. The OS and HM
awards are selected by the Board.
Problems:
As always, good nominations are needed for all awards.
Otherwise no problems.
Awards presented at the 2005 NSS Convention:
Honorary Member: Dr. Yuan Daoxian
Outstanding Service: Joel Stevenson (14246)L
Bicking Award: Tom Brucker (24892)
Conservation Award : Robert Burnett (10033)
Science Award : Dr. Frank Howarth (6344)
Spelean Arts and Letters : Bruce Bannerman (11485)
Certificate of Merit:
1. Rocky Parsons NSS 10268 (FE) for Spearheading the West Virginia Quarry Law.
2. Dr. David Culver NSS 9581 and Dr. William B. White NSS 2237 for their production of the "Encyclopedia of Caves."
3. Kelley Deem NSS 13951 for his work in Fundraising as Auctioneer at NSS Conventions Auctions since 1983.
NSS Fellows 2005:
Jerry Atkinson, 22368
Jody Bailey, 32941
Slim Baxter, 16080
Wade Berdeaux, 25248
William Birdsall, 28156
Jeff Bozanic, 22532
Thomas Brucker, 24892
Bob "Rune" Burnett, 10033
Russ Carter, 22278
James Coke, IV, 26442
Jean DeVries, 36251
Ellie Florance, 46221
Kim Gentry, 34144
Aubrey Golden, 10772
Timothy Heaton, 15753
Chuck Henson, 26144
Barry Horner, 41013
Brian Houha, 14799
Thomas Illife, 16703
Howard Kalnitz, 20678
Damon Keys, 41522
Berta Kirchman, 21881
Tom Malabad, 42278
Marian McConnell, 37358
Heather McDonald, 40920
Aubrey Eugene Melton, III, 17871
Walter Meurer, 19789
Esty Pape, 13560
Scott Parvin, 29279
Brian Pease, 7476
Garry Petrie, 27684
Paula Provencio, 38769
Tony Schmitt, 36269
Mark Scott, 39032
Daniel Snyder, 27181
William Stitzel, 27643
Doug Strait, 9707
Steven Taylor, 29460
Dennis Willis, 35193
Joe Zokaites, 20061
Hauer Spelean History Award : Greg Brick ( 33695)
The Mitchell Award: Lindsey N. Walker
The Show Cave Award: Thom Engel
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 Dallas-Fort Worth, Maverick, and Cowtown Grottos are
co-hosting the spring 2006 meeting in Irving, Texas, and I have
been communicating with Bill Steele, who is in charge of the
planning. They have a website for the meeting on the NSS website.
Everything for this meeting appears to be progressing smoothly.
I am actively pursuing hosts for the spring 2007 meeting and beyond. I have placed announcements looking for hosts on the various e-mail groups, NSS Discussion Board and NSS News. Bids to hold the fall 2006 and fall 2007 meetings have been received and motions to accept the bids are on the agenda for the fall Board of Governors meeting. I received two bids for the fall 2006 meeting (Battlefield Area Troglodyte Society in Woodbridge, Virginia, and the Western Region near Sacramento, California). I received a bid for the fall 2007 meeting to be held in conjunction with the 2007 NCKMS meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. I also have potential bids from Indiana and Michigan for the spring 2007 meeting, but nothing firm at this time.
Problems:
None.
Tom Rea, Chairman 765-653-4423, tomrea@caves.org
Progress:
There has been no request for assistance from the bylaws
committee
Plans:
Continue to be available for consultation
Problems:
None
vacant
Hazel Medville, Chairman 703-860-0134
Progress:
Both the NPS and BLM MOUs when to the President for
signature.
Attended an AGI (American Geological Institute) Government Affairs Committee meeting in Arlington, VA. An interesting group of people representing other member societies. No assignments. There is an Action newsletter that goes out via e-mail if any one is interested.
Plans:
Send the biennial report with a letter of introduction
to as many Executive Branch staff and Congressional staff as I
think I can under my budget. I'll target land managers and people
involved in Interior and Forest Service Budgets with some TVA
and science projects thrown in as well as the Congressmen
and Senator from cave rich areas. If you have any special people
that you feel should receive a copy, please let me know.
Problems:
No new problems.
Vacant
John L. Moses (Secretary) 915-921-0535, johnmoses@excite.com
Committee Members: Eleanor Larson and Tom Lera
Plans:
A brief article on the International Congress in Greece was
drafted and will appear in the (November?) NSS News.
Following the International Congress, I resigned as co-chairman
of the 15th ICS bid committee but have offered to serve as
secretary of the organizing committee to assist with
communications and visa arrangements.
Progress:
The 14th International Congress of Speleology was held outside of
Athens, Greece, August 21 – 28, 2005, in the town of Calamos
Beach. An estimated 65 NSS members participated in the Congress.
The NSS International Secretary attended as the U.S. voting
delegate. The formal bid by the NSS to host the next (2009) 15th
International Congress in Kerrville, Texas, was presented. While
no other countries presented official proposals for the 2009
Congress, both Korea and Czech Republic made preliminary
overtures to host in 2013. Also, the delegates to the
International Congress voted to elect a new board of directors
(the Bureau) of the International Union of Speleology.
The proposal by the NSS to host the 15th ICS was approved unanimously by the countries present (including Cuba). Dr. George Veni, who had served as the NSS’ unofficial member of the Bureau, was elected to a full four-year term on the first ballot and received the most votes of any candidate for Adjunct Secretary. The other officers elected were: President Eavis (UK), VP Bosak (Czech), VP Klimchouk (Ukraine), Secretary-General Nader (Lebanon), and Adjunct Secretaries Benedetto (Argentina), Hapka (Switzerland), Mercado (Puerto Rico), Mihevc (Slovakia), Williams (New Zealand), Woo (Korea), Lauritzen (Norway).
Correspondence to the NSS International Secretary was handled.
Problems:
Due to the financial demands that preparation for the 15th ICS
will place on the NSS International Fund, we need to determine if
there will be residual money for funding any International
Participation Grants, which are awarded by the grant committee.
Joel B. Stevenson, Chairman 828-669-0126, cavelaw@jbs-law.com
Progress:
On 17 Aug received and responded to an email, forwarded
from the Society’s Main Mailbox, containing the following
questions:
Are there any sort of federal regulations that limit the maximum depth a civilian or other person can enter a cave? Are there perhaps regulations that make you bring oxygen or other sorts of safety devices below a certain level? Finally, are there any state laws that you know of that limit caving depths?
I advised that I was not aware of any such regulations or laws.
September 6 and following – Received general inquiry from Board Member re: conflicts of interest and do we have copy of D.C. Corp act. Obtained information regarding earlier report to the Board by an administrative law consultant and forwarded that information to inquiring Board Member. Advised that we do have copy of the Act and that it is available on line.
September 12 . E-mail correspondence with President re: personnel matter.
Receive and forward to President report of misuse of NSS name on an off-shore website.
Additional e-mails regarding question concerning DC Corp Act.
September 14 Additional correspondence with Pres. re personnel matter.
Email to/from President re: misuse of name matter.
Make photocopy of D.C. Corp Act & forward to inquiring Board Member.
September 19 & following - Email from G Veni seeking atty or attys to help with the work of the Committee sponsoring the International Congress. E-mails to possible volunteer attorneys. Emails to G Veni.
October 6 Return call to A Klein at Earth Institute. He has questions regarding access to cave the institute manages in W Va. General discussion of applicable common law rules of land ownership.
Problems:
There are none of which I am aware.
Plans:
I will continue to be available to respond to inquires
directed to the Committee by officers, directors and members of
the Society as well as inquiries from non-members referred to the
Committee by members of representatives of the Society.
Roswell Jones, Chairman 412-367-3522, wrj48221@Comcast.net
Progress:
The test of using CDs instead of cassettes was
successful. So for now on the board meetings that I attend will
be recorded on CDs in MP3 format. That means that the whole board
meeting can be recorded on one CD. As for the voting machine it
has gone through its its usual Board meeting prep. And it will be
at the meeting, along with the operator.
Eric Weaver, Chairman, weaverem@uc.edu
Progress:
At Convention this year we distributed "Membership
Packets" at the Congress of Grottos meeting and afterwards.
The packets were very popular and we were able to distribute
about 1,000 NSS membership applications. Since then I have had
several requests for more packets. The membership Committees
website is up and running on the web. It is located at www.caves.org/committee/membership.
I have been talking with Josh Bailey about ideas I have on
enhancing the web pages that deal with membership and helping to
make the entire joining/membership process more intuitive.
From looking at the monthly NSS membership statistics, we have suddenly began to retain members at a remarkable rate (a drop of approximately 125 members a month who have not renewed after three months down to about three members a month). This change in rate would seem to be an error. However, if it is not an error, it would be a very strong indicator that the retention levels are the greatest around Convention. Unfortunately, the latest report indicates a substantial number of people who dropped in September. We have 423 dropped members instead of the normal 125 or so members. The month prior to this we had 251 members drop. Again, I have not yet verified the accuracy of these statistics. The one area that has been constant is our ridiculously high number of reinstatements. This seems to stay consistently in the range of 150 members a month. I have proposed several times that we institute an automatic renewal option for members. Our membership has a highly erratic renewal pattern. Anyone who looks at the dropped member list will notice this quickly. There are many long-time NSS members who end up on this list each month. Despite several letters encouraging members to renew, it does not seem that members renew until after they are dropped. Last year we revisited the renewal letters; however, I have not seen any changes in the number of members who are dropped and reinstated. I am uncomfortable with this from a retention standpoint. Logic dictates that any time a member is dropped there is a significant risk that they may stay dropped. This is especially true for membership in the NSS. There are many of our members who would not notice a significant difference between being an NSS member and not being a member other than the lack of a monthly newsletter. It is relatively common for members to feel alienated from the national organization that they are involved in. There are no direct day to day connections that tie the member to the national organization. It is the local chapters that members feel more connected with and their dedication often lies with the local organization. Many national organizations require membership at the national level in order for someone to be a member of the local chapter for this very reason. Mandatory NSS membership to become a grotto members would significantly increase our numbers. I am not proposing this. I am indicating that since we are not doing this we need to do something else to reduce the level of ambivalence about membership renewal. I believe automatic renewal would help deter dropped membership because of am bivalency. I currently have no other thoughts on alleviating the problem of dropped/reinstated members and maintain that the automatic renewal will be the best course of action.
We are currently working on several letters/emails to go out to grottos encouraging non-NSS members of the grotto to join. We are also focusing on encouraging NSS members to consider joining the Conservation membership. Conservation membership is difficult to promote in the way that it stands. If it was amended to allow for the person joining as a Conservation member to at least be able to designate a small portion of this amount to a conservation group, effort, grant, etc. within the NSS, it would be much more marketable. Another option would be specifying a percentage that would actually go directly to conservation and not indirectly as it is now.
Plans:
We will be planning to distribute the Membership Packets
again at next year’s Convention. There were several elements
to the packet that we had wanted to put together this year but
ran out of time, so we shall be able to do this better next year.
We will continue to enhance the Membership committee’s
website to make it an area of interest for potential and new
members. I will be looking at the membership statistics to
attempt to try and get a clearer picture of what is happening and
determining if the statistics are accurate. We will continue to
promote the Conservation membership choice and encourage non-NSS
grotto members to join the NSS. Other than this we will continue
to follow the path of current progress.
Problems:
None other than what has been indicated.
Cheryl Jones, coordinator 703-442-8499, Cheryl.caer@verizon.net
NCKMS Coordinator
Progress:
The 2005 Symposium in October in Albany, New York, is
coming along well, with some great speakers and papers lined
up. The Elery Hamilton-Smith karst road show prior to the
Symposium is a first.
Spent the afternoon at the DC USFS office with Johathan Stephens, the new USFS representative on the Steering Committee. Jonathan is Program Manager for Congressionally Designated Areas and Trails, and will be the NSS' top USFS contact. Jim Miller, the good friend to the NSS and caves in the USFS head office, has retired. Jonathan and his boss are planning to attend the NCKMS.
Plans:
The NSS is a co-sponsor of the 2005 Symposium. I will
have the NSS display (created by the Conservation Committee) set
up during the week, with NSS brochures and the Biennial Report
available, and an NSS flag displayed. Copies of Fragile
Underground will be included in each registration packet.
Conservation Division Co-chairman Val Hildreth-Werker and I are
using the two registrations included with the NCKMS
co-sponsorship package.
I will chair the NCKMS Steering Committee meeting on Tuesday, November 1.
The 2007 NCKMS will be held in Kirkwood (near Saint Louis), Missouri, hosted by the Missouri Department of Conservation, and chaired by Bill Elliott. The Missouri Caves & Karst Conservancy will co-host.
Problems:
The NSS Nature Preserves are not represented at the
symposia. The Society is a member of the Steering Committee
because we manage caves nationwide, however our cave managers or
Preserve Committee Chairman are not present to network with other
managers and speleologists, present papers, benefit from the
session papers and cave management discussions, and generally
wave the NSS cave management flag. I hope that this will
change for the 2007 Symposium, and we gain more visibility as
cave managers.
Montana Autumn Spencer, Chairman 260-982-7792, Cavrbab@earthlink.net
Brent Grist, Verification Teller
David D Seng, CXommittee Member
Plans:
Deliver to Convention all ballots and final tally sheets
for inspection by the candidates and/or delivery to the NSS
Archivist.
Work with my committee members to develop election webpage linked to the NSS home page with a scheduled completion date sometime this fall.
Establish a voter apathy poll to get to the bottom of why cavers choose not to participate in the election of an organization in which they CHOSE to belong.
Progress:
Eligibility of all candidates was successfully confirmed
with the NSS Office.
Ballot layout, composition, and proofing were completed such that printing and mailing concluded allowing 45 days between mailing and receipt deadline. Ballots were mailed out of Huntsville, AL using the NSS bulk-mailing permit.
Committee Expense Report and request for reimbursement were submitted to the NSS Office in April and reimbursement has been received.
All valid and invalid ballots were received and accounted for on tally sheets by the receipt deadline. 10,967 domestic and 327 international ballots were mailed. Out of the 11,294 ballots mailed, 1975 were returned for a 17% return rate, up 1% from last year. Two ballots were invalid due to USPS damage and eight for an excess of maximum allowable votes cast, zero votes cast, or photocopied ballot submission. (This is the first year I received an obviously non-original ballot. It appeared to me that someone cast their votes and copied the ballot so as to have record of how they voted to compare with final election results, and then mailed the photocopied ballot instead of the original.) 33 tardy ballots were also invalid. There were 32 unique names submitted as write-in candidates with none receiving over three votes. Power Votes=ballots containing ONLY one cast vote and we received 169 power vote ballots representing 11.6% of all returned ballots.
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
James Lewis, Doug Robertson, and incumbents Cheryl Jones and Gary Moss were each elected to three-year terms.
Notification of the NSS President and all candidates, as well as the Board et al., was completed before the 40-day pre-Convention notification deadline stated in the Bylaws.
Election summation article submitted to Dave Bunnell to serve as notification to the membership of election results via a July NSS News article. (Posts were also made to the NSS Discussion Board, Caver's Digest, TAG-Net, IFO-Net, and several other grottos and caving groups w/permission to republish to other caving forums in its entirety.)
I sent and received 493 e-mails regarding this year's election.
Established 2006 election time line.
Completed as much as I could of draft ballot cover pages for 2006 election.
Completed draft of Call for Candidates 2006 article for January 2006 NSS News.
Two cavers have already committed to run in the 2006 election.
Problems:
Continued low ballot return rates (being addressed in
Plan above).
Increasing scrutiny of our Director candidates by the membership created situations during this year's election I feel need at least minimal Board discussion and/or I promised to bring to the attention of the Board due to strong feelings of the membership.
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. *I would be happy to address the Board in person at Convention with a more detailed explanation of events, but due to the permanent nature of this report, I am trying to remain as general as possible and omit names, hoping to still convey the seriousness of each issue.*
1. 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.?
2. Since taking on the role of NomComm Chairman, twice now has the membership questioned my "allowance" of a candidate on the ballot who they informed had a questionable past, a history of unacceptable behavior in an elected position, and/or a non-verified (by me) criminal record. In both instances I took the matter to my overseeing Officer for advisement. It was determined that since there was no Bylaw preventing such a person from running or serving on the Board, I was to do nothing. We also had one federal employee's legal department question his ability to run concerned that there may have been responsibilities attached by our state of incorporation of which he/we are unaware. Again, after Board consultation, I was advised there is no fiduciary responsibility attached to Directors.
Do we want to change the Bylaws reflecting different minimal standards for Director and/or Officer candidates and if so, by what means are we to verify eligibility and compliance? The Bylaws only disallow an Officer from simultaneously serving as an officer of a grotto or regional section. Are there any foreseeable reasons or conflicts of interest that should prevent a government employee or any other type professional from serving as a Director or Officer?
3. 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 who 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, Kelly_norwood@dnr.state.ga.us
Plans:
The next scheduled KWI-sponsored conference is scheduled for May
26-30 2006. The conference "Climate Change, The Karst Record
(4th ed.)", will be held in Baile Herculane,
Romania, and will cover topics related to speleothem growth, cave
deposit studies, and other studies of the evolution of cave
systems in karst regions.
The second 2006 conference, the goal of this conference will be to produce a stand-alone publication containing major scientific ideas in several fields of speleology. Plans for this working conference are still underway. This conference will not be an "open" conference, but rather will be a working conference for approximately 100 karst scientists/students. This is a new approach to conferences, and should be interesting to see the outcome publication of the endeavor.
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:
KWI was a sponsor for this year’s Sinkhole Conference held
on September 24-28, 2005, in San Antonio Texas. I was unable to
attend this conference due to complications with other
conferences I needed to attend for work. However, I understand
several KWI representatives attended the conference and gave
talks on their various areas of expertise.
Following the NSS convention, and the signing of a request letter by the NSS board. I have sent in the NSS request to become an "affiliate" with the KWI. With affiliate status, the NSS will be posted on the KWI website, which will make the NSS more visible with persons researching and otherwise involved in karst sciences. The letter request will be discussed and hopefully approved at the next KWI board meeting next year.
Problems:
None.
Patricia E. Seiser, Liaison 505-877-7356, pseiser@plateautel.net
Progress:
NCKRI is currently undergoing changes in management
structure as it moves out from under the National Park Service to
New Mexico Tech (NMT) daily management. As a result this may
change how NCKRI can interact with the NSS. The potential exists
for more effective partnerships between the NSS and NCKRI in the
upcoming year.
Plans:
I will continue to keep in touch with NCKRI’s
changing status.
Problems:
None.
Rane L. Curl, Liaison 734-995-2678, ranecurl@umich.edu
Progress:
I am working with the TNC Liaison to the NSS, Heather
Garland, to improve
the communication via the Web between TNC and NSS members. This
will
include a better organized linkage of TNC web sites of chapters
that
manage caves, and a guide to the TNC websites at the NSS Liaison
Committee
website.
Vacant
Jay Jorden, Chairman 214-202-6611, jjorden@texoma.net
Committee Members: Matt Bowers, David McClurg, Jack Hissong, and Sandra Hissong.
Progress:
In the four months since the last report, the Public
Relations Committee has continued to field information requests
from media organizations, prospective authors and others. Other
projects include working with the 2009 Congress Organizing
Committee, the Cave Vandalism Deterrence Reward Commission, 2006
NSS Convention organizers, the Awards Committee, and the NSS
webmaster.
Details:
The committee assisted a prospective author on a children’s
book project involving cave ecosystems for McGraw-Hill/Time. A
writer for Outside magazine in Santa Fe, N.M., was provided
extensive information on the Society and caving for a project he
was pitching to editors. He later followed up on information
needed for "caving disasters," undoubtedly as a result
of publicity surrounding the movie "The Cave." The
committee was helpful, but kept on message with conservation and
safety.
The committee has also been working with organizers of the 2006 convention in Bellingham, Washington, on pre-convention publicity. Also in the works is publicity on the Cave Vandalism Deterrence Reward Commission for the NSS News’ conservation issue, with a background and history of the award. The committee will ask John Wilson for help in this regard.
Now that the NSS-supported bid for the 2009 International Congress of Speleology has been successful, the committee will be working with John Moses, Congress secretary, and the Organizing Committee on publicity for the ICS. The PR Committee had worked extensively with George Veni and his bid committee for presentations to the 2005 ICS in Greece.
The grottos of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex submitted a bid to the NSS to host the spring 2006 NSS Board of Governors meeting. The bid was approved and the committee will be working with the Dallas-Fort Worth, Maverick and Cowtown grottos on any publicity-related needs.
The committee has been working with the webmaster to fix remaining problems as a result of the late summer server crash, including online availability of the backgrounder or "press kit" for reporters. The PR material had been posted to: http://www.caves.org/press … . The media@caves.org address is working again.
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 July 2005 Board of Governors meeting
have been circulated, corrected and posted on the web. Thanks go
to Barbara Moss for her efforts as Recording Secretary pro tem in
my absence.
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:
The complete Board of Governors Manual is now available on CD
and the number of persons requesting a CD verses the paper copy
is slowly increasing. I can create and mail a CD for less than
1/10 the cost of the paper manuals. I expect a significant cost
savings as more Officers and Directors elect to use the new
format.
The manual updates from the July meeting were prepared and mailed in late July.
Plans:
I’ve asked for feedback on the CDs and I will try to
incorporate suggestions to make them more user friendly.
I will be requesting reimbursement to my budget from the committee chairs who currently receive manual updates per the new Executive Policies: Department of the President, http://caves.org/nss-business/bog/part-91.html#Board%20Manuals .
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 am attending the National Caves Association annual
meeting next week and will also be attending the NCKMS in Albany,
NY later this month. I also attended the International
Congress of Speleology in Greece in August.
I have been in contact with several show caves and have no specific problems to report except for an incident in Arkansas which I am looking into. No big deal.
Plans:
I will be discussing the rewriting of a book on show
caves similar to the “Gurnee Guide” with Tom Rea and
others to see if we should proceed with this project. It
would be good if we had a new show cave book for the 2009 ICS in
Texas.
I will be visiting and contacting show caves to make sure that interactions with the NSS are going smoothly. There has been little, if any, problems concerning show caves and NSS cavers disrupting tours in recent years. I hope to keep it that way.
Problems:
None, except for a minor issue in Arkansas at Cosmic
Caverns. I will be meeting with Randy Langhover, the owner
of the cave and an NSS member, next week to discuss how we can
avoid this problem in the future.
George Veni, Chairman
Progress:
After threats that other countries would bid against us
that didn't materialize and expectations that some counties would
vote against our bid in protest of international political
issues, the UIS unanimously accepted the NSS bid to host the 2009
International Congress of Speleology in Kerrville, Texas. The
2009 NSS Bid Committee is now changed to the 2009 International
Congress of Speleology Organizing Committee.
Immediately after the vote, about 20 NSS cavers met to discuss our plans. Since then we have focuses our efforts in transitioning from the Bid Committee into the Organizing Committee (OC). John Moses stepped down from co-chairing the Bid Committee, leaving me to serve as President of the OC. John will serve as Secretary. During our initial post-vote meeting in Greece, I asked those present for a Vice-President for the OC. Louise Hose offered and was accepted by all present. Like for the 1981 Congress, the OC will be led by five officers. The currently unfilled positions are Treasurer and Legal Advisor.
A detailed list of tasks for the Congress has been developed into an organizational structure for the OC. This structure is in part based on the OC for the 1981 Congress. Many key tasks have been filled and several are under consideration by people we have asked to serve in those positions. We have an excellent team coming together. Several tasks remain vacant, and are mainly tasks that need to be done by Texas cavers. I plan to meet with several at grotto meetings and the upcoming Texas Cavers' Reunion in mid-October where I can more effectively discuss the tasks and recruit people to fulfill them.
All of the OC members are receiving job descriptions and lists of things they will need to do or consider. They are being informed that the Congress is a function of the UIS, not the NSS, but that we will work to make this a seamless event that satisfies the UIS Internal Regulations for hosting an International Congress as well as the guidelines for a good NSS Convention. Most traditional NSS Convention events will occur during the Congress with only few and minor changes. While this is not an NSS Convention, I am coordinating with Carol Tiderman to insure smooth operation of all functions.
Problems:
None.
Plans:
I will expand the task of the Bid Committee to create a
fully functional OC. Once all its members are in place, effective
progress then begin since many committees will be interdependent.
The key tasks between now and the March 2006 Board meeting will
be to overhaul the website, and for the committees to do their
initial investigations into their various tasks to determine
costs, feasibility, scheduling, and staffing needs. A detailed
schedule will be developed with deadlines for each committee
based on their findings, UIS regulations for Congresses, and
guidance from the NSS Convention Planning manual.
Several important plans and tasks cannot be accomplished by the OC without action and decisions by the NSS Board. I need and request the Board to take action on the following items at the 5 November Board meeting:
1) The bid for the Congress was with the proposed dates of 12-19 July 2009. The UIS requires the Congress be held in July or August. Since winning the bid I have learned of two scheduling conflicts. Schools in the United Kingdom will not close in 2009 until July 18th, which would keep many people away. Also, two weeks after the NSS won the bid, the International Congress of Geomorphology for 2009 was selected and set with slightly overlapping dates. Between these two events, I estimate that we may lose at least 100 participants, many of whom would otherwise attend and make important contributions to the Congress. The number may in fact be larger since I've heard unconfirmed reports of other European schools possibly not closing by the originally proposed dates. I have checked with Schreiner University and they are OK with pushing the Congress dates forward one week. In fact, they prefer it. The only down side to this is that it will be hotter, but except for the campground there will be abundant air conditioning for everyone. I recommend that the Board approve moving the Congress dates to 19–26 July 2009.
2) The Board needs to decide if the 2009 NSS Convention will be held in conjunction with the Congress, as a fully separate function in time and place, or as a short 2-day convention attached to the Congress as in 1981. I strongly suggest it be held in conjunction with the Congress or as an attached 2-day event. One big purpose of the Congress is to bring cavers together from all over the world to learn from each other and develop new contacts and friendships. The NSS and North American speleology underwent tremendous positive growth and changes in the years following the 1981 Congress in Bowling Green as a result of such contacts. The same will occur in 2009, so NSS cavers should be present at the Congress. For the typical caver, the Congress and NSS Convention will appear as functionally a combined event even if administratively they are separate. If the convention will be attached to the ICS, indicate if you want it before, after, or both. I need this information so I can finalize the dates and contracts with Schreiner University when the Board meeting is over.
I have already discussed some tentative scheduling information with the Board by e-mail. Today I received confirmation from the UIS Bureau on the Congress schedule (the Bureau is the UIS governing board, equivalent to the Board). Before I discuss that, I need you to forget about how the Congress and Convention worked in 1981. The Congress is now (not counting the problematic Congress in Greece) a longer event so comparing 1981 to 2009 is like apples and oranges. In 1981 the Congress ran from Saturday to Friday, along the following Saturday and Sunday for the Convention. In 2009 the Congress will run from Sunday to Sunday. Every option for the Convention will have conflicts. Here is my recommendation for the Convention with what I think will hold the least conflict. Following it is discussion of the other days and their pros and cons. You need to either select the option I'm recommending, or consider the other days and come up with a different selection, but I need a decision by the end of this Board meeting in order to complete the contract with the university and start advertising the event.
Recommended option:
The Convention will be held on both Sundays. The UIS
will hold its opening and closing General Assemblies on those
days. While UIS doesn't like conflicting events, we can arrange
it nonetheless. During the first Sunday there will be the Opening
Ceremonies in the evening that everyone should attend -
especially NSS dignitaries. During the morning of the second
Sunday there may be some final sessions if we get as many papers
submitted as we anticipate. By selecting to hold the Convention
on both Sundays, no one from the NSS will need to miss any
pre-Congress, post-Congress, or mid-week Congress field trips.
While it would be nice for as many NSS members and Board members
to attend the General Assemblies or the sessions on the second
Sunday, it probably won't be a major disappointment for either
the UIS or the NSS members who miss out on those functions. This
option does not conflict with the Opening Ceremonies on the first
Sunday evening. The second Sunday evening has no UIS function and
is a perfect time for the NSS Awards Banquet. Congress
registrants can have the option to register for the NSS Banquet
before leaving on their post-Congress trips the next morning. I'm
certain many will join us. This option will not cost the NSS any
extra fees for the facilities since all of the facilities will
already be paid for by the Congress. The main problem with this
option is that if people want to come just for the Convention
either by preference or time constraints, they will likely be
able to attend just one of the two days.
First Saturday:
The main problem with this day is that everyone will be
returning from their pre-Congress field trips. There would be no
scheduling conflicts at all relative to Congress events, but
anyone wanting to attend the Convention would not be able to
attend any of the pre-Congress trips. If the Board wanted to
conduct the Convention over one weekend, it would have to be on
this weekend and the NSS Banquet would need to be held on
Saturday to avoid conflict with Sunday evening's Opening
Ceremonies. Selecting this day will be more expensive because the
facilities will not already be paid for through the Congress.
Wednesday:
This day is similar to the first Saturday. There are no
UIS events in conflict except that everyone will be out on
Congress field trips. I doubt the Board and other NSS members
will want to miss those trips.
Second Saturday:
This day will be like Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and
Friday. It will be a full day of sessions and events.
Additionally, the UIS Banquet will be held this evening. I do not
see this day as even a remote consideration for the Convention.
Second Monday:
Besides being a workday, this is the day that the
post-Congress trips will begin. Like the first Saturday, there
will be no conflicts with on-site events, but it would mean that
attendees of the NSS Convention would not be able to attend the
post-Congress trips. Also, selecting this day will be more
expensive because the facilities will not already be paid for
through the Congress.
3) If the convention will be a concurrent or attached event, decide if you want a separate Organizing Committee for the convention. I suggest you keep the ICS OC. We will already be fluent with the university facilities, staff, sessions, etc., so it should not be a significant extra effort for us to coordinate convention events too.
4) Provide budget clarification. The Board allocated $10,000 for the bid. I've heard different versions on the status of any unspent funds. One version is that unspent funds from the $10,000 will be used as our Congress starter funds and no other funds will be available for some time. Another version says that some funds should be available. Please let me know so I'll know our constraints as the OC begins to draft a budget.
5) I expect that the Board needs to approve the existence of the OC. I hope to have a complete slate of officers by the time of the Board. Currently I am President, Louise Hose is Vice-President, and John Moses is Secretary. Assuming you approve, please let me know if you have any constraints on or requirements of the OC and its officers that are not implicit in our organizing the Congress.
6) I cannot attend the next Board meeting but will attend the March 2006 Board meeting in Dallas, Texas. An OC meeting will be planned to inspect the facilities at Schreiner University in conjunction with that meeting. The Board will be invited to attend. The exact date has not yet been determined. Also at the Board meeting I will provide a complete listing of the OC members and a schedule for its tasks and goals.
7) While I cannot attend the upcoming Board meeting, Louise Hose will be there briefly in case anyone on the Board has questions. However, she will need to be at the Albany airport by 11:30 A.M. If possible, please schedule discussion of the Congress as the first order of business to avail yourselves of Louise's knowledge on the event if you have questions. If Louise cannot answer your questions or needs to leave before you can address the Congress issues, I will be available by phone all day by my mobile phone to answer questions: 210-863-5919
Respectfully submitted,
George Veni
President, 2009 International Congress of Speleology Organizing
Committee
Tom Rea, Chairman 765-653-4423, tomrea@caves.org
Progress:
The discussion board ad hoc committee has
completed their work and submitted a motion, which is on the
agenda.
Plans:
The motion is on the agenda.
Problems:
None
Tom Rea, Chairman 765-653-4423, tomrea@caves.org
Members: Martha Mills, Kevin Smith
Progress
The committee members have discussed the current policy
and possible additions to the policy.
Plans:
To reach an agreement and report the results to the
Board of Governors
Problems:
None
Members: K Smith, D Roberston, and B. Szukalski
Progress:
There has been some email discussion, but the committee
has not yet reported any recommendations.
10/26/05