Minutes of the 2004 NSS Vertical Section Meeting July 14, 2004 The 2004 NSS Vertical Section meeting was held Wednesday, July 14, 2004 at the Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. Executive Board members present were Chair Miriam Cuddington, Kevin Smith (proxy for Editor Tim White), At-Large members Bart Rowlett and Ed Kehs, Jr., Vertical Techniques Workshop Coordinator Terry Clark, and Contest Coordinator Bill Cuddington. Approximately 20 Vertical Section members were in attendance. Meeting opened at 9:30 AM by Chair Miriam Cuddington. Announcements - Thank you to all who helped at the climbing contest on Monday and Tuesday. We would appreciate it if all contest participants would stay for a while before or after they climb to help out. If everyone would help a little, the work would be spread out more.   Minutes of the Last Meeting - were published on the website. Minutes were accepted as published.   Officer Reports: Secretary/Treasurer: Bill Bussey - Secretary's Report -   Not present. No report given. Treasurer's Report -   Not present. No report given. Editor: Kevin Smith for Tim White - Annual volume for NH #47-48 is printed and will be mailed before the end of July. NH #49 is available on the website. All articles are posted. More articles are needed.   Committee Reports: Contest: Bill Cuddington - Thanks to PMI for the 2 long ropes that make the climbing contest possible. Thanks to Aubrey Golden on the last minute help in finding a new location for the climbing contest. There is now a new climbing age category of 80 +. We had good participation with two 80 + climbers. We hope to have some new contest record boards made up to add the new category records and to provide one for the Sit-Stand category. These boards are popular with people who come in to watch the climbing competition. There was a question about the facilities provided by conventions for the climbing contest. Bill Cuddington replied that there is a requirements sheet given to convention planning staff. However, we did not have a good contact with the convention staff this year. It is important to have a good liaison on the convention planning committee to make sure the gym is adequate for the climbing contest.   Vertical Workshop: Terry Clark - There were about 35 students last year. There are 35 students registered for this year and several more are expected. The workshop will begin at 11:00 AM on Thursday. Terry still hasn't gotten the money from last years workshop. There was a problem with the check from the convention that went to Bill Bussey. We need to work this problem out this year and get caught up with the money that is owed to the Section. There was some discussion on why the Contest Awards are done on a separate day late in the week. The main reason is the time it takes to prepare all the certificates.   Education: Bill Cuddington for Bruce Smith - The training manuals are being updated and will be ready for distribution later this summer.   Symbolic Device Sales: Bill Boehle - A total of $519.40 (net after postage costs) was collected for symbolic items, NH back issues, and membership dues.   Rebelay Course: Bart Rowlett for Gary Bush - There was a low turnout this year of only three people. This was probably due to the location of the gym relative to the main convention sessions.   Old Business: Web Page - Gary Bush webmaster. Suggestions for improvements were requested last year. Any problems? None were reported. Updating of website content is ongoing. Miriam stated that the site looks good and recognizes the good job done by Gary. Additionally, more pictures of the symbolic device items are now posted on the website. This will allow members to better see the items that are available for sale. Other - No old business from the floor   New Business: Changes to our By-Laws because of going electronic on our Nylon Highway (Gary Bush and Tim White). How is this working? There was little discussion, but the consensus seems to be that it is working as is. Reimbursement for expenses. Miriam noted that Terry Clark works hard on the Vertical Workshop and has to haul or ship about 500 lbs. of gear to convention. This is a significant expense and wear and tear on his vehicle. Miriam raised the question of whether or not some compensation should be made for this effort. Dale Lofland also mentioned that others also hauled a lot of stuff for the contests and for symbolic items. He questioned if these should be compensated as well. More discussion followed and most of the affected parties said that it was not really a problem if they were going to drive to convention anyway. The problem would be if they were not going or were going to fly. In these cases equipment would have to be shipped and that tends to be expensive due to the weight and bulk. It was noted that if someone incurs an expense related to Section activities that they can be reimbursed by the Board under existing authorities. Bill Boehle noted that this is a volunteer organization and that only unusual expenses need to be reimbursed. There shouldn't be an expectation of compensation to do a volunteer job. Also, the Section budget probably couldn't support a significant compensation proposal. Several potential motions were offered and discussed. Kevin Smith made a motion that the Executive Committee determine an appropriate reimbursement amount for individuals who transport equipment to convention for the Section. Much discussion followed and several substitutes and amendments were considered. The final motion with friendly amendment by Dale Lofland reads as follows: Resolved that the Executive Committee may determine a transportation reimbursement subsidy for Section material used at convention. Final motion passed (14 For, 0 Against, 1 Abstain).   Elections: Secretary/Treasurer (1-year term) -   Bill Boehle was nominated and elected by acclamation.   Editor (1-year term) -   Tim White was nominated and elected by acclamation.   At-Large Board Members (2-year term, 1 to be elected) -   Barb Ritts and Ed Sira were nominated. A ballot of the section members present was taken and Ed Sira was elected. [Note: Current At-Large members Bart Rowlett and Ed Kehs, Jr. have 1 year remaining in their terms.]   [Note: Current At-Large members Barb Ritts and Miriam Cuddington have 1 year remaining in their terms.]   Motion to Adjourn: Motion to adjourn was made and carried. Time of adjournment was approximately 11:00 AM.   [Additional note: Subsequent to the Meeting, the new Board Members elected Miriam Cuddington as Chair. The three appointed members were re-appointed to serve for another year. They are: Contest Committee - Bill Cuddington Vertical Techniques Workshop Committee - Terry Clark Education Committee - Bruce Smith]   Respectfully Submitted,   Bill Boehle   Return to the Top of the Page Return to the NH #49 Contents Page Copyright © 2004 Vertical Section of the NSS, Inc. - All Rights Reserved.