MINUTES Northeast Section - AIPG
Executive Committee Meeting
Monday, May 16, 2001
Institute for Exploration/Mystic Aquarium
Mystic, Connecticut

I. Call to Order:
1300 hours Attendees: Len Rexrode, Dennis McGrath, Bob Stewart, Dan St. Germain, W. Thomas West, Dean Herrick, Kerry Hanlon, Dave Scott, Dorothy Richter, Tim Stone, Curt Kraemer and Linda Ross

II. Secretary's Report
Minutes of March 12, 2001 meeting were previously accepted by teleconference.

III. Treasurer's Report
May 16, 2001 Treasurer's Report was presented. Dan St. Germain made a motion to accept the report. The motion was seconded by Curt Kraemer and approved by an Executive Committee vote.

IV. Correspondence
Dennis McGrath received an e-mail message from Catherine O'Keefe of AIPG National concerning whether the NE-Section would like to obtain General Liability Insurance coverage. It was not clear whether the NE-Section required liability insurance for it's officers and the decision to accept or decline the request for coverage was tabled without a vote until further information was obtained.
· Dennis responded to the survey request from National for information/responses regarding the organization, meeting schedule and issues/challenges faced by the NE-Section.
· Dennis received a financial support request from the AIPG-Missouri Section for contributions to sponsor an event at the 2001 AEG/AIPG Joint National meeting. Dean Herrick made a motion for NE-Section to sponsor the Ice-Breaker session with a donation of $500. Dan St. Germain seconded the motion and it was approved by an Executive Committee vote.

V. Old Business
National Meeting: The Section has not selected a location for the National Meeting in 2004. A lively discussion of possible locations ensued based on a memorandum presented by Bob Stewart. The memo discussed the results of Bobs meeting with Jeff Lefferts of Conference Planning Associates. Based on the meeting, Bob has narrowed the possible choice of meeting locations to three, including New York City, Newport, RI and Saratoga, NY. A number of other venues that were being considered (13 to be exact), were evaluated in the memo, but subsequently rejected for one reason or other. A final decision on the potential meeting venue was not reached, however, and the selection of the venue has been postponed until the Fall Meeting.
· NE Section Fall Meeting: The Fall 2001 meeting is scheduled for October 17, 2001, although the meeting location and topic had not been secured. Possible meeting location discussed included locations on Long Island and quarry operations in New Hampshire and Vermont.
· Scholarship: Kerry received confirmation from the IRS concerning the tax exempt status of the Angelo Tagliacozzo scholarship fund. In addition, Kerry has put together a documentation and activities report and a final decision was reached concerning the scholarship meeting minutes. Kerry is responsible for compiling and documenting the scholarship meeting minutes on an annual basis.
· NYSCPG Update: Dean Herrick provided a brief update on the licensing efforts in New York. According to Dean, the licensing bill is anticipated to be introduced within a short timeframe.
· NHCPG Update: Tim Stone and Dorothy Richter provided a brief update on the status of the New Hampshire licensing program. The bylaws have been modified to indicate that the association goal is to continue to support and ensure the evolution of the licensing program. The spring fundraiser was successful in raising approximately $7,000 and there are currently 150 members of NHCPG.

VI. New Business
Dan St. Germain provided a summary of his experiences at the 2001 Washington DC Fly-in. The Fly-in was attended by about 18 members of AIPG, and the group formed into teams and visited 13 Federal agencies and legislative subcommittees over a two day period. Dan felt that the Fly-in was a very interesting learning experience, and he hopes to write a summary of his experience for the Section newsletter. Bob Fakundiny has also provided a detailed description of the 2001 Fly-in, in his President's Message in the July 2001 TPG (Volume 38, Number 7).

VII. Adjournment Meeting
was adjourned at 1600 hours for the presentation by Dwight Coleman (Institute for Exploration) of Challenge of the Deep.