AEOE Southern Board Meeting

20 Sept. 2003

In attendance: Helen de la Maza, Laura Leaf Vandezande, Zayanne Thompson, Michael Charnofsky, George Stratman, Maggie Wolfe, Kris Pamintuan

1.      Review past minutes - Helen

• Clarification of entertainment fees: fees paid to entertainers and keynote speakers
• Motion to pass minutes by George, seconded by Laura Leaf.

2.      Fall Conference Discussion - Laura

• Camping is the preferred lodging, but dorms are available if anyone needs
• B-B-Q for dinner w/ hamburgers and Boca Burgers
• Objection to hamburgers and suggested to go entirely vegetarian
• Discussion about what to have for dinner
• Laura will run it by the staff that are cooking to see what they can do, possibly Boca Burgers & veggie dogs, plus cheese for protein, maybe some nice grilled peppers & other veggies, and/or chili as a dish or a topping
• Water, composting, recycling on site
• Early registration is Oct. 22, $20; after that is walk-in $30
• Discussion about family rates, perhaps charging them the site rate or, since the fall conference is so cheap already, charge them the full rate
• Family rate w/ kids available, please inquire
• Non-participating adult rate - $20 for the 2003 fall conference
• Non-participating child rate - $10 for the 2003 fall conference
• Accident report and liability form – Helen will copy the accident report, Laura will take care of the liability form [PLEASE NOTE: Concerns were brought up during the Statewide Exec. Board Mtg. about the use of this liability form.  Please put this on hold until George S. and Hoppy have looked into the issue.]
• Entertainment
• Fri. night will be a scary night hike 8:30-9:30, followed by astronomy
• Sat. night will be B-B-Q, Scott Edgecomb from approx. 7:00-8:30 (maybe have Scott include storytelling?), followed by the Mandl’s w/ music and a drum circle until whenever
• Alcohol is not “officially” allowed on site except where we have the B-B-Q, but site manager said it’s ok to have alcohol unless something gets into the pond
• We will not mention alcohol on site at all, but will take action if people get out of hand
• Presenters
• Only 7-8 presenters so far, Kris & Maggie will also present, Helen might also
• Reviewed list of scheduled presenters
• 4 workshop slots – 2 Sat. am, 1 Sat. afternoon, 1 Sun. am
• We need a total of 10-12 more presenters
• Presenters need to register when they arrive on site (& sign liability waiver)
• Jobs & volunteers for fall conference
• Not much for volunteers to do other than helping with parking, greeting, meal prep & clean-up
• If someone could get site map & directions
• Someone to help with registration & direction on site
• L George won’t be at the conference, Zayanne will try to come but may not make it
• Registration from 5-10pm Friday
• Bring a camping lantern for the sign-up tables
• Helen will be on site early to set up (3:00/3:30 PM)
• Helen will bring mugs, etc. to sell


• Sunday morning
• Southern board meeting
• Closing “ceremony”
• Include info about 50^th anniversary and Howard Bell award
• Ask everyone to write a few reasons why AEOE is such a great organization & compile a list of “50 Great Things About AEOE” – Laura will be in charge of this
• Use the papers that people turn in as the raffle tickets, get prizes from Acorn Naturalists
• No evaluations, but have a suggestion box at the registration table w/ scratch paper & pencils
• Fees
• $20 per person, site is only charging $5 per person
• We will spend approx. $2000 for this conference for food, entertainment, site fees, etc.
• Now the revenue from membership has grown and is becoming a big money maker, whereas in the past, money came only from conferences (we need to start looking for investments!)

3.      Open Board Positions - Helen

• Newsletter Editor
• Dan Webster (in absentia) does not like the idea of a statewide newsletter with a local insert
• The argument is that it is a lot of work to produce a newsletter, and mailing to the entire state is a huge job
• It would benefit everyone to get all of the information from both sections, and technology makes it possible to have one person design the newsletter, send it to someone else who does the mailing
• It may be a money saving option

o       Offer the option to receive the newsletter via e-mail in the newsletter – Maggie will include a section to contact Helen if they want to receive it via e-mail

• Chair-elect
• This is Helen’s second consecutive year as chair-elect, so we need a new chair-elect
• Helen explained her duties – coordinating conferences & meetings
• Kris suggested to contact Jason Westfall about open board positions

4.      Activities – Laura Leaf

• Canoeing – Kestrel is setting up this activity
• She can contact Zayanne about getting funds and accepting
• Canoeing on the Colorado River
• February or March? Valentine’s weekend?
• Laura will look into dates
• Potential snow play in January or March?
• Laura will look into dates
• Zayanne suggested a surfing activity and offered the use of her site
• Perhaps instead of snow play
• Zayanne will check into sites
• Michael suggested bird watching
• Discussion about where to have a bird watching activity
• Perhaps urban or costal bird watching? Michael knows some cool spots
• Maybe November or December?
• Discussion will continue at the fall conference

5.      Statewide Issues - Helen

• Statewide budget will be presented and approved next week @ statewide meeting; approve/adopt budget

• Dan Allison (in absentia) suggested that the webmaster stipend be increased for software, training, etc.

• Discussion about new by-laws and new positions - will be statewide meeting discussions
• Zayanne would like to discuss options for creating a better system of checks and balances for treasurer, possibly a financial report or quarterly report that goes to all exec. board members to approve
• CFO position description should go out on the website, George has descriptions of positions
• Discuss possibilities of newsletter changes
• Statewide meeting is next Sat.
• Executive Board = 5 voting members are No. Chair & Chair Elect, So. Chair & Chair Elect, & State Coordinator.  Non-voting = CFO, Public Relations, State historian, Webmaster
• Bylaws need to be approved so we can take action on other issues pending
• Maggie will resend proposed bylaws out to state board members so all can read them before the meeting
• Financial status review & discussion about finances
• Discuss NAAEE, confirm & decide what we are doing with it
• AEOE name – should we add “California” to the title
• Michael thinks it would be nice to have an AEOE photographer & getting an AEOE digital camera
• George recommended having a travel stipend for exec. board members to get them to be able to meet
• People need to be able to meet & make decisions & not have issues hanging for a year or more
• Expenses and giving up weekends are major concerns
• Anyone who is working as an affiliate should be sure that the board knows that they are going to represent AEOE at a conference, that they represent AEOE professionally, and that they report back to AEOE about the conference
• Discuss this at the statewide meeting and how to make this an official procedure
• George suggested having statewide board meeting on Saturday of the Spring Conference so that we can have 2 meetings a year to discuss and make decisions on important issues
• Statewide scholarship fund (statewide fund & applicants? How to award & how much to award?) and how to invest AEOE $
• Discuss the possibility of paying someone to do our taxes for the 2002-03 fiscal year so Zayanne will have a better feel of how to do them for next year – George would like to discuss paying someone to do this with audits and taxes every time

6.  Report from CFO -- Zayanne

• Budget Report ’02-’03 passed out
• We earned money this year even though we budgeted to break even
• We have $53,724.25 in the bank, so we need to start thinking about how to invest this money
• We need to be smart with the money, but we also don’t need to be cheap about things
• Some of this money will be scholarship money
• Perhaps we should consider a Southern Daisy Fund (for scholarships) or making it a statewide thing
• Budget Report ’03-’04 passed out
• Raised Southern “Conference & Event Expenses – Food” to $500 for 50^th anniversary cake & ice cream (think about getting one of the AEOE founders to cut the cake!)
• Remove the $500 for conference coordinator fee or as a reimbursement fund for conference publicity or something
• Remove “Northern Spring Conference” & “Workshop” fees under “income”
• Zayanne suggested that we condense and make most items statewide as opposed to sections
• Discuss this at the statewide meeting
• Zayanne will revise and send out revised budget for southern to vote on this week and include in that e-mail what her proposed ideas are for condensing/combining statewide categories
• Non-profit status
• Zayanne is comfortable with the fact that we are keeping good track of our money, but is concerned about accountability and the chance of being audited
• Zayanne would like to have someone to do the taxes for the 2002-03 fiscal year so she will feel more comfortable doing the taxes next year.  We don’t have good records from the past.
• George would feel better paying someone to do our auditing and our taxes every year depending on the price

7.  Spring 2004 Statewide Conference

• Review of jobs
• Food = ice cream & cake Sat. after lunch
• Maggie suggested getting previous Howard Bell winners to be at the special after-lunch 50^th anniversary “ceremony”
• George suggested having the job fair as a formal workshop Saturday after lunch because of the increasing interest, to make it more organized, and to include COSA folks who are actively recruiting
• Discussion about COSA meeting & if it will be held at AEOE conference
• Be careful about what else is scheduled during that time
• Scholarships – Zayanne would like to make it all statewide (fund & applicants), and establish statewide parameters for how to award them & how much to be awarded
• Only presenters & conference coordinators get discounts for the conference

• Conference dates:  April 30-May 2, 2004
• Early Registration: postmarked by April 2                                                      Cost = $105
• Regular Registration: from April 3-16, postmarked by April 16.             Cost = $130
• Nothing accepted April 17-beyond
• Walk-in/On Site Registration is April 30-31                                                   Cost = $160
• Cost to us is:  Camping $55, Dorms $72, 7 rustic private rooms w/ twin beds $85
• Premium housing last year
• Private bath = $105 for 1 person, $85 each for 2 people plus regular conference fees
• Shared bath = $75 for 1 person, $50 each for 2 people plus regular conference fees
• Newsletter

• Spring 2004 Newsletter deadline –
• Articles/info due by February 6
• Editing deadline Feb. 20 (e-mailed to board members by Feb. 20)
• Comments/changes back to Newsletter Editor by Feb. 25
• Mailed out on March 5
• 335 regular registration, 75 day-use (no meals & lodging)
• Verbal info. or e-mail for people who want to camp nearby & come in on Sat. or who register during (Contact Laura Leaf if people are interested in camping near site)
• Day-use, no meals, no lodging
• Early registration = $55
• Regular registration = $80
• On-site registration = $110
• Motioned by Kris, seconded by George, no objections, motion passed
• Zayanne expressed concern about publishing conference costs before knowing the budget & how much we are going to spend
• Presenter discount rate – yes – 50% discount if presenters register (postmarked) by Feb. 14; 40% discount if presenters register by (postmarked) by April 16.
• Discounts
• State Board Member discounts – no
• Committee Member discounts – 50% off, and 100% off for the “Big Eight” (Entertainment, Facilities, Key Note Speaker Coordinator, Pre-Conference Registration, Presenter Coordinator, Publicity, Registration Packet/Conference Program, Treasurer)
• Maggie motioned to add evaluation person to the “Big Eight”, making it the “Big Nine” – Zayanne seconded, George abstained, motion passed
• Please inform Helen if people volunteer to help so she can include them on the e-mail group
• Motion to change the “Big Nine” to the “Big Ten”, nine positions named, the 10^th appointed at the discretion of the conference committee – Kris motioned, George seconded, motion passed (for this conference Laura will be the 10^th as she has several jobs)
• Family Rate – yes; in registration packet, add “family rate w/ kids available, please inquire”
• Kids 12 & under will be charged the “at cost” price
• $55 for camping
• $72 for dorms
• Full price for day-use only
• Kris motioned kid prices, Laura seconded, no objections, motion passed
• Howard Bell – yes; given at Spring Conference
• George Stratman in charge
• Hand it out at the Fall Conference -Laura
• Send one to Northern to hand out at their Fall Conference
• Put it in Winter Newsletter
• Helen will e-mail Janice about new H.B. plaque
• Meals
• At Hess Kramer, we had to check off everyone who came to eat each meal
• People who have paid for full conference including meals could have a colored wrist band or a special colored name tag – Laura is looking into wrist bands 335 regular, 75 day-use, 35 COSA
• Celebration of 50 Years of AEOE
• “50 Years of Teaching Outside the Lines”
• Sing Happy Birthday to AEOE after lunch & have cake & ice cream
• Raffle after people turn in evaluations (use evaluations as raffle ticket) – yes
• Raffle off one free registration for next year’s conference – Zayanne recommended that we should check with Northern about this
• Closing ceremony
• Yes, preferably held in the grass
• We have to do the D.H. set up & clean-up – volunteers will help with this
• Parking is limited, we need to come up w/ a plan
• Workshop Registration Friday night
• We are not saving spots for people (people can still sign-up Saturday, but no special spots)
• Evaluations
• Helen has 400 copies of a generic evaluation that is blank on one side that we can copy specific conference stuff onto the back
• Helen will give to George (because he’s doing the evals.)
• Safety Issues
• Helen has the accident report form – we have it but need to get it on site
• Liability waiver (discussed above)
• Workshops
• 16 workshops per session, w/ 25 attendees each
• Workshops w/ fees
• Info should go into registration packet/newsletter
• Money usually goes directly to the presenter & is not collected
• Schedule
• Some people prefer three on Sat., some prefer four on Sat.
• Time should be shorter, perhaps 1’15” or 1’30”
• More time in between is not a bad thing
• Bill Andrews called Helen & left her a message, he wants to do an update on the California EE plan
• Schedule (draft)
• FRIDAY
• Registration from 6 pm-10:30 pm Friday
• Workshop sign-ups start at 8pm
• Snack bar (cookies & fruit)
• Rhyme & Reason playing Fri. at 8:45pm-9:30pm
• Cubensis playing Fri. at 9:30pm-12am
•  SATURDAY
• Registration should have a start & end time; George is concerned about having Helen & Zayanne do all of the registration – he suggested having one do it Fri., the other do it Sat.
• Abel Silvas is doing the opening ceremony Sat. am
• Have Bill Anderson speak right after breakfast
• Do the 50^th anniversary celebration after lunch (cake & ice cream)
• Casey Neill playing Sat. 9pm-12pm
• Michael will work on a draft of a schedule so we can fit in speakers & entertainment
• Michael is interested in doing something on diversity
• George thinks it is possible to have a non-huge headline speaker speak on Fri. during registration
• Zayanne suggested not processing people’s registration until they send in their membership & payments
• Speakers are David Abrahm, Abel Silvas, & Bill Andrews

Motions Passed:

• Motion to approve last meeting’s minutes
• Motion passed for family rates
• Non-participating adult rate - $20 for the 2003 fall conference
• Non-participating child rate - $10 for the 2003 fall conference
• Maggie will include a disclaimer in conference info to contact Helen about special rates – special rates will not be published in newsletter, etc.
• Motion to pass rates for day-use only (no meals, no lodging)

• Early registration = $55
• Regular registration = $80

• On-site registration = $110
• Motion to add the person doing evaluations to the “Big Eight,” making it the “Big Nine”
• Motion to change the “Big Nine” to the “Big Ten”, nine positions named, the 10^th appointed at the discretion of the conference committee

• Family Rate – yes; in registration packet, add “family rate w/ kids available, please inquire”
• Kids 12 & under will be charged the “at cost” price
• $55 for camping, $72 for dorms, full price for day-use only

JOBS/Action Items:

• HELEN will copy Accident Report forms & bring them to the fall conference
• HELEN will tell Judy that one of the Sat. afternoon slots after lunch will be reserved for the job fair
• HELEN will give George the 400 evals. for the statewide conference
• LAURA will look into Sat. dinner for the fall conference – veggie burgers/dogs, chili, etc. vs. hamburgers
• LAURA will take care of Liability Waiver forms & “50 Great Things About AEOE” (closing ceremony)
• LAURA will look into dates for Colorado River Canoe Trip
• ZAYANNE will look into dates for possible surfing activity
• ZAYANNE will revise and send out ’03-’04 budget report for Southern Board members
• MAGGIE will resend proposed bylaws to state board so all can review before Saturday’s meeting
• MICHAEL will check w/ Camp Hess Kramer about cake & ice cream
• MICHAEL will work on a draft of a schedule so we can fit in speakers & entertainment

Meeting adjourned by Helen at 3:15pm

Job	Person in Charge/Coordinator
Auctioneer	Hoppy Hopkins
Charitable Giving Coord./Auction Items/Raffle	Tamara Palmer
Clean-up (post-conference)
Closing Ceremony
Concierges	Becky Sanchez
Conference Coordinator	Helen de la Maza
Dining Hall Coordinator/food/snacks/set-up/clean-up	Kris Pamintuan
Entertainment *	Paul Grafton
Evaluations & Raffle *	George Stratman
Facilities - pre (meals, housing, etc.) *	Michael Charnofsky
First Aid/CPR Rover	Kris Pamintuan
Fundraising	Ray Cramer
Grant Writing  - NAAEE	Helen de la Maza & Hoppy Hopkins
Green Conference Coordinator	Laura Vandezande
Housing Coord. (dorms/camping)	Laura Vandezande
Job Fair	Judy Toothaker/Mike Grant
Journal swap
Key Note Speaker(s) *	Paul Grafton
Key Note liaison on-site
Map maker: site map & map to site	Laura Vandezande
Membership-on site	Helen de la Maza
Merchandise Coord.	Zayanne Thompson
Merchandise Sales	Zayanne Thompson
Nametags (on-site)	Nat Corrall
On-site conference reg.	Helen de la Maza & Heather Butler
Parking
Photography Contest (or other)	Hoppy Hopkins
Pre-conference reg. *	Helen de la Maza
Presenter Coordinator *	Judy Toothaker & Maggie (the assistant)
Presenter liaison (on-site)
Prizes	Tamara Palmer
Professional Development	Kathleen???
Publicity	Michael Charnofsky
Radios	Michael Charnofsky
Registration packet/Conference Program	Maggie Wolfe
Rule monitor (a.k.a. “The Heavy”)	Someone from Kris’ site
Scholarships	Laura Vandezande
Sign Maker	Laura Vandezande
Silent Auction Coordinator	Tamara Palmer
Site people/information/directions
Skits/Talent Show	Paul Grafton
Transportation	Laura Vandezande
Treasurer *	Zayanne Thompson
T-shirt design	Anita Arnold
T-shirt ordering	Kathleen ??? or Zayanne Thompson
T-shirt/gear swap
Vendor	Michael Charnofsky
VIP housing	Laura Vandezande
Volunteer Coord.	Melody Mischke
Volunteer gifts	Tamara Palmer
Workshop Sheets	Judy Toothaker & Maggie Wolfe
Other	Debbie Caraway, Sam Herrick, Colleen Ryan, Jason Westfall