The regular meeting of the Washington Geographic Alliance (WGA) Board of Directors was called to order at 6:43 p.m. by Tim Scharks in the home of Richard Kennedy and Heidi Morgan, 18825 6th Avenue SW, Normandy Park, Washington.
Present: President Tim Scharks 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, Secretary Richard Kennedy of the NGS's Grosvenor Council, and Director Pat LeRoy of St. Francis of Assisi School.
A motion to approve the draft minutes of the Board of Directors meeting of November 25, 2008 was made by Tim and seconded by Pat. The motion passed unanimously.
If help is needed in completing your action items, do not wait until the night before they are due to ask for help.
Tim allocated his labor costs and that information was sent to Franco & Pangallo who are preparing our tax return. The letter to the National Geographic Educational Foundation (NGEF) expressing the support of the WGA Board of Directors for Sarah Elwood's and Katharyne Mitchell's grant application "The Mapping Youth Journeys Project in Seattle" has been sent with copies to Drs. Elwood and Mitchell. Our 2007-2008 Alliance Annual Report was completed on December 31, 2008 and was emailed to Clare Rose at ETI Consulting. As Bonnie Christian is on vacation, Tim was unable to determine why the cost for the stanchions has not been reimbursed by GRCC. The 30 NGS World maps were mailed to Pat. Tim converted the NGS giant traveling map application to PDF format and posted it to the web site. According to Patty Sikora, Director of Purchasing at GRCC, products and services $3,300 (including sales tax) do not have to go to bid. George Scarola of the League of Education Voters still has not replied to Tim about their support for the WGA endowment. A meeting with Judy Hartmann, Executive Policy Advisor for K-12 Education, and the community college Advanced Placement Survey are pending. The list of persons for a WGA Steering Committee is on the agenda. The Assessment of Geographic Knowledge for 5th, 8th, and 12th grade students is pending.
Heidi's report on our tax return and a printer for the traveling giant Washington State map are on the agenda.
Meghan sent the NGS giant traveling map application to Tim for conversion to Adobe PDF format and posting on our web site. The Newspapers In Education Program, the Geography Awareness Week report, possible activities for the giant traveling map of Washington, and credit for our Summer Institute are on the agenda. The repurposing of the WGA brochure is pending. The review of the annual report is moot.
Pat signed up on the OneCause web site. Possible activities for the giant traveling map of Washington and credit for our Summer Institute are on the agenda. The review of the annual report is moot.
Emily said that the NGEF Grant Guidelines would be available at the Winter Meeting in February. She emailed Richard information about the Newspaper In Education program that he forwarded to Meghan. Emily said that Tim's methods of analyzing our Summer Institute's results are fine and we do not need the services of Educational Testing Institute.
Richard emailed all board members a copy of their action items. The NGS Live! reception, the WGA slide, and the giant traveling map are on the agenda. Richard emailed Chris Shearer again to see if NGS would accept gifts for WGA and forward the funds to us. Bob Dulli send a four-page article by Daniel C. Edelson, the Executive Director of the Education Foundation, on the importance of Geography. Richard McEnery was emailed again asking for the photos he took of the giant North America map at the Puyallup Fair. The Adobe Acrobat software and the list of persons for a WGA Steering Committee are on the agenda. The proposed revisions to the travel and expense policy are pending. All WGA financial records have been placed into QuickBooks 2009.
The checking account balance as of December 31, 2008 is $588.76. There was no account activity during the month of December.
The WGA's 2007 990-EZ Federal Tax Return was mailed January 2, 2009. Copies of the return were distributed to board members.
Richard is awaiting Chris Shearer's answer if NGS could accept and have Boeing match gifts designated for the WGA.
All of our financial records through June 30, 2008 have been entered into QuickBooks 2009. Records from July 1 to December 31, 2008 have been requested from GRCC.
Our bank will stop returning cancelled checks starting with the March 2009 statement unless we opt-out by soon. Checks will be available online for 7 years. No one on the board disagreed with Heidi's decision to allow the bank to stop the physical delivery of our cancelled checks.
Meghan gave the following report. "The following is a list of activities that occurred during Geography Awareness Week 2008 — November 16-22 at St. Philomena School in Des Moines, Washington.
Local media outlets were notified about Geography Awareness Week, but none responded as far as I could tell.
A State Proclamation was requested from Governor Christine Gregoire, but due to her re-election campaign, nothing was received."
Pat mentioned the "My Wonderful World Family Geography Night Kit" created by the Michigan Geographic Alliance. She said that we could use our Summer Institute to create a similar kit.
The contract with Allan Cartography of Medford, Oregon for creating the base map for the giant Washington State map has been signed. A copy of the contract is attached to these minutes.
The file is built at a scale of 1:650,000, and was meant to be printed at 1:65,000, or 10x. The file at 1:650,000 is 26.5" x 38.75" (actual image area) so at 10x, the image would be 22' 1" x 32' 3.5". Add a few inches for some white border. The first draft of the map was received on December 31, 2008. A number of edits were made and the map was returned to Allan Cartography on January 5, 2009. Due to some additional features requested the price will exceed $2,500 but will not exceed the $3,300 bid limit.
If printing a single copy of the map exceeds GRCC's bid limit of $3,300, we will need to have GRCC bid this work.
Printing criteria for the giant traveling Washington State map include:
Meghan and Pat mentioned some activities for the Giant Traveling Washington State Map. They are going to email Richard a detailed list before the next meeting.
As a §501(c)(3) organization, we are eligible to purchase copies of Adobe's Acrobat Pro Version 9.0 for Windows for $45 per copy. The retail price for a new copy of this software is $449. This software is only available by electronic download.
A motion to authorize the purchase of two copies Adobe's Acrobat Pro Version 9.0 for Windows was made by Tim and seconded by Heidi. The motion passed unanimously.
Through his non-profit fundraising program at the University of Washington, Richard learned of a local insurance agent who specializes in this type of insurance. A preliminary application was completed, signed by Tim and faxed on January 2, 2009 to Bob Russell of Brunni-Colbath in Bothell.
A D&O Insurance quotation for $463 annually was received from Aon Association Service. It was forwarded to Chris Shearer of NGS for his opinion of the proposed policy.
Our reception is scheduled before the Monday, May 11, 2009 NGS Live! Lecture by Mattias Klum entitled "Borneo: Paradise Under Siege." Richard received the following confirmation from Dan Beaupré of NGS.
From: Daniel Beaupré
Date: December 2, 2008 8:32:17 PM PST
To: Richard Kennedy - Washington Geographic Alliance
Cc: Tim Scharks - Washington Geographic Alliance
Subject: Re: WGA Reception at NG Live!
Yes - Mattias can do it. I've put it on our master schedule, so you can now count on it. He'll be great! He just gave a fantastic program with us in Chicago.
Please keep me informed as you make your plans (reserve space, etc).
Thanks,
Dan
Daniel Beaupré
Director, Education Partnerships
National Geographic Live!
Dan,
Would Mattias Klum be available to attend a reception hosted by the Washington Geographic Alliance on Monday, May 11 from approximately 6 - 7 p.m. at Benaroya Hall?
-- Richard T. Kennedy, Secretary
-- Washington Geographic Alliance
Meghan mentioned that Woodland Park Zoo is sponsoring approximately 40 teachers for the NGS Live! Lecture on May 11. She will check with the Zoo for a list of these teachers so that we could invite them to our reception.
Richard completed a reservation for the Founder's Room at Benaroya Hall. Tim signed it and it was faxed it to Benaroya Hall on January 2, 2009. Richard also contacted Wolfgang Puck Catering for a quote. The following was received on January 8, 2009.
Custom Tray Pass Reception
Select SIX of the following:
Hosted Non Alcoholic Beverage Service
Hosted Assorted Non alcoholic beverages - 1 Hour
To include: Sparkling Lemon Ginger Punch, Still and Sparkling Waters, Starbucks Regular and Decaf Coffee with selections of herbal and black tea
Budget
MENU
Custom Tray Pass Reception (75 at $20.00 per person) — $1,500.00
BEVERAGES
Hosted Non Alcoholic Beverage Service (75 at $3.00 per person) — $225.00
ADDITIONAL SERVICES
LABOR - ESTIMATED TOTAL: Labor is currently estimated to included — $694.72
Set up of your event, your event and breakdown with clean up. There is a four-hour minimum charge per staff member. Actual labor hours will be determined following your event and billed accordingly.
OUTSIDE RENTAL - ESTIMATED TOTAL:
To include highboy table linens (guest's choice on color), registration table linens and glassware
SUBTOTAL — $2,419.72
SALES TAX — $237.11
TOTAL — $2,656.83
DEPOSIT: Due January 22, 2009 — $1,000.00
A motion to accept the Wolfgang Puck catering quotation was made by Tim and seconded by Meghan. The motion passed unanimously.
A list of invitees will be drawn from the WGA web site, Tim's contact list, persons who have borrowed the giant NGS maps, politicians, teachers who saw the giant NGS map at the Puyallup Fair, Woodland Park Zoo, and the Washington State Council for the Social Studies. It was mentioned that teachers should make a refundable deposit of $20.
Board members discussed improvements to the WGA slide shown before the NGS Live! lectures. Andrew Pudvah of NGS created a modification consistent with the format of the other slides.
Above: Current Slide Below: Revised Slide
Meghan just got another call from Dana Twight at the Seattle Times. Ms. Twight said that they have moved mthe Annual Geography Quiz to a later date (TBD). She also told those in charge of the Travel Section where the quiz is published that the WGA might be able to help with developing the geography quiz. It turns out that they get the quiz from another paper. She said that she will keep Megan posted on the date of the quiz and if we can help create it. She also said that it will cost over $500 for a one inch ad in the Travel Section.
As for the NIE Sunday Update, this is an electronic newsletter with lesson plans that goes out to all teachers who subscribe to the Seattle Times and Seattle PI NIE programs. Below is the information from Ms. Twight on the costs. Ms. Twight also mentions other opportunities. Just a note, the Sunday Update goes out to the teachers every Monday morning through April so we can delay this week and maybe wait until the geography quiz is in the paper. We can also get involved in other Sunday Updates in the future - possibly to mention the NGLive! meet and greet, the summer institute, etc.
"I can give you access to three of our mailings to teachers next week for $450. We will include your logo, website and text in our lesson plans that go to teachers that will be using the Sunday paper on Monday (either for Sunday Update or the WASL Prep lesson plans); the PI lesson Plan called Building Language Skills on Tuesday; and the Seattle Times lesson plan called Newsbreak on Wednesday. That way teachers will see information on the Geography Alliance three days in a row, plus they will have access via the e-Edition to the Geography Quiz all week and the next, due to the two weeks of rolling access to the papers.
If you would like fewer mentions, it would be $400 for two days and $300 for one day."
For the steering committee, Richard recommended Rep. Tina Orwall, Jim Glennon (an instructor at Highline Community College), and Katharyne Mitchell (Professor and Chair - Geography Department at the University of Washington). Tim recommended Associate Professor Sarah Elwood of the University of Washington ,Professor Jim Huckabay of Central Washington University, and Emily Nichols of Save Our Wild Salmon.
Richard suggested that the first meeting be before the NGS Live! reception so that the steering committee members could be invited to the reception.
Tim will be working on a job description for the WGA Steering Committee members.
The 2009 Basic Summer Institute will be held July 6-10 (M-F). An Advanced Summer Institute will be offered August 5-7 (W-F) as a reward for being a good Teacher Consultant. Tim has made the necessary arrangements with GRCC for classrooms and transportation. Lodging needs to be addressed. In addition, the institute application form needs to be updated.
Meghan and Pat gave Tim information on obtaining 400-level credit for our institutes from Seattle University and Seattle Pacific University. Tim is going to investigate the University of Washington and Western Washington University. By the next board meeting, Tim will give his recommendation as to which university to approach.
The Alliance Annual Report for 2007-2008 was completed and submitted on December 31, 2008. A copy was given to board members.
The Alliance Winter Meeting is scheduled for February 24 (Tuesday) - 28th (Saturday) in Washington, DC. Emily Schell stated that "This will be a very important and interesting meeting with the new Reform Plan presented by Danny. We are still working on some of the fine details of the plan." There will also be a Hill Day to lobby the Congress.
The NGEF announced that they will not be funding travel and lodging for this meeting. The board needs to select representatives to send to this meeting and to authorize their airfare, lodging, and incidental expenses. As of January 8, 2009, the cheapest roundtrip airfare from Seattle to Washington, DC is $359. NGS has a block of rooms at The Beacon Hotel for $189/night plus tax. Applications are due January 23.
A motion to select Tim and Richard as our representatives to this meeting was made by Meghan and seconded by Pat. The motion passed unanimously.
Richard and Tim will complete the meeting application and forward it to the NGS. Tim will make travel and lodging arrangements through GRCC.
The 2009 National Conference of the National Council for Geographic Education will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 23 - 27, 2009. As of January 4, 2009, the cheapest roundtrip airfare from Seattle to San Juan is $463 (traveling the day before and the day after the conference). The conference hotel rates are not known at this time but a weeks stay at an average San Juan hotel starts at $1,600.
All board members need to bring a list of possible attendees to the next board meeting so that a preliminary budget can be made.
Each Geographic Alliance is entitled to nominate one teacher for the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship Program. Historically the deadline for submitting nominations is the end of February.
A motion to nominate Kyle Dye was made by Tim and seconded by Meghan. The motion passed unanimously.
"Earth Station One" was an exhibit at NGS's Explorers Hall until a few years ago. This interactive show was presented in a 72-seat amphitheater that simulates an orbital flight 23,000 miles above the earth. It is built around an 11-foot globe that is suspended on an air cushion.
Richard has contacted Bob Dulli of NGS to determine if Earth Station One could be moved to the greater Seattle area. Possible venues include the Pacific Science Center, The Woodland Park Zoo, and the Museum of Flight. To date, no reply has been received.
There was sufficient interest among board members to plan and hold a postcard contest on next GAW area (Europe). Pat offered to contact the Oklahoma and Texas alliances to get information about the contests they have held.
There was little interest in offering giant playground maps to elementary schools.
NGS has announced giant traveling map loans of less than 12 weeks. On January 12, 2009, registration will open for schools and organizations interested in borrowing a National Geographic Giant Traveling Map during the 2009-2010 school year. We would need to complete the application at www.ngsednet.org/giantmaps. The new pricing structure for these short-term loans is as follows: 1-2 week loan is a flat rate of $375 Additional weeks are $225/week up to 11 weeks for $2,400. The maps available are:
A motion to authorize Meghan to rent the giant traveling map of Europe for a month was made by Tim and seconded by Pat. The motion passed unanimously.
Meghan is giving the following presentations:
Richard spoke with Representative Tina Orwall about the bill to fund an endowment for the WGA. They discussed modifying last year's bill so that the money would be allocated at a future date when the state is not in a budget crisis. The bill will have a hearing about two weeks after its first reading.
Pat mentioned that her nephew in Federal Way is a CPA. She will ask him if he can provide no-cost services to the WGA.
The next regular meeting of the WGA Board of Directors will be held on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 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 February 17, 2009