NASCA Board of Directors
Board Meeting Minutes
5/27/2015
Members present:
Shana Joy - President
Adrian Baber - Vice President
Marc Cribb - Secretary
Steve Shine - Treasurer
Don Underwood - Past President
Doug Thomas (MN)
Louise Lawrence (MD)
Bill Smith (SD)
Brad Spicer (LA)
Mark Gilbert (MS)
Teri Murrison (ID)
Ray Beck (MT)
Randy Young (AR)
Executive Director Mike Brown
Executive Assistant Aaron Andrews
Welcome and Roll Call - Joy
Financial Report - Andrews
Investment Committee Report - Shine
Website Updates - Andrews
Outreach to NGOs
2015 Annual Meeting - Ledgerwood Contract
Nominations Committee Report
2016 Annual Meeting Location
RCPP Grant Proposal
Webinar Ideas
Closing Comments - Joy
Welcome and Roll Call - Joy
Commissioner Walt Whitcomb welcomed the NASCA Board and gave a detailed
President Shana Joy called the meeting to order8:00 AMeastern.
Financial Report - Andrews
Aaron Andrews presented the April financial reports.Mark Gilbertmotioned to forward financial report for audit.Teri Murrisonseconded, motion carried.
Investment Committee Report - Shine
Steve Shine spoke about the status of NASCA’s investments. Steve shared with the board the investment committee on their most recent conference call spoke with our account representative at StifelNicolaus. Our representative was happy with our performance and suggested to keep our investments as they are
Website Updates - Andrews
Aaron Andrews presented the website statistics as well as ask NASCA performance to the board. The website is functioning well, but the resources section of the website is due for some updates and removal of outdated information. Don Underwood suggested that the Ask NASCA should be re-worded / simplified before sending the group as some questions are a little too vague to answer.
Outreach to NGOs
The group discussed the options for outreach to NGOs based on the replies from the NGO survey that the board answered before the Board Meeting in Maine. The highest ranked NGOs were: Farm Bureau, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The National Grazing Lands Coalition, The Nature Conservancy, National Watershed Coalition, American Society of Agronomy. The board discussed the regional reports at the NASCA Annual Meeting as they tend to take up a lot of time and many of the subjects overlap. It was proposed that a roundtable session should replace the regional reports. Mike Brown stated that we will canvass the board for topics to discuss at the 2015 Annual Meeting roundtable session.
2015 Annual Meeting - Ledgerwood Contract
Mike presented Ray Ledgerwood’s contract for the field staff sharing session to be held at the 2015 NASCA Annual Meeting. Marc Cribb moved to approve the contract terms, Adrian Baber seconded, motion carried.
Nominations Committee Report
The Nominations Committee recommended to continue the rotation of the board. Brian Farkas (WV) was recommended to replace Steve Shine as treasurer. Brad Spicer motioned to close nominations, Teri Murrison seconded, motion carried.
2016 Annual Meeting Location
The board discussed possible locations for the 2016 Annual Meeting. Potential states include: New Mexico, Wyoming, Idaho, and Colorado Springs.
RCPP Grant Proposal
Mike Brown discussed with the board an RCPP grant proposal "Building resiliency into enhanced watersheds to make them better able to withstand extreme weather events" The board agreed that pursing an RCPP grant that focused more into prevention then recovery would be a good idea. Mike Brown will further pursue the RCPP grant
pre-proposal.
Progress on Annual Plan
The board discussed topics to add to the 2016 NASCA Annual Plan including: expanding partnerships and building a panel for the 2015 Annual Meeting, strategic ways to expand district involvement in NRCS programs, and providing services to members (training, funding sources.)
Webinar Ideas
Mike Brown asked the board for any thoughts for future NASCA webinars. Future topics included: Board member recruitment and motivation (putting fire back in the belly), and evaluating / reviewing conservation district performance.
The board also discussed building a conference that invites the best district board member from every state and perhaps presenting the award at the NRCS leadership team meeting during the NACD annual meeting.
Closing Comments - Joy
President Shana Joy adjourned the meeting at 5:02PM eastern.