Officers > Meeting Minutes

All Ohio Chapter Executive Council
Meeting Minutes
May 19, 2004

The meeting was called to order by President Mark Wilson at 9:40.

Additions to Agenda: Job description for Treasurer

Secretary's Report:

• The minutes of the April 21, 2004 Executive Committee minutes were approved with one correction.  Motion by Dennis DeWeese, seconded by Jennifer Fish, approved.  ACTION Steve Hall will forward the approved minutes to Nathan Watermeier for posting on the AOC-SWCS web site.  A statement at the end of the minutes will note when they were reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee.  This will be the standard procedure for future minutes.

Treasurer's Report:

• The Treasurer's report for January 2004 to May 2004 was presented in a handout by Robert McCall. Motion to approve by Dennis DeWeese, seconded by Steve Hall, approved.
• Mark Wilson recommended that the 2002 budget be updated to reflect current projections before any action is taken by the Executive Committee. ACTION Robert McCall and Jennifer Fish will revise the most recent budget to reflect 2004-2005 projections, and present it to the Executive Committee at the next meeting.
• Status of Bank Accounts- ACTION- Jennifer Fish and Robert McCall will transfer the three bank accounts (Operating, Scholarship, and Envirothon) to a bank with competitive rates that is convenient for SWCS needs by the June meeting. As of today, Jennifer Fish, Robert McCall and Jim Bennett are signatories for SWCS accounts.
• Confirm Receipt of Ohio Farm Bureau Federation donation- ACTION Mark Wilson will write letter to Larry Antosh with thanks for resending their donation that was apparently lost.  ACTION- Mark Wilson will send out a digital SWCS logo to all Executive Committee members for official use.
• Filing of required tax forms to the Ohio Secretary Of State-ACTION- Robert McCall and Dennis DeWeese will research when the required forms were filed in the past, and set schedule for timely submission so that AOC-SWCS will maintain its 501(c)3 status without penalty.  The schedule for future submissions will maintained by the Treasurer, with oversight by the Secretary (bylaws).
• 2004 Voluntary Contributors at the Annual Meeting - A list of those who contributed is not readily available, but will be researched for official recognition in the immediate future.
• ACTION By July meeting Robert McCall will have a Treasure's job description ready for review by the Executive Committee.

Committee Reports:

Program Committee

2004 Summer Meeting-(handout of minutes from May 4 meeting with Tecumseh Land Trust [TLT], which outlines the meeting format and agenda)

• The Summer Meeting will be on August 13 in Yellow Springs, Greene County. Motion to approve the date by Robert McCall, seconded by Jennifer Fish, approved.
• Alan Stockburger will replace Doug Givens in breakout session 2.
• ACTION Dennis DeWeese will to talk to Kim Farr about requesting Clark County Commissioner John Detrick as a speaker for breakout session 2.
• Noted the need to advertise this meeting to OSU Ext, County Commissioners, Trustees, SWCDs, Land Trusts, etc. because the topic is relevant to them and they are potential supporters of SWCS. ACTION: Dennis DeWeese will ask that Gene Krebs advertise the event in his circle of associates.
• Recommendation: Once a budget is developed, one registration fee will apply to all attendees, rather than offering a scaled fee for retirees, students, etc.

Program Committee-Other

• Recommendation for 2005 All Employee Partnership meeting: Jeff VanLoon, Program Specialist, is responsible for the 2005 meeting. Jeff will meet with the main Program Committee on May 27 to begin planning the 2005 event. SWCS needs to have a strong presence here.  Duane Wood, Dennis DeWeese, Doug Gifford (invited), John Clark (invited) and Tom Perrin will attend.  The goal is to increase the partnership's recognition and value of SWCS at this event.
• An SWCS Business Meeting breakout session during the partnership meeting historically has had better attendance than an evening meeting. Recommendation: Cross reference attendance at the 2003 partnership meeting with the membership list to get an idea of  the percentage of  SWCS membership attendance. (Action not assigned). Mark Wilson challenged all to suggest ways to improve the visibility of SWCS during the 2005 meeting and beyond.
• May 19 teleconference with Ohio, Indiana and Michigan SWCS Chapters- Dennis DeWeese and Mark Wilson reported that a common thread needed among the chapters is educating farmers, agency representatives and other players about Technical Service Providers (TSP) and the Conservation Security Program (CSP).  This may be a platform for future cooperative meetings. 
• Update on Mark and Dennis' meeting with Kevin Brown, NRCS State Conservationist, regarding SWCS' role in the partnership.- Kevin noted that TSP training is needed for farmers, agency people, and prospective TSPs, and that SWCS should have a role. The CSP is another area where training is needed  for the same groups, and that SWCS should be involved. Kevin also noted that SWCS should have contact with legislators and representatives on such issues, and that he valued the dialogue with us.  Dennis and Mark also spoke with David Hanselman, Chief of the Division of Soil and Water Conservation, on the same day, who echoed Kevin's comments and wishes to expand cooperation with the SWCS.  Kevin Brown suggested we speak with Larry Adams and Todd Brace of the Farm Service Agency, and representatives of OSU Extension as well. 

Archive Committee- No discussion

Membership Committee-  ACTION: Steve Hall will post approved minutes on the SWCS list serve.  Robert McCall will ask Joe Bonnell about posting the minutes on ohwatersheds list serve.

Nominating Committee- Jennifer Fish discussed her handout that has a tentative schedule for the nomination and election process for the next year.

Newsletter Committee- The next issue is at the printer now. ACTION Mark Wilson will e-mail the schedule for newsletter distribution to Executive Committee members. Materials deadline is July 7 for the next newsletter.  It will go to the printer on July 9.

Old Business

Summary of 2004 Annual Meeting- no firm numbers regarding SWCS share of  the registration are available yet.  The Society needs to have more involvement in the registration process for partnership meeting to keep better track of member participation.

2004 Envirothon Donation- Steve Hall noted that $200 was donated each year in 2001 and 2002.  Proceeds from paintings raffled at the meeting were donated in 2003. ACTION Robert McCall will look into the timing of our donations relative to the needs of the Envirothon Committee, then report back to the Executive Committee.  He will also shop  around for the best investment deal since the markets have changed, and checks from this account are written only once a year.

Award Plaques-Mark Wilson will have plaques made for 2003 Outstanding Publication recipients.

2003-4 Audit of Accounts- No action

Executive Council Handbook- Jennifer Fish noted that it is nearly done.

New Business

Outline of 2004-2005 AOC Budget-(see the Treasurer's Report, above) 

2004-5 Program Plan- Mark Wilson urged the Committee to review the outline, and bring comments to the next meeting.

Communication

Mark Wilson would like to have at least one posting on the SWCS list serve monthly about current and timely events.  Mark will find somebody to write about CSP this month, Dennis DeWeese will provide information on easements and farmland preservation for next month's posting.

Next Meeting Date: June 16, 2004, Delaware Field Office, 9:30 AM.  Steve will bring refreshments.

Motion to adjourn by Dennis DeWeese, seconded by Robert McCall, adjourned at 12:30 PM.