Minutes of the High Plains AMS/NWA Chapter Meeting
November 14, 2007
A brief chapter meeting was held during the lunch period of the 11th High Plains AMS/NWA conference. This meeting took place in the hall way of the Wilson Center, where the conference was hosted.
This meeting began with a lunch at the Attitudes Restaurant on the south side of Norton, KS. Ten chapter members were in attendance. Following lunch, we held a short business meeting, and then enjoyed a nice presentation by Vice President Mike Umscheid, Journeyman Forecaster from WFO Dodge City.Call to order. The meeting was called to order at 12:35 PM by President Rick Ewald. He led a short round of introductions, to familiarize new and old members. Secretary Tim Burke/DDC read the 8/16/07 meeting minutes; the minutes were accepted as read.
Treasurer’s report. Treasurer Matt Masek/LBF sent a treasurer’s report via email to Tim Burke, who presented the report to this meeting’s attendees. Since June 20th, our treasury had risen from $3227.66 to $3328.17. Our Jim Johnson scholarship fund was at $260.00. Dave Floyd, WCM GLD, reported the second $500 was recently donated (anonymously), and is not included in this report. A ledger page from the HP11 conference showed a positive balance of $1068.09. Good job, Hastings staff!
Old Business. A couple of By Law issues were visited. First, we voted electronically back in October to lower the number of members to establish a quorum from ½ to ¼, since we have trouble getting a lot of members to our meetings (due mostly to us being spread out so far apart). This measure had passed via the electronic vote in Oct, 2006. Also, we voted at the 2006 conference to raise Chapter dues to $15, and the current By Laws still state $10 for annual local Chapter dues. President Rick Ewald will contact webmaster Jared Guyer/SPC to get these items changed on our website. Also discussed was the fact that our By Laws currently state our Chapter year is from Nov 1 to Oct 31. The consensus at this meeting was it should coincide with the calendar year, Jan 1 to Dec 31.
New Business. It was suggested we ask webmaster Jared Guyer if the format of our webpage could be changed, so as to allow others (such as Pres, Vice Pres, etc) to update parts of the webpage. President Ewald will discuss this with Jared. Also, all agreed we should apply for Chapter of the Year awards this upcoming year, highlighting all the work we have done, especially the conference and scholarships. The Omaha/Offutt AFB chapter contacted us, and wanted to coordinate dates for our next Chapter conference, so as to not conflict with theirs. Right now, the Goodland folks are looking at a September date, but have not firmed up any details; this should not conflict with the Omaha Chapter’s conference. Ken Cook/SOO ICT contacted President Ewald and the Wichita NWA chapter wishes to join our rotation of annual conferences, hosting the 2009 conference in Wichita. We all approved this measure. Each office was asked to obtain a volunteer to work on the Jim Johnson Scholarship committee, and let President Rick Ewald know soon whom this volunteer is. The Chapter voted to divert $500 of our treasury into the Jim Johnson Scholarship fund, to cover the 2009 scholarship and help build the fund up more substantially. Five dollars from each dues paid is funneled into the J.J. Scholarship fund, and will hopefully build up over the years. A new slate of officers is due; anyone wishing to volunteer or nominate someone for any office (Pres, Vice Pres, Treas, and Sec) should submit your nomination to President Ewald at Rick.Ewald@noaa.gov by Dec 1st. An electronic vote will be sent out, and the ballots brought to our Jan meeting. A notice for dues ($15) will be sent out soon for 2008 – try to recruit a new member from your office/area!
Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 1:15 PM. The next meeting will be an electronic meeting held in December, before Christmas.