House of Delegates Mid-Year Meeting Summary
The mid-year meeting of the HOD was held in Long Beach CA on 19 November, 2005.
Attending the meeting were:
- Don Clarke, HoD Chairman
- Bob Shoup, HoD Secretary Editor
- Larry Jones, HoD Chair-elect
- Lee Billingsley, AAPG President-elect
- George Bole and Marty Hewitt, Candidates for HoD Chair-elect
- David Hawk, Chair Constitution and By-Laws Committee
- Patrick Gooding, Chair Credentials Committee
- Sigrunn Johnsen, Chair Resolutions Committee
- Pat Gratton, AAPG Advisory Council
Joining the meeting by way of teleconference were:
- Pete Rose, AAPG President
- Clint Moore: AAPG Treasurer
- Bob Cowdery, Chair Rules and Procedures Committee
- Paul Britt, Candidate for HoD Secretary Editor
- Will Green, Petition Candidate for AAPG President-elect
Attention All Delegates
A number of key issues were discussed at the mid-year meeting. A summary of the discussions on these key issues is included for your information. The issues discussed below are works in progress; we will be working on resolving them over the next year or two. Please give them your careful consideration. Should you like to weigh in on any of these subjects, please forward your letter to the editor to me at 
.
Petition Candidates
The issue of Petition Candidates was addressed as a result of the large number of concerns raised on that issue during the various section and international meetings (see Chairman’s column and letter by Robert Countryman).
It was the consensus of those present that the reasons that there were a number of petition candidates in recent years is due to several problems:
- The AC is not providing the quality of candidates expected by the EC. The EC has over the last 3 sessions had questions concerning several candidates, and twice have removed a candidate by super-majority.
- Too much influence by past presidents on the AC.
- The AC is poorly understood, as is the nomination process
- Timing of nominations to the Advisory Council is often an issue. Late nominations not as fully considered.
- Insufficient number of nominations.
The recommendations coming from the mid-year meeting to address these issues were as follows:
- Keep the Petition Process as is.
- Ask the AC to restructure, keeping past presidents on the AC, but not as chairs.
- Better publicize the role of the AC and the procedures they use to vet candidates.
- Charge the HoD and the sections/regions with doing a better job of submitting candidates by the required deadline.
- Call for candidates from the membership by way of the Explorer.
Change the requirement for Active membership from two AAPG sponsors to one AAPG sponsor and two additional signatures of qualified geo-professionals.
This change was requested by AAPG President Pete Rose to address the problem that many professionals in more remote areas have difficulty in finding AAPG Members to sponsor their application.
This is a highly contentious subject that has been considered several times in the past. Although those present at the midyear meeting felt that there is some merit in changing the application process to allow both AAPG sponsors and qualified references, it was felt more important to first address the issue of standardizing the process of reviewing and approving applications. Some societies have a rigorous screening process where delegates call applicants supervisors whereas other societies simply review the provided sponsorship forms.
The Rules and Procedures Committee has been charged with examining the applicant review process and recommending a standard procedure for the delegate check.
Adoption of a dues structure keyed to international salary scales.
This change was also requested by AAPG President Pete Rose to address the problem that many potential members in third world countries cannot afford AAPG dues. Pete noted that SPE has adopted a dues structure based on international standard-of-living levels.
This too is a highly contentious issue that has been discussed previously. One factor that has to be considered in regards to this issue is that AAPG must treat all members equally which will prevent us from providing the same services to members paying different dues. The newly expanded AAPG membership Committee, following a membership Workshop held in Houston on November 13, is also examining several possible revisions to our membership categories including some that include graduated dues structures.
Two actions were taken on this issue:
- The Constitution and Bylaws Committee was requested to examine a limited benefit membership category where we provide electronic access to AAPG publications for a reduced cost.
- Clint Moore was requested to conduct a financial impact study of adapting an international dues structure similar to that of SPE.
Increase EC representation from International members through the addition of an EC position titled International Secretary.
There was considerable discussion in regard to this issue, including whether or not a special EC position was needed for international members, and if so, should this position be voted on by all members or selected from the international regions. It was subsequently recommended that rather than have a special international representative on the EC that we change the current position of the Vice President to two positions, a Vice President of Sections and a Vice President of Regions. This recommendation provides a good solution to the concerns raised by Pete and provides a means for improving communication and relations with both the sections and the regions (see next issue).
Improve Relationships between the Sections and Regions
The issue of improving the relationship between AAPG and the Sections and Regions was raised by Lee Billingsley on behalf of the AAPG Executive Committee. This issue has become a concern over the last few years s a result of several problems, notably convention planning. The recommendation to change the current Vice President position on the EC to a Vice President Sections, and a Vice President Regions addresses this issue.