2007 Business Meeting Minutes

1:45 – 2:45 p.m., Saturday, October 13, 2007

Kansas City, Missouri

The meeting was called to order by new president Gretchen Bisplinghoff. Tim Scheurer was unable to attend the meeting.

Twelve members attended the meeting: Gretchen Bisplinghoff, Gary Burns, Brendan Riley, Angela Nelson, MaryAnn Janosik, Paul Yuckman, Paul Kohl, Tom Caw, Nick Baxter-Moore, Kathleen Turner, Lori Scharenbroich, and Heather McIntosh.

I. Arrangement for the minutes to be taken

Heather McIntosh agreed to take the meeting minutes.

II. Approval of 2006 minutes

Brendan Riley moved to approve the 2006 business meeting minutes, and MaryAnn Janosik seconded. A vote was taken, and the minutes were approved.

III. Report of the Executive Council – Tim Scheurer

New President Gretchen Bisplingoff provided the report from the first part of the executive council meeting.

Bisplingoff first announced that the 2008 conference will be held at the Hilton in Cincinnati, while the 2009 conference possibly will be held at the Westin in Detroit. Chicago was suggested for 2010. The speaker for the 2008 conference might be a representative from the National Museum for the Underground Railroad in Cincinnati.

She next reported on attendance and its impact on the hotel, audio-visual equipment, and the like. Growth was steady for 2007, but over the years it has been slowing somewhat. It has reached a plateau of around 300 people. If attendance gets any greater, the organization might run into hotel problems.

Bisplinghoff then reported on finances. The organization has about a $6,000 surplus, and the executive council is looking at possible uses for that money.

She noted that an earlier start time on Fridays might be necessary for future conferences to accommodate more sessions. This decision ultimately is up to Gary Burns and Lori Abels.

Changes in the bylaws were approved by a vote. These changes affect the proceedings for voting and the elections for 2008.

Another discussion centered on how to include the new program committee on the board. This discussion will continue in the second executive council meeting Sunday morning.

Lori Scharenbroich is going to work on the 501(c)3 application.

Four presenters at the conference received travel grants.

Gary Burns was reelected as executive secretary for another three years.

IV. Report of the Executive Secretary – Gary Burns

Gary Burns presented the Executive Secretary's report.

Burns first had certificates for the travel grant winners. None of the winners attended the business meeting, so the certificates will be mailed instead.

The NIU bank account is going to be spent down but not transferred just to save the trouble. The overall balance is about $24,000, and $12,500 went to the hotel as a deposit. These figures are not final.

The Acteva registration was put in place due to attendee demand, but it turned out to be a hassle for him. It required that he keep a separate ledger because Acteva adds its own service charge, credit card companies add their own service charges, and American Express added another as well. Enough people used the service so the organization will continue using it. Angela Nelson said she appreciated the service but didn't realize about the additional charges not including the credit card fees.

V. Old Business

Several items came up under Old Business.

Bisplinghoff then wanted to discuss the graduate paper competition and what happened with that. MaryAnn Janosik and her committee chose the winners, and the travel grants were the prizes. Nick Baxter-Moore mentioned that the travel grants put the people who live in or near the conference city at a disadvantage. Burns replied that though it is called a travel grant, the organization does not monitor where the money goes.

Bisplinghoff asked if the travel grants stand for the winners. Abels said the top paper should get more cash and then the $400 can be for travel for the next runners-up. The undergraduate paper competition should be separate.

Bisplinghoff asked how many travel grants for the undergraduates. Burns mentioned that Sharee St. Louis was in charge of the undergraduate paper competition and had quite a few submissions that first year and none since then at least as part of the undergraduate paper competition.

Scharenbroich suggested adding something to the call for paper about how to submit papers to the paper competitions and to alert the area chairs to forward submissions on to the committees. Bisplinghoff suggested putting this information on the Web site. Paul Kohl said the organization should mention the winners in the conference program. Riley said he leaned toward not having a special panel just for them but instead to have the recognition at the Friday night mixer.

Another question came up of how many undergraduate grants. Should it be three? Should it be the same amount as the graduate? A tentative answer to the latter question was no. Riley said that it was too narrow of a group to honor and we need to get the undergraduate field bigger.

The graduate awards consisted of a top paper award and four awards for travel. The undergraduate awards still are under question. Three travel grants are available for them, but the top paper award idea will be tabled for next year.

The next question came up of who should decide the winners. An undergraduate travel grants committee was formed with Nick Baxter-Moore, Tom Caw, and Paul Kohl.

The wording for the undergraduate award would follow the wording for the graduate one. The award distribution procedure would remain the same for now. Paper exchanges would occur through the mail for now, but the suggestion was made to move the exchange online in the future.

MaryAnn Janosik is the chair for the graduate committee, while Tom Caw is the chair for the undergraduate committee.

VI. New Business

Several items came up under New Business.

Nick Baxter-Moore asked about giving the award a name. It would be a good way to honor someone.

Gary Burns suggested waiting for the 501(c)3 paperwork and approval first. The item will be added to the agenda for next year.

Brendan Riley asked if the agenda was posted on the Web site or otherwise available beforehand and get some bullet points under Old Business. Burns said he could get it out sooner. Abels suggested a link on the Web site.

Gretchen Bisplinghoff made the motion to adjourn and Brendan Riley seconded.