The regular meeting of the Washington Geographic Alliance (WGA) Board of Directors was called to order at 6:53 p.m. by Tim Schultz in the home of Richard Kennedy and Heidi Morgan, 18825 6th Avenue SW, Normandy Park, Washington.
Present: President Tim Schultz of Green River Community College (GRCC), Vice-President Meghan Hoyer of St. Philomena School, Treasurer Heidi Morgan of the National Geographic Society's (NGS) Grosvenor Council, and Secretary Richard Kennedy of the NGS's Grosvenor Council.
Also in attendance was Pat LeRoy, a fifth grade teacher at St. Francis of Assisi School in Seahurst, WA.
A motion to approve the draft minutes of the Board of Directors meeting of October 23, 2007 was made by Tim and seconded by Heidi. The motion passed unanimously.
Tim has contacted Reps. Larsen and McDermott requesting their co-sponsorship of H.R. 1228 (Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act). As the WGA has four Teacher Consultants in Rep. Inslee's district, Tim will ask them to contact him. Tim met with Barbara Hildebrandt at the NCGE annual meeting in Oklahoma City where he obtained a list of schools offering Advanced Placement geography programs. The Assessment of Geography Knowledge is an ongoing effort. The WGA 2006 IRS 990-EZ form has been signed and mailed to the IRS. GRCC has a new finance director so Tim will request again that Heidi be sent a complete listing of all WGA expenses from July 1, 2007 to date. Tim sent a copy of the WGA logo to Richard.
Heidi opened a WGA account with Washington Mutual Bank. She showed examples of various pencils, pens, etc. with our logo.
Meghan will contact Senator Murray about co-sponsoring S. 727 (Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act). The format of the Seattle Archdiocese in-service day has changed. Meghan is waiting for Tim to give her the various lesson plans developed at our Summer Institute so they may be placed in a common format. She is working with Newspapers in Education about producing an insert. Finally, she has signed up to present a paper at the 2008 NCGE Annual Meeting.
Richard sent talking points to Meghan so she may contact Senator Murray's office about becoming a cosponsor for S. 727 (Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act). Upon receipt of the NGS travel policy Richard will update our travel policy. He also received a copy of the state Senate's travel policy. Richard received the logo sent him by Tim. After incorporating comments from the board, Richard will forward the materials for a small brochure discussing who the WGA is, what our goals are, and why the state legislature should fund it to Rep. Schual-Berke. Richard has not received any names from Diana Morelli for possible candidates for the WGA board. Over the Christmas holiday, Richard will redesign the WGA web site for use with Adobe Contribute.
Tim submitted the following report: "On Saturday, November 3, I attended the fall meeting of the Association of Washington Geographers (AWG), Washington State's professional geography organization.
I took part in a roundtable discussion as an invited panel member on 'Place Name Learning.' During the session, I spoke for a few minutes about the role the Alliance is playing in collaborating with the Passport Club to increase place name learning at the elementary school level. I invited the membership to become involved with the Alliance.
After the discussion, there was a Membership Meeting, where I was nominated and elected to the position of Vice-President of the AWG."
Richard met with Stan Cross, superintendent of the Education Building at the Western Washington State Fair, on November 21 at the Fair's offices in Puyallup to discuss the display of the giant Washington State map. Also present was his deputy Denny Nelson.
We can use one of the following periods:
If we choose Sept. 5 - 9, we will be allowed access on Thursday, Sept. 4 to setup the map. The map will be exhibited in the Pavilion, building #17.
After board discussion, Sept. 18 - 21, 2008 was selected.
Someone from WGA must be with the map during the hours the pavilion is open to the public:
There is no charge for exhibiting the map. The fair will cover both the cost of admission and parking for our members working at the pavilion. We can bring in our own food and snacks that can be stored in a refrigerator at the education office in the pavilion.
We need to contact Mr. Cross with the dates desired by month's end. Later we need to send him:
Richard also contacted Dan Beaupre of NGS with the following email: "I've met with representatives of the Western Washington State Fair and they are very enthusiastic about displaying our giant map of Washington State during the fair in September 2008. They are offered us five days during the fair to exhibit the map cost free. The daily fair attendance is about 60,000 persons.
I'd like to use the fair for the premiere of the map. So we have about nine months to get the map designed and printed. Can this schedule be met? If so, what steps do we need to take to get the process started?"
Dan replied on November 26: "I like the way you think! What a fantastic idea! With this much planning time, we can definitely do it without rush. Will you be coming to the education grantee meeting again this winter? [Tentative dates are February 27-March 1st.] That could be a good time to meet with the cartographers. Not essential to do it in person, but would be best. Call me anytime to discuss. I am in all week. 802/388-1307."
Dan Beaupre was asked about holding a reception before one of the lectures. His reply of November 13 follows: "Following up on your interest in having a reception before one of the spring events. Our sponsor, K&L Gates, chose to have a reception before the Wade Davis program. As we already have a reception before Ballard's program, this leaves you with your second choice - Brady Barr, [Dangerous Encounters] or third choice, Annie Griffiths Belt [A Camera, Two Kids, and a Camel] as options. I notice you prefer Mar 31 for Barr. I think that may be fine, though we are trying to schedule receptions on the second night of programming to give us the time needed for AV checks and rehearsal for the first program. Would you be interested in April 1? Please go ahead and contact Matt Laughlin at the hall to look at dates and room availability as well as other details (catering, etc). Matt can be reached at 206/215-4806."
Dan also said we may have a slide publicizing the WGA shown during the NGS Live! pre-show. We may also have a table in the lobby to distribute our literature.
The board selected the evening of Monday, May 12 to hold the reception. The program that night will be Annie Griffiths Belt – A Camera, Two Kids, & a Camel. Tickets to the lecture will cost us $15 each. It was the consensus of the board to invite 50 persons. Richard will contact Benaroya Hall about a reception room.
The following proposed revisions to our bylaws was presented and discussed. They will be voted upon at the January 2008 meeting.
Article III. Section 2. Number, Qualifications and Term of Directors. ((Except for the initial Board of Directors, t))The number of Directors shall be not less than three (3) nor more than twelve (12)(( nine (9)). Membership on the Board of Directors shall be based on dedication to the purposes stated in the Alliance's Articles of Incorporation and on the professional, administrative, executive or technical skills that such person can and will contribute to the furtherance of the purposes of the Washington Geographic Alliance. Except as otherwise provided by these bylaws, the Directors shall be elected for a three (3) year term and shall hold office until his or her successor shall have been elected and shall qualify or until his or her death, or until he or she shall no longer be qualified as a Director as herein provided, or he or she shall resign or be removed from office in the manner herein provided.
Article III. Section 3. Election of Directors. The initial Board of Directors of the Alliance shall be the Board of Directors at the time of the adoption of these bylaws and shall serve until the first annual meeting of members or until their successors are duly elected and shall qualify. ((At the first annual meeting, the members shall elect or re-elect ((three (3) Directors for a one-year term, three (3) Directors for a two-year term and three (3) Directors for a three-year term. ))At each annual meeting thereafter, the members shall elect or re-elect Directors for a three (3) year term to fill the offices vacated by Directors whose term of office has expired. The Directors elected shall be those persons receiving the greatest number of votes cast. Directors shall assume office upon completion of such election.
Tim will be married to former board member Genya Parks on December 8 in Montana. The board offered him congratulations.
Tim will be teaching in Salamanca, Spain (about 2.5 to 3 hours NW of Madrid) from January 10 through March 27, 2008. We will be able to contact him via email. He plans to return for the Grantee's meeting.
Tim will be asking the new GRCC finance director how we may access grant funds in Tim's absence.
The next meeting regular meeting of the WGA Board of Directors will be held on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. in the home of Richard Kennedy and Heidi Morgan, 18825 6th Avenue SW, Normandy Park, Washington.
Respectfully submitted,
/ss/ Richard T. Kennedy
Richard T. Kennedy
Secretary
Approved January 7, 2008