The regular meeting of the Washington Geographic Alliance (WGA) Board of Directors was called to order at 6:53 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 August 4, 2009 was made by Tim and seconded by Heidi. The motion passed unanimously.
Tim asked for nominations and the following were made:
There being no other nominations, a motion to elect the nominees to their respective office was made by Tim and seconded by Meghan. The motion passed unanimously.
Note: Article 5 §2 of the WGA bylaws states that "The President shall be the person appointed as the Washington State Geographic Alliance Coordinator by the National Geographic Society of Washington, DC."
Each year we are required to file an annual report with the Secretary of State by September 30. The report contains basic information about the WGA including the names and addresses of each officer and director. Each officer and director give Richard the address they wanted him to report. He will complete and file the report.
Tim mailed Richard a completed monthly donation form along with a voided check. The Puyallup Fair schedule, the survey of last year's Summer Institute attendees, and the expanded WGA Board and/or Steering Committee are on tonight's agenda. The state senator and representatives from the 34th district have been invited to visit the WGA booth at the Puyallup Fair. The attendees of our NGS Live! reception have yet not been invited to join the WGA. Writing institutions that do not grant credit for AP Geography asking them to do so is on tonight's agenda. Tim spoke with Danny Edelson and Bob Dulli about expanding our board. Tim has yet to contact George Scarola of the League of Education Voters to request their support for the WGA endowment. Tim has yet to schedule meetings to discuss endowment funding with Judy Hartmann, Executive Policy Advisor for K-12 Education.
Richard emailed all board members a copy of their action items. Richard contacted Stan Cross, Education Building Superintendent, with the dimensions of the giant traveling map of Washington State and requested a listing on the "Special Activity Days" web page. To date, no listing has appeared. The 2008/2009 NGEF program grant application is in work and will be completed before the September 15 deadline. The printing of the WGA brochure is on tonight's agenda. The Postcard Contest Rules have been posted on the WGA web site in Adobe PDF format. The state senator and representatives from the 33rd district have been invited to visit the WGA booth at the Puyallup Fair. Richard has yet to contact the Burke Museum about our Giant Traveling Washington State Map. The online National Geographic Store does offer gift cards in $25, $50, $75, and $100 denominations. Our bylaws already provide for an Executive Committee. Richard has contacted The Boeing Company about getting company executive to serve on our board. He has yet to receive a reply. Richard is still working with Chase about automatic withdrawal programs. Our proposed uses for Earth Station One and our proposed revisions to the travel and expense policy are pending.
Pat presented Richard with a completed monthly donation form along with a voided check. Pat's planning activities for the Giant Traveling Washington State Map are tonight's agenda.
Meghan presented Richard with a completed monthly donation form along with a voided check. Meghan's planning activities for the Giant Traveling Washington State Map are tonight's agenda. The mailing and map lists and Newspapers In Education Program are still pending.
Heidi had five additional legends for the giant traveling map of Washington State created. Morpac Industries, Inc. donated the cost of $11.30 including tax. She emailed the attendee list from the May 11 reception to the board. The end of the 2008-2009 fiscal year updated spreadsheet of our grant moneys held by GRCC has been received. Heidi is categorizing the charges. The address list received from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction is on tonight's agenda.
The checking account balance as of July 31, 2009 is $1,037.65. There were no deposits during July. There was one withdrawal during July:
When we applied for our tax-exempt status, WGA was granted an "Advance Ruling Letter" that required us to file IRS Form 8734 by June 30, 2011. New IRS regulations no longer require that WGA file this form. Donors can rely on our advance ruling letter with respect to our public charity status.
Tim has received confirmation from GRCC that except for Pat's lodging, all registration, travel, and lodging arrangements have been confirmed for Tim, Meghan, and Pat. Tim will attend the conference on Thursday and Friday, September 24 and 25, particularly to attend the NGEF meeting on Thursday morning.
The conference attendees will email Richard a list of the sessions they plan to attend. Richard will combine the lists and email to the attendees.
The artwork has been completed on the three-fold WGA brochure. Richard has contacted The Boeing Company about making an in-kind printing contribution. He has yet to receive a reply. Printing 10,000 copies in color and having them folded at Costco would cost $4,544.25 including tax. Printing 1,000 copies in color and having them folded at Costco would cost $454.43 including tax. A quote from HCC has yet to be received.
Tim will have GRCC print B&W copies of the brochure for use at the Puyallup Fair and for mailing. Richard will email Tim the artwork.
Five additional copies of the legend for the giant traveling Washington State map were made at Costco. Morpac Industries, Inc. donated the printing and laminating costs of $11.30.
Megan and Pat have started to develop activities for the giant traveling Washington State map. They presented a:
The board suggested a number of changes. Meghan will look at SurveyMonkey.com as the mechanism for obtaining map use evaluations. Richard will make a revised version of the WGA logo with a transparent background. Tim will provide Meghan with the dimensions and weight of the map's shipping container. Tim will also print the names (Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea) of the giant maps on the reverse. Once the changes are finalized by Meghan, Richard will convert the above documents to Adobe PDF format.
Tim has been in touch with Oralee Kramer of the Washington State Council for the Social Studies (WSCSS). According to Oralee, the K-8 winter/spring meeting is planned for the Duwamish Longhouse, which means that there would not be room for the giant map. Oralee requested that Vice President Meghan Hoyer give a presentation at the conference, complimenting her previous presentations.
Heidi has purchased the mailing labels for use on our three-fold brochure. Morpac Industries, Inc. donated the labels at a cost of $29.55 including tax. Richard volunteered to start creating the labels.
Four-year colleges:
Two-year colleges:
Tim has drafted the following letter. After reviewing the letter the board concurred that Tim should send it to the registrar at the above colleges.
Dear _____________,
I am writing as president of the Washington Geographic Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing geographic literacy in Washington State. One of our initiatives is to increase the number of Advanced Placement courses taught in human geography at the high school level.
A review of your college's website either did not mention or was unclear on whether a high score (usually a 3 or above) on the Advanced Placement Human Geography exam would be accepted for credit at your college.
Over half of the state's two-year colleges and a majority of the four-year institutions recognize the value of a high score on the AP Human Geography exam by granting these students credits. Would your institution please consider making its policy clearer with regard to granting credit for this course? To fail to do so might place your institution at a competitive disadvantage as the number of students completing this exam increases.
Please let us know if you have any questions about this inquiry or if you can help us with further information about your policies. I can be most easily reached by email at president@washgeo.org.
Sincerely,
Tim Scharks
President
Washington Geographic Alliance
This item has been moved to the next meeting together with a report on the 2009 Summer Institute.
We will be exhibiting at the fair from Sunday, September 13 through Tuesday, September 15. The booth must be staffed from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tim compiled a list of persons to staff the booth. Three shifts of volunteers per day are recommended. Tim volunteered to help with setup on Sunday morning and teardown on Tuesday evening. The volunteers to date are:
| Sunday September 13 |
Monday September 14 |
Tuesday September 15 |
|
| 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Tim Scharks Pat LeRoy |
Richard Kennedy Heidi Morgan Jamie Morgan |
Richard Kennedy Heidi Morgan |
| 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. | Richard Kennedy Heidi Morgan |
Richard Kennedy Heidi Morgan |
|
| 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. | Meghan Hoyer | ||
| 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. | Meghan Hoyer | Tim Scharks |
Richard distributed the three tickets to Tim and two tickets each to Meghan and Pat. The other volunteers will receive their tickets by mail. Richard will also email parking information and booth numbers to the person staffing the booth. Tim will also bring and pickup the shoe covers.
Heidi will assemble a guest book and other supplies for the booth.
Richard has invited state Senator Karen Keiser and Representatives Tina Orwall and Dave Upthegrove to view the map at the fair. Tim has invited state Senator Joe McDermott and Representatives Eileen Cody and Sharon Nelson to view the map at the fair.
Green River Community College has elected not to host the NGEF grant in the 2009-2010 academic year. Tim is scheduled to speak with Bob Dulli on September 4 about the search for a new institutional host. Tim has scheduled a meeting on September 10 with Dr. Philip Bell, Director University of Washington Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, and Dr. Andrew Shouse, Associate Director University of Washington Institute for Science and Mathematics Education. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss possible collaborations of the Alliance and the University of Washington Institute for Science and Mathematics Education. Danny Edelson of NGS has already spoken with them.
The application is due September 14, 2009. Richard is completing the program grant application with help from Tim and Heidi.
Pat will research information on obtaining grants from local casinos.
Meghan and Pat continue to work on activates for the giant map.
The discussion of the expanded WGA Board and/or Steering Committee Member job descriptions have been moved to a future meeting. Tim mentioned having Saturday, November 7 as a possible meeting date for this new body.
The next regular meeting of the WGA Board of Directors will be held on Tuesday, October 6, 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 October 6, 2009