| The Board of Directors of the New York State
Ornithological Association, Inc. met at the Nuthatch Hollow Nature Preserve
in Vestal, NY on November 12, 2005. The meeting was called to order at
9:39 a.m.
Present were Tim Baird, Brenda Best, Valerie Freer, Gail Kirch,
Berna Lincoln, Andy Mason, Bob Mauceli, Bill Ostrander, Carena Pooth,
Bill Reeves, and Bob Spahn.
Summary of Action Items:
1. Approved 2005 Annual Meeting minutes and minutes of previous board
meeting. (Item 1)
2. Approved officers serving as members of the Executive Committee.
(Item 2)
3. Approved 2006 General Operating Budget (Item 4)
4. Approved investing in short-term U.S. Treasuries. (Item 4)
5. Approved accepting nominations for the Stoner Award from individual
members. (Item 6c)
6. Approved provisional membership for Audubon New York. (New Business)
1. Minutes– Brenda Best
July 2005 Board Meeting Minutes: Bob Mauceli made a motion to
approve the draft minutes from the July 16, 2005 Board Meeting with
changes. Bill Reeves seconded. Approved unanimously.
2005 Annual Meeting Minutes: Bob Spahn made a motion to approve
the minutes with changes. Seconded by Gail Kirch. Motion was approved
unanimously. These are to be printed in the March 2006 issue of The
Kingbird.
2. President’s Report – Andy Mason – Although
Andy has asked committee chairs to continue, there are changes, some of
which need to be reflected on the inside cover of The Kingbird.
The Conservation Committee will be co-chaired by Gail Kirch, John Confer,
and John Fritz. Manny thought there should be a new chair of the Publications
Committee, but Andy will re-approach him about continuing. As Vice-president,
Bill Ostrander will chair the Awards Committee. Berna Lincoln chairs the
By-laws Committee, which needs to be added to the cover of The Kingbird.
Previously, the Executive Committee has consisted of the current officers.
Bill Reeves made a motion to accept the current officers as the Executive
Committee, and Bob Mauceli seconded. Passed unanimously.
3. Treasurer’s Report – Bill Reeves – Hudson-Mohawk
Bird Club must repay the $1,000 loan made for the Annual meeting. One
Atlas artist is returning the $300 start-up that was given because the
artist cannot do the work. The cost of typesetting for the last Kingbird
was excessive and Shai is looking for a new typesetter.
4. Budget – Berna Lincoln – The General Operating
Fund Budget, generally based on the previous year’s expenses, was
presented. A new ongoing expense included in the budget is half the cost
of maintenance of NY eBird. The bottom line shows a deficit of $2,260,
which is a smaller deficit than last year’s budget. Tim Baird made
a motion to approve the budget as presented and Bob Spahn seconded. Motion
was passed unanimously.
Bill Reeves stated our auditor suggested we invest in Treasury Bills.
After some discussion of the amount to invest ($80,000 vs. $100,000) and
the term (1 year vs. 2 year), Bob Mauceli made a motion to authorize the
Treasurer to invest up to $100,000 in short-term U.S. Treasuries. This
was seconded by Tim Baird and approved unanimously.
5. DEC Report – John Ozard – No report. Bryan Swift
continues to head the Winter Waterfowl Count.
6. Committee Reports
a. Archives – Phyllis Jones – No report.
b. Atlas – Valerie Freer – Data is all entered and
corrections from 2004 are being made. We are ahead of the first Atlas
in every category. Effort forms from the first Atlas have been entered.
Change maps have been started and are time consuming. Kevin is writing
more about the changes that have occurred and not the natural history
of each species. Some accounts will be peer reviewed. Idea was raised
to use the published Atlas as a membership premium. Valerie suggests
promoting Return A Gift To Wildlife in New York Birders.
c. Awards – Bill Ostrander – Andy is wrapping up
his work on this committee and turning it over to Bill. We briefly discussed
the Elliott Award and the existing procedure for choosing the recipient
(Kingbird editor, Highlights editor, Regional Reports editor,
and the Chair of the Publications Committee). This award is to be removed
from inside the Kingbird cover. Regarding the Stoner Award, Berna
suggests we accept nominations from individuals and not just from clubs.
Gail Kirch made a motion to allow individual members to make nominations
for the Stoner Award. Seconded by Carena Pooth. Passed unanimously.
We discussed the student grade level requirement of the Stoner recipient,
but no decision was made to change this. Tim Baird asked that a Certificate
of Appreciation be given to two Nuthatch Hollow people for allowing
us to meet here, and Bill Reeves asked that one be given to the Empire
State Building for adjusting lighting at night during migration. Bill
will get the names and advise Bill Ostrander.
d. Conservation – Andy Mason – Gail is taking over
this committee. John Fritz expressed concern to Andy about new cat shelters
in state parks. Andy will write to follow up on the parks’ procedure.
Nothing final has been presented regarding exploration for gas in state
forests. Also nothing has been finalized regarding ATV use on state
lands.
e. Field Trips – Tim will continue to take these from
club newsletters.
f. Finance Committee – Berna Lincoln – See above.
g. Membership – Brenda Best – A chart showing the
number of members for November 2003, 2004, and 2005 indicates a declining
trend in our membership. Bob Mauceli suggested we develop a questionnaire
for non-paying members to find out why they did not renew. Brenda suggested
sending an “invitation to join” to Kingbird contributors.
Brochures should be sent to member clubs and perhaps a poster could
be developed to place in Wild Bird Stores. Other ideas included a membership
roster exchange with the Lab of Ornithology and American Birding Association.
Perhaps we should ask for member club rosters. A committee consisting
of Bob Mauceli, Bill Ostrander, Brenda Best, and Andy Mason was established
to develop ways to boost our membership. The BNA Online flyer will be
mailed with dues notices.
h. Nominating Committee – Bob Mauceli – No activity.
i. NYSARC – Andy Mason for Angus Wilson – Changes
to NYSARC guidelines are still pending. Because some of these changes
required changed to NYSOA By-laws, we still would like someone from
NYSARC to attend a board meeting. Andy needs a list of members and their
terms; Berna and Andy will develop this.
j. Publications – Tim Baird – Tim would like to
improve the quality of the printing in New York Birders and wonders
if we should investigate alternate print shops or move just New York
Birders to a different printer. Since Shai is also looking into
Kingbird production, it is felt the Publication Committee should
put together a printing proposal. Andy will talk to Manny about this.
Andy has a request for an advertisement in New York Birders and
he will follow up to get a sample of the ad; Tim will follow up on cost.
Tim advises he needs the registration form for this year’s Annual
Meeting for the April issue. We discussed back issues of the Kingbird
and ways to provide searchable web-based versions.
k. Web site – Carena Pooth – Three domain names
(fnysbc, nybirds, and nysbirds) will be purchased with .org and .com
suffixes at a cost of $9.20 each. A new membership application, which
includes the BNA Online offer, is now online. The application also asks
to which bird club or nature-related organizations in New York State
new applicants belong. Brenda will also include this question on the
dues notices and will set up a separate database with this information.
Board minutes as far back as April 2004 are now available online. Email
links have been changed to prevent spam, the CBC calendar has been updated,
and usual maintenance has been performed.
7. Old Business
eBird – Kevin McGowan reports the NY portal will be set
up, but eBird folks need a plan from us on how we will manage and promote
eBird. Bob Spahn will contact Brian Sullivan to check the status of
this. Kevin will continue as our liaison with Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Governance –Andy will write a letter to club presidents
to explain the pros and cons and request feedback on this issue. Discussions
will continue.
Annual Meetings – Delaware-Otsego Audubon will host the
2006 meeting from September 29 to October 1. The 2007 and 2008 meetings
have no hosts as of yet.
8. New Business
New Member Club – Audubon New York has applied for membership.
Motion to accept Audubon New York as a provisional member club until
the official delegates’ vote at the Annual Meeting was made by
Gail Kirch. Seconded by Tim Baird. Approved unanimously.
Future Board meetings are scheduled for February 4, April 22, July 5,
and November 18. Locations are pending due to possible attendance by Angus
or Shai.
Bob Spahn made a motion to adjourn, which was seconded by Gail Kirch.
Approved unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m.
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