SWCS-NCC Meeting Notes
February 06, 2008Participants: Ross Braun, Larry Holmes, Michele Laur, Allison Wiedeman, Bill Boyer and Tom Herbert
Membership:
Ross distributed the most recent list of chapter members; currently there are 86 members.SWCS Reports:
Ross submitted the required SWCS 2007 Annual Chapter Activity Report and the optional Chapter Achievement and Outstanding Chapter nomination reports to Judy Doerner, SWCS Leadership Development Committee chair and to Ankeny headquarters.2008 National Meeting and House of Delegates:
Ross and Bill plan to attend the meeting in Tucson and Michele, Tom, and Larry hope to attend. The House of Delegates is open to all SWCS conference attendees, not just the designated delegate. That meeting will be Sunday, July 27, 11:30 to 1:30. Ross is the official chapter delegate. Ross has been the NCC Delegate for the last two years and offered the 2008 Delegate position to any officers who are interested. Suzy Friedman considered the offer but will not be available to attend the 2008 Annual Conference. Any officers who are interested should contact Ross before April 28.2008 Awards:
This year two people will share the National Capital Chapter's Norman A. Berg Conservation Legacy Award; they are Lawrence E. Clark and Thomas W. Simpson. Bill will prepare and order the plaques. The awards and plaques will be presented at a future Chapter activity.Energy Conservation Workshop:
Officers decided not to sponsor an energy conservation workshop with NCSAF and EnSave http://ensave.com/ at this time. Ross or Bill will discuss our decision with Lynn Knight from EnSave. NCC officers are concerned about SWCS members' availability to support a workshop and the difficulties to attract the desired audience of agriculture policy-makers. Tom suggested that a brown-bag lunch about the Renewable Fuels Act would probably be much more attractive but could be very controversial. Ross suggested that we could have a panel forum that included presenters representing different opinions and a question and answer session for the audience.Treasury Report:
As of January 6 NCC has $3,042.04 in checking and $11,885.72 in savings. Larry is waiting for forms from IRS for electronic filing. Larry requested someone to conduct the 2007 annual audit of the books-Allison agreed to complete this task.Smithsonian Soils Exhibit:
The Smithsonian does not need more money for the exhibit, but there may be a need for money to conduct a promotional event. Allison will ask her intern Kathleen Kovzelove to assist Ross with this activity. The exhibit opens July 18 for VIPs only and July 19 for the public. The Soil Science Society of America, Association of Women Soil Scientists, and NRCS (Maxine Levin) are very involved and Ross will follow-up on how we can help.Meeting adjourned at 12:50 pm.
Next Meeting: March 6, 2008, 11:45 am - 12:45 pm at (EPA East, room TBA).
The SWCS-NCC Board meets the first Thursday of each month from 11:45-12:45.
The location will cycle among the organizations represented by Board members and be announced prior to each meeting.