January 2009 BOD Meeting Minutes

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New England Herpetological Society
Board of Directors Meeting
January 10, 2009

Board Members in attendance:
Kurt Schatzl
Dawn McCall
Mike Labbe
Bill Donovan
Keith Begin
Jack McCarthy
Dominic Penson
Mike Wood

Other VIPs in attendance:
Aaron Movsessian
Rick Roth
Joe Martinez

The meeting was called to order at 1:01 PM

President's Report

There was no report.

Secretary's Report

The report was email by Dawn prior to the meeting. A motion was made to accept the report, the motion was seconded, and the motion was passed by unanimous vote.

Treasurer's Report

The current balance in the NEHS checking account is $4,036.33. A motion was made to accept the report, the motion was seconded, and the motion was passed by unanimous vote.

Adoption Committee Report
(Aaron Movsessian)

Aaron report that he placed an iguana the other day, and two red-eared sliders over the Christmas holiday. Aaron confirmed that he is receiving the herpline messages that Dawn forwards to him.

Bookstore

I am taking books and T-shirts home to inventory in preparation for launching the online store on neherp.com. I hope to launch the store in the next few weeks.

Vernal Pond Committee
(Rick Roth)

Rick Roth reported that the CAVPT is well on it's way to redoing their DVD. Rick has agreed to allow us to make the DVD available in the NEHS online store. CAVPT has relocated to a new office in Magnolia, and is awaiting spring.

Food Animals Committee
(Kurt Schatzl and Dawn McCall)

Dawn brought more mice, donated by Charles River Laboratories. All are in good condition. Kurt said he would bag them up after the BOD meeting. It was mentioned that NERD is offering some good prices on food animals. Aaron said that he goes there regularly, and is willing to pick it up if we want to place an order.

Grants Committee
(Kurt Schatzl, Rick Roth, Mike Wood, Joe Martinez)

We need to follow up with the NEWC on the book grant that was approved last year.

The cupboard is bare for a while

We have begun receiving grant applications from outside of New England. NEHS policy is to decline those applications. Our grant program is specifically designed to benefit New England projects.

Major Events Committee
(Board of Directors)

Dawn is coordinating the NEHS presence at the Manchester Reptile Expo. Dominic, Kurt K, and Mike and Sheila W. have volunteered to staff the event.

The portfolio, T-shirts, books and membership applications will be assembled into an expo kit.

Nominating Committee
(Rick Roth and Aaron Movsessian)

The committee is one member short. The current members agreed that it would be a good idea to invite Lisa Yee to join the committee. (Lisa accepted the invitation immediately after the BOD meeting.)

Programs Committee
(Joe Martinez and Domic Penson)

The February program will Herping in Honduras. Joe Martinez and Rick Roth will share pictures and stories from their recent trip.

Dominic is working on a Program Invitation Package that we can send to prospective program invitees.

Greg Mertz has asked for meeting notices as they are scheduled.

Publicity Committee
(Board of Directors)

The Open House will be on May 17th. We need to produce flyers before the Manchester Reptile Expo. They will be distributed at the NEHS table, and at the main entrance. Dawn and Kurt S. discussed finding a copy a previous flyer to modify.

Website

I proposed the idea of installing a Herp Events Calendar on the website. All VIPs will be given access to add events to the calendar. There were no objections.

Our website is currently listed on the McAfee's Site Advisor list. This is an erroneous listing based on a problem last April with our old hosting company. I have contacted McAfee to have the listing reviewed.

T-Shirts

I will take the T-shirts home and inventory them in preparation of launching the online store

Old Business

Massachusetts Reptile Show – Aaron will contact the Brockton H.S., and the Shaw Center / Campanelli Stadium as possible venues. The Wildlife Center is no longer in consideration as a venue.

Business Cards and Banners (Jack McCarthy) - Proofs have been emailed. The back of the card will have a watermark of the NEWC with directions. VIPs will pay for their own business cards. 1000 NEHS generic club cards cost $38.84. The 2' x 6' banner costs $87.45 including shipping. A motion was made to approve an expenditure of $126.29 for the NEHS cards and banner. The motion was seconded, and approved by a unanimous vote.

Logo copyright – Jack will file an online application for $35.

New Business

Reciprocal Links with MHS – Jack proposed that we post a link to the Maine Herpetological Society, and request a reciprocal link from them. All present agreed that it was a good idea. I will take care of this.

License logo to Jack? - Jack requested that the NEHS license our logo to Jack so that he can manufacture some items to sell at meetings (belt buckles and the like). There was a bit of discussion about the legality of such an idea. The request was tabled for future discussion based on the lateness of the hour.

April Meeting Date – Jack made a motion that the April meeting be rescheduled to April 17th, the 3rd Sunday because of the Easter Holiday on the 10th. The motion was seconded and approved by a unanimous vote.

Ecological Landscaping Expo – We have been invited to participate in the expo on February 27 and 28 in Springfield, MA. Dawn will follow up with the organizers to see if this makes sense.

Rehabitators – Keith announced his intention to star a new non-profit group of “rehabitators”. The group will pull junk from ponds, woods, whatever and post signs stating that the area has been cleaned by the group. He intends to apply for permits for endangered projects. The group will meet monthly. Keith put out a signup sheet for interested members to sign up for his mailing list.

CT Regulations – I received an email from a non-member asking regarding his frustration understanding CT herptile regulations. Apparently the state has started enforcing an unpublished restricted list. Kurt S. and I will try to contact the appropriate folks to get the details, and to see if we can become part of their regulatory process.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:03 PM.