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Conference Call (2/16/04)
In attendance: Bill DuPaul, Ralph Rayburn, Jay Rasmussen, Jim Falk, and Judy Lemus
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Bill DuPaul at 3 p.m. (EST)
Bill DuPaul assumed his new duties as chair of the executive committee and we welcomed a new addition, Judy Lemus as member at-large. Ralph Rayburn assumes a new role as chair-elect, Jay Rasmussen assumes his new role as past-chair and Jim Falk begins his final year as Secretary/Treasurer.
We also discussed the official duties of each officer's position:
Chairman (B. DuPaul) – Chair all meetings of the Assembly and executive committee; liaison to the SGA.
Chair-Elect (R. Rayburn) – Assume duties of the chair in the absence of the chair; maintain liaison with regional networks to keep breast of their activities and to share any appropriate items with the executive committee.
Past-Chair (J Rasmussen) – Liaison to National Review Panel; relaxation for a job well done serving as chairman the past year.
Secretary/Treasurer (J. Falk) – Note-taking during the telephone conference calls and during the annual Assembly meetings; distribute minutes to Assembly in a timely fashion; maintain assembly financial account.
At-Large (J. Lemus) – Liaison to Sea Grant communicators; manage awards for MAS (1) Wick Awards – Presented at Assembly meeting banquet and (2) Outstanding National Extension Program Award – Presented at SG Week Banquet.
The 2004 Assembly meeting is scheduled from April 25-28 at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel in Jekyll Island, Georgia. The EXCOMM reviewed the draft agenda for the meeting and provided input and comments. These changes will be forwarded to Keith Gates who will post the draft agenda on our Assembly website for all to review. If there are any final comments or suggestions, they can be directed to K. Gates.
J. Lemus updated the committee on the status of the Wick awards (William Q. Wick Visionary Career Leadership Awards). She circulated a request for nominations in mid-January announcing that two separate awards will be presented at our Assembly meeting (1) "Leadership through Programming" and (2) "Leadership through Administration". Nominations need to be sent to her by Feb. 27, 2004. She has suggested a committee to evaluate the nominees and the EXCOMM approved her suggestions. She will be contacting these individuals shortly.
B. DuPaul announced that a Coastal Communities and Economies (CCE) Theme Team meeting is being planned for Charleston, SC at the NOAA, Coastal Services Center offices between April 21-23, 2004. The theme team coordinators (G. Grau-HI SG and F. Schuler-NSGO) have invited a number of SG representatives, as well as other interested parties, to begin drafting the CCE booklet. B. DuPaul mentioned that he had some communications with other SG Extension Leaders and that they were concerned that the meeting was by "invitation only" and asked if the EXCOMM would look into it. J. Falk who was invited to participate shared that the meeting is designed to be a "roll-up-your-sleeves" meeting and the organizers felt they had to limit the size of the audience due to space limitations and the fact that they wanted a manageable size group to handle various writing assignments. It was decided that B. DuPaul would contact F. Schuler to see if there would be a problem if other non-invited parties also wanted to attend.
R. Rayburn updated the committee on the status of the Brown Bag Seminar Series that the Assembly is helping to organize with NSGO staff. A host of SG extension folks, and the entire outreach staff in the national office have been instrumental in supporting this effort. The goal of the series is to bring Sea Grant field agents and specialists into the DC area to present seminars to NOAA staff, and others, to help them better understand how SG Extension Programs conduct their business. Gary Graham, fisheries extension agent with Texas SG, is scheduled to be the first speaker in this series which will "kick-off' on March 10th. His presentation will be titled, Sea Grant meeting NOAA's needs: A Case Study of Fisheries Technology Transfer. Gary's first talk will be a noon brown bag seminar and take place at the NOAA Main Library in Silver Spring, MD. A follow-up evening seminar on March 11th will be made to the Women's Aquatic Network (WAN). The WAN is a network of women (and men too) who meet periodically and invite speakers to talk to the group about various ocean and marine topics. R. Rayburn is also working with NSGO staff to schedule separate meetings with NOAA matrix managers who have an interest in fisheries extension issues.
J. Falk brought up the topic of the Sea Grant National Media Relations review that will be undertaken in March by National Review Panel members, and others. The review is designed to discuss the merits of SG maintaining a national media relations office in the DC area (the Ben Sherman position that was vacated about a year ago). J. Falk will represent the Assembly and will share extension's views and opinions about the position with review panel members. EXCOMM members added that they did not think the position was very effective. They also voiced concerns that it should be a lot more pro-active if it is maintained. If anyone in the network has additional thoughts or ideas about this position, please share them with J. Falk prior to March 15.
B. DuPaul presented an idea to the EXCOMM and wanted their input. He noted that when he was active on the executive committee years ago, the group would plan a once-a-year in-person meeting to do organizational planning for the Assembly. All members liked the idea and it will be pursued further at our meeting in Jekyll Island.
With no further business the conference call was adjourned at 4:30 p.m. (EST).
If you have any issues you would like the executive committee to discuss or explore, on your behalf, contact any member of the committee (See e-mail addresses and phone numbers below).
B. DuPaul – dupaul@vims.edu (804-684-7163)
R. Rayburn – Ralph-Rayburn@neo.tamu.edu (979-845-3854)
J. Falk – jfalk@udel.edu (302-645-4235)
J. Lemus – jdlemus@usc.edu (213-749-1965)
J. Rasmussen – Jay.Rasmussen@oregonstate.edu (541-867-0368)
Submitted by: James M. Falk, ASGEPL Secretary/Treasurer 3/3/04
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