SOCIETY OF USAF FLIGHT SURGEONS
BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING MINUTES
18 January, 2011
LOCATION: Teleconference
1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 1100 EST by Col Jex.
Members Present:
Col Timothy Jex President
Col Timothy Robinette President-Elect
Lt Col Cheryl Lowry Secretary, Awards Committee Chair
Col Sarady Tan Treasurer
Maj Raymond Clydesdale Executive Officer
Col Ken Knight Elected Member 09
Lt Col Brian Pinkston Elected Member 09
Lt Col Sparky Matthews Elected Member 09
Lt Col Alden Hilton Elected Member 10
Maj Tess Goodman Membership Committee Chair
Lt Col Duncan Hughes Program Committee Chair
Lt Col Chris Borchardt Reinartz Committee Chair
Col Mark Coakwell Resolutions Committee Chair
Lt Col Scott Zaleski History and Archives Committee Chair
Lt Col Mark Nassir Constitution & Bylaws Chair
Lt Col Valerie Johnson FlightLines Editor
Lt Col Kathy Hughes FlightLines Business Editor
Brig Gen Dan Wyman Past President
Col Margaret Matarese Past President
Col Richard Bachmann Past President, Scientific Committee Chair
Brig Gen Byron Hepburn Honorary BOG Advisor
Members Absent:
Lt Gen Bruce Green Honorary BoG Advisor
Maj Gen Tom Travis Honorary BoG Advisor
Brig Gen Douglas Robb Past President
Col Charles Fisher Past President
Col Tom Piazza Elected Member 10
Col Jane Klingenberger ANG Representative
Col Joel Bogner AFRC Representative
Lt Col Robert York Elected Member 10, Webmaster
Lt Col Devin Beckstrand Nominations Committee Chair
2. Review of Minutes: The September 2010 minutes were posted. No corrections. (APPROVED)
3. Secretary’s Report: Nothing significant to report.
4. Treasurer’s Report: Submitted for Col Tan by Lt Col Hilton. The Society is financially sound, with an account balance of approximately $20,000.
5. Awards Committee: At this time there are two Schafer award nominees. We are in the process of identifying eligible articles for the Unger award. Reminders were sent to MAJCOMs regarding both SoUSAFFS and AsMA award nomination deadlines (20 January for AsMA, 15 February for SoUSAFFS). The Schafer nomination packages will be sent to the BoG on 15 February.
6. Constitution and By-Laws Committee: Nothing significant to report.
7. History and Archives Committee: Inventory, catalog and labeling of historical articles has been done in preparation for the USAFSAM move to Wright-Patterson. Items are ready for transport from Brooks and receiving at WP.
8. Membership Committee: There are 259 active, paid members. There are an additional 211 members listed as active, but who have not paid for the current year or have invalid addresses. We continue to try to reconcile our roster with that of AsMA, but continue to have difficulty due to AsMA not having a data-field that tracks the constituent organization of membership. We will request that this data-field be added to AsMA’s membership information in order to facilitate reconciliation in the future, given that AsMA managing membership is a long term solution not likely to be realized in the near future (no response from AsMA yet). There was a suggestion to incorporate membership registration/renewal into AsMA Annual Meeting registration; this will be suggested at the next AsMA Council meeting.
9. Program Committee: Space has been reserved for the SoUSAFFS Luncheon at AsMA, as well as the Monday morning BoG meeting. The menu/location for the SoUSAFFS social is still being worked. The Society luncheon speaker has not been identified yet. Two potential ideas are: 1- the (local/Elmendorf) Pararescue Squadron Commander, talking about Flight Surgeon involvement in rescue operations in austere environments (pending reply). 2 – Air Force Chief of Safety and Safety Center Commander, Maj Gen Fees, discussing efforts to revamp Safety Center operations. Other options were discussed, including a potential speaker from the arctic rescue squadron or SERE training group at Fairchild. Having the Elmendorf Rescue Squadron Commander speak may make the most sense, because the rescue coordination center for Alaska is in Anchorage. There was previously a good relationship between them and the Elmendorf SGP. The speaker as important as topic; Maj Gen Fees may not be the best choice. Lt Col D. Hughes will try to make more contacts this week and will send final suggestions to the BoG for a vote later this week. (OPEN – Lt Col D. Hughes)
10. Reinartz Education and Training Committee: Reinartz outreach efforts have diminished over time, due in part to the time and effort required to support merchandising/sales of SoUSAFFS products. Complicating this is the move to Wright-Patterson and severance of ties between SoUSAFFS and The Brooks Heritage Foundation. The Society no longer has capability to sell merchandise directly, and needs a new merchandising plan ASAP. The combination of these duties is too time-consuming for one person, and neither function (sales or outreach) is getting enough focus. There was a recommendation to split the duties between the Reinartz Chair (doing outreach) and a Merchandising sub-committee (which would report to the Treasurer or to Reinartz or become a free-standing committee). Due to the experience and continuity required, the Merchandising sub-committee should be led by a USAFSAM faculty member at Wright-Patterson. This is too time/labor intensive to expect as a Resident additional duty, especially given ACGME changes. Col Bachmann will help identify a USAFSAM faculty member to serve as Merchandising Committee chair. This will be an appointed position, not elected, because it is both personality and location-dependent. The BoG (by verbal vote) unanimously approved the concept of splitting Reinartz duties, creating a separate Merchandising Committee. This will require more planning. Lt Col Borchardt will create a preliminary proposal with additional merchandising details, and will assist the new Merchandising Committee Chair with implementation. (OPEN – Lt Col Borchardt/Col Bachmann)
11. Resolutions Committee: The AsMA Resolutions Committee is moving the organization into the electronic age. To streamline resolutions input and approval, proposed resolutions will be submitted to the Resolutions Committee, who will review electronically and subsequently post on the AsMA website for 60 days to allow review and comments by the general membership. After 60 days, the Committee will review comments/proposed changes, then give electronically to the AsMA Council for approval. Council can electronically vote, eliminating the need to wait until the next meeting. This proposal will be published in ASEM in March for review by membership, and will be voted upon during the May annual business meeting. (CLOSED).
12. Nominations Committee: AsMA nominations and voting for President and Vice President are complete. The AsMA Nominations Committee is currently working on Treasurer and Member at Large. We should have solid AF presence in key AsMA positions. The call for SoUSAFFS positions will be sent by the end of January, with one-month suspense for nominations. Voting will be done in March and completed in time for the May AsMA meeting.
13. Scientific Committee: Nothing significant to report.
14. Webmaster: Lt Col York was not available.
15. AF Reserve Component: Col Bogner was not available.
16. Air National Guard: Col Klingenberger was not available.
17. FlightLines: The newsletter is moving quickly toward publishing an electronic-only version. This will result in significant cost savings (between $3,000 and $10,000 per year for publication cost). We have already had savings due to efforts to clean up the membership database and obtain current member addresses. Publishing cost $3894 in 2010. The electronic option has been discussed in past years; there are pros and cons to the change. In addition to potential savings, an electronic copy may enhance recruiting and educational outreach efforts. We may lose advertising income by going electronic, and there may be a benefit to maintaining some hardcopies of the newsletter. Any hardcopy published will have associated set-up costs; set-up costs are the majority of the printing costs, with little incremental cost for additional copies. Therefore, savings will only be realized if we go 100% electronic. The BoG discussed electronic distribution options. Making it available to all Flight Surgeons (without requiring membership) will benefit more FS, but since access to the newsletter was a benefit of membership, this change may ultimately reduce membership. FlightLines cannot be both a “members only” benefit and an outreach tool. We may lose Category 6 subscribers, who are ineligible for membership but subscribe to the newsletter. However, the cost savings should outweigh the potential lost membership dollars. The group suggested offering membership discounts on SoUSAFFS merchandise instead (such as Mishap Guide, FS Checklist, etc.). The Society changed printers for the Mishap Guide, resulting in lower per-unit cost. The same printer will be used for the next printing of the FS Checklist; therefore, the Society should be able to maintain a profit margin despite offering membership discounts for these items. The Reinartz Chair was tasked with developing a hardcopy newsletter distribution plan and initial merchandising plan. Decision – FlightLines should be 100% electronic and available to all, regardless of membership. Membership benefits should include merchandise discounts instead of newsletter access. This will require a by-laws change and vote. The Reinartz Committee was tasked to develop plan for distributing printed electronic FlightLines copies to persons or organizations that need them. (OPEN – Lt Col Johnson/Lt Col Borchardt/Lt Col Nassir)
18. Old Business:
a. Shafer Award nominations (POC – LtCol Lowry): Discussed in item 5. (CLOSED)
b. Reinartz merchandising and online sales (POC – LtCol D. Hughes): Discussed in item 10. (OPEN – Lt Col Borchardt)
c. AsMA luncheon speaker: Discussed in item 9. (OPEN – Lt Col D. Hughes)
d. SoUSAFFS temporary mailing address (POC – Maj Clydesdale): The current mailing address at Brooks will be maintained for six more months. If Merchandising moves to Wright-Patterson, the Society will need a local Ohio address this summer. Follow up on this at the May BoG meeting. (OPEN – Maj Clydesdale)
e. SoUSAFFS merchandising/recruiting POC during USAFSAM transition (POC – Col Jex/Col Fisher): Discussed in item 10. Col Bachmann will work with Col Fisher to find a Merchandising POC at USAFSAM. (OPEN, Col Bachmann)
f. Possible By-Laws change to AsMA resolutions approval process (POC – Col Coakwell): Col Coakwell provided an update in item 11. He will provide additional updates as this issue progresses. (CLOSED)
g. FlightLines printing vendor update (POC – Lt Col Johnson): Discussed in item 17. (CLOSED)
19. NEW BUSINESS:
a. Cessation of merchandise sales via Brooks Heritage Foundation; revenue impact and potential solutions (including corporate sponsorship, advertising) (POC – Col Jex/Maj Clydesdale): On 16 November 2010, the Brooks Heritage Foundation Gift Shop ceased operations due to closure by the 311th ABW/CC. All sales stopped, including SoUSAFFS merchandise. We were able to recover the remaining merchandise, and Mrs. Klein will issue a check to SoUSAFFS for estimated 4th quarter sales. The USAFSAM move, plus recent legal issues, resulted in termination of the relationship between SoUSAFFS and the BHF. Relationship now defunct. We need solutions for revenue and merchandising; we currently have no means for online or phone orders/sales. We also need a merchandising plan for AsMA; sales at the annual meeting are the Society’s largest single source of revenue. The BoG discussed other revenue options, including corporate sponsorship. AsMA allows corporate sponsorship ($400/year), and the UHMS sells online advertising. Both also accept classified ads in their respective journals. There are no By-Laws prohibiting SoUSAFFS from corporate sponsorship. We need to consider conflicts of interest when allowing corporate sponsorship; however, for a low cost sponsorship, it should not pose a problem for the Society. Sponsors may be attracted to the electronic FlightLines concept because it will potentially reach a wider audience than paper copies. See item 10 above for additional discussion regarding merchandising. (OPEN – Lt Col Borchardt/Col Bachmann)
20. MEETING ADJOURNED at 1155 EST.
CHERYL LOWRY TIMOTHY JEX
SoUSAFFS Secretary SoUSAFFS President