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Mid-Atlantic Marine Education Association Annual Board Meeting

Friday, November 1, 2013

12:00pm-4:00pm

VIMS, Gloucester Point, VA

Board Members X - attending

President (Kathy Fuller) - x Past‐President/Nominating/Membership/Web (Lisa Lawrence) -x President-Elect (Sarah McGuire Nuss) -x Secretary (Allison Besch) -x Treasurer (Jackie Takacs) -x Delaware Rep/Social Media (Chris Petrone) -x North Carolina Rep (Andy Gould) -x Virginia Rep (Carrie Bateman) -x Washington, DC Rep (vacant) Maryland Rep (Maria Madero) -x Committee Chairs: David Christopher (Archives/Standing Rules/NMEA 2014 Committee Chair/NMEA Representative) -x Carol Hopper-Brill (Grants/Mentoring) -x Tami Lunsford (NMEA 2014 Committee Chair) -x Ann McElhatton (Masthead) – not attending

Agenda/Business Items

Board Appointments (DC Rep and NMEA Rep) Proxy options for MAMEA Board meetings 2014 Business/Membership Meeting Requirement Fulfillment Board report template Mini-Conferences/State Sponsored Events Financial assistance for MAMEA members attending NMEA 2014 NMEA 2014 12-12:30 Lunch

12:30 pm Call to order by President Kathy Fuller

Action items in green

Motions in red

Discussion in navy blue

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Officer Reports -

President’s Report, Submitted by Kathy Fuller. Attended NMEA 2013

o Led the MAMEA chapter meeting with 22 people in attendance. o Promoted NMEA 2014 o Beth Jewell was honored as the first recipient of the Johnette Borsarge Memorial

Scholarship

Scheduled an Osprey Banding trip for MAMEA members for Saturday, June 29 in the hope of getting more members active throughout the year.

o 11 members attended (8 new/renewing, 3 current/lifetime)

Continued to serve on the NMEA 2014 planning committee advising from my experience on the NMEA 2003 Conference planning committee and a local.

o Leading field trip committee o Working with Maria Madero on a one-day student summit during the conference

modeled after the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit at Mote Marine Lab.

Past President’s Report, Submitted by Lisa Lawrence

Assisted President-Elect Sarah McGuire with the following planning elements of the 2013 annual

conference as a member of the Conference Advisory Team and the Conference Registration

Chair.

o Set up & management of online Call for Papers

o Set up & management of online registration

o Assisted with program schedule and conference logistics

President-Elect Report, Submitted by Sarah McGuire Nuss Annual Conference Report As of October 10th (registration closes on the 18th), # Registered 67 - plus invited speakers and special guests - Update – 84 people registered for conference. Sally Lawrence assisted with several details.

Day 15

Full 52 Financial Information The break-even point for the conference was 60 participants, so we should be in the black. We did have to buy an ABC license for $55 for Friday night's dinner, (Sarah reported they did not have to buy this license) which was not included in the original budget, but that should still be covered by extra registrations. The Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in VA was a large supporter of the conference - providing copies, décor, and swag at check in. Friday night - Fiesta, invited speaker Saturday - Plenary, sessions, book signing, auction all taking place at VIMS Waterman's Hall

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Note from Carol Hopper Brill (CHB): 2 exhibitors contributed to the 3:30-5:00pm activity slot, Julie Shields (hand-stamped jewelry) & Zach Nicholls (cross-disciplinary shark book). Both sold items and donated 10% of proceeds to MAMEA, total income from this source was $26. Action Item: Mid‐Year Board Meeting Date: Can you all look at your calendars and come up with a few weekends in April that you are available for the mid‐year board meeting? No decision on a location so far, but we would like to get that date on the calendar soon. Discussion: April OK. Sarah suggests – April 12, 2014 and no immediate conflicts mentioned. NSTA is first week of April 4/2-4/5. Mid-Atl Sea Grant meeting, Spring break in public schools, Easter all things to look out for. (AB note: Sarah confirmed via email 12/2/13 that the Mid-Year Board Meeting will take place 3/22/14, location TBD)

Secretary’s Report, Submitted by Allison Besch No report, but attending the meeting to take notes. The Board expressed its thanks to Allison for making the trip up to attend and record the last Board meeting of her term.

Treasurers Report, Submitted by Jackie Takacs From Jackie: “I will not have my report to you ahead of time. I am paying conference bills and have a 

crazy timeline. I will email it to you the week of the conference and bring copies for the committee.” 

 

Figure 1: 2013 MAMEA Working Budget – 11/1/13 

For a copy of the budget, contact Treasurer Jackie Takacs <takacs@mdsg.umd.edu> 

 

Passed around paper copy of working budget as of 11/1/13 (see Fig. 1 above). Not drastically different from mid‐year report because all expenses will be incurred in next 3 weeks (i.e. no conference bills paid). $11682.28 in checking account BUT this does not include the conference expenses. PayPal working well for the life member/double pay issue and also for scholarship recipients being reimbursed. There may be a small donation coming from our exhibitors (based on their sales).   Biggest thing Jackie needs from this group: is there anything we want to modify (in the working budget) for next year? Note the Scholarships and coupons for NMEA 2014 (coming out of CD). Discussion of strategic planning or leadership retreat, which was also mentioned in the mid‐year board meeting (2013). Last SP was in 2003. Board only, or general membership in attendance? Doesn’t have to be in Calendar Year 2014. David – NMEA is doing strategic planning. Tami – wait and see where NMEA is going with it & how much MAMEA earns from the national conference.   David – no Bosarge fund next year.   Kathy – Masthead line item? Keep? Jackie – sometimes used for tech, software, or other items that may come up.   Carrie – if States have money left over in mini‐grant, can she do another one? Response (Kathy/Jackie) – yes. Carrie – if so, is there a time limit? Jackie – yes, do this by 12/31/13; mini‐conference budgets do not roll over annually.   ‐Lisa will be doing more registration & web tasks. Jackie asked if we should purchase some MAMEA promo materials to sell at NMEA (our older supplies about gone). ‐Add NMEA Conference support, $15K from CD: 10 scholarships at $500 each & 100 $50 groupons & $5K to cover other conference start‐up expenses. So, moving $15K, spending $10K.   Action items: remove Bosarge fund line $500. Add NMEA conference – Line in budget NMEA 2014 $5000 for conference startup scholarship funds and groupons. Tami – so MAMEA members will get a separate price and a separate website. USM will take the MAMEA member list and compare it to incoming registrations to verify they get the MAMEA rate.  David – current budget estimates $3101 MAMEA cut. NMEA startup reimbursement is now $11,000. 

 

Kathy – No MAMEA 2014 regional conference, so the Paul Standish Scholarships line is not needed in 

the 2014 budget (see Fig. 2). 2013 proceeds will apply to the 2015 conference 

 

Figure 2: 2014 MAMEA proposed budget 

For a copy of the budget, contact Treasurer Jackie Takacs <takacs@mdsg.umd.edu> 

 

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Jackie – last year we ran a deficit of almost 10K, but that’s because we had a checking acct with $13K

in it. So right now we have a checking acct with $11K in it but we have to pay for this fall’s regional

conference.

Also have sufficient coverage in the CD should all of the anticipated 2014 expenses listed come

through.

-Tami suggested that we revisit the budget after MAMEA conference expenses are balanced.

-Lisa mentioned that there are fees associated with PayPal & Shopify re: scholarship winners paying

for Conference & getting reimbursed. Estimates $10 total fees.

Line item for PROFIT from MAMEA merchandise/logo items? Right now it’s $1000. That might be a

little high? Maybe more like $500. Swag ideas? Bottle opener. Dri-fit/performance/underarmour

style shirts.

MOTION: Carol – move to accept budget; Lisa second. All in favor, none opposed.

State Rep Reports Delaware Representative Report, Submitted by Chris Petrone. Discussion: Chris Petrone will probably do another mini-conference the same as last year. Most likely 5/31/14.

Attended the MAMEA Mid-Year Board meeting via telephone

Served on the MAMEA Nominating Committee

Delaware mini-conference “Hulls, Hops, and Horseshoe Crabs” was held on Saturday, June 8, 2013. Nine classroom teachers and 3 informal educators kayaked the Broadkill River, got a tour of the Dogfish Head brewery, had dinner and a great Share-a-thon, then traveled to South Bowers Beach, DE to watch hundreds/thousands of horseshoe crabs spawning. Lisa Tossey, informal educator and NMEA Community Manager, was along for the mini-conference and put together this fantastic video: http://vimeo.com/69140764. The mini-conference almost doubled the DE MAMEA membership (from 9 to 16). Several new members will be attending the annual conference; one of which will be on a conference scholarship. A recap article was submitted to Masthead. Due to overwhelmingly positive response (including teachers driving from Virginia and DC), I am planning on repeating the mini-conference on Saturday, May 31, 2014. Details forthcoming.

MAMEA information (conference and membership) was displayed/distributed at o MADE CLEAR Climate Science Academy at UD-Lewes, July 14-19, 2013 o Lewes Education Coalition “Day in Lewes” workshop – August 7, 2013 o Delaware Coast Day fifth grade essay contest winning teachers’ prize bags – October 6,

2013

Submitted “Delaware Update” to MAMEA Masthead for Spring, Summer, and Fall issues of Masthead.

ACTION ITEM: Chris will volunteer to put together a board report template for – committee chairs, state reps, and board reports (pres, etc). Open to discussion – should they look the same? He will do this in advance of the April 2014 mid year board report. Chris will do this by the end of March 2014 so there is a chance for comment.

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Maryland Representative Report – Kathy gave. Nothing to add. Not sure when 2014 mini-conf will be. Beth Schap is not able to attend the annual Board meeting on November 1, 2013. As a result, she resigned from the MAMEA Board. Maria Madero (MD Representative-elect) was appointed by the MAMEA president to the position of MD Representative effective October 9, 2013.

-Kathy mentioned that low-cost state MAMEA events are a great way to keep current memebers engaged and attract new members. North Carolina Representative Report, Submitted by Andy Gould

Due to scheduling conflicts, a mini-conference won’t be possible this fall. There will be a NC mini-conference in February or March of 2014. Currently looking into the following options:

o Greensboro Science Center & SciQuarium

o NC Estuarium

o Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center

I am considering making one of these locations a mini conference with meeting time to share ideas and swap resources, and then visiting a second location as a smaller field trip in the Fall of 2014.

Virginia Representative Report, Submitted by Carrie Bateman – thinking of January 2014 to go whale watching. Trying to do 3/year.

Mini Conference was held in August- 9 people attended the conference with several new members joining our group. We went stand-up paddle boarding through Ecobeach tours in Virginia Beach.

3 members met for an exciting baseball game at the Richmond Flying Squirrels in June.

Lots of opportunities for formal and informal educators throughout VA- all have been published in the Masthead.

Washington, DC Representative Report – DC Rep position is vacant. Some interested individuals have been identified but no commitments. Trish Mace with Smithsonian and Bill Evans (both cancelled from conference). Discussion – Does the President appoint state reps or are special elections held when a position is vacated mid-term? Do you formalize this procedure in standing rules/bylaws (David)? Standing rules are Board governance policy and bylaws are more formal. Replacement of officers should probably be in the bylaws. David consulted the bylaws and it says that the President-Elect assumes the vacant office and any other vacancies are to be filled by President. Is this fair (David – this bylaw is also badly worded)? No! Should we change? Suggested change to Article IV Officers Section 2B. We are fixing the wording (Kathy/Carol) tonight and put it out to the participants at the conference, who are voting on this tomorrow. Tansferring this duty from pres-elect to past-president and

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fixing the wording. The appointed person is serving out the rest of the term (i.e. NOT just until the next conference). Lisa suggests that anybody could suggest. “Vacancies on the board will be filled by the Past-President until a majority vote of the remaining board takes place. The person selected shall serve out the remaining term of the vacancy.” A discussion ensued about how to interpret/change this action by looking at rules/bylaws. For the election nomination/voting timeline we need to address Standing Rule #201. We are tabling this discussion until the midyear 2014 meeting. Final amended bylaw wording: “Vacancies on the MAMEA board will be filled by the Past-President until a majority vote of the remaining board takes place. The person selected shall serve out the remaining term of the vacancy.” Kathy - Motion to have the membership vote on this proposed bylaw as stated above. Seconded by Chris Petrone. All in favor. Motion carries.** ** Results of the Membership Vote on 11/2/13 (notes submitted 11/4 by Kathy Fuller to Allison Besch via email).

By-law vote -Copy of the ballot form attached as Appendix 1 to these minutes Article IV. Officers From: Existing By Law wording Section 2B. In the case of death, resignation, or inability to serve of an elected officer, the President-elect shall assume duties of the vacant office. Officers to fill any further vacancies shall be appointed by the president. To: Proposed revised wording Section 2B. Unexpected vacancies on the MAMEA Board will be filled by the Past-President until a majority vote to the remaining Board takes place. The person selected shall serve out the remaining term of the vacancy. Membership vote results: 61 for; 2 against – By law change approved. More bylaw discussion – what about sending a proxy to a board meeting? Lisa thinks there are state laws about proxies depending on where an ORG is located. MAMEA originates out of VA so this will have to be investigated. Action Item - DAVID will look into the VA bylaw rules and report back. Tabled for now. Due to renovations to the Department of Commerce Building in Washington, DC, the National Aquarium in Washington, DC closed its doors to the public on September 30, 2013. As a result Bill Simpkins has resigned from the MAMEA Board as DC Representative. A new DC Representative needs to be appointed. Action/Follow-up Item from Kathy Fuller via email, 11/20/13: On 11/20/13 an online vote to the

remaining elected Board members showed 9 out of 9 potential votes have been cast with 100% of the

votes being "Yes, I approve the selection of Trish Mace to fill the DC Representative vacancy."

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Closing remarks on State Rep reports from Kathy Fuller – thank you to state reps and they should note their reports don’t have to be action oriented but keep us posted and keep the reports coming. Committee Reports Archives Report, Submitted by David Christopher - Nothing to report.

Awards Committee Report, Submitted by Megan Ennes. No formal report. Both awards received nominations and have been reviewed. A non-formal educator

and classroom educator award recipient have been selected. Winners are Bill Dunn (classroom teacher) and Andrew Wilson (informal educator). Both have served in the US Navy and have long histories of MAMEA membership.

At the NMEA 2014 business meeting MAMEA will present the 2014 MAMEA awards and give an update

on the 2013 grants program projects. Tami is contacting Susan Haynes (NMEA president) to ensure we

are on the schedule for the meeting. The awards application time line needs to be adjusted. Kathy will

alert Megan Ennes, Awards Committee Chair.

Grants Committee Report, Submitted by Carol Hopper Brill

1. Grants Review Committee for grant submissions includes: Grants Committee Chair, President, Past-President, Treasurer, and reviewers identified by the Grants Chair.

2. The Grant award period remains 1 year only, Nov. 1 to Oct. 31; Final reports due = Nov. 30. 3. Results of the 2012/13 Grant:

a. Sarah McGuire has already submitted an article for the Masthead, fulfilling one of her requirements

b. Her Final Report is expected and I will distribute the report to Grants Committee members via e-mail. Once we accept the report, Jackie sends the balance 20% of the grant.

4. I extended the deadline for the 2013/14 grants to Sept. 30, and 2 grants were submitted, one informal and one formal ed.

a. Reviewers include: Lisa Lawrence, Kathy Fuller, Sarah McGuire, Jackie Takacs and myself. Since Kathy is associated with the Informal Educator’s proposal, Sarah McGuire is reviewing in her place.

b. As Chair, I will communicate any Committee’s requests for clarification to each applicant and assist the applicants (as needed) address the changes to the Committee’s satisfaction.

c. Upon Committee approval, I will prepare short power point presentations to introduce the project to the Membership at the Business Meeting.

d. 2013/14 Grantees are:

Heather & Melinda Mericle, 2 Virginia Beach middle schools,for Catholic STEM Underwater Challenge

Maria Maderos, National Aquarium, for Aquarium on Wheels Alumni Paddlers capacity building program

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5. After the MAMEA Conference, I’ll: a. a) add profiles for the Grantees & descriptions of their projects to the website’s Grant

Recipients pages. b. confer with grantee about appropriate local media outlets and issue press releases. This

is to win them some recognition and to get MAMEA some coverage as well. c. Submit an article featuring the 2013/14 Grantee(s) to the November 2013 Masthead.

6. To better track the progress that Grantees are making on their projects, I try touching base with them approximately quarterly. An e-mail or phone call just to see how things are progressing and if there is any help they need.

7. Improvements to Grant Committee communication procedures: a. Some kind of poll for collecting the Committee Members acceptance of Grants and Final

Reports to assure all input is recorded in a single location. But committee members are still encouraged to use the review forms for rating grant criteria.

b. I will develop a more formal checklist for tracking Grant award & distribution c. I will establish early communications with the Grantees’ Fiscal Officer, as well as the

Grantee. d. I request that the Treasurer copies the Grant Chair when sending communications and

allotment checks to the Grantees’ Fiscal Officers so Grant Chair is better informed. 8. The availability of MAMEA Educational Project Grants will be advertised in the next 3 Masthead

Issues, with a deadline of September 15 (2014).

Facebook/Social Media Report, Submitted by Chris Petrone. Report stands. Twitter hashtag is #MAMEA13. Post pics to MAMEA Facebook page also using #MAMEA13. MAMEA Facebook Statistics (http://www.facebook.com/teachmamea)

We currently have 196 people who “Like” us (up 15% since Mid-Year Board meeting report in April), several of which are not located in the mid-Atlantic, but are active with NMEA and other regional chapters.

Our Facebook friends are 76% female and 22% male (previously 75.9% and 21.8%, respectively), with the largest percentage of women falling into the 25-34 and 35-44 age brackets, at 20% and 21%, respectively. The highest percentage of men fall into the 35-44 age bracket with 6% (previously 5.9%).

In terms of location, our highest number of Fans (10) come from Wilmington, NC; with Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD coming in second with 7 each. Virginia Beach, VA is fourth with 6.

Have posted relevant links, events, and status updates with occasional feedback. Members can send items to MAMEA Facebook page & Chris will then share out to all other members.

The two reining most popular posts (MAMEAns at Exit Glacier at NMEA12 and Happy Birthday photo to President Lisa Lawrence) were ousted (handily) by the following tagged pictures:

Photo of Terri Kirby Hathaway signing her book, “North Carolina’s Amazing Coast” https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=637781862916467&set=a.158739837487341.36988.123930644301594&type=1&theater Reached/seen by 1,283 people; was Liked 74 times; Commented on 16 times; and Shared 5 times.

Photo of MAMEA members at NMEA13 (after chapter meeting) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=659475594080427&set=a.158739837487341.3698

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8.123930644301594&type=1 Reached/seen by 857 people; was clicked on 154 times; and Liked 52 times

Photo of MAMEA members with the NMEA pike (after NMEA13 live auction) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=660163414011645&set=a.158739837487341.36988.123930644301594&type=1

o Reached/seen by 843 people; was clicked on 90 times; and Liked 49 times MAMEA Twitter Statistics (@mamea78)

14 followers (up from 10 since Mid-Year meeting). Not currently active—more of a placeholder account.

MAMEA YouTube channel

MAMEA now has a YouTube channel. It was set up in case we need to house the NMEA2014 promo video; however, the video is being housed on the NMEA YouTube and Vimeo channels.

Storify

Chris compiled a Storify of “MAMEA at #NMEA13” which records all of the NMEA13 action through the eyes of MAMEAns. Posts are either by or about MAMEA members. The Storify has 60 views.

Hashtags of Note

#mamea13 – for all annual conference-related posts

#MAMEAmini – for all mini-conference related posts Comments

Suggestions on improving the MAMEA social media presence are always welcome and appreciated.

Hoping to meet with people interested in advising/contributing to MAMEA social media at annual conference.

Masthead Committee, Submitted by Ann McElhatton. Kathy received a report at the last minute. Allison asked what is the format history of the Masthead? It became a blog in Fall 2011 and Ann took over winter 2012/2013. 2013 had 595 views of online masthead. Big months were Feb (97/267), June (54 visitors/127 views), September (23/52). Tami- always sends Masthead to NMEA board, which accounts for some of the “opens”. *Ann cannot use the e-mail account at her office and Issue 3 may have not reached all members. There may be some blocking issues. Would it help if there was a MAMEA-specific e-mail address and have members get clearance to receive mailings from it? *Carrie Bateman requests that State Reps be allowed to post to MAMEA Facebook directly so they can post event images more quickly. No report.

Membership Committee, Submitted by Lisa Lawrence. Lisa will keep the membership duties and officially pull it out of secretary role.

158 current members (5 inactive members renewed through conference registrations)

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o DC – 6

o DE – 12

o MD – 38

o NC – 32

o VA – 64

o Other – 6

+15 new members from conference registrations (=173 members)

Mentoring Committee, “NOSB Competition Subcommittee”, Submitted by Carol Hopper-Brill 1. I am quite willing to continue assisting the Past-President by coordinating communications for the MAMEA awards for regional NOSB competitions, a Mentoring Committee project. I help with 2 elements:

a) Offering up to 4 MAMEA memberships for teachers serving as new coaches for the 3 regional competitions (Chesapeake Bay Bowl, Blue Crab Bowl, Blue Heron Bowl);

b) Offering MAMEA conference registration for the 1st place coach of each of these Bowls. 2. NOSB funding is severely reduced this year, but our 3 regional Bowls will be held this year at a bare-bones level. The Awards from MAMEA will be welcome. It is unclear yet whether NOSB will have funds to support team travel to the Finals, winning teams may have to do fundraising of their own. 3. I will continue to work with the Regional Coordinators of the Bowls to acknowledge MAMEA as an award donor for their Bowls and include the MAMEA logo if possible in their event program or sponsor page.

a) Chesapeake Bay Bowl Coordinator: Chris Petrone (UDel Sea Grant) b) Blue Crab Bowl Coordinators: myself and Victoria Hill (ODU) c) Blue Heron Bowl Coordinators: Janelle Fleming (NC State Univ.)

4. I will provide certificates for the Bowl Coordinators to distribute at their awards ceremony, and follow up with a “Welcome to MAMEA” e-mail to the award recipients. I submit the recipients contact information to the MAMEA Secretary as soon as I obtain it so that their benefits can begin as soon as possible. 5. I also ask the Bowl Coordinators to provide a photo of their winning team so that I can write an article for the Spring 2014 Masthead. 6. For the winning coaches, I alert them when Conference registration opens and clarify with them that their award is for MAMEA Conference registration fees only, no other expenses associated with lodging, guest tickets or travel to the conference. I shared their information with the Conference Committee. Bill Dunn of Bishop Sullivan Catholic School is expected to attend the 2013 MAMEA conference.

NMEA Representative Report, Submitted by David Christopher

NMEA has put out a call for office management (Johnette and Sharon Walker’s position) of the National Office. Looking internally but currently open only internally. Want proposals in by mid-Dec. Looking for someone who consults, works out of the home or as part of their existing job but with no overhead requirements. Will provide a similar amount of funding that was provided to Johnette but no exact number. Job description is slightly vague. Proposals due 12/13/13.

NMEA is moving website and membership management to “Yourmembership.com”. There is

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basically a lot of transition going on at NMEA. Discussing the “one membership” concept (which links national and regional memeberships). With “one membership”, for example, if a person purchases a NMEA membership, they automatically receive a regional membership to MAMEA and MAMEA get $25 from NMEA.

Lisa has questions about record keeping – how will they transfer membership info to the regional offices? How often would MAMEA get reports? Want to see how well it works before we adopt it, our system works pretty well right now & we have no incentive to switch till it is proven

I (David) am willing to act as the MAMEA Rep to NMEA. However, if anyone wants the job that is fine with me. One area of concern I have is that I WILL NOT be able to attend this summer’s board meeting as I will be busy with other things.

Upcoming Chapter Rep phone meetings are: o September 10, 2013 4:00 pm Eastern o November 12, 2013 7:00 pm Eastern o February 11, 2014 4:00 pm Eastern o May 13, 2014 7:00 pm Eastern

Also there is the 2014 NSTA Share-a-thon and Board Meeting, April 2-3, Boston, MA

I endorse Chris Petrone’s request to use similar reporting forms as NMEA. This makes the reps job easier when communicating things back and forth between MAMEA and NMEA.

NMEA is updating their website currently.

NMEA is using a new Web Conference software for meetings

There is a new NMEA Social Media/Community Manager – Lisa Tossey

NMEA has a standard report form that Chapter Reps use, we should adapt a template. Reports are legal documents, a standard format will help as new Board members transition in. Do we need to consider some mentorship for committees also. C.Petrone can share the NMEA templates, will test for the Mid-Year meeting.

Nominating Committee, Submitted by Lisa Lawrence . Timelines for nominating are still based on mailing paper ballots – nominations open (30 days) then close; nominees announced (30 days – can we lessen or eliminate this?); elections open (30 days) and elections close prior to the chapter meeting at NMEA (no mention of how long prior). Need to examine Bylaw & Standing Rules related to this issue. Lisa will assist Kathy Fuller with this next year.

MAMEA Board elections were held online for offices of President Elect, Secretary, and MD & NC

State Reps. Each office had one candidate running unopposed, but members were able to write

in candidates. 58 members voted and the results, as follow, were announced at NMEA 2013

Chapter meeting and in the Masthead. Numbers of members voting are consistent with past

years (56 in 2010, 35 in 2011, and 60 in 2012) but account for only 35-40% of the membership.

o President Elect: Dawn Sherwood

o Secretary: Carol Hopper Brill

o MD Rep: Maria Madero

o NC Rep: Andy Gould

We need a special election for DC representative to replace Bill Simpkins. We currently have 4

DC members besides Bill (see below) but 2 additional with conference registration. Only DC

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members can vote and only one of the current members will be at the annual conference. We

can set up a special online election for the replacement 1-year DC Rep position.

o Emily Boyer (member since Oct. 2012; teacher at St. Johns College High School)

o Trish Mace (member since Feb. 2012; informal educator at Smithsonian)

o Pam Wasserman (member since Oct. 2012; work s for Population Connect)

o Terry Wood (member since Feb. 2012; teacher at J.C. Nalle Elementary)

Scholarship Committee Report, Submitted by Sarah McGuire Nuss We received 6 applications for scholarships to MAMEA - 2 NC, 3 VA, 1 DE. One of the NC applications was not valid because the applicant had not paid dues and was not an active member. We offered to allow the person to renew their scholarship in order to be considered, and it was mentioned to them that I had to check into the limitations of how often you can receive a scholarship (had received one in 2011). After hearing that, the applicant withdrew their application before it was brought to the board. Therefore, all of the other 5 applications were awarded. Some reimbursements were awarded prior to the conference if the applicant registered online, and the rest will be given out in person at the conference. Action Item: We need to vote on the rules of the scholarship eligibility - how often people are eligible to receive awards? This has been discussed several times but is not in the official bylaws (well actually this is a standing rule). Discussion – NMEA rules are every 3 years. MAMEA board thinks every other year is ok. Wording: Members may not receive a Paul Standish scholarship in consecutive years. Carol Motion We modify Standing Rule 208.2 adding item D which would read (see above in bold). Sarah second. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carries.

Standing Rules Committee Report, Submitted by David Christopher

Suggestion for bylaw to allow proxy votes at Board meetings: ARTICLE XI. QUORUM Section 3: In the event a board member cannot attend a meeting. The board member can assign a proxy to attend in their place.

o This would need to be voted on by the membership.

We must hold a membership each year, per MAMEA Bylaws & Standing Rules. Discussion of options followed:

o The official MAMEA membership meeting will be held in the Richmond, VA area, on Saturday, October 18th in conjunction with the regional NSTA conference. The meeting will be combined with an event that will take place in the afternoon/evening, after the conclusion of the NSTA conference. The event will have a small fee that MAMEA members will be able to apply for a small scholarship to cover the fee only. No auction, awards, etc. will be presented at the event. The grants program timeline will remain unchanged. President-elect, Dawn Sherwood, will be working on planning the event with the assistance of the Board and others.

o We can hold a membership meeting at the NMEA conference to fulfill the obligation of holding an annual membership meeting without a regional conference in 2014. Discussion - business meeting during the chapter meeting. Sarah – mid year meeting in April and business meeting in July at NMEA (this is not the same as a board meeting). Then you have to have another physical meeting – a board meeting – in the

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fall. Mention MAMEA awards at NMEA 2014. Mention current 2013-2014 grants at NMEA. Don’t mess with grants schedule. A business meeting at NMEA will be nice – 75 minutes while eating and bidding and selling raffle tickets is doable. Sarah is president until the board meeting (including running the meeting) and then Dawn becomes Pres. This will be in the middle of the NMEA conference, and Dawn becomes Pres in July and helps organize the Fall meeting (in lieu of a full blown conference). The board is reluctant to make a final decision without Dawn being present (today). The conference advisory team (treasurer, past Pres, Pres, pres-elect) will discuss this. Include awards chair (Andy Gould will stand in for Meagan on this) and meet here at 8am-9am on Sunday. Action Item: Kathy will take notes and communicate to Allison.

Follow up: Sarah (via email 12/2/13) communicated that “…we decided that the board members would stay on the same time assignment as before, with the switching of board members taking place in October at the one-day conference at NSTA.”

Website Committee, Submitted by Lisa Lawrence Website statistics for 2013 were approximately half that reported for 2012. This is due to a change in

website statistics reporting; the software is now pulling out the Internet search robot crawler visits from

the stats. Visitation for the last 12 months is: 14,117 page accesses during 6,595 visits. Website

visitation peaks in the two months preceding the annual conference.

The MAMEA list-serve (open to public not just MAMEA members) has 189 subscribers. Postings over the

past year decreased slightly from 63 messages last year to 51 messages this past year.

I set up a Shopify.com store for MAMEA in order to process online conference registration payments. It

creates a shopping cart that links conference registration to our Paypal account. This has been very

successful and I would recommend it for future registration needs. Fees are $14/month plus 2% per

transaction ($2.50 on $125 reg or $2.80 on $140). Paypal fees are $3.05 on $125 reg or $3.38 on $140

reg. For future conferences, we’ll need to add ~$7 per registration to cover Shopify & Paypal fees.

NMEA 2014 Website

The NMEA 2014 online Call for Papers form has been created. After testing by the conference

committee, it will be ready to go live to start accepting session proposals for 2014 conference.

http://www.nmea2014.com/

NMEA 2014 Report, Submitted by David Christopher

Tami had a long conversation with Peter Tuddenham from the College of

Exploration. He is interested in hosting an “International Day” at the hotel on

Monday, the day before NMEA – not part but adjacent. Tami thought it was great

but would talk about it on Sunday at planning meeting.

MAMEA board can help us out on auction items – esp outside of MAMEA range,

always looking for donors too, registration will go live in January.

Registration goal is $450 but would like it to be lower.

Chris Petrone had a conversation with Maryann Sholl – marketing person for

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NMEA 2015 (Newport RI) about what they need – page in program, will request

etiquette in pre-conference stages so 2015 marketing doesn’t overshadow 2014

marketing effort.

Then discussed the scholarships for NMEA and how the $10,000 is split. 10

scholarships at $500 (registration – Jackie – if registration goes to $450 then we can

cover 12. This has to be “early bird” registration level by the deadline of 4/30/14.

Or we can cover registration plus travel. Tami – how will scholarship recipients be

held accountable to attending? Jackie – put a hold on their cc and tell them the amt

in full will be charge the day after they fail to show) put this in with NMEA notes.

Any other questions about the MAMEA support for NMEA? no. The committee held its last planning meeting on September 14. The next planning meeting will be held on November 3 from 9am to 1 pm.

Agenda for the November 3 meeting

Key Dates

o November - January (dates TBD): Call for presentations

o January – April (tentative): Exhibit Registration

o February 10 - April 30: Early bird registration

o March 15: Deadline for Traditional Knowledge, Expanding Audiences, and NMEA

member-only scholarships

o July 21: Pre-conference workshops and opening event at the U.S. Naval Academy

o July 22 - 24: Plenaries, concurrent sessions, and exhibits

o July 22: Evening event at the National Aquarium in Baltimore featuring Donegal X-Press,

a local Celtic rock band

o July 23: Conference banquet and auction

o July 24: Potential Boat Cruise

o July 25: Optional field trips & EdCamp-style “unconference”

Conference Schedule (see separate sheet)

Speakers

o Where are we?

Henry Miller- present on history/archaeology/maritime, Monday night

Edie Widder, former senior scientist at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution

and co-founder of the Ocean Research and Conservation Association Tuesday

Morning.

Mike Wysession, Chair for Earth and Space science writing team for the NGSS

Wednesday

Rita Colwell, Chairman of Canon US Life Sciences, Inc. and Distinguished

University Professor both at the University of Maryland at College Park and at

Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Former NSF

director- Thursday

Registration

We have confirmed USM will handle online registration, but will not be onsite.

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Concurrent Sessions

o Online application form complete

o To be opened following MAMEA

Youth Conference

o We will be have a conference strand for highs school students one day

Next Steps

o Should have quote for buses and A/V by November meeting

o We are beginning to select menus

o We are continuing to look into donors and auction items

o Working on Thursday night event after DC did not work out

Kathy moves to close meeting. Lisa and Chris second. Meeting ends 3:55 PM.

Allison Besch, MAMEA Secretary

Signed December 4, 2013

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Appendix 1: MAMEA By-Law Changes proposed to Membership on Nov. 2, 2013

MAMEA By-Law Changes: Proposed by Board to: Revise the procedure for filling unexpected vacancies on the MAMEA Board.

Motion was passed by the MAMEA Board on 11/1/2013.

Member vote required, to be conducted at the Annual Business

Meeting, 11/2/2013 during Fall Conference.

ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS

FROM: Existing By Law wording Section 2B. In the case of death, resignation, or inability to serve of an elective officer, the President-elect shall assume duties of the vacant office. Officers to fill any further vacancies shall be

appointed by the President.

TO: Proposed revised wording

Section 2B. Unexpected vacancies on the MAMEA Board will be filled by the Past-President until a majority vote of the remaining Board takes place. The person selected shall serve out the remaining term of the vacancy.

Please, indicate your vote:

I approve By-Law wording change

I do not approve the By-Law wording change.