Below are the minutes from our last meeting at the 2017 TWS Annual COnference in Albuquerque, NM.
The Wildlife Society MEWG Minutes from Meeting: September 26, 2017
As recorded by Secretary/Treasurer: Liz Kierepka
The Wildlife Society Current Membership: 68 members
- 50 members needed to maintain
- Dues are main source of funds: $5 dues, $1 goes to TWS and $4 to MEWG
Treasury Update
- Current Balance: $700.00
- Main source of income is workshop
o 26 signed up, profit = $400.00-500.00
o 4 walk-ins were recorded in the workshop
- Remaining issues with bank accounts – we are working with Mariah to address
2017 Annual Conference Events
- Symposium (Genetics to Genomics: What we’ve learned and what’s next for wildlife management) – Monday 1-5
- Workshop (Do the Genetics 101: Matching techniques and technologies to research questions in wildlife genetics) – Wednesday 1-5
- Goal: Obtain comments from attendees after the workshop
- Future considerations: Full day workshop? Github site for data? Hand-on component in fed/state/academic lab?
- Informal Social organized by D. Wood (Tues night at Burt’s Tiki Bar)
- MEWG Working Group meeting (Tues lunch)
New Business
- New ideas for the MEWG besides symposium and workshop
o Consider doing Genetics 101 workshop at regional conferences: lead needed
o Targeted workshops for professionals or for MEWG members
o Email group for questions
§ Idea: Matt Gould developed Google group and listserv, could be useful for MEWG (Facebook and email do not appear effective)
o Periodic webinars for MEWG
§ Workshop into webinar
§ Facebook live?
§ Set up fee for non-members?
- How should MEWG treasury be spent?
o Student travel grants
o Student awards
o Bringing in a speaker (for us, or as plenary)
o Recruitment Event/Party
o Fee Waivers (e.g., for students attending workshop)
o If we want to have students attend the workshop for free, we may just be able to waive the fee instead of using our funds to provide the student with an award to cover the workshop fee. Most support for the student travel grants and student awards, though some felt a recruitment event might be a good way to boost membership. Agreed to start a student awards committee to identify options.
- New Committees
o Anyone interested in joining committees contact committee chair
o Student awards committee
§ Directive: how to best use funds for student awards. Report back to MEWG board by next quarterly meeting
§ R. DeYoung (chair), B. Lonsinger, L. Waits, K. Brzeski, L. Kierepka, D. Wood
o Conference activities committee
§ Directive: find people to host workshops and symposia for 2018 conference. Help people meet deadlines (workshop and symposium deadlines usually early, ~ Jan or Feb). Ideas for activities to engage meeting attendees to become MEWG members and to facilitate interaction among existing MEWG members.
§ E. Latch, S. Robinson, J. Tucker, R. DeYoung, L. Kierepka, K. Brzeski
§ Early ideas – Lunch vouchers for students to take a professional to lunch, informal social remains popular, meet and greet with ‘celebrities’, maybe a regional-themed symposium like Great Lakes invasives
o Social Media/Communications
§ V. Titus, M. Gould, I. Cancellare, others?
§ Early ideas – Google group
- Fun/Fundraising
o Logo for MEWG
§ Make it a contest with prize money?
§ Can use logo for swag – stickers for water bottles, nametags at meeting, T shirts, etc.
Elections
- All positions have a 2 year term, 2 consecutive term limit (except Chair/Chair- Elect)
- Current Officers:
o Past Chair - S. Robinson
o Chair – E. Latch
o Chair-Elect – OPEN
o Secretary/Treasurer – L. Kierepka
o Communications Coordinator – V. Titus
o Board: R. DeYoung, S. Oyler-McCance, D. Wood, K. Brzeski, S. Spear
- Open: Chair-Elect, Student Board Member
o Chair-Elect Nominations
§ Kristin Brzeski
o Student Board Member
§ Allie DeCandia
§ Jordan Youngman
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