February 7, 2007 TXDOT Offices –
Jim Cruser called the board meeting to order at 9 AM, with 10 (ten) board members /Officers/Committee heads present. (Rick Bennett, Rob Brooks, Tee Cotton, Don Fields, Michelle McAfee, Howard Pierson, Myron J. Rabalais, Matt Churches, Rich Hendler )
Read minutes of the October 25, 2006 board meeting - No minutes were available from the October meeting so no action was taken at this time
Pictures of the Board – The decision was made to delay the photograph until the next Board meeting
Officers Reports:
President Report – Jim Cruser
Jim Cruser provided an update on the Power point presentation that is being developed by Paul Northcutt for the TVMA. The slide show will be used for multiple purposes, from training to educational to promotional. The Board viewed the presentation and discussed the finalization of the project. The following items were discussed.
· The need for a mission statement to begin and wrap up the slide show was agreed upon by the board. Myron Rabalais said he would look at old TVMA information to find the original mission statement for the Board to review and approve. Jim Cruser said he would work with Myron to provide a draft to the Board for approval.
· More storm pictures were needed. Jim Cruser indicated he would send some more of these to Paul for inclusion in the presentation.
· A decision to add a slide with the names of the organization and support organizations (i.e. Vendors, Suppliers) under each Vegetation Management heading was agreed upon to be added at the end of each Section.
No vote was taken on the Power Point presentation. It was floored until the next Board meeting when the finished product would be presented to the Board.
Jim Cruser also spoke of meeting with Legislative representatives on the same day. Rich Hendler and he would be providing a draft of the TVMA Support and Priority List to different Legislative contact, including Mr. Hardcastle. He tabled the discussion until the Legislative Report later in the meeting.
Jim Cruser reported on the recent training event with the David Jalloway Harris County Extension. The TVMA has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with them to facilitate the training event. Approximately 260 people turned out for the training and the TVMA has the potential to make around $1000 from the event. Myron said he received $1010 from the event and his records indicate the turn out increased in 2007 from the previous year.
The decision was made to make sure the event is published on the web site to ensure continued turn out by both the Board and TVMA members.
Vice-President Report – Rick Bennett
Rick Bennett provided an update on this year’s annual TVMA
meeting, which is to be held in
The Planning Committee consists of the following people: Rick Bennett, Jim Cruser, Rob Brooks, Scott Dunham, John Mason, Michelle McAfee.
Rick has started compiling a list of speakers, including:
Dr. Striker?? – Public Perception and City Ordinances
Dr. Burke – with BASF
Karen Woodward
Jan Fulkerson
Rick requested the member review from the past conference to assist in making any changes.
Rick requested to have a budget established to aid in planning. Jim Cruser explained that his budget for last year’s conference was $26,000, but he did not need to utilize all of the funds.
Jim Cruser made a motion to set this year’s
meeting budget at $26,000. The motion
was seconded. There were 9 (nine) ayes
and 0 (zero) nays. The motion carried.
Rick led a discussion on the Texas Hold ‘Em tournament held at last year’s meeting. He felt it was both a hit and a miss. It was discussed that many members did not participate or have anything to do after they were eliminated from the tournament. Rick indicated the Planning Committee would look at a Casino Night to include more members and provide more entertainment to the members.
Rick Bennett also brought up the idea of not having a
reception again this year. Member
reviews on the “first night” reception has been negative in the past and would
reduce expenses by not having one. Rick
said he would look at the reviews to see how the membership reacted to no
reception in
Treasurers Report – Myron Rabalais
Myron Rabalais reported the 2006 conference was a success.
He said the TVMA has a fixed CD with a worth of $27,000, with another variable CD.
The TVMA saw a net profit of approximately $9000 for the calendar year 2006.
All scholarship money has been paid out.
Myron Rabalais provided a hard copy to all Board members on exact numbers for review and approval.
Jim Cruser made a motion to accept the
treasurer’s report as provided. The
motion was seconded. There 8 (eight)
ayes and 0 (zero) nays. The motion carried.
Secretary-Editors Report – Paul Northcutt
Paul Northcutt was unable to attend the meeting but provided an update via email. The email is as follows:
I have received one proposal from the Omni Corpus Christi
Hotel,
Dates: no dates indicated in their proposal (could be an omission, could be that we are far enough out to establish our own dates) although their room block listing indicates a Wednesday - Friday meeting.
Total Room Block: 175 (Tuesday 25, Wednesday 125, Thursday 125) - in line with our current pickup
Room Rates: $90 single/double $105 triple/quad for both 2009 and 2010
Rebate: TVMA will receive a $5.00 rebate on each room sold, payable to TVMA
Airport Shuttle: complimentary
Guest Parking: complimentary
Meeting Space: complimentary (apparently no charge for exhibit hall)
Room Comps: TVMA receives 1 room comp for every 50
sold (we had 1 per 40 in
Upgrades: TVMA receives four (4) upgrades to junior suites at convention rate
Comp suite: TVMA receives one (1) Bayview Suite complimentary
Contact: Caleb DuBose, Senior Sales Manager, 361-887-1600
In general, it looks like a good proposal to me and worthy of further exploration with the Omni staff.
The Board discussed how to use any room upgrades and also
the need to ensure government rates would be allowed. Solicitations from
No action was taken by the Board on this matter.
Committee Reports:
Research – Howard Pierson
Howard Pierson brought the Board up to date on the research project. He received the CD on 2/6/07 and made the following comments:
The labels and MSDS information looks good but it is not hooked back to CDMS.
The tech bulletins are mostly from Vendor sources.
The weed resistancy category has two folders attached, with one showing symptomology of herbicide.
The weed ID folder is very comprehensive.
He did not feel there were any good web sites listed regarding research.
He did not feel the project has been completed and so the remaining funds ($1000) should not be released.
Action on this matter was deferred to the next Board meeting.
Membership – Scott Dunham
Scott Dunham was unable to attend the meeting but provided an update via email. The email is as follows:
Re:
Membership committee report
1.
I sent out a call for papers/posters in early Dec to the list of
professors and students I have from last year’s call. Here is a copy of
the call:
The Texas Vegetation Management
Association (www.tvma.net)
is soliciting student papers and posters for next year’s annual conference, Oct
8-10, 2007 at the Holiday Inn – Riverwalk in
The Association encourages students
that have conducted original research to present their findings and gain a
valuable perspective on vegetation management issues and various management
applications throughout
TVMA believes strongly in helping
develop students as future stewards of the environment. The meeting
presents an opportunity for students to develop their presentation skills,
learn about the field of vegetation management and invasive plant species, and
meet with key government, university, industry representatives and peers with
similar educational and professional interests.
For more
information, please contact:
Scott Dunham –
979.255.3980, Rob Brooks – 409-752-7627 or Paul Northcutt – 512.657.4254
To-date I have had no replies. After the
Spring break I will send a second call.
2.
I’d like to invite allied agencies, associations, groups, etc. to
our conference again this year. Sorry to say, my computer crashed last
fall and I lost my list of contacts, such as, Texas Fish and Wildlife, invasive
species-types, wildflower-types, etc. does anyone have a list?
Michelle, I remember you sent me something – do you still have it? If so,
can you e-mail it to me?
Michelle McAfee said she would send the list to Scott. No other action was taken at this time.
Scholarship Committee – Rob Brooks
Rob Brooks reported that 4 (four) scholarships were paid out last year.
After speaking with different college/university representative, he found the Board was 180 degrees off on when the scholarships were posted. A decision to change the date was made at the last Board meeting. The submission date is now at the end of March.
A discussion ensued on how to drum up more interest in the Scholarships at the Universities. The need to target the “mentors” of these students was raised as well as participating in Career days. The use of contacts within individual member organization also was discussed as a potential area for generating more applicants. As well, opening up the scholarships to incoming freshman was also discussed.
Rob Brooks also stated that he had added the Scholarship to the state database to generate more interest.
It was decided that individual Board members would target individual schools to generate more applicants. Rob Brooks would send an email to the interested parties with the contact information. Jim Cruser, Michelle McAfee, Rick Bennett, and Don Field volunteered to assist with this effort.
No other action was taken at this time.
Legislative Committee – Rich Hendler
Rich Hendler presented the Support and Priority list draft to the Board for review and approval.
The Board discussed the role of the Board or the TVMA in supporting different legislation and how it would affect any “non-profit” status. Two of the bullets in the list addressed specific legislation matters. The Board decided to remove those two bullets for the time being and readdress the TVMA’s role in future meetings.
Jim Cruser made a motion to accept the
Legislative committee report and list with the revision approved by the
Board. The motion was seconded. There were eight (8) ayes and zero (0)
nays. The motion carried.
Support and Priority List
2007
DRAFT
- TVMA
are the professionals and resource that sets the standards, supports and
exemplifies the best of the Industrial Vegetation Management (IVM) in land
management in
- TVMA are the keepers of the routes, rights of way and infrastructure that guide, feed and support our state’s economy. We do this by following Industrial Vegetation Management practices.
- TVMA assists in Emergency Management when disasters affect trees and vegetation (i.e. tornadoes, hurricanes and natural disasters that disrupt the power and/or travel and routes of commerce).
- TVMA assists discussions and vegetation management plans with regard to National Security and overall safety
- TVMA
supports the Pecos River Project and the judicious efforts to control salt
cedar and save our precious water resources in
- TVMA supports balancing water supply allocations between cities and agricultural needs.
- TVMA desires more agricultural education in our school systems and better understanding by the public of what we do and represent.
- TVMA
supports the goals of a more reliable, environmentally acceptable and cost
efficient energy supply in
Nominating Committee – no report given
Internal Audit Committee – Myron Rabalais
Myron Rabalais reported he and Ron Held discussed the internal audit the previous week and decided to perform the audit within the next month.
No action was taken at this time
Advisory Committee – no report given
Awards Committee – Jim Cruser
Jim Cruser asked the Board to assist in determining individuals for the Life time Achievement award.
No other action was taken at this time.
Unfinished Business: no
unfinished business discussed
New Business:
The next Board meeting was set for May 2nd in
Jim Cruser made a motion to move the location to
Rick Bennett was asked to find a suitable place to meet with the local Extension office.
No other action was taken at this time.
The meeting adjourned at 11:35 AM.