Name of Board Member or Committee: Elaine J. Amella
Committee Chair: N/A
Daytime Phone #: 843-792-4627
Email Address:
Board Liaison: RIGs
Accomplishments since last Board Meeting:
- Telephone meeting occurred with RIG chairs on November 27 with productive discussion about Pre-Conference activities. It was agreed that we would use the MNRS RIGs Handbook as a starting point for refining this and other processes. Susan Lacey (formerly in MNRS RIG leadership) and Cindy Russell volunteered to work on this with me. Minutes of that conference call attached.
- Telephone meeting with Cindy Russell on January 9 (Susan was ill and could not call in.) Using the MNRS handbook, we clarified points and made suggestions that we believed would be workable for SNRS RIGs. We are going to share among ourselves and then send out to RIG chairs before the meeting as a place to begin our discussion at our meeting at the Annual Conference.
- Worked with Dave to arrange for meeting rooms for individual RIGs to meet, negotiating for space for Chairs/ Co-chairs to meet at annual meeting. Facilitated Aging RIG to have a reception sponsored by Hartford Scholars group.
Goals: (Please identify as short-term, immediate, long-term goals)
- Very short-term – will be contacting RIG chairs to see if they want to use $1000 in budget to support an informal, inexpensive dinner to occur at our meeting in Galveston
- Short-term – Meet with RIG leadership to determine: if we want to propose guaranteed symposia every three years; if we want to adopt an elected Chair to serve for two years and a Chair-elect to serve for one year as in the MNRS model; if we want to promote pre-conference activities for which the sponsoring RIG would be responsible for covering costs
- Intermediate-term – to create a Handbook (policy and procedures) for the RIGs
Problems/Challenges since last report:
Still unsure of what is happening with guest editorial of SOJRN magazine special edition by dedicated RIG. This needs to be resolved as the Chairs have lined up authors who are writing manuscripts.
Action needed, motion or policy to be approved by the Board:
Clarity about dedicated SOJRN issues.
Support for having more time at future Annual Conference dedicated to RIG meetings with space chairs/co-chairs and individual RIGs (perhaps at two times so members can attend more than one group).