November 6, 2002 – Executive Board Meeting

The Executive Board of the North Florida Chapter of the AMS held its second meeting on November 6, 2002 at 5:00pm in the Map Room of the Love Building on the campus of the Florida State University. All officers were present at the meeting. With no set agenda, discussion focused primarily on results from tasks assigned at the previous officer’s meeting in late October.

The first topic of discussion dealt with general reminders about the next chapter meeting on Thursday, November 14, 2002. Secretary Clark Evans will send out two e-mail reminders – one on Friday, November 6 and the other on Wednesday, November 13. The e-mail reminders will be short and concise in order to get the message across about the meeting being held on November 14, 2002.

The roundtable continued with Secretary Clark Evans’ business for the meet ing, which can be summed up as follows:

Newsletter - Clark would like to put out the first Chapter Newsletter sometime in early December, once more chapter events have taken place and the chapter is, in essence, up and running. This newsletter would be distributed in part to AMS members in the North Florida region from the list acquired by Vice-President Jeff Wood as well as submitted for inclusion in the Bulletin of the AMS.

Interest in Subcommittees - After sending out an e-mail gauging interest in heading up subcommittees after the first officer’s meeting, Clark reported that he had received three e-mails to date expressing interest in holding a key position in one of the subcommittees. The three people – Robert Banks, Jordanna Sheermohammed, and Mike Burnett – will be listed on the ballot for the Representative At-Large elections at the next chapter meeting on November 14.

Chapter Member Directory - The member directory, a requisite of local chapters from the AMS, will begin to take shape with the next chapter meeting on November 14. Initially, all members who sign up will be included, and chapter e-mails will be restricted to those members who wish to receive them. However, with dues payable by December 6, 2002, the list will eventually include just those members who are in good standing with the chapter.

The meeting continued with updates on several items from Vice-President Jeff Wood:

Registering as a student organization - Florida State University’s Student Government Association has established some fairly strict rules for any student organization, including the requirement that all officers be students. It has been decided that, due to the faculty presence in the chapter, the North Florida Chapter of the AMS will not register as a student organization with Florida State University Student Government.

List of AMS Members - Jeff received a list of members of the AMS directly from the AMS in the time span between the first and second officer’s meetings. While the majority of the people on the list are affiliated with the meteorology department at Florida State University in some manner, there are a substantial number of AMS members outside of the Tallahassee area who may be interested in the new local chapter. A copy of the first chapter newsletter will be sent as notification of the formation of the new chapter as well as an invitation to join the chapter.

T-shirts - After checking with several local area businesses, it was determined that the cheapest price for t-shirts would be about $7 per t-shirt, a feasible number. While t-shirts will not be ordered in advance, interest will be gauged at the next chapter meeting on November 14 as to whom, if anyone, would like to purchase a chapter t-shirt. The price of the t-shirts will be $10, should they be ordered by the chapter.

Before moving on to Treasurer Joe Smith, the issue of dues was brought up and discussed by the board. Dues will remain as previously established at $5/year for students and $10/year for non-students. They are due by December 6, 2002 and can be paid at the chapter meeting on November 14.

Treasurer Joe Smith had the following news to report at the officer’s meeting:

Tax-exempt/non-profit status - Joe reported that the paperwork for filing for tax-exempt/non-profit status totals around forty pages. While it may be worth it in the long run, the chapter will not apply for tax-exempt status at this time. Contacts from previous local chapters were of little assistance at the time of the meeting.

Bank account information - Three types of accounts were looked into for a bank account for the chapter – personal, business, and non-profit. A personal account can have up to two people listed as account holders, though to change the names on the account (such as with chapter elections), the account must be closed and a new one opened. A business account requires a large deposit and minimum balance to avoid a monthly fee; while this number was not disclosed, it is significantly higher than the expected chapter funds. A non-profit account requires filing the aforementioned paperwork for a non-profit/tax-exempt group and has been placed on the back burner for the time being. Further research will be completed in an attempt to determine the best path for the chapter to follow.

Finally, President Stephanie Abrams had the following general information to report:

Chapter Constitution - Stephanie recently received a copy of a local chapter constitution and has begun adapting it for our chapter’s purposes, goals, and missions. Once complete, a copy will be placed on the chapter webpage and submitted to the AMS.

Thanksgiving Dinner - A location is needed for the Thanksgiving dinner to be held on Sunday, November 17, 2002. A sign-up list for dishes will be passed around at the next meeting on November 14 and location suggestions will be taken at that time.

Speakers - Speaker suggestions and meeting location suggestions are also welcome from any member who can submit an idea.

Football block seating was also discussed, though dismissed for this year due to the lack of members in the chapter and the lack of games remaining in the season.

All officers are to e-mail a copy of their agenda/bullet points for the next meeting on November 14 to President Stephanie Abrams for inclusion on that meeting’s agenda.

The meeting concluded just before 6:00pm as the sun set on Tallahassee.