CIF-IFC National Board of Directors Meeting

Transcription

1 CIF-IFC National Board of Directors Meeting Date: March 10, 2016 (9 a.m. Pacific, 10 a.m. Mountain, 11 a.m. Central, 12 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Atlantic and 1:30 p.m. Newfoundland) AGENDA 1. Welcome & Roll Call 2. Approval of previous meeting minutes 3. Programs Update a. Canadian Wood Fibre Centre Success Stories from Canadian Forests b. Prince of Wales Forest Leadership Award c. Silver Ring d. Chronicle 4. National Awards 5. AGM 2016 (Vancouver) 6. Annual General Meeting and Conference Financial Update 8. Other Business 1. Welcome & Roll call Dana Collins Ginny Hundson Svetlana Zeran Matt Meade Meghan Smith Algonquin - Lacey Rose Algonquin - Scott McPherson Lake of the Woods - Jack Harrison Saskacthewan - Amber Dereshkevich Cariboo - Ed Morris Vancouver - Janet Mitchell Northern Ontario - Krish Homagain Orleans - Pierre Fontaine Central Ontario - Tom Nolan Newfoundland - Colin Carroll Maritimes - Ed Czerwinski Ottawa Valley - Ken Farr 1

2 Rocky Mountain - Lorne West 2. Approval of previous meeting minutes Call for motion to approve the minutes of the previous Board Meeting Motion moved by Ed Morris Seconded by Ken Farr No objections, motion carried. 1. Programs Update (Dana Collins) a. Canadian Wood Fibre Centre Success Stories from Canadian Forests Success Stories, volume 2 now complete Focus on the application and implementation of better science and new technology, innovative thinking and peer-to-peer collaboration across Canada Last year, volume 1 saw thousands of copies shared across Canada Copies can be ordered from National office for free in English or French Make sure to put orders in by the end of the month b. Prince of Wales Forest Leadership Award Second year of the program underway, involves student exchange (3 months over the summer) and $12,000 Bursary 2016 Canadian recipients: Clement Sofalne Université Laval and Sarah Townson Lakehead University. Recipients from the UK Nicholas Hill and Ellinor Dobie will be take part in summer work placements with Strategic Natural Resource Consultants and a co-placement with the Algonquin Forestry Authority and the City of Ottawa. c. Silver Ring September 1, 2015 change to silver ring policy. One ring the Maple Leaf will now be administered to all graduates of recognized forestry programs. Ring represents: a welcome gesture form the CIF into the profession; an acknowledgement of a student s scholastic achievements; serves as a bond that overrides all differences; represents inclusivity of the Institute; serves as a symbol of the CIF and its principles; it symbolizes a commitment to do everything ethically and always with professionalism. 2

3 Silver Ring speech attached for use at ceremonies, which reiterates these key messages and can be adapted to suit your specific needs and that of the school. Ed Morris Noticed in some of the discussions about the ring, that we were going to post it on the website. It would be nice to have the presentation on the website somewhere along with the most recent, abbreviated code of ethics. Action Item: add Silver Ring speech and Code of Ethics to website. Lorne West I looked at silver ring speech and we have been discussing who gets the ring, i.e. whether you must be a member to receive it. Some of the students here are already members of the CIF. This seems to be absent from the speech. Another component that should be in there is who is paying for the ring. A few of our council members have agreed to cover the cost of the ring for students in our section Dana Collins Not all students will receive the ring, but all students from a recognized school are eligible to obtain the ring. The responsibility lies on the student to pay for the ring. The speech is a framework - you don t need to follow it precisely. Ed Czerwinski I would like to raise a few issues we have experience to see if others are experiencing the same issues. Technicians who graduated and are now in University are bent out of shape about not getting the tree ring but now the maple leaf. They are also using this as a graduation ceremony and not a silver ring ceremony. The two seem blended enough, but I see the silver ring portion being lost. Are others seeing this as well? Dana Collins: to quickly speak to this, many schools celebrating it differently. Whether it is a tree, birch or maple leaf, they all represent the exact same thing and we needed to go to a new design to unite this concept. Whether it is a silver ring ceremony or graduation ceremony, this message needs to get across. Ed Czerwinski In their last year when it is sometimes late to get the message across. Ed Morris - Went through a discussion about this and came to the conclusion that this was primarily a CIF event and this was clearly distinguished from a graduation ceremony. Most of our students don t go to convocation because they are working. The section controls the agenda of the ring ceremony. Ed Czerwinski I just wanted to see are the technicians who have gone back to university going for another ring? Ed Morris similar situation but haven t experienced this problem. 3

4 Lorne West Some people are coming full circle in this section about separating the silver ring ceremony from the graduation ceremony. We should have a CIF sponsored ceremony Ed Czerwinski - that is what we are doing, having a CIF ceremony, separate from graduation Lorne West Then you have an intermingling between some of the technical folk and CIF members. But once it comes to getting the ring, they are separated once again. Its important to distinguish that this is a welcoming into the CIF community. On the matter of technicians going back to school to further their experience, we have an example of this, a technician who went back to school to get a degree and he is on the list to get another ring, so he will be the recipient of two rings, which I don t have a problem with. Dana Collins It is ultimately up to them now that we have a single ring design. Ed Czerwinski - What I m going to be asking some of these students now who have received the ring previously, is have they been members of the CIF since receiving the ring and what their motivation is to have the ring. Amber Dereshkevich - Speaking from Saskatchewan, I received 2 rings, one from a tech and one from a degree program. At the time I wanted the tree ring as it seemed to represent a higher level. I think now we need to work on doing a better job at explaining the maple leaf represents professionalism in general. Dana Collins This was a main reason we went with a single design, to represent professionalism regardless of your background. Amber Dereshkevich there s still going to be a time when it s a little bumpy through the transition phase Dana Collins We need to keep stressing the meaning of the ring as a unifying symbol of professionalism. Ken Farr - Perhaps this could be a webinar topic or featured more prominently on the CIF webpage? Action item: Look into the development of a webinar on the significance of the ring. Ed Morris has there been any discussion about - should we give them the ring without a membership and risk losing contact with them? Do we have an update on this? Dana Collins executive will discuss a graduated membership fee and explore different models. As for pricing, in terms of membership ring, it is cheaper to purchase an individual ring than the membership plus a ring, but devalues membership within the Institute. Ed Morris Discussion around recruitment. Recommendation is to engage students as best as we can. You can t force students along even if its good for them. I hope that discussion will continue moving forward. 4

5 Action item: if there are any other comments regarding silver ring and recruitment, please pass them along to me so we can develop a strategy for recruitment d. Chronicle (Dana) Committee established to conduct a business review of The Forestry Chronicle For the past 5 years, the Chronicle has experienced deficit years, few manuscript submissions, dwindling institutional/library subscriptions. Committee to review feasible alternatives and provide recommendation for path forward at the AGM in Vancouver 2. National Awards Each year the CIF presents a number of awards in recognition of outstanding and unique accomplishments in forestry in Canada. All national award to be received by May 1, 2016 All award information available: Action item: if Sections feel there are members who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments in the field of forestry, assemble an Award nomination committee. 3. Annual General Meeting and Conference 2017 Janet Mitchell: Vancouver, September st and DEMO International Conference 22 nd, 23 rd, 24 th. We now have an intern to help us with planning for this AGM, her name is Ginny Hudson and she started 3 days ago. We are working on getting the website up and running shortly and are working to get the rest of the information on the program and the tours. We are hoping to have registration open in April We have a trade show and are still looking for sponsors, we have already been sending out packages. Board meeting is scheduled for Sunday and executives meeting on Saturday. We will have some free time and let me know if we should plan a social time for Monday morning. The conference will then being Monday evening. Peter and Alex Drummond will be helping organize students, Ginny is already helping by finding cheaper accommodations. Ed Morris: Will we get a pass for one of the Demo days, will that be included? Janet Mitchell: Yes we are working on that 5

6 Dana Collins: 2017 mark Canada s 150 th Anniversary. The CIF continues to be Canada s oldest forest conservation organization. o To commemorate this monumental event, we propose the 2017 Annual Conference be held in the National Capital, Ottawa. o Potential for large turnout from members, supporters, partners and forest enthusiasts in Canada; international participation; the presentation of timely and topical themes for Canada. o Access to funding pots Ken Farr: Before we put this motion forward, our section council has discussed this a few times and we foresee it being a very busy city and time, making it potentially very difficult to book a location and infrastructure that will be used to make the event happen. Dana Collins: I have looked into costs, locations and availability and have received proposals from a few different hotels. We ve found there is space available at a few different venue options. We are eligible for NOHFC and FEDNor funding to bring additional staff on. Lorne West: What timeline were you looking at? Dana Collins: 3 rd week in September which is also National Forest week - a high profile to be developed there in conjunction with these two special events. Megan Smith: Will national office be putting together a working group for this with or the Ottawa Valley section helping out? Dana Collins: Given the proximity to National Office, we can provide more support from our staff here and can also bring in working groups from across the country to help build out the theme. Given that this is a special event (150 th anniversary) we want to gear it more toward the national level, but Ottawa Valley (local section) will still play a major role. Motion to approve Ottawa as the location for the 2017 Annual Conference Motion approved by Ed Czerwinski Motion seconded by Lorne West No objections, motion carried. 4. Financial Update (Dana Collins) Budget Committee continues to meet on monthly basis Monthly contributions continue to be made to the reserve fund Projecting profit for end of the year on target to meet or exceed projection. Gives us some wiggle room especially toward exploring options to add value to our members, 6

7 5. Other Lorne West: North American Envirothon will be held in Peterborough. We approached TD for funding. Is there opportunity to reopen discussion for funding? Dana Collins: Forests Ontario will be leading the charge and are searching out sponsorship. TD is willing to support this. CIF will be supporting it through in-kind contributions, for example - CIF staff will be heading down to act as guest judges etc. We are working on this one step at a time on the national scale. Lorne West: A small group of folks in Rocky Mountain Section are working on a proposal to host the AGM somewhere in Alberta. We are hoping to propose the next AGM following the Ottawa AGM in Grand Prairie in Amber Dereshkevich: The 5 year duration of our strategic document with National, is nearing its end. I am wondering if it is the Board or the Executives responsibility to update it? Dana Collins: It is the Executives will look to re-work, but the Board will be given the opportunity to provide comments and updates and ultimately will have the responsibility of approving it. 7