Minutes

GIS/LIS Consortium Board

Friday November 7, 2003

10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Call to order

The meeting was called to order at 10:40. Board members present were: Becky Blue, Will Craig,Joella Givens, Matt Koukol, Kimberly Kowal,Alan Laumeyer,Charlie Parson,Mark Thomas,Sally Wakefield, Don Yaeger (ex-officio), Eric Ewald (staff).

Approval of agenda

There was a motion and second(Craig/Givens) to approve the agenda as presented. The motion prevailed.

Financial report

Laumeyer and Ewald reported that since the current meeting is so close to the start of the month, the current month's financial statements were still being completed. A full P&L from the conference will be discussed during the conference subcommittee report. The October financial statements will be distributed when they are completed and have been reviewed by Laumeyer and Ewald.

Secretary’s report

The minutes were distributed via email. There was a motion and second (Koukal and Blue) to approve the minutes as presented. The motion prevailed.

  1. Action Items – New/Follow-up Business

Social Study Standards and GIS

Wakefield distributed letters to Commissioner Yecke regarding the proposed GIS education standards. Parson will send an electronic signature to Ewald and Ewald will then send the letter on behalf of GIS/LIS. Ewald will look into the wording on the website regarding signing up for membership.

E-Announcments

Kowal reported that she was continuing to prepare the E-Announcements (formerly E-News). Ewald will work on a letter to all members who have not yet indicated an email address asking that they send on to the Consortium. Ewald will enclose this notice with the ballot.

GIS Scholarship Winner interviews

Tabled until next meeting. Parson commented briefly that his early discussions with students on scholarship award suggest that the direct money award does not do much, but using the money to build bridges with companies for internships might be far more valuable.

December Meeting

Craig invited the Board to his house for the December meeting. The address is 325 West River Parkway in Minneapolis 55401. The meeting will be held from 11:00 to 2:00. Friday December 5th. Significant others welcome.

Spring Workshops

Kritzky will be in charge of this year’s spring workshops. A call for volunteers went out in the last enews There was discussion about the format of the workshops including the location, number, and topics. Attendance and financial issues are key and care will need to be taken to minimize costs and maximize revenues. It was agreed that the committee would work through these issues and report back to the Board. Wakefield volunteered to serve on the Spring Workshop Committee.

Nominations

Ewald will put together a list of email addresses for the nominees and ask them about their interest in running for the Board. Ewald will talk with Sjerven about conducting the balloting electronically. If that does not work out, the ballots will be sent electronically and voters will be asked to print and mail or fax their ballot.

Complimentary registration for lifetime achievement winners

Craig made a motion (second by Parson) to change the policy on free conference registrations for Lifetime Achievement Award winners who are retired. He suggested giving conference registrations to award winners “who are retired from full time employment”. This is a change from someone who is simply “retired” because there are some individuals that have retired from a certain job but have gone back to full-time employment. It was suggested that a letter go out over the summer to those who are eligible for the free registration, informing them that they can attend free of charge if they no longer work full time. The motion prevailed.

Committee / subcommittee reports

Fall Conference 2003

Ewald and Givens distributed a profit and loss statement from the Fall conference.Ewald should make sure that the current exhibitor list has been sent to Sjerven. The conference came close to breaking even. The costs at the River Centre were much higher and we had small decrease in registration numbers primarily for the workshops. The evaluations from the conference were highly complimentary on nearly every criteria.

Communication Education/Outreach

Mark Thomas reported that he had spoken with Ken Pekarek to arrange for a roadshow environmental atlas. He is continuing to work on some funding from the project through MNSCU. Wakefield will contact MEA to see if they have training workshops and if the Consortium might be able to present at one of them. There was discussion about splitting the committee into Outreach/communication and Education. This will be an item for continued discussion for the next two months as committeesare formed and responsibilities defined for 2004.

Scholarship

Parson reported that the Scholarship Committee will be meeting before the December Board meeting to discuss the best way to reward and incent students.

Governor’s Council Update

Larry Chardeneau has been reappointedChair of the Council.

LMIC Update

National Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day is November 19; the week of 17-21 is National Geography Awareness Week.

Adjourn

There being no further business there was a motion and second (Craig/Givens) to adjourn the meeting. The motion prevailed and the meeting was adjourned at 1:55.

Respectfully submitted,

Kimberly Kowal