The meeting was called to order at 10:05 a.m. by President Jeff Vance. Jeff thanked Eric Caldwell and the Transylvania County staff for hosting the meeting. Jeff mentioned that Diane Ducharme, District Secretary, is still on maternity leave; however, the minutes of the last meeting were posted on the website. Stanley Holloway moved and Kenneth McCaskill seconded to dispense with the reading of the minutes and accept them as posted. The motion passed. Ross Young presented the Treasurers Report. Kenneth McCaskill moved and Marvin Owings seconded to accept the Treasurers Report as presented. Motion passed. John Dorner then moved and Marvin seconded to move $2000 from checking to money market. Motion passed.
Grant Page Update:
Jeff called on Stanley to provide a Grant Page Update. Stanley did not have a report since Diane Ducharme had been working on it and is currently still on maternity leave. John mentioned that there was a webpage available within NCCES with this information. Eric searched and found it and made copies for those attending. The URL is: www.ces.ncsu.edu/scotland/grants/.
State Meeting Date Conflicts:
Jeff informed the group that the State President has been notifying the State 4-H office of the dates for the State Meeting to avoid conflict with 4-H District Activity Days. Last year's meeting conflicted with the NC 4-H Livestock Judging competition. There was some discussion and it was recommended that Jeff inform the State Board that we recommend the State Secretary also notify the Animal Science Dept. and DED's of our meeting dates.
2003 National Meeting Report:
Stanley reported that the 2003 AM/PIC in Green Bay, WI was a good meeting. The voting delegates approved a $10 dues increase. They also voted not to participate in Galaxy 3 in 2008 and approved Michigan's bid for the 2007 AM/PIC which will be held in Grand Rapids July 15-19, 2007. Kenneth also expressed that he felt it was a good meeting and had some good professional improvement opportunities. Silas Brown reported that this was his first AM/PIC. He felt that the best part of the meeting was making contacts and meeting other agents from across the nation.
State Board Meeting:
Jeff reported that the NCACAA had made about $4000 from the State Meeting in Nags Head. Dr. Ort attended the last Board meeting and is still encouraging the NC Ag. Agents to participate in Galaxy. Jeff reported that Dr. Ort also mentioned a possible reversion of state funds due to the recent hurricane. NC will give the FL Assoc. $4000 to help sponsor an meal at the 2004 AM/PIC in Orlando. The State Board also set a committee up to establish guidelines for inviting Specialists to join our association.
Association Committee Revisions:
Jeff handed out the most recent committee chair assignments which needed to be revised. Tony McGaha was appointed the new chair of the 4-H and Youth committee to replace Philip Hedden. Jeff will make member assignments to committees later on.
Awards and Recognition:
The group discussed district nominations for the YAS, AA, and DSA awards. The 2004 nominations for the West are: Diane Ashburn - YAS, Cliff Ruth - AA, Eric Caldwell - DSA. These nominations were approved.
Federation forum Issues:
Jeff asked the group for issues to present at the next Federation Forum. After considerable discussion, the group came up with the following three issues to present: support for agent travel, increased cost of benefits, and low agent moral.
2008 National Meeting Bid Committee:
Jeff reported that NC will bid for the 2008 AM/PIC in Orlando in 2004. The State Board appointed 4 of its members to serve on the Bid Committee. At this point, no other state has expressed and interest in bidding against us. Jeff also requested that if anyone has some commercially produced video footage of commercial nurseries and/or agri-tourism to please send to Sam Groce.
2004 State Meeting Update:
The 2004 State Meeting will be held June 15-17, 2004 at the Hawthorne Inn in Winston-Salem. The registration fee for agents will remain at $50 and there will be a $5 charge for each tour.
2004 AM/PIC:
The 2004 AM/PIC will be held July 12-16 in Orlando, FL
Members present:
Jeff Vance, Ross Young, Stanley Holloway,
Marvin Owings, Cliff Ruth, Silas Brown, Kenneth McCaskill, John Dorner, Steve Duckett, Tony McGaha, and Eric Caldwell.
Submitted by:
Stanley Holloway in substitution for Diane Ducharme.
Posted on 10/13/03
Please send comments and suggestions to John Dorner.