Minutes - April 8, 2011 Board Meeting

Minutes for April 8th, 2011 Board Meeting

Meeting was moved to the La Quinta Hotel in Conway.
Present in person: Richard Lee, Pat Vaughn, Judy Vaughn, Tim Stone, Ron Laster, and Kevin Cackler

Visitors present: Jeremy Rowland (DaTexanBoy), Maribeth Laster (MBL of RKLMBL), Chris Rasmussen (Razz_007), and Susan Lee (Mrs. IdRatherBeHiking).

Round table discussion:
No Round-Table Discussion due to the move to a different location.

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 by Richard Lee, vice president.

Reports:
President's Report:
The Arkansas Geocachers Association once again had another busy quarter in striving to meet it's goals and Vision and Mission Statement.

Kevin Cackler was appointed by the Board to be the Web Site Manager for ArkGeo and the web site was successfully moved to a new server and switched over to new software. The new web site offers many new features for ArkGeo, loads faster, and spam is no longer a problem.

ArkGeo again offered opportunities for geoachers to get together and meet each other while also learning more about ArkGeo through hosting Eat-N-Greets in Malvern and Fort Smith. ArkGeo also hosted and event and helped the Boy Scouts of America with a Camporee at Crowley's Ridge State Park.

The Committees were also busy and all that the were involved in can be read in their reports to the Board.

Treasurer's Report:
Beginning balance Jan. 1, 2011: $ 1659.55
Deposits: $ 236.00 Fundraising
$ 1.11 interest
for a total of $ 237.11.

Disbursements: $ 9.69 to K. Cackler (for domain name)

Ending balance March 31, 2011: $1887.97

Website Manager's report:
No spam postings since change over of website and new software.
Election module about ready.

Election Committee report:
The Election Committee has prepared a list of possible candidates for Board elections this spring. Each of these potential candidates meets the requirements as set forth by the bylaws and is willing to serve.

Chris Denton (CPDenton)
Chris Knox (captain cooder)
Ron White (RonWhite)
Linda Tredway (angel06)
Kent Uhrich (KnKinCabot)

Fund Raising Committee report:
Need to purchase T-shirts and engraved carabineers
Community Relations Committee report:
Prepared by Judy Vaughn (MathSeeker) Board Liasion

Current Community Relations Committee Members
Judy Vaughn – MathSeeker (Board liaison)
David Spicer – paris1time (Chairman)
Jim Sick – sayitagain
Bruce Crane – Quartzcachers
Clark Gray – cfd29
Brett Phillips – brettp2004
ArkGeo was asked to help out with the Council Camporee at Crowley's Ridge State Park on March 5. An ArkGeo event was scheduled to help show the boy scouts about geocaching.
Molly Fleming, a reporter with Stephens Media, Inc. working on a story about geocaching in Cabot, Lonoke, and Carlisle contacted ArkGeo for some information on geocaching. Judy Vaughn returned her email and phone call. KnKinCabot was also interviewed. The article was in the Spotlight magazine that their paper put out last week.
Committee work has been done in the forums. We have not had any face-to-face or teleconference meetings.
Events Committee report:
Prepared by Richard Lee(IdRatherBeHiking) Board Liasion

The Events Committee is made up of:
Richard Lee - idratherbehiking (Board Liaison)
Jason & Lisa Nuckols - jclaudii & southerngirl(Co Chair)
Ken Hayes & Sue Hayes- Nukeworker & Raquetballgirl
Brian Bryant - B62GTAWK
Blair Shelton - pshelto
Jim Fryar & Sandy Fryar - likestocanoe
Judy Franklin - jffok
Ron White - Ron White

The committee is currently in the planning stages for the ArkGeo Annual Event that will be held at Lake Ouachita State Park and are working with the Community Relations Committee for soliciting prize donations for the event.

Lake Ft Smith State Park has been chosen for the 2012 ArkGeo Annual Meeting and planning will begin for that event after the 2011 event has ended.

The Arkansas Challenge Event is still being planned for the fall with no firm date selected as of yet. It will be held at Mt Nebo State Park either at the end of October or first of November.

All work has been done in the forums. We have not had any face-to-face or teleconference meetings. Committee members have been active in the discussions.

Membership Relations Committee report:
Prepared by Tim Stone (BSA534) Board Liasion

The Membership Relations Committee is made up of:
Tim Stone - BSA534 (Board Liaison)
Judy Vaughn - MathSeeker (Chair)
Holly Thorwarth - gingerose
Justin Murphree - arkfiremedic

The committee created a new “Caching To Do List” contest each month and verified each member’s list as it is posted. The committee has also awarded points to each member for attendance at official ArkGeo events.

After discussion it was agreed to end the monthly contest due to lack of member involvement. The committee submitted the following recommendation and it was approved by the board on 3/30/11:

Proposal from Member Relations Committee concerning monthly contest The monthly contest was started to get the membership involved in ArkGeo. There are only a few people that bother to complete the contest each month and it is basically the same few each month. The committee believes that this contest needs to be put on hiatus and we as a committee need to come up with something else to involve and/or recognize the membership.

The committee proposes that this contest end with the current (March 2011) game. It may be brought back in the future with some changes to the rules in order to get more members involved.

The committee has been discussing new ideas for other contests and activities.
ArkGeo has published 2 caches so far since the implementation of the ArkGeo-owned cache program. No others have been submitted.

Committee Chair Judy Vaughn has continued to maintain the list of member participation points.

All work has been done in the forums. We have not had any face-to-face or teleconference meetings. Committee members have been active in the discussions.
Unfinished Business
ArkGeo goals for 2010 - 2011:
The Board discussed our goals.

ArkGeo owned caches:
Tim Stone made the motion for ArkGeo trading cards to be purchased for placement in ArkGeo owned caches. The cost for 2500 cards is $105. The motion was seconded by Pat Vaughn. Motion carried.
At this time it is not feasible for live streaming of board meeting.
New Business
Motion was made by Pat Vaughn to accept the slate of candidates for the upcoming board election. Motion was seconded by Tim Stone. Motion carried. Candidates are listed in the Election Committee Report.
Discussion about two members from the same family serving on the board – consensus was that the membership elects the board members and they can elect who they want to serve on the board.
Standing Rules are board guidelines. They are not for the general membership.
Motion was made by Ron Laster to add Jason Nuckols (jclaudii) as a website administrator to help clean up the membership list. Motion was seconded by Tim Stone. Motion carried.
Fund Raising Committee will check into the possibility of producing another ArkGeo Geocoin. Membership Committee will work on a contest for the design of the coin.
Ron Laster requested that we have a detailed treasurer's report at the annual meeting.
Committee Member additions:
The Board approved Jeremy Rowland (DaTexanBoy) as an addition to the Fund Raising Committee.

The next Board meeting will be held in Conway on July 22 at 6:30.
Adjournment

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ArkGeo_Board

Standing Rules are board guidelines. They are not for the general membership.

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What does this mean? 8O I don't think it is intentional, but it gives the impression that the Standing Rules may not be available to the general membership for viewing. If this is the intent of the statement, then why? :???: I believe that the actions of the Board should be public and open to all members of ArkGeo. And this should include the rules that the Board follows. The Rules should not be "secret". Please let me know if I have misinterpreted something here. If so, then please edit the minutes to make them more clearly state what what was intended. Thanks! :)

If anyone wants my opinion on how to improve an ArkGeo game from the caching list version 1.0, I'll be more than happy to relay it to someone. I know reasons why at least three people didn't or stopped playing the game. Just send me a PM.

Also, I just want to say how impressed I am at what all the board and the committees are doing right now. Thank you for all that you do.

Where do you find the ArkGeo merchadice that you could earn points for? I could never find anything about it other than that line in the rules.

Ltfightr, since I'm new on a committee, I would say to contact BSA534 or Mathseeker. They would probably know best. Sorry I couldn't be of any more help.

Ark Geo merchandise is available to purchase at Ark Geo events. They have shirts, hats and other stuff. Tim usually has it.

The ArkGeo merchandise (t-shirts, carabineers, hiking medallions, caps, etc...) that the fund raising committee has to sell is the merchandise that is available for points. It equates to a penny a point. The merchandise will be available at the annual meeting.

You can earn points by placing an ArkGeo cache, attending and ArkGeo event, or completing ArkGeo contests. There should be more contests coming.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OldRiverRunner

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ArkGeo_Board

Standing Rules are board guidelines. They are not for the general membership.

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What does this mean? 8O I don't think it is intentional, but it gives the impression that the Standing Rules may not be available to the general membership for viewing. If this is the intent of the statement, then why? :???: I believe that the actions of the Board should be public and open to all members of ArkGeo. And this should include the rules that the Board follows. The Rules should not be "secret". Please let me know if I have misinterpreted something here. If so, then please edit the minutes to make them more clearly state what what was intended. Thanks! :)

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I'm bumping this one up again, since no one on the Board has offered a reply, either in public or in private. I'm still wondering what this part of the minutes is supposed to mean. As a former Board member and President of ArkGeo, I believe that the Standing Rules should be public and available for viewing on the website by the general membership of ArkGeo.

Curious. ORR, can you point out to me where you are reading this? I'm not locating it. Thanks.

It's near the bottom of the page below the line "Discussion about two members from the same family serving on the board – consensus was that the membership elects the board members and they can elect who they want to serve on the board."

Seriously, there does need to be a bit more communications about the documents and rules of ArkGeo. new people don't know them. This is my second go around on elections, and I STILL haven't read half of the rules and regs for ArkGeo.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OldRiverRunner

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OldRiverRunner

What does this mean? 8O I don't think it is intentional, but it gives the impression that the Standing Rules may not be available to the general membership for viewing. If this is the intent of the statement, then why? :???: I believe that the actions of the Board should be public and open to all members of ArkGeo. And this should include the rules that the Board follows. The Rules should not be "secret". Please let me know if I have misinterpreted something here. If so, then please edit the minutes to make them more clearly state what what was intended. Thanks! :)

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I'm bumping this one up again, since no one on the Board has offered a reply, either in public or in private. I'm still wondering what this part of the minutes is supposed to mean. As a former Board member and President of ArkGeo, I believe that the Standing Rules should be public and available for viewing on the website by the general membership of ArkGeo.

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I'm still waiting for a response to my question! :???:

Anyone from the Board, please? Anyone?

The slow reply is all on me and no one else. I should have responded to this quicker, I apologize.

The Standing Rules are just guidelines. They are just guidelines that the Board uses, not to govern, but to insure that all requirements of the Bylaws are carried out in a timely manner. They are not now, nor have they ever been meant as a means of governing the association.

The actions of the Board are public and open to all members of ArkGeo. Every action that the Board approves at a meeting is made public per the minutes. And, every Board meeting is not only open to the membership, but we encourage and appreciate membership attendance. We just recently opened up time at the end of meetings for members to speak if they so desire.

The Bylaws is the governing document and the Standing Rules guidelines the Board uses to carry out the Bylaws.

The Standing Rules were in place even while Old River Runner was in office and was not listed for public viewing at that time either.

There is no "secret" reason that the Standing Rules are not published in the forums. They have always been made available for the board so every board member knows what needs to be done when.

I was originally going to post this as "From the Board", but I have added some to what the Board wanted to say in response to this so it is coming from me.

If my words here are out of line I apologize in advance to the board and to the membership.

I am baffled that some would think there are "secrets" and that the board is trying to hide anything from anyone. If there was a "secret" how would anyone on the board benefit? It's not like it is a multi-million dollar organization to be plundered. I know we are still a non-profit organization and not just a loosely thrown together group of people on an online forum and we do have to be stewards of what we are entrusted with. Everyone that I know that is on the board "LOVES" geocaching and "LOVES" geocachers and I feel that is why they do what they do. I feel those on the board only want to fulfill the mission and vision statement of ArkGeo. They might not always do it in "by the book fashion" and might always use parliamentary procedure correctly, but I know they do it for the right reasons.

I have been involved in several volunteer organizations and again volunteers don't get paid to volunteer, "they pay" to volunteer. Those who have been elected by the membership take their time to drive (gas in my home town at the time of this post is $3.74 a gallon) to meetings to handle business before the board. I have never heard one member asked to be reimbursed.

My slow response may have only added to the conceived shroud of "secrecy", but honestly life and family has kept me a little busy the last few weeks and I had to put the game/hobby/sport of geocaching on the back burner.

Oh, I was also so to respond because I was trying to hard to word my thoughts to not offend anyone or cause anyone to think poorly of ArkGeo. I may have failed at both, so I again apologize.

Great David, you have done a wonderful job and nicely delivered information on the Standing Rules. I belong to the Colorado Geo Assoc. also. Now that is an inbred group and secretive about many topics. Our group is very transparent which is appreciated. Thanks for your participation in the Association!!

If I remember my parliamentary procedure right, "standing rules" are rules that help administrate meetings. The rules give the guidelines of how an administrative body must deal with the business that is brought before them. They give order to the chaos of a meeting.

David, I think the issue that ORR has (and that I had at one point) was not about the rules or documents, but the fact that at times questions or requests for a comments gets made on the board, and all that is heard is crickets. Not getting any type of response to a question or request for info does get a bit frustrating.

Think of it this way. If you were brand new geocacher to the forums, and you ask a question, and no one in 'charge' in one of the elected positions answers the question (or if no one answered the question at all)....Would you want to stick around here, especially after a repeated request or bump of the topic? Especially after other threads have been participated and discussed while yours is left untouched?

It would look to me that the forum was dead, or worse, was only for a small clique of people. Trust me, I've come across both types of boards. I am not saying that ArkGeo is in anyway that type of group, but the perception can be more damning than reality.

Paris1time, first of all, thanks for the response. I truly appreciate your service to our organization. I also recognize that you were not in attendance at the meeting, so you were put in the unenviable position of explaining something in which you were not a participant.

My unfortunate use of the word "secret" was apparently inflammatory, and I regret the choice of that word. I did not intend to suggest that the Board was trying to be secretive. I was only puzzled why the Board would decide that the Standing Rules (which I have read many times as a Board Member) are not for viewing by the general membership, if that is what the minutes mean. Again, that's why I asked the question, because I didn't understand the minutes.

I will take your word that the Standing Rules were not available to the general membership when I was on the Board. To be honest, I don’t recall whether they were or not, and I don’t remember a discussion of making them public (or not) ever having been held. Regardless, in my opinion, the Standing Rules should be available for viewing by all members, so they are aware - if interested - what rules the Board follows in trying to implement the Bylaws. Other information is open to the general membership, so why not the Standing Rules?

Finally, Ashallond’s posting accurately explains my frustration with not getting a response to what I thought was a simple question about the minutes. Thanks, Ashallond, for your input.

For the upcoming July meeting, I ask that the Board discuss and approve to make the Standing Rules a public document, viewable on the website in the Documents section, the same as the Bylaws. Thanks!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OldRiverRunner

For the upcoming July meeting, I ask that the Board discuss and approve to make the Standing Rules a public document, viewable on the website in the Documents section, the same as the Bylaws. Thanks!

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What about the "Sitting Rules", I don't know if I can stand for the whole board meeting. :D:p;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cardsfans55

What about the "Sitting Rules", I don't know if I can stand for the whole board meeting. :D:p;)

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HA!

I also respectfully ask the Board to consider changing the name of the Standing Rules to the "Reclining Rules", for the benefit of cardsfan55 and drmo913.

ahahahaha!!!!
(and most of the Board!)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OldRiverRunner

I also respectfully ask the Board to consider changing the name of the Standing Rules to the "Reclining Rules", for the benefit of cardsfan55 and drmo913.

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Here! Here!