Discover Life in America

Minutes of May 22nd Meeting

Western Carolina University Cullowhee, North Carolina May 22, 1998

The first Board meeting of Discover Life in America was convened at 11:15 A.M. on May 22. 

Attending:  John Pickering			Mike Sharkey		Keith Langdon
	       Mary Johnson Williams		Dana Soehn		Frank Harris
	       Peter White			(Clemson)		Tom Kiernan
	       Karen Ballentine			David Scanlon		Glenn Bogart
	       Jim Costa			Bob Dellinger		Larissa Knebel
	       Rex Lowe				Becky Nichols		Charles Parker
	       Dan Pittillo			Edward Ruppert	Elizabeth Skillen
	       Carl Studenroth
Absent: Charles Maynard, Meredith Lane, Norm Johnson, Boyd Evison, John Morse, and Susan Riechert

Meeting called to order by John Pickering. First order of business was to establish an organizational structure. It was agreed that the following people would serve in these capacities:

John Pickering, Chairman of the Board
Mary Johnson Williams, President of the Board
Frank Harris, Vice President
Peter White, Vice Chair
Tom Kiernan, Secretary to the Board
Charles Maynard, Treasurer to the Board

The following standing committees were formed:

Information
Education
Communications
Development/Fundraising
Science
Nominating

A calendar of meeting dates for the full board was established encompassing two years. Board dates are as follows:

Friday, December 18, 1998

Friday, May 7, 1999
Friday, December 17, 1999
Friday, May 5, 2000

The Executive Committee of the Board shall meet every other month or as often as required.

By laws were proposed by Tom Kiernan. With a few minor changes, by laws were approved and the corrected and document will be supplied to the Board prior to the December Meeting.

A general discussion was held regarding possible impacts of the AIBI Project. The following items were identified as goals of this effort:

  1. Train taxonomist
  2. Create new generation that appreciate nature
  3. Help NPS raise awareness of resource and conservation issues
  4. International cooperation
  5. New Discoveries
  6. Bio-prospecting
  7. Develop relationship between technology and minorities/disadvantaged
  8. Raise knowledge Curve
  9. Web page, field guides
  10. Develop interactive identification keys
  11. Model for all, products
  12. Political support, fundraising for parks and park protection
  13. Volunteer Center and Stewardship
  14. Close gap between academic science and public knowledge
  15. Curriculum revision K-16 (technology v. ecology, organism, integrated view)
  16. Natural History Observatory
  17. Center for the Study of Natural Science
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