Board of Directors meeting

Meeting called to order at 7:44PM

Attending:

Ellen Hofler, Tony McGee (proxy for Don Feathers), John K. Matthews, John M. Wilson (proxy for Mary Wilson and Mark Little), Gary Fielden (proxy for Jason Lachniet and Bill James), Terri Brown (proxy for Emily Lachniet), Joel Stevenson.

Approval of minutes of last meeting: the minutes were approved as emailed.

Executive Committee reports:

Ellen Hofler was appointed as temporary Secretary
Chairman of the Board - Tony McGee

The Gilley Cave gating plan is discussed under new business

President – John M. Wilson

ACC participation in the combined International Congress and NSS convention in Kerrville, TX, 19 - 26 July 2009: John will be giving a paper. Several members of the ACC Board are also planning to be there.
Virginia Cave protection signs – John has 9 that he received from the VA Cave Protection Board. It is necessary to sign for them as well as to state which cave they will be placed in. John has requested an additional two. 2 of the 9 we currently have are for Perkins Cave. The remaining 7 will be passed on to Bill James by Gary for posting in the appropriate caves.

Vice President of Finance and Information Systems - John K. Matthews

Treasury report: The ACC bank balance is $2924.12, of which $1000.00 is earmarked for the Gilley Cave Gating Project. $250.00 of the current balance was a donation from Swago Gear last year.
Membership database report: The database has been updated with the exception of the email addresses. That is a work in progress. John works on it about once a week, comparing the database email entries to the NSS listings.

Vice President of Cave Management - Bill James was not present

ACC stewardship caves – no report
Cave signs – Tony McGee – the Cave information signs are in Tony’s basement ready to be assembled. He will arrange a get-together soon for that purpose.
Perkins Cave map – Jason and Emily Lachniet just had a new baby, so we don’t expect there to be any mapping accomplished in the immediate future.
Carter County Crystal Cave – John Matthews reported that presently no one is allowed in, respecting the US Fish and Wildlife moratorium due to White Nose Syndrome. There is a possibility that we may be asked to manage the cave in the future. The owner is Jeff Forristal, but he prefers that potential visitors go through John Matthews. The cave was formerly owned by Mountain Empire Grotto (MEG) members, the Sheltons. It was mapped, and gated by MEG members in the early 1990s. It is a very active cave in terms of formations, and is located in the middle of a subdivision in Elizabethton.

Vice President of Development – the position is vacant and there is no report
Legal Officer – Joel Stevenson reported that there have been no problems.
Other Reports
White Nose Syndrome – Motion by Joel Stevenson, seconded by John Wilson and Gary Fielden. “The ACC caves are closed until further notice due to White Nose Syndrome” The motion was approved unanimously

Old Business – none

New Business

Elections:

Motion to close nominations to those already nominated, below. Seconded, approved.

Chairman of the Board - Tony McGee
President – John M. Wilson
Vice President of Finance and Information Systems - John K. Matthews
Vice President of Cave Management - Bill James
Vice President of Development – no nominations to date
Legal Officer – Joel Stevenson
Secretary – Ellen Hofler
Treasurer - John K. Matthews

Motion by Tony to elect those nominated by acclamation. John Matthews seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.

Grants for Gilley Cave work

Application for a grant to Cave Conservancy of the Virginias: There was a bit of discussion as to what needs to go on the application and when it needs to be filed. Terri is on the Board of the CCV and will do the application for a grant of $1000.00. The application does not have to be submitted before the project is completed.
Joel moved “that Mr. McGee investigate the feasibility of applying for funding for the Gilley Project from the National Speleological Foundation and other funding sources” Gary Fielden seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Dates for Gilley Cave gating work Tony McGee - 20 June and sometime in August, to be announced later. All dates may be changed, depending on circumstances and weather.
Dates for the 2009 ACC board meetings: the first will be during the Gilley Cave Gating project weekend projected for August 2009 at Gary Fielden’s farm and 10 October 2009 at Perkins Cave
Date of the next annual meeting will be the first Saturday in April 2010

Board meeting adjourned 8:34 PM

ACC Annual Meeting

Called to order at 8:35 PM

Nominations to elect four directors to the ACC board of directors with terms expiring in 2013

Motion to elect four members to the ACC board of Directors
Terms ending in 2009 are: Terri Brown, Bill James, Emily Lachniet, and Mark Little.
Emily does not want reelection, she is too busy with a young family

Nominations:

For a 4 year term:

Charles Wesley Combs
Terri Brown
Bill James

For a 2 year term:

Mark Little

All nominated were elected by acclamation

The meeting was adjourned at 8:44PM

Additional business:

April 8, 2009, email from John Wilson:

Joel Stevenson nominated Greg McCoy of Bluemont, VA to a four year term on the ACC board. There is one vacancy for terms ending in 2013.

Greg McCoy was elected to the Appalachian Cave Conservancy Board of Directors for a term ending in 2013 by email vote.