MASNA April, 2005 BOD Meeting Minutes

(This meeting was held electronically on April 6th, 2005 9: PM EST)

 

Attendance:

 

BOD Present:

 

Cheri Phillips (President)

Charles Scannell (Past President/Webmaster)

Amy Larsan (Membership)

Robert Lemcke (Treasurer)

Marc Levenson (Editor)

Joe Scavo (Public Relations)

John Brandt (Industry/Legislation/Ocean Conservation Rep.)

 

Members Other Than BOD Present:

 

Steve Howard (WAMAS President)

Steven Pro (PMASI President)

Kelly Jedlicki (LMAS President)

 

 

OFFICER REPORTS:

 

NOTE: All officer reports were distributed via email to the BOD in advance of this meeting.  They have been formatted and are inserted into these minutes.

 

1) President’s Report:

 

• Participated in the AquariumHobbyist MASNA Chat on 4/4/05, along w/ Chuck Scannell and John Brandt

 

• Sent an eMAIL out to all MASNA members requesting nominations for the next MASNA award – 8 have been received thus far. Amy is also getting copies of the award ballots coming in so that she can keep the official tally. The tally will not be public in minutes or the Board meeting however, in an effort to keep the results secret until the night of the banquet.

 

• Sent an eMAIL out to all MASNA clubs announcing the website award competition – judging to begin 8/1/05. We will need several of the board members to sign up to help judge

 

• Mailed a packet of MASNA brochures to Marc Levenson for The Next Wave mini-conference held by DFWMAS and to Bob Lemcke for an up-coming mini-conference with the Atlanta club

 

• Added Charles Mazel to the MASNA National Speaker Database and have been in correspondence w/ Holger Kraus (suggested by Anthony Calfo) to get the permission/information to add him as well. Responded to a request from the ORCA delegate for the MS Word file w/ all the Eric Borneman presentations.

 

• Wrote and sent to Marc a “From the President’s Desk” article for the next newsletter

 

• Responded to correspondences from Shane Vanderburg (MARSH President) and Kim Price (MARSH VP) regarding MACNA

 

• Corresponded w/ Nancy Swart to determine if she has any MASNA records on her old computer that has been in storage while she moved. Have received a MACNA Planning Guide that she put together after the Baltimore MACNA. It is much more detailed than what is currently on our website, but could be brought up to date and added to. I will be working on that over the next month and will share it with the MARSH folks and WAMAS. I’ll be getting other electronic files from Nancy as well.

 

• Spent more time working on the MASNA store issues and got training from Chuck Scannell on how to use/access the internals of the online store and purchase information. I have created an Excel spreadsheet that represents the current inventory based upon all donation records that I can find and all purchase records I found. I’ve been in contact w/ Karen Weiss and she shipped one store purchase (a New Wave CD) and has agreed to the inventory list for the Weiss Company that I compiled. She confirmed that the magnum lights are no longer available and I’ve removed them from the store inventory. I have requested a physical inventory count from Joe Ranney (Wild Birds Unlimited) who has the T-shirts and Tote Bags. I haven’t yet heard back from him. Several more store orders have come in, including two from England. I need to find out if the donors are willing to ship overseas.

 

• Responded to several requests for MASNA information

 

• Am setting up a conference call w/ MARSH, WAMAS, Chuck and I to discuss vendor relationship management ideas for host clubs

 

• Corresponded w/ Lee Morey regarding sending the Corporate Seal to Amy and the copy of ACT! that David got us to me

 

• Responded to WAMAS request for prior MACNA photos by researching where many can be found. I’d like to see MASNA have a MACNA History web page that discusses everything that can be found regarding MASNA’s history and includes MACNA history and pictures as well. I will work w/ Chuck on this idea and also with the owners of the pictures that I found to get their permission.

 

 

2) Vice President’s Report:

 

No Report

 

3) Treasurer’s Report:

 

• Confirmed that WAMAS received the January invoice for MACNA XVII and that they are working on determining the amount due MASNA which is based on the number of paid attendees and vendors as of 1/31/05.

 

• Obtained a $60 credit from EMS for billing MASNA for Jan and Feb for the old Merchant account when they should have closed that account in January. 

 

• Had EMS close the old MASNA merchant account and discontinue billing MASNA.

 

• Instructed EMS to post merchant deposits and charges to Washington Mutual checking account rather than at BankOne.

 

• Had BankOne research a February deposit (free of charge).

 

• Had several discussions regarding MASNA 2006 calendar.

 

• Summary of March and Fiscal Year-To-Date 2004-2005 financials:

                                                   Fiscal YTD

                                  March         9/1 - 3/31

                    Income    145.00         3,086.50

                    Expenses  (22.22)       (1,381.54)

                    Net Inc    122.78         1,704.96

 

 

[* - Secretary note: due to the size and formatting of the Draft Balance Sheet and Draft Income Statement, they are left as an addendum to the monthly minutes]

 

4) Director of Membership Report:

 

Current Membership:

 

	2002-2003	2003-2004	2004-2005	Diff From 2003-2004	Comment
Individual Members	88	64	75	+11	Six New (Jose Carballo, Eric Schlichte, Erin McDevitt, Jim Duncan, Whit Liggett, Michael Klink, Jeff McCombs)
Club Members	20	27	37	+10	Two New (Marine Aquarists Roundtable of Sacramento, Tidewater Area Aquarium Society)
Corporate Members	10	10	15	_+5	None

 

• Called Bill Gately to find his new email address, his old address had bounced on past emails.

 

• Contacted four clubs on the National Club Database to find the city & state they meet in. As well as any additional information they could supply (emails address, club website, etc)

 

• Chemical Valley Reef Club – I posted on their club forum inquiring about information for the database. I received an email form the co-founder who gave me all of the information I needed.

 

• Carolina Coast Reef Keepers– I emailed an inquiry about club information I needed. That email bounced back to me.  I sent a privet message to a member on Reef Central asking for help. He was able to give me all of the information needed. This club was added twice (for what ever reason) to the National Club Database. I email Chuck and he removed one.

 

• Greenville Reefers Society – Contacted, city & state corrected on the database.

 

• Southern New England Reef Club – Email sent inquiring about club information but the emails bounced back. I made a post on their club forum as I did for CVRC above. A reply was made http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=556448 stating that the club is no longer together.

 

• Sent in all welcomes to new MASNA individuals & clubs.

 

• Helped two clubs who emailed asking for assistance dealing with various club matters. How to better raffles, get more membership, etc.

 

• Answered PM’s on Reef Central from four members who wanted to know more about MASNA and MACNA

 

• I contacted the following delegates for the clubs who did not have a logo on our Member Directory page:

 

1. Rob Baker – DaytonReef, they sent in their logo and I passed it along to Chuck.

 

2. James Grassinger - Greater Minnesota Reef Society, no reply.

 

3. Pam Schmeiser - Marine Aquarists Roundtable of Sacramento, no reply

 

4. Mike Huges - Marine Aquarium Club of London, they have no logo at this time.

 

 

5) Secretary’s Report:

 

• Email Votes:

 

Cheri Philips made a motion to purchase a full copy of Adobe Acrobat 6.0 or higher if one can be found on eBay for $100 or less. The copy will become the property of MASNA and be kept with the President's records. Seconded by Marc Levenson. Passed 7 ayes, 0 nays.

 

Marc Levenson made motion that we accept the minutes for January and March Amy Larsan presented.  Seconded by Cheri Philips. 3 ayes. Motion did not pass due to quorum not being met.

 

• With Cheri’s help I started to learn my new secretary responsibilities.

 

• I sent in March & January meeting minutes to the BOD

 

• Waiting on more information/help for February meeting minutes from the BOD. I have heard from Marc Levenson, Cheri Philips, and Bob Lemcke thus far.

 

• Sent in meeting notices to all membership. I posted in the MASNA forum & announcement forums on Reef Central and Reefs.org. I will also BUMP those posts up the morning of our meeting.

 

 

6) Editor’s Report:

 

• The latest newsletter is due to come out in two weeks.   I've been
  swamped with club business for the past month.

 

• Currently, I have the President's Letter for the newsletter.  I'm
  planning on writing an article about planning a one day conference to
  help other clubs do the same.  I need to contact the sponsors for their
  advertising again.

 

• We need to include the photo contest in this newsletter, so the word
  gets out.

 

7) Webmaster’s Report:

 

• Participated in the Aquarium Hobbyist MASNA Chat on 4/4/05, along w/ Cheri Phillips and John Brandt
• Responded to correspondences from various individuals  such as Cheri and Amy as well as others deemed necessary for my input
• Spent more time working on the MASNA store issues training Cheri Phillps on how to use/access the internals of the online store and purchase information.
• As always general updates to the MASNA website trolling for site meeting details etc to keep site current.
• Responded to several requests for MASNA information or Website specific issues emailed to me as webmaster
• Am predicating in discussion on vendor relationship management ideas for host clubs and will attend meeting whatever time is appropriate for them as set by our President.

 

 

8) Industry/Legislation/Ocean Conservation Representative’s Report:

 

• Since our last meeting I have attended the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, FL (March 13-15... a pet industry trade show), and the H.H. Backer Spring Pet Industry Trade Show in Atlantic City, NJ (April 1-3). Both events resulted in about 5 days out-of-town for me. These involved myself singularly managing the exhibit and representation of the Marine Aquarium Council (MAC). I did this because the person who would normally do this (Mark Schreffler - Americas Coordinator for MAC) is working in the Philippines to prepare more collectors and exporters for certification.

 

• I am also now the appointed Chair of the MAC Species Identification and Suitability Committee.

 

• I am happy to hear that Marc is still 2 weeks away from the publication of the MASNA Newsletter. I am to write a report on my past trip to the USCRTF meeting in Miami. It's not finished, and it looks like I have at least a bit more time to complete it.

 

 

9) Public Relations/Internet Promotion Officer’s Report:

 

MASNA calendar photo contest is ready for launch.  Bob and I have a plan to take this to the next level ASAP.

 

Printing:

Print Pelican will be providing print services for the following pricing:

ESTIMATE FOR: Joe Scavo     QUOTE #1-1 CONTACT: DATE: March 30, 2005 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Grant Morris

DESCRIPTION: Calendar, 28 page

STOCK: Cover – 80lb gloss cover, inside – 80lb gloss text

COLORS: 4/4 process

SIZE: 11” x 8.5”

PRICE: 250 - $1372.59,  500 - $2537.72 Option 32 page, 250 - $1525.34,  500 - $2810.74

REMARKS: Digital files supplied by you. Price includes PDF proof, 5 day production after proof approval and ground transportation to your location.

PLEASE NOTE: All artwork or set up charges are subject to change due to Author’s Alterations.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS CONCERNING THIS QUOTE PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US.  THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BID ON YOUR PRINTING.

Prices may be subject to revision after 30 days from date.

 

 

Pricing is excellent at around $6.10 per calendar with 4 extra pages for sponsor coupons and information.

 

Rules:  Contest rules will be presented at Wed night’s meeting.  Timelines will also be discussed.

 

Sponsorship: Potentially one sponsor per month at $50 which would cut our initial production cost to around $1000.00 for 250 copies.  Sponsors will also donate coupons for consumers to be included on the last 4 pages.

 

Distribution: Initial distribution at MACNA XVII.  Ongoing distribution at MASNA store and potentially at Champion Lighting (or other vendors).  Other scenarios include free calendar promotion for new members

 

 

MEETING CALLED TO ORDER 9:05 PM EST:

 

10) New business:

 

C Phillips made a motion at 9:10pm EST to accept the January and March minutes. Second by B Lemcke. Motion passed at 9:11 pm EST 5 aye, 0 nay

 

11) MACNA update:

 

• The main Exhibit hall A is 90% sold, secondary Exhibit hall B is about 20% sold. Progress can be checked at http://www.macnaxvii.com/vp123.htm

 

• WAMAS now have a sponsor package that defines prices, services, etc.  Ned help selling sponsorships. At this point most sponsors are in trade in kind to promote the show.

 

• Walt Smith is again doing the Fiji trip, this has been plugged in print ads w/TFH and AFM. They hope to put this in Marine Depot’s catalog as well.

 

• The MACNA website is coming along well but still needs more work.

 

• New print ads have been designed.

 

• A sales package for the vendors has been made

 

• They have a drayage firm signed up at the hotel

 

• Investigate servers and WWW based solution for Act. the ability to manage the sales process is really hurting right now. The feeling that it will affect future host clubs is a concern if not addressed.

 

• A draft of a full page MACNA ad has been made. Very useful for flyers to promote the event.

 

• The thought of creating a HTML ad for clubs across the US was brought up and is a possibility.

 

 

12) New Business:

 

C Phillips makes a motion to accept the nomination of Drew Weiner for MASNA VP. Second by A Larsan. Motion passed at 9:02 PM EST 7 Aye, 0 Nay

 

13) New Business:

 

• A print shop has been secured for the making of the 2006 MASNA Calendar to be sold at MACNA XVII. They would be complete the calendars at approximately $6.10 a piece, 250 calendars.

 

• The idea of an entrance fee (or partial fee) of $5 for the photo contest go towards an individual MASNA membership. This was well liked by the BOD and gives hope that it will boost membership and future renewals.

 

• The contest will hopefully be advertised on ReefCentral.com and will be added to a future MASNA newsletter.

 

• Three judges thus far are Anthony Calfo, Daniel Knop, and Larry Jackson. Scott Michael would be contacted again about possibly become a judge as well.

 

• Three categories have been selected: Inverts, Fish, corals. One judge per category, they would select the top four images. If there were to be a four judge added a topics is still in the works for that fourth judge. One topic suggested was macro photography.

 

• Images for printing would need to be 300 dpi

 

• There was some debate if the judges should select the category the photos fall into, or if the contestant should select the category when they submit. No finial decision was made.

 

• MASNA BOD members may submit a photo entry, but if selected they forfeit the right to any prize.

 

14) New Business:

 

Steven Pro (PMASI President) spoke to the BOD explaining how his club is in the initial phases of formulating a business plan for hosting a future MACNA. He and his BOD members are in need of financial statements from previous MACNA's so they can make reasonable estimates. Kelly Jedlicki (president of LMAS) was able to send all of the information from her club to PMASI already.

 

He asked M. Levenson and J. Scavo if their club (both past MACNA hosts) had any information that could be passed on. The hope that this information passed on each year will aid future MACNA host clubs. Knowing such things as how many attendees and at what prices/time they registered. Vendor’s numbers and how much they paid, hotel costs, etc.

 

15) New Business:

 

M. Levenson hopes to have the new Newsletter out within two weeks. He is in need of anything happening in MASNA clubs soon, that will be listed under Scheduled Events. He is also in need of an article from J. Brandt.

 

 

Motion to adjourn meeting to general discussion made by C. Phillips, seconded by M. Levenson.  Passed 5 ayes, 0 nays; at 10:04 PM EST.