Board of Directors
Ramada Inn
State College, PA
May 9, 2003
Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 7:40 p.m. with President Philip
Perazio presiding. A quorum was present. (See attached attendance,
1 proxy)
The minutes of the previous board meeting were accepted as distributed
on a motion by Mark McConaughey, seconded by Verna Cowin. PASSED All
members should note that the minutes are posted on the Quemahoning website.
Treasurer’s report- Paul Cowin presented a written and verbal
report in addition to the proposed budget for 2003-04. He also presented
the documentation of the internal audit performed by Albert Moore. The
status of grant funding and spending was also discussed. Paul requested the
change to two or five signatures on the checking account. This will be timely
since the Society will change officers at Annual Meeting. This action and
all reports were accepted on a motion by Mark McConaughey and seconded by
Kurt Carr. PASSED
Philip Perazio announced the award of a PHMC State Organization Grant.
The grant was reduced from $5,000 to $3,000 due to the suspension of the National
Register project. The secretary has on record a copy of the grant proposal.
Old Business
Collections and Curation Committee-Steve Warfel send a prototype of
the brochure for the board’s approval. Copies were dispersed for comment.
The SPA proposed website should be established before the brochure can be
sent to the printer. It was also noted that the use of grant funding
would necessitate the acknowledgement of the source of the funds in writing
on the brochure. Steve will be informed of the website and grant information
as soon as that information is available. The printing will proceed
at that time. Chapters should consider how to distribute the brochures
and to provide local leadership in aiding collectors and potential donors.
A chapter representative could be the contact person.
SPA Website-Amanda Valko reported for the committee who will
aid in the initial set up for the website. Brian Fritz agreed to set
up and maintain the site using the committee for any help he may need.
The proposed site would be Pennsylvaniaarchaeology.com. Brian reported
the fees at approximately $330. Compensation will be needed for set
up and maintenance to keep the site current. Amanda Valko requested
a motion to allow compensation for necessary fees and upkeep. The motion
was entered by Noel Strattan and seconded by Catherine Spohn. PASSED
Archaeology Month Planning-Amanda Valko reported on the completion
of the 2002 event. PAC is responsible for 2003. The SPA is planning
to establish guidelines for the process. Anyone who has helped with
the planning process in the past is asked to send pertinent information to
the secretary. The mailing issue has been placed in the hands of PAC
who offered to use IUP students to compile the mailing packets. The
materials must be in their hands on time. Philip Perazio will continue
producing the events calendar. The deadline for calendar events is
July 1, 2003.
A motion to enter into an agreement with IUP for mailing preparation
was entered by Ed Dlutowski and seconded by Paul Cowin. PASSED
Elmer Erb Reorganization/Audit-New chairman, Tom Kirshner submitted
a verbal and written report on the known dealings of the Fund. The losses
in the fund were due to investment losses. The trustees are looking
into changing the investments and taking advantage of the non-profit status
for possible better interest rates. There are missing reports probably
due to the trustee changes that Tom hopes to account for in the future.
A partial internal audit has been performed but is incomplete at this time
due to the transition.
Pennsylvania Archaeologist Copyrights and Publications-Editor
Joe Baker presented a written report with the publications timeline.
The board expressed the need to get up to date with publications before the
next membership billing cycle in September. The membership numbers are
suffering because of the tardiness of publications especially in the institutional
memberships. Joe reported that he has had little success with the student
volume he had planned due to lack of response. Ed Dlutowski and
Mary Miles have offered to try to contact appropriate persons at each institution
to entice a response. It was also decided that other student participants
should be allowed to submit a site report for publication consideration by
the editor. The Chapters section of the Pennsylvania Archaeologist
was meant for reports such as this. Joe turned over the correspondence
from a controversial article to the SPA Newsletter editor. The editor
will review and submit recommendations to the board about any action to be
taken in response.
Backlogged Copyrights have been made current due to the efforts of Verna
and Paul Cowin. The Society expresses its appreciation to them for this
service.
A Special Edition was discussed with Bill Tippins volunteering to
investigate, compile and edit the collection of papers on Southwestern Pennsylvania
and the Monongahela.
PASS Files/Issues Committee- Kurt Carr reported that the files
will be available online to all. However the information will be no
more than is currently distributed at present. No locations or informants
will be available. The Penndot system will be available for demonstration
in the bookroom. Interested parties may also contact Joe Baker or Ira
Beckerman for information at www.penndotcrm.org.
Kurt also distributed the annual site report. The SPA is urged to continue
to report sites in order to record and attempt to protect them.
Nominations: Slate of officers for election at Annual
Meeting with Paul Raber as President-elect
First Vice President: Amanda Valko
Second Vice President: Paul Nevin
Secretary:
Judy Duritsa
Treasurer:
Paul Cowin
Directors (2009): Verna
Cowin
Edmund Dlutowski
Byrd Leibhart Site-Paul Nevin updated the status of the preservation
activities. The township at present has turned done the proposal of
the developer. The local preservationists are looking into using laws
governing graves and cemeteries to prevent development or to conserve large
portions of the property. With constraints in place, the developer may
decide it is too costly or disruptive to the project. The SPA will remain
interested in the site until the final outcome is pronounced.
New Membership Forms-Ed Dlutowski has produced the new tri-fold membership
forms in an eye-catching color. The forms will be produced for the next membership
mailing in September. They will include the new website information
and will be available online.
New Business:
Commonwealth Archaeology Program (CAP)-Kurt Carr reported on the status
of budget cuts in the Archaeology Programs in the Commonwealth.
- 23% cut in overall budget
- City Island Dig is cancelled
- Man power reductions cut to Doug McClaren and Jim Herbstritt
with no seasonal or
contract employees afforded
- Volunteer help will be needed to complete un-funded or under-funded
projects
- Means to contact volunteers needed an email list can be compiled
- Liability for volunteers would be covered by the Commonwealth
- SPA and PAC are asked to address budget cuts, absence of Archaeologist
on PHMC board of directors, need to repeal Act
70.
- Paul Raber will coordinate efforts with PAC on the issues
- Paul will create a prototype letter from the SPA that can be
used by chapters and individuals
The SPA will send a letter concerning these issues to the governor and legislators
on a motion from Kurt Carr, seconded by Verna Cowin. PASSED Doug
McClaren will be at the annual meeting to present the problem and ask for
volunteers and assistance.
Discussion for the Good of the Society
SPA clothing sale will be held in the bookroom. Order forms are available
on line.
Ohio Valley Chapter #22 will host the 75th Annual Meeting on April 23
and 24, 2004. They suggest a change in format with all business
meetings being held on Friday evening, Board of Directors followed by
Annual Meeting. Sunday morning would not be scheduled for paper presentations
but be left open for special committee meetings and planning.
There were no strong objections to these suggestions and they will keep the
board informed of the plans.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted
Judy M. Duritsa
Secretary, SPA
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