The Executive Committee Meeting was called to order at approximately 4:00 p.m. by the President, Brian Camp. Roll call was taken by Roger Maler, Senior Vice President/Secretary. Officer status and reports at the meeting:
 

President	Brian Camp	Present	Oral Report
Secretary/Sr. VP	Roger Maler	Present	Oral Report
Treasurer	Shawn Taylor	Present	Written Report
VP Communications	Brian Ellis	Present	Oral Report
Asst. VP Communications	Bill Brant	Present	Oral Report
VP Conservation	Paul Sodamann	Present	Oral Report
VP Development	Dennis Slane	Present	Oral Report
VP Education	Chuck Easterling	Absent	Oral Report
VP Membership	Judy Boston	Present	Oral Report
Editor, Long Casts	Steve Fritz	Absent	No Report
National Director	Steve Jensen	Present	No Report
National Director	Chet Smith	Present	No Report
Archivist	Chet Smith	Present	No Report
Parliamentarian	Duane Kelly	Absent	No Report
Managing Director	Pat Smith	Present

President Camp opened the meeting with welcoming remarks.

REPORTS
Secretary’s Report: Secretary Maler proposed that the minutes from the October Board of Directors Meeting be accepted as written. Motion to accept the minutes was made by Director Jensen and seconded by Director Smith. Approved.

Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Taylor presented a written report (Attachment 1). He reported the transfer of $20,000.00 to a money market account. The account earns 4.8% interest. If the account goes more than $25,000, it will earn 5%. The CD is due to mature March 18 and will be reinvested in another CD; however, the new interest rate is unknown at this time.

Some questions were raised about the Women’s Outreach Funds and the fact that they seem to continue to rise and are not being spent. MD Smith explained to the Committee the philanthropic aim of the Outreach in regard to the Becoming an Outdoor Woman program in the states which comprise the Southern Council. The goal is to sponsor deserving women, who could not otherwise afford the fees, to attend the program in their state. Even though there has been publicity on this opportunity there has been little response.

Communications: VP Ellis presented an oral report. He continues to broadcast e-mail to all the clubs to get information out. VP Ellis did pass out a new list of club contacts and council officers (Attachment 2). He specified that the club contacts list is an ongoing work and updates will be sent out as necessary.

VP Ellis will be sending out the pamphlet on fund-raising compiled by Tracie Maler to all the club contacts.

The new logo from National is now available. It is to be used by all clubs and members and has the word “Member” included in it. Contracts for using the logo have not been dispensed as promptly by National as they should be.

Each club needs to get a calendar of its events to Mike Fisher, National VP of Communications to have the events posted on the National website.

The FFF webpage will be out for bid within a few months.

The workshops for the National Show to be held the first week in August are posted on the FFF webpage.

Motion to accept the report by VP Ellis called for. Motion made by Director Smith and seconded by Secretary Maler. Approved.

Asst. VP Communications: Asst. VP. Brant reported that the Southern Council web site has grown and that more and more are being placed on the website.

Secretary Maler asked if we can track hits to the site. VP Brant said it can be done. Photos from the last conclave are available on the website. The suggestion was made to make all the photos that were taken at the last conclave available to the clubs by putting them on a CD. A small fee would be charged.

Motion to accept report made by Director Jensen and seconded by Treasurer Taylor. Approved.  Conservation: VP Sodamann reported long range plans for a river access on the Kansas River are underway. He feels that the stream should be on the endangered list. The feedlot controversy in Nebraska is still alive and funds will be donated to that endeavor; however, he feels strongly that the money should not be spent on litigations.

The Strawberry River project is well in hand due to the working relationship between the FFF and Nature Conservancy. Funds were contributed to this project by both the Council and National.

The Little Red River project was funded for $2,000 by National. Many other grassroots projects received funding for $1,000 to $15,000 by National. President Camp reported that a memo he received from the EPA may make Catch & Release a moot point within the next three years. Allowable Mercury limits are being dramatically reduced.   Motion to accept report made by Director Jensen and seconded by Secretary Maler. Approved.

Development: VP Slane reported disheartening news. He had been working with Chrysler to obtain a Jeep Grand Cherokee for the Auction at Conclave. It is not happening this year; however, we are front runners for next year.   A one and a half minute raw edited tape from last years Conclave was previewed. The promo should be ready in 30 to 60 days. A 15 minute promo will be made available to each club to promote the Conclave. The promo to be released to radio and television will be 30 seconds in length for use in public service announcements. The 30-second version has priority.   Motion to approve made by Director Jensen and seconded by Director Smith. Approved.

Education: VP Easterling reported that the rods are out consistently - on the average of eight to 12 times a year. He reported that five or six years ago 10 St. Croix rods were bought to supplement the existing rods. Those St. Croix as well as the Sage rods are almost worn out. The Sage rods definitely need to be replaced. The reels are okay. Poor care by those using the rods has contributed to the condition of the rods as well as the fact that the Sage rods were seconds to begin with. Hopefully we can get them donated instead of purchasing. VP Easterling plants to write letters to Sage and other rod companies requesting rods. He is looking to acquire at least 20 rods, all five or six weight rods.   Marion Soko was the scholarship recipient for 2000. VP Easterling reports that he has already had a request for a scholarship application for this year.   VP Easterling passed on to MD Smith, a letter from the Treasurer of Capital City Fly Fishers Jerry Kemple requested reimbursement from the Wayne E. and Catherine Moore Youth Fund. Motion to approve made by VP Ellis and seconded by VP Slane.

Membership: VP Boston did not submit a written report. She stated that since she is new to the Executive Committee she is impressed with what we have accomplished. >From her view point she feels that our Council is carrying National in the recruitment of new members.   VP Boston asked if there was a publication telling how to start a club. MD Smith is to send her a copy.   Director Jensen suggested that we not be complacent in our recruitment. Other Councils are doing quite well.

Long Casts Editor: Editor Fritz was unable to attend the meeting; however, he sent word that he was unable to get the December issue out due to illness.   President Camp informed that in his article in the current issue he is giving an extra incentive for memberships. The club which has the most new or renewing members within a certain period of time will be given a certificate for a rod or a reel.

National Directors: The National Directors did not have a report.

President’s Report: President Camp reported there have been two national conference calls since the National Conclave. The minutes have not yet been sent out. He reported that a motion has been made to delete one director from each council. The motion is to be presented and voted on in August at the National Board of Directors Meeting in Livingston.   President Camp gave a short report on the seminar held last November for the Texas clubs. The purpose of the seminars was to help club officers learn how to better run their clubs. Much of this education occurred by individual clubs officers sharing what they have learned. One of the major benefits was to get the clubs together to get to know each other. Some really neat things came out of the groups sessions. The meetings started at noon on Saturday and ended at noon on Sunday. President Camp gave a talk on what the Federation is all about (Attachment 3) . Goodwill came out of the meeting and felt it was a worthwhile project. A discussion was held as to where and when the seminars would be held for the rest of the Council.   The Federation has instituted new incentives. Three is a rod incentive for a life membership and a box of flies is given to new members.

Budget: There was much discussion regarding the budget. The consensus was that we should try to budget what the conclave brings in and to spend no more than our income. The Council has for several years sponsored the Warm Water Room at the International Fly Fishing Center in Livingston. Director Jensen made a motion that we accept the budget as set forth at the Board of Directors meeting in October and add to it the $2,000 normally funded to the IFFC. Motion was seconded by VP Slane.

MD Smith asked for direction on how to respond to the Capital City Fly Fishers who were under the impression that their request for funding for a 4-H project had been approved when according to minutes from the October meeting it was not. The discussion that ensued suggested that for this particular project the clubs in Missouri assist in this particular endeavor. President Camp will respond to her accordingly.

Conclave 2000: 2000 Conclave co-chairman Chuck Easterling presented a written report (Attachment 4) on the outcome of last year’s conclave. In the analysis he concluded that we have been, for the most part, consistent in our income levels.   Some of the changes that were undertaken were an advertising campaign using brochures and magazine advertising. The goal was to increase membership and that was accomplished. The Executive Committee commended Chairman Easterling on an excellent Conclave.

FFF Membership Plan: Secretary Maler gave a report on the reception his plan to increase membership received at the National Board Meeting in Livingston last summer. Currently the project is tabled. His proposal would make the plan a pilot project within the Southern Council. President Camp reports that the program was talked about at the seminar in Texas and not one of the clubs in attendance would commit to the program.   The 5-year plan will again be presented to the National organization on the next conference call to see what response is forthcoming.

Conclave 2001: Conclave co-chairman Sodamann presented a written report (Attachment 5) on the upcoming Conclave. His co-chair is Bob Condia, also of Flint Hills Fly Fishers. He listed those who are in charge of each segment of the Conclave. At meeting time, he reports that we are without a keynote speaker. Lefty Kreh had committed in writing but withdrew pleading a prior commitment. (Note: Mel Kreiger has been selected to be the keynote speaker.)   Chairman Sodamann appealed to all clubs to provide a program presenter.   A beginning flytying classes will be offered. Preliminary artwork for the pin was shown and admired. The question of setup and breakdown help was again broached. MD Smith is to check on the possibility of using inmates from the county jail to help in setup and breakdown.   Problems with PA systems were again brought up and VP Slane is to investigate and purchase a new system.

Awards Criteria: There has been some controversy over the wording of the awards criteria - particularly on the Club of the Year, Conservation, Friend(s) of the Southern Council and President’s Awards. A written report on the results of the awards committee was presented. (Attachment 6)   A motion was made by Director Jensen that the Presidents be authorized to spend an amount not to exceed $300.00 for the President’s Awards. Motion seconded by VP Sodamann. Approved.

VP of Memberships Duties: Due to the position of Managing Director taking over the clerical duties that the VP of Membership was assigned under the Policy & Procedures Manual, it is necessary that the duties of the VP be rewritten to put more emphasis on public relations, recruitment and “selling” of the FFF. VP Boston was asked to draft a rewrite of the P&P section dealing with membership to be presented at the meeting in October.

Electronic Long Casts: Asst. VP Brant suggested that we start thinking about making the Long Casts available on the Internet as an alternative to snail mail. This would be an option that could be made available to those who desire it. (Attachment 7)

Wayne E. & Catherine Moore Youth Fund: It was suggested that we look into altering the criteria for use of the fund. Currently one about one club per year is using the fund. Under the present guidelines the funds can only be used for food for the kids (does not include adults) and no equipment or supplies. Director Jensen is to discuss this with Robert Cunningham who is a major contributor to this fund and helped draw up the funding requirements.

Norfork River: Director Smith informed everyone of the controversy involving a proposed new boat dock on the Norfork River which would involve some dredging of the river as well as other construction. A request for approval for the project has been presented to the Corps of Engineers. Director Smith urged everyone to please express their opinion to the Corps.

Meeting adjourned at approximately 9:45 P.M..