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Last Update 03/21/07 |
November 14, 2003 - General Meeting The North Florida Local Chapter of the AMS held it’s second official meeting on Thursday, November 14, 2002 in the Love Building on the campus of the Florida State University. President Stephanie Abrams began the meeting by providing home-baked cookies that all disappeared before the end of the meeting. After opening the meeting, Stephanie introduced Mr. Richie Schwerdt, a retired NWS meteorologist and former member of an AMS chapter in the Kansas City area. Stephanie described how she came to meet Mr. Schwerdt - the television station that she works for, WTXL-TV 27 in Tallahassee, ran an ad promoting their morning broadcast featuring Stephanie and the morning anchor. Included in this ad was a small blurb about how Stephanie is the President of the North Florida Chapter of the AMS - and, through his wife discovering the blurb in the newspaper, Stephanie and Mr. Schwerdt came in contact with each other and discussed the local chapter. Mr. Schwerdt was welcomed with a round of applause from the chapter members present at the meeting, approximately 30 people. Business of the night began with the chapter’s forthcoming Thanksgiving dinner. Two options were presented: a potluck dinner or dinner at a local restaurant. The majority vote went with dinner at a local restaurant. The suggestion of the Silver Slipper restaurant in Tallahassee was made by Dr. Phil Cunningham and will be looked into by the Executive Board. A tentative date was set for Sunday, November 24, 2002, though chapter members will be notified via e-mail of any changes in that date. Subcommittees were summarily discussed, with the four subcommittees - Social, Science/Education, Newsletter, and Membership/Speaker - described for the benefit of all chapter members. A call for volunteers was made, with numerous people raising their hands offering to head or be a part of a subcommittee. Lists of volunteers for each subcommittee were created and, after the meeting, distributed to the appropriate officer for use in coordinating their respective subcommittees. Before turning the meeting over to Vice-President Jeff Wood, Stephanie announced that she received a copy of the standard local chapter constitution and that the Executive Board will be developing it over the next few weeks for submission to the AMS. A copy will be found on the chapter website once the constitution is complete. Jeff opened his business by discussing local chapter t-shirts. While t-shirts are not feasible for this year, interest is sufficiently high to begin printing and selling t-shirts for $10-$12 per shirt in the spring. While no design has been chosen, members are welcome to submit their designs with the winner potentially receiving a free t-shirt. Designs are limited to one or two colors and must feature the AMS Local Chapter logo, available from http://www.ametsoc.org/AMS/. Treasurer Joe Smith took over from there, discussing chapter dues. Dues, which are $5 for students and $10 for non-student, are due by December 6, 2002, and can be paid in one of several ways: by check to Joe Smith either in person, placed outside his office (Rm. 365 of the Love Building), or given to Dr. Cunningham in his office on the 4th floor of the Love Building, or by cash paid in person only to Joe Smith. With the topic of money out of the way, Secretary Clark Evans closed the meeting with several final topics. First, the chapter member directory was introduced and explained with sheets passed around to those present at the meeting to fill out with their name, e-mail address, phone number, and profession. All told, the chapter now has 36 members, ranging from FSU meteorology students to meteorologists with the Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection. The chapter webpage, now located at http://www.met.fsu.edu/staff/ams, was re-introduced; information from the November 14 meeting will be available on the website in the next few days. Finally, the first edition of the chapter newsletter may come out before the end of the Fall 2002 semester, though a release date of January 2003 is more likely. A copy will be distributed to all members of the AMS in the North Florida region along with an invitation to join the local chapter. Before the meeting was adjourned, one final topic was discussed. The Leonid meteor shower is expected to hit a 30+ year peak in the next couple of weeks and a gathering of chapter members for a viewing party was introduced as a possibility. While viewing times within the realm of reason are sparse, one is coming in the next week - Tuesday, November 19, 2002 at 11:30pm. Secretary Clark Evans made the suggestion of the Woodville Community Park, located 7 miles south of downtown Tallahassee, and directions will be distributed via e-mail to those interested parties once the gathering is confirmed. The meeting was adjourned around 8:15pm to a social gathering of members present at the meeting. |
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