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Mid-Atlantic Marine Education Board Meeting: April, 2011

Members in attendance: Ruth Gourley (President), Tami Lunsford (Past-President), Jackie Takacs (Treasurer), Kathy Fuller (Secretary), David Christopher (NMEA Rep), Lisa Lawrence (President-Elect), Sarah McGuire (VA Rep) Call to order at 9:21am by Ruth Gourley. Tami motions to approve the agenda. Lisa 2nd. Approved.

Proposed Agenda: Call to Order State Reports

Delaware Maryland North Carolina Virginia Washington, DC

Officer & Committee Reports President’s Report Past President’s Report ▫ Mentorship Committee ▫ Nominating Committee

President Elect’s Report Secretary’s Report Treasurer’s Report NMEA Representative Awards Committee Grants Committee Scholarship Committee Masthead Report Webkeeper Report Facebook Manager Report Standing Rules Committee Archives Committee Chair

OLD Business Updates - Actions to be discussed1. MAMEA Elections

What dates do we want it to run in 2011? Mid-May to mid-June? Nominations for 2011 open positions.

2. MAMEA Promotional exhibit Anyone interested in being on this working group? We will need one for 2014 if we host NMEA.

3. Changes to awards procedures The awards committee would like to discuss possible changes to the awards and dates. See award committee proposal in Allison’s report for the Awards committee below.

NEW Business

Discussion / Led By

1. Board Benefits continue and review of membership survey

Led by Tami

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2. NMEA Conference hosting There has been discussion of doing this in 2014, in Annapolis. Contract in the works; status- Led by Tami

Meeting closure 2 p.m.

MAMEA Board Member Reports I. State Representative Reports:

Delaware – Tami Lunsford is now interim DE Rep. I am working with Bill Simpkins on a possible DE/DC MAMEA event where I bring in a van or bus of teachers from DE to DC and we do the Smithsonian Ocean Hall and then do Happy hour with a speaker from 3-5 at his Aquarium. The MAMEA support will allow us to reduce the cost to those from DE and provide snacks at the Aquarium. U Del students will also be invited. Tentatively scheduled for September 24, 2011.

Maryland – Karen Mattingly Maryland Mini-Conference update- reported on by David March 11-12, 2011 MAMEA Mini-Conference and Teacher Overnight Summary Number Enrolled: 39 Number Attended: 40 (including Karen Mattingly and one person registered the day of) Number No-shows: 1 Number Cancellations: 1 (another person took their place) Number Left early: 0 Number Overnight: 40 MAMEA Participant Statistics: Number New Members: 37 Number Renewing Members: 2 Number Active Members: 2 Discussion – D Christopher said that teacher needs seem to be diverse with the desire for content OR “fun” making it difficult for reps to fill everyone’s needs. Discussion – State mini conference grants needs to be requested by state reps vs hosting organizations like the National Aquarium. Since Karen, MD rep, did not request the money it was not used for 2011 for the MD mini. Jackie suggested that we ensure MAMEA be highlighted as part of the mini. Jackie also suggested that state reps send out a proposed agenda for the mini with the grant request. Discussion - Jackie also suggested that we ensure that the optional formats of mini conferences/state events are available. Options include field trips as well as lectures, conferences, and other formats. Discussion – State rep involvement and follow through on duties was discussed. We need to help reps understand the job and encourage early involvement in the teacher overnight for MD.

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North Carolina – Amy Sauls See email from Ruth. Discussion – Ruth said that Amy and Ruth will help the new state rep with responsibilities for the NC Rep. Virginia – Sarah L McGuire MAMEA Mid-Year Report for Virginia

Mini-conference o Carol Hopper Brill and Sarah McGuire will host a MWEE Capacity Building workshop

co-sponsored by MAMEA and Virginia Resource Use Education Council o Participation in VRUEC has allowed for funding and collaboration opportunities that

will benefit MAMEA members o Applications are coming in and 15 teachers will be selected via lottery to participate o Workshop is April 9, 2011 at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science o Lunch and set of 4 field guides per teacher will be provided by MAMEA support o Teachers will pay $10 to participate in workshop and that will cover their MAMEA

dues o Lunchtime presentation will introduce teachers to MAMEA and encourage them to

attend conference in the fall Blue Crab Bowl

o Blue Crab Bowl was held at VIMS on February 26th o 16 teams competed, including 80 students, 26 science teachers, more than 30

supporters, and 81 volunteers. o Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School won the competition for the fourth year in a row

and will compete in the National Ocean Sciences Bowl in April. Marine Science Day

o Marine Science Day will be held May 21st at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Discussion – Tami requested a copy of what Carol says when she speaks about MAMEA so it can be used for other mini conferences and events. Discussion – Kathy requested a registration list for membership. Discussion – Sarah mentioned that Carol said that they are partnering with the VA Dept of Ed for resources for the conference.

Washington, DC – Bill Simpkins I continue to push MAMEA membership at teacher workshops held at the National Aquarium in DC. 

At the Aquarium’s exhibit for the DC Environmental Education Consortium’s teacher open house at 

the US Botanic Gardens, I had MAMEA brochures and passed them out encouraging teachers to join. 

Working with Tami to host a joint DC and DE event in DC.  We were thinking of June 11, but I needed 

to change that date, so we are now looking at September 24. 

Discussion – DC area vs DC proper. Can we add something to ask members to indicate what state/district they would identify? We need to change the form for the conference registration, Paypal and the PDF form. Also making changes to reflect whether it is a home or work address. Lisa will make these changes.

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Motion – Tami motions to change the membership records to reflect which state/district the members identify. 2nd Kathy. Vote; motion passes. II. Officer Reports

President – Ruth Gourley 1. Final Budget report from 2010 Conference

a. 54 attendees b. Need to get the membership fees teased out. c. $8,282.36 in expenses; some discrepancies with how scholarships are

accounted for. Expenses and income are approximately even. Great job Ruth!

d. Ruth says she will not run another conference for at least 5 years, but she will do it again.

e. Conference evaluations were good. i. Spaces issues were challenging. Some concerns about concurrent

session spaces. Conflict with hotel booking a wedding in the middle of the sessions.

ii. Speakers were awesome! 2. Submitted items to MAMEA news and Masthead 3. Reviewed Mini-C grant application for VA mini-c 4. Contributed ideas to Lisa and conference committee as needed 5. Assisted in reviewing NMEA 2014 conference documents as needed and nominated

to help co-chair the conference concurrent sessions 6. Review and has nomination for NMEA rep for 2011

a. David has been the rep for 3 years and feels it is not ethical to continue since he receives MAMEA funds to attend meetings.

b. Ruth nominated Tami Lunsford since she is able to promote the NMEA conference in 2014 we are hosting. Tami accepts the nomination. Tami will shadow David the NMEA Conference in Boston to “learn the ropes” and will be the official MAMEA Rep to NMEA starting in October.

Discussion – The new NMEA rep can either be someone who is already supported to go to NMEA events and not needed the funds or someone who would not have the funds to attend otherwise. Ruth also suggested that the person also be someone who can be a liaison for NMEA 2014. David suggested that the NMEA rep should be someone who has been on the MAMEA Board. David also said that he can serve as proxy. Past-President – Tami Lunsford

Past- Pres report

I. NMEA 2014: Aside from my tasks on the nominations and mentoring committee, the bulk of my MAMEA time has been going toward the planning of NMEA 2014. We have decided that the co-chairs will be me, Beth Jewell, and David Christopher. We submitted a proposal to the NMEA Conference Committee, which was reviewed and it was announced at the NMEA Board meeting on March 9 that we were hosting. So, it is official we are hosting NMEA 2014 in Annapolis, MD! a. We have a large committee already, too:

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i. Ruth Gourley and Dia Hitt- Concurrent sessions ii. Kathy Fuller- Field trips iii. ??? – Exhibitors and help with auction items iv. Jackie Takacs- finances v. ??? / Beth – auction (one person on local vendors and another

outside) vi. Andrew Wilson and John Lunsford- USNA event vii. David Christopher - NAqB event viii. Sharon Cooper- DC event Friday night with hotels ix. Adam Frederick- Fundraising

b. Our proposed current schedule is for July 2014: i. Sunday- Sea Grant meeting?, board dinner ii. Monday- Board meeting, welcome event at USNA (crab feast with

YPs? And some sort of military band) iii. Tuesday-keynote, concurrent sessions, night at National Aquarium

Baltimore iv. Wednesday- concurrent sessions, afternoon wine tasting with exhibits,

auction v. Thursday- keynote, more exhibits, concurrent sessions, sing-a-long,

taste of Annapolis vi. Friday- field trips, optional event in DC

c. We are planning a committee meeting on June 4 probably in Baltimore to brainstorm theme ideas and get started. We welcome anyone else who wants to be involved on the committee to join us.

d. We are currently reviewing the contract from the Loews Annapolis Hotel in Annapolis, and we are strongly leaning toward hosting it there. We welcome any input on the contract (also submitted with my report), thoughts on other locations, or other ideas at the MAMEA Board meeting before we move forward. If we decide to sign that contract, we would need $2500 from the MAMEA budget as a deposit.

II. Also, to get it in the official record, I found out from Andrew Wilson that we have been getting our award plaques from http://www.serviceengraving.com/Service_Engraving_Company_-_Established_1989/Home.html so we can have it in the documents for the future. We can go elsewhere, but Andrew has been coordinating it for years with them.

Discussion – Do we need to use this company? Tami thinks the plaque should be printed by printer that is the choice of the awards committee chair and the Board agrees. Thanks to Andrew for what he has done in the past. We would also like to get the awards at least a week prior to the award ceremony.

III. I have also summarized the results of the membership survey at the 2010 conference in Wilmington. There were 34 respondents. a. Those who have been on the board (11)-- 1 bad idea, 1 not sure, 9 support or

great b. 23 had not been on the board, 17 said GREAT, 6 said they support it c. Would you be more willing to serve if there was support? 3 yes, 7 no, 13

maybe d. Ideas for the board to discuss:

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i. offer a travel allowance up to $200/year for no more than 2 consecutive years (my favorite option—most like NMEA and only supports those who don’t have institutional support already)

ii. reduced registration for Board members to MAMEA conference iii. conference chair and up to 3 committee members not register for the

conference (also important in my mind) iv. "at large" board positions—a few folks indicated that they were

interested in being involved and learning more, but not ready to take on the responsibilities of state rep yet

Mentoring Committee – Tami Lunsford I held the first ever state rep conference call in January, with the help of Carol who coordinated it from VIMS as I don’t have conference call capabilities. It went really well! The reps from DE (me), Virginia (Sarah), DC (Bill), and NC (Amy) all participated, and David called in to represent Maryland as I was not able to get in touch with Karen. We had some good discussions about the MAMEA-sponsored events that have been successful and the options for broadening our horizons. MD ran the overnight at the aquarium, but the MD rep did not apply for the MAMEA support, so they did not get it. VA has applied and been awarded the $300 support for a MWEE workshop Sarah and Carol are doing in April. NC might try to do one this summer- perhaps a field excursion for teachers. DE and DC are working on a co-sponsored event in June—planning to do a bus trip of DE educators to DC on Saturday, June 11, to visit the Ocean Hall and then the Aquarium with happy hour and a speaker from 3-5. Thanks to Carol who tracked down the winning NOSB coaches for this year. We will be processing 4 new memberships and 1 renewal for those NOSB coaches as awards for them based on past Board decisions. Subcommittee for MAMEA support of Mid-Atlantic NOSB Competitions Submitted by C.Hopper Brill, 3/21/2011

Objective: Build membership & assist marine science educators. Complementary memberships for regional NOSB Coaches: targets coaches new to the annual competitions in MD region, VA and NC. Helps recruit or retain classroom teachers who are involved in marine education and may benefit from the professional development opportunities and greater communication with experienced educators offered by MAMEA. a) Five Eligible coaches: *2 coaches from VA’s Blue Crab Bowl (one responded with a Thank you)

*1 coaches from NC’s Blue Heron Bowl (received a Thank you) *2 coaches from MD’s Chesapeake Bay Bowl

b) I provided the MAMEA flier for all BCB coaches (2/26/11), MAMEA is acknowledged in the BCB program, on the website & in press releases. I attempted to effect this for other bowls, but don’t yet have any proof that MAMEA was acknowledged.

c) I generated a MAMEA letter for the coaches and sent that to them, along with a copy of the recent Masthead & MAMEA membership flier. Done 3/18/11

d) The names and contact information of these coaches have been sent to Kathy for entry in the MAMEA membership database, cc: to Chair of Mentorship Committee (Tami). Done 3/18/11

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Nominations Committee report – Tami Lunsford

Call for nominations will be posted in the upcoming newsletter and put out on MAMEA listserve. I need help filling most of the positions below. I would like to run the online elections for May 4-June 4 if at all possible so we can announce the winner at the NMEA on June 28. I really want to get this out in email before teachers are done for the year and the informal educators’ lives are more insane. I have emailed those in the positions currently to see if they will run for another 2 years, and we’ll discuss the results at the Board meeting. I need help finding a president-elect, especially.

MAMEA Board Member Nomination & Term Rotations Last Next Take Office Term election election office President-elect 1 year 6/10 5/11 10/11 President 1 year 10/12 Past President 1 year 10/13 Secretary 2 years 10/09 5/11 10/11 Treasurer 2 years 6/10 5/12 10/12 DE Rep 2 years 10/09 5/11 10/11 MD Rep 2 years 10/09 5 /11 10/11 DC Rep 2 years 6/10 5/12 10/12 VA Rep 2 years 6/10 5/12 10/12 NC Rep 2 years 10/09 5/11 10/11

Tami has been recruiting members to fill open positions. (See Old Business for a current list of potential nominees)

President-Elect – Lisa Lawrence MAMEA 2011 Mid-Year Board Report – Conference Update

VA DEQ Co-Sponsor. In fall 2010, VA Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of Environmental Education approached us about co-hosting the annual conference. Traditionally, they host an annual Environmental Education conference in the fall (~150-180 attendees) which is preceded by a special one-day Leadership workshop for 50 people. The 2011 Leadership workshop will focus on coastal & ocean science so they felt the MAMEA conference in place of the traditional EE conference would be a great fit. VA DEQ will support the conference by helping on the planning committee, disseminating conference information to their EE contacts and providing monetary support for meeting space. Funding Sources. In addition, we applied for and received a grant from VA DEQ’s MWEE Partner Mini-Grant Program that will cover meeting space and W&M Conference Services fees. Virginia teachers that attend a Virginia Resource-Use Education Council’s one of the six summer Chesapeake Bay Academies are eligible for funding to attend a professional development conference. Traditionally, these funds had to be used to attend the Virginia Association of Science Teachers conference, but this year they will have the option of using the funds to attend MAMEA. Conference Survey Results.

73 people responded 

66.7% (48) have previously attended MAMEA 

87.3% (62) plan on attending MAMEA 2011 

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50 people are interested in field experiences 

Field experience preferences are: outdoor activity (40), guided interpretive museum program (26), 

and scientist‐led activity (34)  

Field experience preferred times are Friday afternoon & Sunday morning 

Little interest in presenting a scientific/project poster 

Topics of interest are (in order of most requested): 

o Ocean education classroom best practices 

o High school level  

o Current research topics, hands‐on research for students 

o Climate change 

o Informal education/interpretive skills 

o Invasive species 

o Upland‐coastal Linkages 

o Technology 

o Program evaluation 

o Local natural history 

Conference Logistics. Call for papers will go out in April and presenters will be notified in May. Hospitality House is already accepting lodging reservations ($77/night). Draft Conference Agenda Friday, Oct. 7 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Pre-PDI VA Environmental Educators Leadership Program (optional) 12:00 – 4:00 pm Local Field Experiences (optional) 5:00 – 7:30 pm PDI Welcome Reception and Invited Scientific Speaker

Saturday, Oct. 8 9:00 – 9:45 am Welcome & Plenary Speaker 10:00 – 10:45 am Concurrent Session I 11:00 – 11:45 am Concurrent Session II 11:45 am – 12:30 pm MAMEA Business Meeting & Awards 12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch 1:30 – 2:15 pm Concurrent Session III 2:30 – 3:15 pm Concurrent Session IV 3:30 – 4:15 pm Concurrent Session V 5:00 pm Dinner & Auction

Sunday, Oct. 9 9 am – 12:00 pm Local Field Experiences (optional) Discussion – MAMEA Board meeting is tentatively scheduled for Thursday. This makes it difficult for our NC and DE members to make it to the meeting. Maybe we can do a conference call earlier. Friday morning may be an option; 8-12. Discussion – MAMEA membership should be included in the registration fee. It would be easiest to keep track of our lifetime member’s fees by giving them a deduction of the membership fees from the registration.

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Discussion- Need to work out accounting with using W&M conference services and restricted grants.

Secretary – Kathy Fuller MAMEA Secretary Report March 2011 Submitted by Kathy Fuller 3/29/11 Non-renewals from 2010: 115 Active Members: 143 as of 3/29/11

New: 72 Renewals: 62 Lifetime: 9

State-by-State Breakdown: 3 Delaware 49 Maryland 1 DC 43 Virginia 40 North Carolina

4 Pennsylvania 1 Connecticut 1 Tennessee

1 Wisconsin Membership Dues Breakdown: 48 Conference 39 Mini-Conferences 16 Check 27 PayPal 4 Gift (NOSB)

9 Other (Lifetime, gift, etc.) From the Secretary: - PayPal seems to work for most members. Renewal notices come back the same

day. - Had some difficulties with the information, or lack of information, given to me from

the annual conference. I really don’t think the USM conference services are worth half of what we paid.

- Many long standing members did not renew. Retiring? Overlooked the renewal? Economy?

Treasurer – Jackie Takacs

Mid-Atlantic Marine Education Association 2011 Budget & Financial Standing

Submitted by Jackie Takacs, Treasurer

March 28, 2011 Current checking account balance = $11,849.06

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Current CD balance = $35,646.14 Maturity 6/12 (Earned $354.08) Current MAMEA Financial Standing = $46,495.20

2010 MAMEA BUDGET actual as of 3/30/11 Approved Actual Difference

INCOME Memberships $1,500.00 1,674.99 $174.99 MAMEA Annual Conference a. Registrations & Donations $500.00 (130.46) ($630.46) b. Auction $1,200.00 1,974.35 $774.35 Logo Items $0.00 23.00 $23.00 TOTAL INCOME $3,200.00 $3,541.88 $341.88 EXPENSES Accounting Service $500.00 ($500.00) Awards $0.00 NMEA membership $70.00 ($70.00) Plaques $70.00 ($70.00) Bank Charges $25.00 ($25.00) Board Meeting $50.00 $39.86 ($10.14) Grants $2,000.00 $1,240.00 ($760.00) Legal Consultations $300.00 $70.00 ($230.00) Masthead $200.00 ($200.00) Mini-conference Support $1,500.00 ($1,500.00) Office Supplies $100.00 ($100.00) Past President Expenses $0.00 NMEA Mid-year mtg $500.00 $466.76 ($33.24) NMEA Annual Conference $500.00 ($500.00) Postage $100.00 $55.00 ($45.00) Presidents Discretionary $0.00 Discrectionary $100.00 $110.00 $10.00 PS Scholarships $1,200.00 $1,200.00 $0.00 Renewal Notices $100.00 ($100.00) Web Design $0.00 $1,055.00 $1,055.00 TOTAL EXPENSES $7,315.00 $4,236.62 -$3,078.38 NET DIFFERENCE ($4,115.00) ($694.74)

2011 MAMEA Approved Budget actual as of 3/31/11

INCOME Approved Actual Difference Memberships $1,500.00 459.60 ($1,040.40)

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MAMEA Annual Conference a. Registrations & Donations $500.00 b. Auction $1,200.00 TOTAL INCOME $3,200.00 $459.60 -$1,040.40 EXPENSES Accounting Service $500.00 Awards NMEA membership $90.00 Plaques $120.00 Bank Charges $25.00 Board Expenses Discretionary $200.00 $55.35 ($144.65) Meeting $300.00 Grants $2,000.00 Legal Consultations $300.00 Masthead $100.00 Mini-conference Support $1,500.00 NMEA Rep $1,500.00 $1,000.00 ($500.00) Office Support Supplies $100.00 $69.10 ($30.90) Conference Call $240.00 Postage $100.00 Promotional Materials $2,000.00 PS Scholarships $1,500.00 Renewal Notices $100.00 Web Support $500.00 TOTAL EXPENSES $11,175.00 $1,124.45 -$675.55 NET DIFFERENCE ($7,975.00) ($664.85) ($364.85)

Discussion – NMEA looking into online store for logo items. Suggestion that MAMEA sees how it works and follow suit. NMEA Representation Chair – David Christopher Update

Submitted items to NMEA news. These have been mainly been about our conferences.

Submitted items to Masthead Attended NMEA board and chapter phone calls. Presented about MAMEA

committees on the fall chapter phone call. Submitted NMEA By-Laws, Standing Rules, and Membership list to the NMEA

offices. (this is an annual responsibility) Updated the NMEA calendar with MAMEA events.

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Organized Marine Share-a-thon at regional NSTA Conference. o 40 participants attended. o Organizations that participated were Maryland SeaGrant, Virginia SeaGrant,

Virginia Aquarium, COOL, NOSB, Adventure Aquarium, and the National Aquarium.

Attend NMEA midyear board meeting in San Francisco. Assisted with Whale of a Share-a-thon at NSTA in San Francisco Assisted with NMEA scholarship committee Assisted with NMEA nominations Committee Coordinated the judging of the Living on an Ocean Planet for the Mid Atlantic Region

o We were in a super region with New Jersey o There were 6 videos, all were from the same school o We have contributed to the prize by providing the book Ocean (American

Museum of Natural History) to the winning team. o Winners

First Place Official title: A Fragile Ocean Coach name: Tina Held Student Captain: Matthew Eisenschmied Additional team Members: Jeanne Stad School Name: Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science

Second Place Official title: Tsunamis: Worldwide Catastophes Coach name: Tina Held Student Captain: Matthew Schroeder Additional team Members: Emilia Iwaszkowska, Max McGrath School Name: Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science

Third Place Official title: Global Warming Warning Coach name: Tina Held Student Captain: Nick Lavrov Additional team Members: Tyler McKay, Harsh Patel School Name: Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science

Membership Statistics

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Upcoming Conferences Boston, MA - June 29 - July 3, 2011 – Registration Open Anchorage, AK - June 24 - 28

Action Items Video Contest for the future

There were some questions about our involvement and this may be a good time to discuss it.

Action Item - For the Next Chapter rep David call bring up bring logos on promotional material.

NSTA Share-a-thon I just would like to review the Share-a-thon and discuss our future involvement. The regional one was not well attended. However, the national one did well this year.

Perks for Members NMEA would like us to discuss member perks. This would be free admission or discounts to organizations in our area. The model discussed would be that we approach organizations in our region. MAMEA members would receive perks in our area, and if the NMEA members would receive the perks nationwide.

Action Item – David to ask Kathy for list of organizations that members are from. David will begin drafting a letter

My time as NMEA rep is up at the Boston NMEA conference. I am willing to continue serving if asked. However, since I receive travel funds I fell it would be best for this to pass to another person. I think it best to encourage a term limit. I will

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however stay on the committee to help my replacement and to be there proxy if needed.

I will be attending the BWET Workgroup meeting on March 31. Awards Committee Chair – Allison Besch Here’s my update for the April meeting – 1. MAMEA award winners Dawn Sherwood and Elizabeth Miller both declined to be nominated for the NMEA award this year. No other MAMEA members were nominated in their places, so MAMEA will not be submitting any NMEA award nominations this year. 2. The MAMEA awards committee has not received any awards nominations for the 2011 award but it is still early. Classroom teachers should be thinking about deserving candidates before the school year ends. 3. As far as adding content to the binder – I have included all the press releases and added to Carol’s excel spreadsheet of the winners over time. Do you want these files submitted electronically anywhere? Should be in archives.

Grants Committee Chair – Carol Hopper Brill MAMEA Board Meeting, April. 1, 2011 (Mid-Year meeting) Grants Committee Report, Submitted by Carol Hopper Brill

Reports were received from 2010/11 Grantees:

*Megan Ennes< North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher & Univ. of NC-Wilmington Project: Climate Change in the Cape Fear Region, Video & Curriculum Megan requested $1,000 for purchase of a video camera to use in preparing a video about the local impacts of climate change in the Cape Fear Region. The impetus for this project was the 3rd Student Summit on Oceans and Coasts, sponsored by Coastal America, a federal partnership involving many federal organizations, non-governmental organizations, and non-profits that are focusing on coastal issues. The North Carolina Aquariums are among the Coastal Ecosystems Learning Centers (CELCs) that participate in Coastal America efforts. This February’s Student Summit focused on Ocean Literacy Principle three and how the ocean impacts climate. Coastal America invited CELCs to participate in the summit by creating an action plan to address a local issue associated with the oceans and climate. The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher (NCAFF) and 18 other institutions accepted.

The NCAFF decided to focus on education. Megan, and her team of students from the Isaac Bear Early College High School, chose to create a film focused on the potential impacts of changing climate on the unique environments and resources of the Cape Fear region. The students titled their project “We Sea Change”. Megan also used this opportunity to fulfill requirements for her masters in environmental studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She is creating a high school curriculum to supplement the film. To help their team complete the project, Megan used the MAMEA grant to purchase the camera which the students used to film and document their project. Her students have been keeping a blog which includes many of their pictures and thoughts on the project: www.capefearstudentsummit.blogspot.com. They have also kept a wiki about their project at www.capefearstudentsummit.wikispaces.com. The link to NCAFF’s video production is

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http://vimeo.com/19436014. And, you can see video of the different student projects presented at the Coastal America Student Summit at: http://www.jason.org/public/careplay1.aspx.

The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher will be hosting the premier of the video on September 28, at 6:30 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend. Watch for more details as we get closer to the date.

*Alison Maier, Science Instructor Kenwood High School, Essex, MD Project: “From the Stream to the Bay” Alison requested $550 for purchase of water quality test kits for her students to use as they sample Stemmers Run, a stream that extends from near their school to Baltimore Harbor. Progress report from Allison: pending Scholarship Committee Chair – Amy Sauls Question for the board from Amy Sauls (scholarship chair and NC rep): Right now, people must have been a member for 6 months to get a scholarship, so if someone does an event this summer, they haven’t been members for long enough to officially qualify for a scholarship. Do we want to consider changing the rules for the scholarships to say, “must have been a member for 6 months or have attended a state mini-conference prior to the application deadline”? Discussion – By moving the eligibility up we will be able to “hook” people to MAMEA. Motion - Lisa motions to change the Standing rules of the scholarship eligibility to state members must be a member for 6 months or have attended a state MAMEA event prior to the scholarship application deadline. 2nd Tami. Vote; motion passed. Discussion – Beth Jewell would like a no cost extension since she has not spent all of the funds. Bills/receipts not required so there is no proof of expenses. Not in favor of extension. Action Item - August 15 deadline for scholarships was set for this year and an August 30 notification to winners. Lisa to communicate this to the Scholarship Committee Chair. Discussion - It was strongly recommend that President nominate someone for conference committee to be scholarship chair. Sarah McGuire offered to help with scholarships this year. Action Item - Lisa is going to discuss this with Amy about Scholarship Committee structure changes.

Masthead Editor– Christopher Petrone Masthead Report MAMEA Annual Board Meeting Submitted by Chris Petrone 29 March 2011

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Request for Articles for Volume 30 (4) “Winter 2010” Issue of Masthead Sent by email on 23 November 2010

Emailed to MAMEA membership and MAMEA listserv Volume 30, Number 4 - Summer/Fall Issue Sent by email on 21 December 2010

19 pages (including 2 full page fliers at end: NMEA2011 and NOSB video contest 11 named authors 3 of 5 State Rep reports (DC, VA, NC) Emailed to membership No hardcopies mailed One email bounceback Issue included MAMEA2011 wrap-up; usual updates (awards, grants, NMEA); and

articles about MAMEA grant projects, Board member profiles, MAMEA award winners, teacher opportunities, Draw-a-Scientist, Wind energy in schools; NMEA awards and conference scholarships; MAMEA2011 conference Save the Date; MAMEA TechCorner and Species Spotlight

Request for Articles for Volume 31 (1) “Spring 2011” Issue of Masthead Sent by email on 8 February 2011

Emailed to MAMEA membership and MAMEA listserv Volume 31, Number 1 – Spring Issue Will be sent by email on 31 March 2010

9 pages 8 named authors 2 of 5 State Rep reports (VA, DE) Will be emailed to membership Hardcopies will be mailed Issue includes MAMEA2011 information; usual updates (awards, grants, NMEA); a

grant report/update from Megan Ennes; NAAEE 2011 information (Raleigh, NC ); MAMEA TechCorner and Species Spotlight

Additional Notes All issues of the Masthead from my tenure as Editor, excluding the most recent August issue (per the MAMEA Standing Rules), have been posted to the MAMEA website. Facebook Report – Christopher Petrone MAMEA Facebook Report MAMEA Annual Board Meeting Submitted by Chris Petrone 29 March 2011 MAMEA Facebook Statistics We currently have 69 people who “Like” us (up 30% since Annual Board meeting in October), several of which are not located in the Mid-Atlantic, but are active in their regional chapter and at the national level.

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Our Facebook friends are 77% female and 22% male (previously 79% and 21%, respectively), with the largest percentage of women falling into the 25-34 and 35-44 age brackets, 28% and 25%, respectively. The highest percentage of men fall into the 35-44 age bracket with 5.8%. The most popular post to date with the most interactions is the MAMEA group photo from NMEA2010 (7 comments and 3 Likes). Have posted relevant links, events, and status updates with very limited feedback. Comments With recent Facebook updates to Pages, admins can now use Facebook as their Page, allowing the Page (MAMEA) to like status updates, comment and repost links. Trying to do this as much as possible, when relevant, but has not resulted in increased Likes to our Page. All suggestions on improving the MAMEA Facebook presence are welcome and appreciated! Webkeeper’s Report – Lisa Lawrence Standing Rules Committee – David Christopher & Carol Hooper-Brill I have not had much time with the standing rules and by-laws. I have reviewed them and need to make a few changes. Archive Committee – David Christopher I have scanned in much of the archive and I am currently trying to organize it. OLD Business MAMEA Elections - Here is where we stand with Tami’s recruitment efforts:

President-Elect –Kathy Fuller

Secretary- Allison Besch

Discussion – Currently Secretary needs to know Microsoft Access. It also came up that we may have other options than Access and maybe make the membership tracking a separate position. Needs to be discussed further at the fall meeting.

Action Item – Ruth to add “Membership Secretary” position need to the fall Board meeting.

Maryland rep- Beth Schap is willing to run

North Carolina possibilities (from the membership survey—I would like input from the Board and then will contact them to see if they are still interested in NC rep or a committee position)- Lauren Madden, Laurie Streble (laurie.streble@ncdcr.gov, very enthusiastic), Andy Gould (andy@bhic.org) – Laurie Streble Power agreed to run.

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Discussion – It came up that it is easier for a state rep to fulfill duties when they have a site or a strong connection to a site. Future VA or committees: Elizabeth Miller, Amy Hansen, George Meadows, Sherry Rollings, Joanne Powell (past president, wants to do awards or meeting planning help), Bill Martin (past president) Promotional Items Discussion -$2,000 in budget for flash drives and lanyards for MAMEA Board and promotional brochures. -Making a pop up display was discussed, but the concern is cost. -Currently we have nothing and transportation costs are a concern. -Floating crab keychain was discussed as an option. Action Item- Tami and David are looking into what NMEA is producing and see if MAMEA. Changes to Award Procedures Discussion- No nominations last year to NMEA. MAMEA winners are intimidated to apply. There is a lot of work for the nominee for the NMEA awards. Maybe NMEA needs to revise their nomination process. Suggestion that NMEA gets all of the regional awards chairs on a conference call to seek suggestions. Suggestion to look back at past MAMEA award winners to see if any have not won the NMEA award and nominate. Action Item – David to bring up at the NMEA chapter call to connect the national and regional awards committees to further discuss.

NEW Business MAMEA Board Benefits (See Past-President report for details on member survey) Discussion – The membership survey clearly shows support for Board members to be supported in their efforts. NMEA gives $500/year for up to 2 years to elected Board members, but NMEA Board members are able to attend the conference where MAMEA members are not able to attend most of the conference since the Board is “working” the conference. Many feel that we should not have anything that totals more than the total amount given for scholarships. Is this considered a “raise” for the Board? It was suggested that we put it to a vote for the membership. Lisa suggested that we offer $50 per meeting to Board members (2 meetings per year).

Action Item – Tami will put on the elections ballot a question about financial support for Board members. The question will be listed as follows: “The membership survey in October 2010 indicated strong support for funding for MAMEA Board members to attend board meetings. Based on that, the Board is considering adding to the budget $50 in travel support for each elected board member for each of the two annual MAMEA board meetings. Would you support this change in the budget? YES NO”

Discussion – There was a suggestion to have “at large” Board members, but ALL members are already invited to attend meetings, so this is not really necessary.

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MAMEA Hosting NMEA 2014 It is official; MAMEA is hosting NMEA 2014 in Annapolis, MD as approved by the NMEA Board in March 2011. (See the Past-President Report for more information.)

Discussion – Coreen Weilminster came up as a person who should be involved from CBNERR. Exhibits? Also we need to get the list of the NMEA members who are not MAMEA members to get them involved. Tami stated that the former MMS (BOEMRE), Barbara Wallace, has committed to supporting the conference through sponsorship and in kind services like a photographer and printing. We would like to incorporate more cultural activities as well as the science. Waterman’s Association?

Action Items - Send suggestions to Tami and David with any contacts that may be beneficial for the conference.

Discussion – MAMEA needs to decide to put down a $2,500 deposit to confirm the contract. There are significant cancellation consequences. NMEA has seed money available for MAMEA to getting things started. The general consensus is to use this money to open a new account for NMEA 2014 and keep MAMEA expenses separate.

Discussion- Parking needs to be confirmed that they are NMEA conference attendees. We need to work out some sort of validation process. Tami is confirming that the house account will set up a credit coming for a percentage (10%) of room fees that we can use for parking.

Motion – Ruth motions to confirm the NMEA 2014 contract with the stipulation that the Lowes Annapolis Hotel includes the establishment of a house credit of 10% of room revenue and MAMEA will pay the deposit of $2,500 from MAMEA funds. 2nd Lisa. Vote; motion passes.

Motion- Ruth motions to close meeting at 2:25pm. Lisa 2nd. Motion passes.