AFS-OC Annual Meeting 2008

The ONTARIO CHAPTER

of the AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY

2008 ANNUAL MEETING

The 2008 Annual General Meeting was held on August 18^th during the 138th Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society in Ottawa, which was hosted by the Ontario Chapter. It was the only day with rain and a few of those attending were soaked during the walk from the conference centre. Approximately 40 people attended, with perhaps the largest number of past chapter presidents in history in one room. Apologies to any who were missed, but this included Deb Martin-Downs, Dave Green, Cindy Mitton-Wilkie, Rob Steele, Brian Hindley, Dave Stanley, Bill Gardner, Warren Dunlop and Doug Clark. We were fortunate to have Bill Franzin, the current Society president, who provided a short introduction and greetings. Dave Maraldo also passed on his thanks to the chapter for its hard work on the Annual Meeting.

Jack Imhof thanked the Executive Committee for their work the past year and then reviewed his short and long term goals during his presidency. Lynn Bouvier provided an update on Chapter accounts, while Bill Gardner updated membership numbers. Additional updates included: • the Student Subunit (Michael Donaldson and Andrew Drake) • Continuing Education (Jason Barnucz) • NCD Technical Committees (Jack Imhof) • 2009 AFS-OC AGM (Jon Clayton) • Executive Committee Elections (Bill Gardner) • Student Travel Awards (Lynn Bouvier) • Past President Award presented to Bill Gardner • CARS Update (Jack Imhof)

At the end of the meeting, a number of questions were raised. The first focussed on the Chapter of the Year Award. A few years ago, the Chapter won the award for chapters with less than 100 members. With all the changes over the last few years, the time is ripe for us to apply for the Chapter of the Year Award (> 100 members). Rob Steele raised the question and volunteered to co-ordinate the application. The second question was about membership. Although the membership numbers are good currently, it is important to attract new members and keep existing ones. A question about attracting people to the chapter was raised and recognizing volunteers was offered as one possible option.

A question about proceeds from the 2008 AFS Annual Meeting was also raised. The chapter will be receiving a portion of the profits of the Annual Meeting and a percentage of the raffle profits. While no decision has been made on what to do with the proceeds, possible options include continuing education or a lecture series. Other ideas are certainly welcome. The final question focussed on the 2010 Chapter Annual Meeting and the suggestion was raised to return to Orillia or a similar venue. There was a general agreement that this is a good idea since some members were unable to attend in Ottawa and may not be able to go to Duluth for the 2009 Chapter Annual Meeting. The 2008 AGM wrapped up in less than two hours.

Visit the Photo Gallery to view some of the activities from the 2008 meeting! Visit the History page to see synopses from other meetings!

Last update: 18 June, 2011