National Speleological Society, Inc.

Department of the President Report

23 October 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
(1) ADMINISTRATIVE MEMO
(2) AWARDS COMMITTEE
(3) BOARD ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE
(4) BYLAWS COMMITTEE
(5) FUND RAISING COMMITTEE
(6) INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY
(7) LEGAL COMMITTEE
(8) LOGISTICS COMMITTEE
(9) MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
(10) NATIONAL CAVE MGMT SYMPOSIUM COORDINATOR
(11) NOMINATING COMMITTEE
(12) NSS/NPS LIAISON
(13) NSS/TNC LIAISON
(14) OUTREACH COMMITTEE
(15) PLANNING COMMITTEE
(16) PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE
(17) RECORDING SECRETARY
(18) SECRETARY TO THE BOARD
(19) SHOW CAVES LIAISON COMMITTEE
(20) BOARD MEETING SYSTEM AD HOC COMMITTEE
(21) CAVE USE FEES AD HOC COMMITTEE
(22) YOUTH GROUPS LIAISON COMMITTEE
(23) PRESIDENT'S SECTION

Introduction

There are twenty-two committees, commissions, publications, etc. in the Department of the President (PRES). A twenty-third item has been added here to cover information relevant to the President's activities.

In this report a numbered block of information is provided for each of these items. In each block the committee is first identified, followed by the name of the committee chairman (liaison, coordinator, whatever) and the most recent mailing address that I have for that person. Additional communications information (Phone, FAX, and E-mail) is also included. The names of other committee members deserving recognition (as supplied by the committee chairmen themselves) are listed next. Each report then follows a format called P3, that is Progress, Plans, and Problems. For those not familiar with this format, let me explain.

Under the heading Progress is given information about progress the committee has made since the previous report. This includes items covered under Plans in the previous report, as well as items not anticipated in the previous report. Progress is normally written in the past or present tenses.

Under the heading Plans is given information about progress the committee intends to make between the current reporting period and the next reporting period. Plans will normally be written in the future tense. Many (perhaps most) of the plans will end up being mentioned under Progress in the next report to the Board of Governors (Board).

Under the heading Problems is given information about actual problems which prevented more progress and anticipated problems which will impede the plans. Typically these are problems with which the committee needs help. Normally encountered, everyday problems with which the committee is used to dealing will not normally be mentioned here.

Background information may be included under any of these headings, but will normally be included under the heading where a subject is first introduced.

The information given under Progress, Plans, and Problems is supplied by the committee chairman, although it may have been edited. These headings appear for all committees whose chairmen supplied reports.

The last item in the block has the heading PRES Comments under which I occasionally add some additional information not provided by the committee chairman.

 

(1) ADMINISTRATIVE MEMO

Jean DeVries
2370 Chippewa
Jenison, MI 49428
Phone: (616) 457-9664
E-mail: DevriesJ@aol.com

Progress
I have published no Administrative Memos since the last report.

Plans
I have no plans to publish another Administrative Memo in the near future.

Problems
Fred Wefer has asked me to detail the types of information contained in previous Administrative Memos, their intended audience, and possible other means of disseminating that information.

Much of the information contained in the previous five issues of the Administrative Memo was general in nature, intended mainly for Grottos or other Internal Organizations (I/Os). Several issues, for example, contained information on postal increases, postal regulations, and bulk mailing, dissolving a grotto, Congress of Grottos information, and Annual Report requirements. These articles came courtesy of Evelyn Bradshaw, Chairman of the I/O Committee. This information could alternatively have be disseminated through mailings from Evelyn, or on an I/O page of the NSS web site.

Additional articles in past issues contained information designed for the general NSS membership. Examples include articles on the NSS Endowment Fund, the Executive Committee reorganization, and solicitation of nominations for the awards given out at NSS National Conventions.

General feedback that I have received from NSS members over the past few years indicates that they either never saw the Administrative Memo or their editors didn't reproduce this information in their own newsletters. This leads me to believe that this information could reach a broader audience through the NSS News, or again, on the NSS web site.

The final category of information contained in previous issues of the Administrative Memo is short announcements. These include open committee chair positions, new publications available at the NSS bookstore or library, and solicitation of information for publications, such as American Caving Accidents or the Contemporary Cave Use Study. These articles, again, were designed for the general NSS membership and could have been announced through the NSS News or on the NSS web site.

PRES Comments
It appears that the information previously distributed to NSS Members and I/Os via the Administrative Memo could today just as easily and certainly more inexpensively be distributed via a combination of short notes in the NSS News and longer presentations on the NSS web site.

I recommend we abolish the Administrative Memo Committee in the President's Department. In its place we encourage the Internal Organizations Committee (in the OVP Department) to make use of the NSS web site (through the Internet Committee also in the OVP Department) to disseminate information generated for and intended primarily for I/Os, and that this be supplemented by short notes in the NSS News when the information is intended for a somewhat wider audience of NSS Members. A motion to accomplish this is on the final agenda for the Fall 1999 Board Meeting.

 

(2) AWARDS COMMITTEE

Bill Tozer (Chairman)
9698 S 150 W
Pendleton, IN 46064

Phone: (765) 778-3259
E-Mail: wtozer@aol.com

Committee Members
Gale Beach William J. Stevenson Outstanding Service Award and Honorary Member
Evelyn Bradshaw Member at Large
Bill Bussey Certificates of Merit
Donald G. Davis Member at Large
Michael D. Dyas Member at Large
B. Scott Fee Spelean Arts & Letters Award
Daniel Fong Member at Large
Jeanne Hill Conservation Award
Cato O. Holler, Jr. Peter M. Hauer Spelean History Award
Mike K. Hood Member at Large
Pat Kambesis Lew Bicking Award
Charles V. Larson Member at Large
Charles A. Lundquist James G. Mitchell Award
William Mixon Fellows of the Society
G. Thomas Rea Member at Large
Geary M. Schindel Member at Large
Godon L. Smith, Jr. Best Paper on a Show Cave Award
Linda Starr Member at Large
Lee Stevens Member at Large
George Veni Science Award

Progress
NSS Awards presented at the 1999 NSS National Convention in Filer, Idaho:

Honorary Member Horton Hobbs, III (12386 CM, FE)
Outstanding Service Warren C. (Doc) Lewis (8856 FE)
Bicking Award Peter Bosted (20805 FE)
Conservation Award Jim Hathorn (21829)
Science Award Patty Jo Watson (3379 HM, CM, FE)
Arts and Letters Bill Mixon (5728 OS, FE)
Hauer Spelean History Award Charles J. DeCroix (43233)
Conservation Section Award not given this year.
Certificate of Merit - 1 -- Great Saltpetre Cave Preserve Committee Management for preservation and improvements at the Great Saltpetre Cave Preserve.
Certificate of Merit - 2 -- Rod Horrocks (25017 FE) for reintroduction of volunteers into the Timpanogos Cave System.
Certificate of Merit - 3 -- Roswell Jones (4822 OS, FE) and Bruce Bannerman (11485 FE) for audio-visual support of the Photo Salon and Awards Banquet at recent NSS National Conventions.
NCA Best Paper On a Show Cave -- Bogdan P. Onac, George Veni, and William B. White for the paper "Identification and Deposition of Metatyuyamunite and Related Minerals in Caverns of Sonora, Texas, USA."
James G. Mitchel Award -- Bryan Crowell (40886) for the paper "Luminescence Banding in Young Flowstone: Comparison with Contemporary Climate Records."
Fellows
1 - Paul Aughey (32120)
2 - Brent Aulenbach (34197)
3 - Ann Bosted (30176)
4 - Bruce Bowman (35356)
5 - Bill Broeckel 3 (1702)
6 - Bill Carr (16821)
7 - Robert Currie (20615)
8 - Lysa DeThomas (25500)
9 - Mike Ficco (30728)
10 - Colin Gatland (35440)
11 - John Hoffelt (20058)
12 - Bill Howard (32162)
13 - Sandy Knapp (28321)
14 - Mike Lace (27245)
15 - Jody Landrum (29320)
16 - Marcel LaPerriere (36057)
17 - Joe Levinson (34089)
18 - John Lyles (19871)
19 - Duke McMullan (13429)
20 - Gregg Oelker (27031)
21 - Kathy Peerman (19676)
22 - Jerry Redder (14016)
23 - Rob Robbins (39109)
24 - Scott Schmitz (26662)
25 - Ben Schwartz (32206)
26 - Cori Schwartz (30513)
27 - Pat Seiser (28650)
28 - Rick Walk (28189)
29 - Ken Walsh (27597)
30 - Mike Warton (12611)
31 - Jim Wilbanks (8967)
32 - John Woods (10503)
33 - Jill Yager (19089)
34 - Andy Zellner (35937)
35 - Carol Zokaites (15566)

The convention awards program went smoothly. All slides and prints were digitized and added to the power point presentation. This makes an easier presentation. Two people who did not provide slides were photographed at the convention with a digital camera. Their images were added at the last minute.

The awards committee held their annual meeting at the convention. The committee members present all felt that we should leave the middle awards open to past recipients of the Honorary Member or Outstanding Service award.

Plans
A call for award nominations appeared in the September NSS News. The process of selecting the award recipients will begin after the 15 November deadline. The awards committee will prepare to make our report at the spring Board Meeting.

Problems
A minor Y2K bug appeared. Our unused Outstanding Service Award and Honorary Member Award certificates all list the date as 19__. New certificates will be printed to reflect the new millennium.

 

(3) BOARD ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE

Thomas J. Pollock (Chairman)
21 Kingslet Way
Freehold, NJ 07728-1628

Home: (908) 294-6634
E-mail: TJPollock@aol.com

Progress
There has been no activity since the last report.

Plans
Continue to seek meeting sites and process applications.

Problems
None.

PRES Comments
The Spring 2000 Board of Governors Meeting will be hosted by the Colorado Grotto on 18 and 19 March 2000 in Denver, Colorado.

 

(4) BYLAWS COMMITTEE

Jim Borden (Chairman)
7 Marron Lane
New Paltz, NY 12561

Home: (914) 255-4663
Work: (914) 433-2892
E-mail: jimborden@ibm.net or jborden@us.ibm.com

Progress
No Bylaws changes are on the agenda for this Board Meeting.

Plans
Respond when Board Members have questions/concerns vis-a-vis NSS Bylaws.

Problems
None.

 

(5) FUND RAISING COMMITTEE

Vacant

PRES Comments
There is a motion on the agenda of this Board Meeting to confirm Ted Kayes as the new Chairman of the Fund Raising Committee.

 

(6) INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY

John L. Moses (Secretary)
15807 River Roads
Houston, TX 77079

Home: (281) 597-1494
Office: (713) 243-8000
Fax: (713) 243-8028
E-mail: johnmoses@excite.com

Eleanor Larson (Committee Member)
Tom Lera (Committee Member)

Progress
No International Participation Grant proposals were funded during the most recent quarter. One potential applicant (Madagascar anthropology study) was advised that funds would not be available until the 2000-2001 fiscal year. Available funds were awarded earlier in the fiscal year (the Chiquibol Belize expedition and the Dominican Republic bat survey).

Under the terms agreed to by project applicants, funded projects will provide an article to the NSS News (or to the International Congress Proceedings).

The committee had some discussions concerning the possible mechanism for non-speleological project grants. An example would be to enable visits by foreign cavers to the U.S.

Plans
To review any potential submittals for the International Participation Grants. I recently received, one potential application (Turkey gypsum karst conference) remains outstanding. This applicant is seeking funding in the next fiscal year.

In order to provide seed money for the Brazil 2001 International Congress, advance funding from the NSS International Fund could be provided under a joint agreement between the NSS President, International Union of Speleology (UIS) Secretary General, and International Congress organizers. The advance would be secured by pre-paid registrations for American delegates to the Brazil Congress. The initial contact with organizers was made. Discussions with UIS will be initiated in the fourth quarter of 1999.

To update the (1996) list of foreign caving clubs maintained by the NSS by year end.

To submit an article to NSS News regarding applications for International Participation Grants, for publication during the first quarter of 2000.

To attempt to develop a framework for international caver exchange programs by midyear 2000.

Problems
Following the two grant awards, the additional cash available from the International Participation Fund is very limited. The grant committee could, however, for a sufficiently meritorious project, draw on additional fund income. There is a precedent for such an action.

 

(7) LEGAL COMMITTEE

Joel B. Stevenson (Chairman)
1509 BB&T Building
Asheville, NC 28801-3406

Home: (828) 669-0126
Office Voice: (828) 255-7703
Office Fax: (828) 254-1793
E-mail: cavelaw@wnc.com

Progress
I have responded to several telephone and e-mail inquiries from Society members regarding basic "liability" questions. None of them seem to indicate any problems. There is no report of activity on the Bauman lawsuit in New York.

Plans
I will continue to be available to respond to inquiries.

Problems
None have appeared since the last report.

 

(8) LOGISTICS COMMITTEE

Rosewell Jones (Chairman)
1051 Roosevelt Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15237-1036

Home: (412) 367-3522
E-mail: wrj4822@sgi.net

NO REPORT

 

(9) MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

William Karpowicz (Chairman)
291 Willard Avenue
Westbrook, CT

Phone: (860) 873-1623
E-mail: William.Karpowicz@us.ms.philips.com or carbidekid@prodigy.net

Committee Members -- Their Assignments:

Colin Gatland -- Canada, TX, and OK
325 Dellsing Drive
Vandalia, Ohio 45377-1344

Ernie Coffman -- NV, HI, and CA
733 N. E. Oregon Ave.
Grants Pass, OR 97526-3562
Phone: (503) 471-1202

Marty Brown -- AR
P.O. Box 547
Johnson, AR 72741
Phone: (501) 582-0285
E-mail: mbrown@rhs.nwsc.k12.ar.us

Elaine Hackerman -- KY and OH
4701 Utah Avenue
Nashville, TN 37209
Phone: (615) 298-5929

Hal Joerin -- MI, IN, and WI
28287 Red Leaf Ln
Southfield, MI 48076
Phone: (313) 569-5007
E-mail: 76016,401@compuserve.com

Bill & Mary Klimack -- PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA, WV, NC, and SC
6303 Ashley Meadows Ct.
Dayton, OH 45424
Phone: (513) 235-2532
E-mail: klimackmw@aol.com or wklimack@afit.af.mil

Jay Landt -- GA and FL
4321 Meadowood St.
Orlando, FL 32812
Phone: (407) 851-2409

Bob Liebman -- Member At Large
P.O. Box 441s
Lewisburg, WV 24901-0441
Phone: (304) 772-5049

Marge Nelson -- CA
1942 Lombardy Drive
La Canada, CA 91011
Phone: (818) 248-6546

Jennifer Pinkley Bennett -- AL, MS, LA, and TN
1120 Joshua Dr.
Huntsville, AL 35803

Gayle Smart -- NM
1116 Zena Lona, NE
Albuquerque, NM 87112

Bill Karpowicz -- NY and New England
291 Willard Avenue
Westbrook, CT
Phone: (860)873-1623
E-mail: William.Karpowicz@us.ms.philips.com

NO REPORT

 

(10) NATIONAL CAVE MGMT SYMPOSIUM COORDINATOR

Cheryl Jones (Coordinator)
1865 Old Meadow Rd. #202
McLean, VA 22102

Phone/Fax: (703) 442-8499
E-mail: cherylj@erols.com

Progress
The National Cave and Karst Management Symposium (NCKMS) is coming together well. The NSS is one of the cosponsors of the event. The NSS Bookstore will set up at the NSS booth, with a limited and focused inventory. This is the first time the bookstore has had a presence at the symposium and will have good exposure. Also, Gary Bush, Colin Gatlin, Doug Medville, and Dave Jagnow are putting together a display for the NSS booth (using the newly purchased display boards) that will focus on the NSS a cave resource manager.

Plans
Attend the NCKMS in Chattanooga in October.

Problems
None

 

(11) NOMINATING COMMITTEE

Kim L. Kehs (Chairman)
1426 Ash Lane
Quakertown, PA 18951

Home: (215) 536-8153
E-mail: edandkim@easy-pages.com

Progress
Obtained the existing materials and information from the previous committee Chairman and have even begun contacting prospective candidates.

Plans
Work with the existing committee to contact NSS Members who might be interested in running for the Board of Governors at the election this Spring, get their biographies and platform statements, and start to assemble the ballot information.

Problems
None so far, but then I just started.

 

(12) NSS/NPS LIAISON

Vacant

PRES Comments
John Sheltons has asked to be replaced as NSS/National Park Service Liaison. In accordance with Act. 40-498, this position will be advertised in the NSS News (see the upcoming November 1999 issue). I expect to have a new Chairman ready for confirmation by the Board at the March Board Meeting.

 

(13) NSS/TNC LIAISON

Rane L. Curl (Liaison)
2805 Gladstone Ave.
Ann Arbor MI 48104-6432

Phone: (734) 995-2678
Fax: (by prior arrangement) (734) 995-0289
E-mail: ranecurl@umich.edu

Rob Robbins (Committee Member)

Progress
Updated the NSS/TNC display shown at the 1999 NSS National Convention at Filer, ID.

Plans
The NSS/TNC display will be at the National Caves and Karst Management Symposium from 19-22 October 1999 in Chattanooga and at the NSS Board of Governors Meeting on 23 October.

Problems
None.

 

(14) OUTREACH COMMITTEE

Vacant

PRES Comments
There is a motion on the agenda of the Fall Board Meeting to abolish this committee and perform its functions under the auspices of the Fund Raising Committee. The new Chairman of the Fund Raising Committee (assuming he is confirmed) is very much in favor of this.

 

(15) PLANNING COMMITTEE

Thomas J. Pollock (Chairman)
21 Kingslet Way
Freehold, NJ 07728-1628

Home: (908) 294-6634
E-mail: TJPollock@aol.com

Progress
There has been no activity during this past reporting period.

Plans
None.

Problems
None.

 

(16) PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE

Jay Jorden (Chairman)
11201 CR 132
Celina, TX 75009-2527

Home and manual fax: (972) 382-2458
Work: (972) 991-2100
E-mail: jjorden@texoma.net

David McClurg (Committee Member)
Jack Hissong (Committee Member)
Sandra Hissong (Committee Member)

Progress
In the three months since the last report, The NSS Public Relations Committee has continued its task of fielding media inquiries and promoting the Society's safety and conservation goals. It also is aiding the NSS Cave Conservation and Management Section publication efforts and contributing to the NSS Conservation and Management Section newsletter.

By letter, telephone, and e-mail the committee has provided material to journalists, prospective authors, and publicists. Reporters for Texas dailies working on caving articles, freelancers, and researchers for publishers and the electronic media continue to dominate the contacts. The committee is also helping with publicity for the upcoming IMAX film on caving and stands ready to provide support for the effort toward an NSS annual report.

Clippings from earlier efforts continue to come in. The committee will work closely in the future with a media columnist for the NSS News.

Plans
(1) Work continues on updating the background sheet that accompanies news releases and responses to media organizations.

(2) I am restructuring a "press kit" and the committee files. Development time and input are necessary.

(3) The committee is working on an outline for a PR workshop to be held at the next NSS National Convention

(4) The committee is also working an NSS News article.

Problems
Please let me know, as always, of any specific PR concerns or needs, either from the officers or the board. No problems come to mind.

PRES Comments
Jay and I have been discussing the role of the NSS Public Relations Committee in the development and deployment of the new NSS Display. It seems to us that this committee should have a role in developing material to be included on the display; however, our distributing, keeping track of, and maintaining the NSS display would likely be a duplication of effort. Those activities are better left to the National Office in Huntsville, AL where they already handle such functions for the slide and video programs, and where the NSS Display probably ought to reside between deployments. These activities naturally fall under the purview of the OVP Department. The Public Relations Committee should; however, take a bigger role in developing, updating, and enhancing our use of displays, banners and other promotional tools in furthering our goals.

 

(17) RECORDING SECRETARY

Lee Stevens
5964 Seabright Road
Springfield, VA 22152-1738

Home: (703) 451-7663
E-mail: leestevens@erols.com

Progress
Attended the NSS National Convention Board of Governors Meetings in July 1999 and served as Recording Secretary. Prepared the minutes of these meetings.

Plans
Continue to attend the Board Meetings and to produce the minutes of the meetings in a timely way.

Problems
Like all of us, finding enough hours in the day.

 

(18) SECRETARY TO THE BOARD

Vince Kappler
10 Hollyhock Way
Newton, NJ 07860-5371

Home: (973) 579-2116
E-mail: vkappler@nac.net

Progress
Three (3) complete manuals were printed and delivered to the newly elected officers. Thirty-one (31) copies of the manual update from the summer meeting were printed and mailed in late August.

A notice was sent to the ten (10) committee chairmen who still receive a hard copy of the update asking them to confirm that they still need/use it. If they do not respond by 01 October 1999, I will remove them from the mailing list.

The local vocational school continues to do my printing at no cost to the NSS. Counting the new manuals, the school printed almost three thousand (3,000) pages this summer.

Plans
Produce the manual updates as quickly as possible while keeping costs to a minimum.

Confirm the need and reduce if possible the number of updates mailed to committee chairs.

Prepare the annual checklist of manual pages and include with next mailing.

Problems
None.

 

(19) SHOW CAVES LIAISON COMMITTEE

Gordon Smith (Chairman)
9850 N. Skyline Dr.
Floyds Knobs, IN 47119

Home & Work: (812) 945-5721
Fax: (812) 945-6891
E-mail: glstis@aol.com

Progress
I, and a group of four other NSS cavers, purchased Diamond Caverns on 07 July 1999. I assume the ultimate "liaison" with a show cave is to purchase it, so I guess I did okay here. Now, if we can turn around the operation before the bank gets excited we will have it made.

I have been in contact with many other show caves from Howe Caverns in New York to Marvel Cave in Missouri and all are working in harmony with local NSS Grottos.

Plans
I will be attending the annual National Caves Association (NCA) Convention in Bermuda in November. I will represent the NSS at this NCA function, unless you want to go. I will also be attending the National Cave and Karst Management Symposium in Tennessee in October.

Problems
Finding enough time to earn enough money to buy my next cave. It turns out that owning two caves is more than twice as difficult as owning one.

 

(20) BOARD MEETING SYSTEM AD HOC COMMITTEE

G. Thomas Rea (Chairman)
8677 S State Road 243
Cloverdale, IN 46120-9696

Phone: (765) 653-4423
E-mail: trea@tdsnet.com

Progress
I have investigated video projectors and rejected them as way too expensive and delicate to ship around to board meetings. I am thinking about a lamp board similar to that used in congress. I have contacted a person who is current in this field and am negotiating for some technical help.

Plans
I plan to research and design a new voting machine as time and talent permit.

Problems
I am woefully out of date on computer technology. I find that I cannot design around lap-tops and Windows. This project may take awhile. My experiment (that failed) was bread-boarded around an 8088 processor.

 

(21) CAVE USE FEES AD HOC COMMITTEE

Ray Keeler (Chairman)
22354 N. 68th Drive
Glendale, AZ 85310-5239

Home: (623) 561-2917
Work: (623) 436-6585
E-mail: rkeeler@pcslink.com

Progress
We now have an Excel spread sheet (via Lisa Wolf of the Central Arizona Grotto) that is being used to log hours of volunteer value. The field forms created by Val Hildreth-Werker and Jim Werker are being used as input. Sample forms of the spread sheet were sent to the Werkers and Jagnow in the Conservation Committee and John Lyles and Jim Evatt in the SouthWest Region.

The program automatically adds: hours working, driving time, cost per mile, sundries, and special costs, and can be sorted by government agency, project, district, or person (and a couple more). We used the forms last weekend for entomology investigation, speleothem repair, and survey. In just May, June, and July the Central Arizona Grotto generated $10,298 in volunteer value with two efforts yet to be tabulated.

Plans
Continue to accumulate data for 1999 and get a report out on schedule in 2000. Then put in the data from 1998 and get that report out as soon as the information can be put together.

We will continue contributing time, money, and our efforts to help the federal land managers better understand the resource.

Problems
At the 1999 NSS National Convention the Forest Service National Coordinator/Cave Resource stated he had received a report for 1998 from New Mexico but none from Arizona. I have yet to see ANY report of the volunteer work for New Mexico for 1998. If the report was sent to the Forest Service, it could not have included all of the New Mexico caver efforts (which are substantial) and certainly did not come from the Ad Hoc Cave Fees Committee.

 

(22) YOUTH GROUPS LIAISON COMMITTEE

Jack Hissong (Chairman)
8716 Quarterhorse Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46256

Home: (317) 841-0687
E-mail: none

Progress
The main work of the committee is to field and respond to letters and phone calls from:

1. Members seeking advice on how to handle a youth group request for a caving trip, how to respond to their inquiries, or what national policy is towards caving for specific organizations like Scouting USA.

2. Members of the public who are leaders of Scouting and other youth groups who: want to go caving, want to include caving in their programs, seek educational or safety information, want to know where the caves are, or have questions about caving.

During the past reporting period the committee continued routine correspondence with such groups.

Attendees of the Photo Salon at the 1999 NSS National Convention were treated to an award winning video made by a Kansas Boy Scout Troop.

Plans
Continue to respond to questions and letters as explained above.

Problems
None.

 

(23) PRESIDENT'S SECTION

Fred L. Wefer (NSS PRES)
P.O. Box 47
McDowell, VA 24458

Home: (540) 396-3543
E-mail: fwefer@cfw.com

Progress
As with all the NSS Officers, space considerations alone prohibit listing all the activities which constitute progress since the last Board Meeting. Below are listed just a few that may be of special interest to other Board Members and to NSS Members at large.

Plans

Problems
None.

 

Respectfully submitted,
Fred L. Wefer, President
National Speleological Society, Inc.