MANECCS/SACS Executive Board Joint Meeting Minutes, Arlington, Virginia, July 18, 2008

MANECCS/SACS EXECUTIVE BOARD JOINT MEETING ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, JULY 18, 2008

Present: Bob Bookmiller, Andy Holman, Bob Bence, Richard Kay, Howard Cody (all of MANECCS), and Zagros Madjd-Sadjadi (of SACS)

1. Andy Holman discussed the conference program and distributed a draft schedule and a sheet detailing projected costs. To date, 11 SACS members and 35 MANECCS members are on the program. The program features two fewer panels than the one in Montreal in 2006, because we will have fewer locally-based attendees this time. We will have eight panel slots, with post-breakfast roundtables on Friday and Saturday, followed by three each day with two concurrent sessions. We need to fill nine chair positions. The executive agreed to solicit chairs from institutions in this area, which would increase attendance at the conference. We also agreed to cancel reservations for Thursday afternoon session venues. The attendees’ packets will include a Metro map, information on Georgetown, and possibly a mug with the MANECCS logo. The MANECCS website will have the paper abstracts.

2. We will honor Bill Metcalfe at the conference for lifetime service to Canadian Studies. The executive agreed to cover Bill’s expenses. We will ask him to offer a few remarks when we present him with a plaque.

3. The executive discussed receptions conference speakers. There is a Thursday evening reception at the Canadian Embassy and a Friday evening reception at the Woodrow Wilson Center. We will provide bus transportation from the Holiday Inn. John Ivison and Christopher Sands already are secured tentatively for the two luncheons, in that order. Several other Washington-based names were considered as well, including former Ambassador James Blanchard and Vermont Senators Patrick Lahey and Bernard Sanders.

4. The executive took decisions on four food breaks, three breakfasts, and two lunches. The breakfasts Friday and Saturday will be Continental, with leftover food available at the 10:30 breaks. The afternoon breaks those days will be Saturday Matinee (popcorn and tortilla chips with cheese) on Friday and Washington Nationals (hot dogs and pretzels) on Saturday. Sunday’s business meeting breakfast will be the Corporate Buffet (traditional hot American breakfast). Friday lunch will be Thai chicken with rice and pecan pie and a vegetable stir-fry option. Saturday lunch will be salmon with potatoes and carrot cake with a pasta primavera option.

5. Zagros announced that Washington Center interns will man the registration tables Thursday 2-5:45, Friday 8-4, and Saturday 8-noon.

6. Advertising for the conference was discussed. The MANECCS Newsletter, SACS website, ACSUS newsletter, and a direct mail notice to all members were approved. We discussed how to attract graduate students. Chris Kirkey of Plattsburgh will be approached.

7. Andy discussed the proposal from Richard Parker of SACS that we give an award for the best paper, or the best student paper, presented at the conference or put on our website for students who cannot attend. We agreed that it was too late to organize it for this conference. We may revisit the suggestion later.

8. Zagros announced that Richard Nimijean of Carleton University will assume the editorship of SACS’s online journal. SACS has received funding from the Government of Canada. Zagros proposed consolidating our two regionals into a new Eastern group to include all of MANECCS and SACS’s Atlantic seaboard members (about two-thirds of SACS members). Membership would run close to 110 altogether, with about 80 from MANECCS and 25-30 from SACS. Zagros argued that the current situation is unwieldy, and the Government of Canada would support a merger. The two executives will consider this at our October meeting.

9. The executive met with the Holiday Inn’s Jessica Quiroa. Jessica confirmed a conference rate of $159 per room for each night of the conference. She agreed to reduce the minimum number for Sunday’s Corporate Buffet from 40 to 30. She showed the executives the room for the two luncheons.

10. MANECCS treasurer Bob Bence presented his financial report. Our balance as of July 18 was $14,798.24. This included a Government of Canada grant of $11,553.57 for 2007-2008. Our grant for the current cycle has not arrived. We have sent the Holiday Inn a $2000 deposit. MANECCS has sent Scholar Exchange Grants of $600 each to Clarkson, Plattsburgh, and Edinboro.

Howard Cody Secretary, MANECCS