MASNA BOD Meeting Minutes
May 2002 BOD Meeting
This meeting was held online on May 8, 2002
BOD in Attendance:
Nancy Swart (President)
Jennifer Myerscough (Secretary)
Cathy Garey (Public Relations/Membership)
Tom Walsh (Vice President)
David Adkins (BOD at Large)
Mary Middlebrook (Editor/Speaker Liaison/Industry Liaison)
Carl Huntley (Treasurer)
John Brandt (MAC/USCRTF Representative)
Absent:
Eric West (BOD at Large)
Call to order: 9:09 PM EDT
1) Approval of April Minutes: Motion by Jennifer Myerscough seconded by Cathy Gorey to accept April minutes as published. Carried.
2) Officers' Reports
President/Web (Nancy Swart):
-Held online meeting for all delegates. Revised hosting contract again removing speaker limitations. This is now down to one, simple page but still open to suggestions and/or negotiation by prospective hosts. Ongoing assistance to DFWMAS in planning MACNA XIV and pursuing Corporate Sponsors. Details on MXIV are available at www.dfwmas.com. It is estimated that there are about 12 speakers scheduled at this point.
-Posted MASNA Award Ballot.
-Am in the process of "beefing up" and updating our Legislation Section. Will add a sub-section for "Industry News" and also point people to Mary's section on reefs.org. Your help in sending me hobby/industry/legislative news to post would be appreciated. I'm trying to get our focus back where it belongs. John, I'll be posting all that you sent me soon. Keep it coming!
Vice Pres./Scholarship & Fundraising (Tom Walsh):
-Nothing to report, will begin working on Fundraising once the Marriott issue is settled & we set our goals and focus for the future.
Secretary (Jenn Myerscough)
- Minutes are up to date and posted, no errors or omissions reported.
Treasurer (Carl Huntley)
-Follow up regarding AMEX/Discover: Suggest a brief waiting period before terminating acceptance of these cards, pending outstanding transactions clearing.
USCRTF/MAC Rep (John Brandt)
-There is no news to report since last month on MAC or USCRTF, other than things for MAC board members. I will forward a copy of the MAC 1st quarter news to everyone except Mary, since I know she already gets it. There will be a USCRTF Summit to be held in June. I do have a question for the BOD: Would it interest us and our members if I posted links to news that is related to ocean/marine life conservation? Motion by Jennifer, seconded by Nancy to create a section on the MASNA website for items "In the News" where any BOD member can post appropriate links. Carried.
Public Relations/Membership (Cathy Garey)
-Membership: Currently we have 14 Honorary, 15 Club, 49 Individual, 4 Corporate members.
-Public Relations: Cathy to contact FAMA regarding an ad.
Editor/Speaker Liaison/Industry Liaison (Mary Middlebrook)
- Nothing to report. If you have any articles or ideas, submit them to Mary.
3) Old Business
Marriott Hotel Bill: The Marriott is giving our settlement offer of $4,500 (in addition to the previous payments totaling $40,000) serious consideration. They don't even want to discuss the disputed amounts on the bill now that we've reached this point. This matter should become final soon.
I'd like to propose that we send Brian Koenig $500 for legal services rendered when this is settled. He's more than earned it and I think it would be a great idea for next year's BOD to keep him on. So moved by Nancy, seconded by Jennifer, motion carried.
4) New Business
Online Delegates Meeting: Meeting was held on April 23rd to address member concerns and call for bids for MACNA XV. Have notified all delegates by email of bid submission and award deadline dates. OMAS was in attendance with many concerns and questions that I hope Cathy and I addressed satisfactorily. OMAS is not certain at this point if they wish to continue supporting us which is totally understandable.
5) Adjournment:
Motion by Jennifer, seconded by Tom to adjourn at 10:34 PM EDT. Motion carried.
