Official Minutes of the Regular Board of Directors Meeting of the
CALL TO ORDER. The Fall 2005 meeting of the Board of Directors of the Florida Ornithological Society (FOS) was held
The following people attended the meeting or a portion of the meeting:
Jack Hailman, President
Soo Whiting, Vice President
Pam Bowen, Secretary
Judy Bryan, Director
David Freeland, Director
Joyce King, Director
Scott Robinson, Director
David Stock, Director
Reed Noss, Special Publications Editor
Jerry Jackson, Editor, Florida Field Naturalist
Bill Pranty, Field Observations Committee
Jon Greenlaw, FOS Records Committee Secretary
Wes Biggs
Dave Goodwin
Erik Haney
Fred Lohrer
Holly Lovell
Glen Woolfenden
Agenda: The agenda and meeting packet were mailed electronically to attendees prior to the meeting. No changes were made to the agenda.
Approval of Minutes of Previous Meetings: The minutes of the board meeting, held
No comments were made on the proposed business meeting minutes which were also included in the meeting packet and no action was taken on these minutes.
President's Report. President Hailman submitted a written report and addenda prior to the meeting. He reported appointments had consumed a great deal of his time. He stressed the need to fill the vacated positions on the Membership Committee and to have the committee actively working to increase membership in the FOS. He briefly discussed the resignations of Kurt Radamaker, web site editor, and Jerry Jackson, Florida Field Naturalist (FFN) editor. The President’s oral presentation included the purpose of the special Bylaws Committee. (The formal charge was stated in a email message by the President to the Committee Chair prior to the meeting: “The charge to the committee is to review the bylaws, call for and consider suggested changes from any member of the society, and ultimately bring to the board for approval proposed changes.”) David Freeland has been appointed chairperson of the special Bylaws Committee. Bruce Anderson and Ted Below, both former presidents, have also been appointed to the committee. David Freeland moved to adopt the report with the revisions identified in the addenda. The motion was seconded and approved.
Vice President's Report. Vice President Whiting provided a written report during the meeting. She thanked St Johns River Water Management District for making its properties available for fieldtrips during the Fall 2005 Meeting. She reported the Spring 2006 Meeting is scheduled for April 21 -23, 2006 at Tall Timbers Research Station, near
Secretary's Report. Pam Bowen submitted a written report. She stated she had nothing to add to the report. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to accept her report.
Treasurer's Report. Dean Jue submitted a written report which included an historical analysis of the society’s membership, an analysis of the 2005 budget, items for discussion, and the proposed 2006 budget. Dean also submitted an addendum to the report in an e-mail dated
EDITORS REPORTS.
a. Florida Field Naturalist.
Editor Jerry Jackson arrived late and provided a written and oral report just before the committee reports were concluded. He reported all issues of the FFN are “on target” with regard to publication dates. He reported the cost of printing color plates is $900 per page. He also reported he is stepping down as FFN editor. But he will continue as editor until a replacement is found. Bill Pranty asked how much time is needed per issue as editor. Editor Jackson replied the most time consuming part of the job included handling reprints and the money associated with them and getting manuscripts back in time to be printed in the appropriate issue. Joyce King moved to accept Editor Jackson’s report. Soo Whiting seconded the motion and it was approved.
b. Newsletter.
Newsletter Editor Tom Palmer submitted a written report. He did not attend the meeting.
c. Special Publications.
Special Publication Editor Reed Noss submitted a written report. He clarified with President Hailman that, under the current bylaws, the Special Publications Editor is not a voting member of the board. He also asked questions about the Special Publications budget and the amount of money included for Special Publications in the 2006 proposed budget. President Hailman reminded the group that according to the bylaws, before FOS agreed to publish a special publication, it must be approved by the Editorial Committee, which includes Jim Rodgers, Steve Nesbitt, Todd Engstrom, and Hank Smith, and by the Finance Committee. Editor Noss asked what printer the society used for special publications. E. O. Painter Printing published the last special publication submitted by Robertson and Woolfenden 13 years ago. David Stock moved to accept Editor Noss’ report; Murray Gardler seconded the motion. Joyce King asked about forging an agreement with Audubon for the IBA publication. Bill Pranty reported that the publication is still posted on Audubon’s web site and Audubon is not relinquishing the copy right at this time. Following this discussion, the motion was approved.
d. Web Site.
Web site editor position is vacant; Kurt Radamaker has submitted his resignation. No report was submitted.
COMMITTEE REPORTS.
a. Archives Committee.
Secretary Bowen distributed an e-mail report received from Chairperson Taylor which had been sent to her old e-mail address. The report stated that archived materials were being sent to Tom Weber and that a recent request for a paper published in the FFN had been filled by Reed Bowman. Dave Goodwin mentioned he had brought boxes of material for archival consideration from his presidency and earlier years of involvement with the society. Soo Whiting moved to accept the report; it was seconded and approved.
b. Conservation Committee.
Secretary Bowen distributed an e-mail report received from Chairperson Jim Cox after the board meeting packet was sent out. Jim’s report stated he had expected a new Conservation Committtee Chairperson to provide the report. The committee had seen little activity. However, Jim reported the committee’s survey regarding prescribed burning on public land had been mailed out. He had also provided comments on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FFWCC) Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy. It is a nice plan. However, these funds should not be used solely to fund FFWCC projects. They should also fund other research, management, education, and conservation efforts occurring outside the agency. Chairperson Cox reported FFWCC had returned several petitions from FOS members asking to have declining bird species considered for listing including the Eastern Meadowlark, Painted Bunting, and two other species. FFWCC had requested additional information on these petitions and Chairperson Cox plans to develop the petitions more fully for resubmission. Judy Bryan moved to accept the report. It was seconded by Joyce King and approved.
c. Editorial Advisory Board
Jim Rodgers did not submit a report. President Hailman reported the committee is currently working to find a new editor for the Florida Field Naturalist and a new web site editor. Soo Whiting suggested paying Kurt Radamaker to act as web site editor. Bill Pranty indicated Kurt might be amenable to this suggestion. President Hailman will consider the suggestion.
d. Field Observations Committee.
Chairperson Bill Pranty submitted a written report. Linda Cooper has stepped down as a regional compiler. Chairperson Pranty recommended she be recognized by the board for her long term of service. Chairperson Pranty stated he had overstepped his authority by appointing Paul Miller,
e. Finance Committee.
Finance Committee Chairperson Murray Gardler provided a written report. In his oral report, he mentioned the society is a long-term organization and needs long-term investments. He discussed two recommendations for the board to consider. One was to institute a “2-for-1” gift membership program like the one used by Manomet Center that allows a renewing member to designate a free membership for a new member. The second recommendation was to consider seeking donations to finance the FFN simlar to the program used by the American Birding Association. Soo Whiting moved to adopt the report. Joyce King seconded the motion. During discussion, King remarked that these items should be handled by the Membership Committee. Gardler stated that since membership renewals will be mailed out soon, waiting would mean another year before a “2-for-1” program could be instituted. Glen Woolfenden stated he was opposed to the “2-for-1” program because of the additional costs the society would incur without generating any income to cover those costs. He was concerned this could bankrupt the society. Stock pointed out the second item actually involved the FFN and not the Membership Committee. The motion passed with a vote of 7 “ayes” and 2 “nays”.
f1. Helen G. and Allan D. Cruickshank Research Award Subcommittee.
Chairperson Katie Sieving submitted a written report. The report stated that checks had been sent to the winners of the award that were announced at the Spring 2005 Meeting, Jeremy Batten and Jason Martin. It also stated Dale Gawlick and Pam Bowen were invited to serve on the committee. Joyce King moved to accept the report. Soo Whiting seconded the motion and it was approved.
f2. Helen G. and Allan D. Cruickshank Education Award Subcommittee.
Katy NeSmith submitted a written report. The report stated the subcommittee recommended the board approve the following awards: 1.) Migratory Bird Habitat Project proposed by Susan Cone, Pine Ridge Middle School, Collier County, for $519.00 to purchase binoculars and field guides and 2.) Wild Classroom Project proposed by Sandy Beck, St. Francis Wildlife Association for $775.00 to purchase a portable computer projector. Joyce King moved to adopt the report. Scott Robinson seconded the motion. Following discussion regarding the budget, David Stock moved to pay $519.00 for the first award; the motion was seconded and passed. Another motion was made to pay $775.00 for the second award. Scott Robinson seconded the motion. David Stock amended this motion to pay $500.00 to the second award. Joyce King seconded the amendment and the amendment was approved. The original motion was approved as amended.
f3. William B. and Mary J. Robertson Award Subcommittee.
Chairperson Peter Merritt did not submit a report. President Hailman stated Mary Robertson has agreed to continue working on the committee. He has recommended one more member be appointed to the subcommittee.
g. Membership Committee.
No report was submitted; the chairmanship of this committee is vacant.
h. Nominating Committee.
No report was submitted.
i. Records Committee
Chairperson Jon Greenlaw submitted a written report and gave the board a oral report. He stated he has amended Appendix 1 of the written report, based on President Hailman’s suggestion, by adding a key for the annotations (*, e, x) used in the list. He also reported an error in the written report; the last line of item 15 (RC 05-573) should have said “NOT ACCEPTED”. Chairperson Greenlaw reported Reed Bowman will step down from the committee after the Fall 2005 FOS meeting. Glen Woolfenden has been selected to replace Reed. The committee reopened the report of the White-tipped Dove. The photographs for the original report were ambiguous and there was no written report. New photographs and a description were submitted afterwards. The committee tabled the report and will revisit it in January 2006. The Varied Bunting was added to the Official State List which now has 495 species. Chairperson Greenlaw reminded the attendees that in order for a report of a new species in the state to be accepted, the report must be submitted directly to the committee or it must be published in a peer-reviewed journal. More people are putting reports of rare species on the internet and are not sending the committee a report. It is the committee’s policy not to take reports off the internet. The committee needs people to document their reports. Soo Whiting moved to accept the report. Judy Bryan seconded the motion. David Stock pointed out the need to correct the species scientific name of the Masked Duck in item 10 (RC 05-568). Soo accepted this correction as a friendly amendment. Joyce King asked about printing color plates and about guidelines for their use. David Freeland suggested that timely communications with filers would help the flow of information. He indicated he had completed four reports; but he had never heard from the committee. Chairperson Greenlaw asked when the reports were submitted. David stated he had submitted them during the Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Pam Bowen explained the CBC in
President Hailman stated this concluded the Reports Section of the meeting. Before closing this section, he asked Bill Pranty about putting the FFN on the web site. President Hailman reviewed the history associated with this request. He stated that the board had approved a recommendation made by Bill at a previous board meeting to have this done. Bill reported E. O. Painter charges $2.00 per page to create .pdf files for issues published since 1992. However, issues printed between 1976 and 1992, will need to be scanned and converted to .pdf files. Bill stated the scanned files will need to be compressed before being put on the web site. President Hailman asked Bill to contact E. O. Painter and have them act on this recommendation. David Stock reminded the group the board did not approve putting all of the issues on the web. Pam Bowen remarked that the board had discussed not putting issues printed in the last two years on-line. Secretary Bowen will research what the minutes say. The results of that research appear below:
The following two paragraphs appeared in the minutes of the fall 2004 board meeting regarding placing the FFN on the web site:
1. Third paragraph in the section on the Treasurer’s Report
“After referring the group to his report on the 2004 budget, Dean began discussion on the 2005 proposed budget. He recommended the 2005 budget be formulated by revising the 2004 budget as outlined in his report. His report recommended including $3,500 from the Barbara Passmore Grant for Pranty’s proposal to scan pages from the FFN and convert them to .pdf format for inclusion on the web site. This would provide funds to scan the pages from 1994 issues to the present. In the future, each page would need to be scanned as well. Joyce King moved that $3500 from the Barbara Passmore Grant be included in the 2005 Budget to proceed with Pranty’s recommendation to scan and convert the FFN pages to .pdf format for inclusion on the web site. Judy Bryan seconded the motion. During discussion, Reed Bowman asked how the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) handled on-line items and if posting journal material had hurt the organization. President James indicated on-line posting had not hurt the AOU. Jue indicated that individuals would not be able to search the data. Judith Buhrman remarked the data could be indexed later. King amended her motion to include indexing the data. The board voted and approved the motion.”
2. In the Committee Reports section
“d. Field Observations Committee.
Chairperson Bill Pranty submitted a written report. He also submitted a written proposal to have the pages from all issues of the FFN from 1994 to the present scanned, converted to .pdf files, and made available on the web site. Because funding was necessary to implement this proposal, the proposal was discussed and voted on earlier in the meeting during adoption of the 2005 budget.”
The following paragraph related to this item appeared in the minutes of the spring 2005 meeting:
3. In the Florida Field Naturalist paragraph in the Editors Reports section
“ …… Discussion ensued on putting the FFN on the web site. In a previous meeting, the board approved funding to have Bill Pranty put the FFN issues from 1994 to 2002 on the web site. President James will check with Bill Pranty and E. O. Painter regarding the status of this. The board agreed not to put the last two years’ issues on-line.”
Bill’s original proposal to the board appears below and was included as a memo in the fall 2004 board meeting package:
“To: The FOS Board
From: Bill Pranty
Re:
Date: 7 October 2004
Dear FOS Board and other members,
In the past, I have brought up the idea of scanning all but the most recent issues of Florida Field Naturalist and posting them to the FOS website. Past issues (and literally thousands of papers) of many major ornithological journals are now online—a wonderful resource.
I recently contacted Painter Printing and received the following reply:
"All publications printed by E. O. Painter Printing Company are available electronically from approximately June of 1994 to present. Costs to retrieve that much data and create PDF files of each article is charged at $2.40 per PDF page created. I will be happy to do an in-depth study to find out the exact volumes available and a total cost if the Society decides to go forth with the project. I have done several of these projects using the two different methods, and it is worth noting that if you scan and create PDF files, those files are NOT searchable documents that Google, as an example, would recognize. They are technically a "graphic", not searchable or editable like the traditional vector based PDF. I know from past experience that many scientists want information to be searchable to benefit researchers. If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me."
Regards,
Jeffrey B. Johnston
Vice President
E. O. Painter Printing Company, Inc
I recommended to the FOS Board that we pursue this matter, and received positive comments from Pam Bowen, Jerry Jackson, Fran James, Dean Jue, Kurt Radamaker, and Jim Rodgers. There were no dissenting opinions. Dean also indicated that we have a sufficient amount of money from the Barbara Passmore grant to cover the expense—roughly $3400.00 at $2.40 per page.
I am willing to be the liaison between FOS and Painter Printing if the FOS Board wishes, but I'd also be happy to let the Board take over the negotiations.
Respectfully submitted via email,
Bill Pranty
OLD BUSINESS.
There was no old business.
NEW BUSINESS.
a. Judy Bryan moved to adopt the proposed 2006 budget submitted by Treasurer Jue. The motion was seconded. David Stock asked Editor Jackson about the remaining FFN printing costs for 2005; approximately 50 % of the printing costs are still waiting to be incurred. President Hailman reminded the board that Article 6 Section 3 of the bylaws states that the Finance Committee will review the budget before the meeting. President Hailman stated the budget should have been submitted to the Finance Committee prior to the meeting. Finance Committee Chairperson Gardler stated he did not request Treasurer Jue submit it for review. President Hailman stated the board had four options with regard to the motion: to approve, amend, reject, or table the motion. Vice President Whiting asked if a special meeting could be held to address the budget. President Hailman stated the bylaws do allow a special meeting. After discussing possible conference call meetings and e-mail votes, David Stock recommended the Finance Committee meet that evening, October 14, 2005, to revise the budget. David Stock moved to table the motion. David Freeland seconded his motion and it was approved. The board agreed to hold a special board meeting on Saturday, October 15, 2005, at 6:00 p.m.
b. Joyce King moved that the Conservation Committee review the daily bag limits on rails, set by the FFWCC, and bring back recommendations for the board to consider. Soo Whiting seconded the motion. Joyce provided more information on the current hunting season, which extends from September 1 through November 9, and allows hunters to take a daily limit of at least 15 rails per day. Audubon is suggesting FFWCC reduce the limit and cut the length of the season. These limits were set based on the limits set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the northern Clapper Rail. The motion passed.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE.
There were no items discussed in this section of the meeting.
ADJOURNMENT.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:24 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Pamela J. Bowen
FOS Secretary