Minutes

March 26, 2008
University of Delaware
DGS Annex
5:30-6:30 p.m.

Attendees:

Ms. Maureen Seymour called the first meeting of the AWRA Delaware Student Chapter to order at 6:30 p.m. First on the agenda was the introduction of all attendees. Next Mr. Belden introduced the duties of the officers and members in the student chapter. Ms. Seymour will serve as President, Ms. Farris will be Vice President, Ms. Wolfe will be Secretary, and Mr. Belden will be the Treasurer. Mr. Belden then reviewed the newly established bylaws of the AWRA Delaware Student Chapter. The Chapter agreed that it should add an amendment to the bylaws, which would allow members to vote via email and an amendment that would change the Winter Session meeting requirements. Ms. Seymour added that the Chapter will attempt to change the bylaws to allow undergraduates to participate in the Chapter, however this may be difficult since it is against University policy to have official student groups that consist of both graduate and undergraduate students.

Ms. Wolfe then spoke about the public outreach goals of the Chapter. Members would like to engage and educate the public on the importance of water resource conservation and preservation in our state. The Chapter aims to attend annual events such as University of Delaware Coast Day in Lewes, Del., the City of Newark Community Day, and University of Delaware Ag Day to accomplish this. It will also participate in the What in the World? program, which educates children on science careers, and actively pursue other opportunities to accomplish this goal. The Chapter would like to participate in and attend various conferences for the purpose of cultivating an understanding of water resources issues on the local, regional, national, and international levels. For example, the Chapter aims to attend the Mid-Atlantic AWRA annual conference in New Jersey and the National AWRA annual conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Ms. Seymour then introduced the event goals of the Chapter. It plans to hold several social, educational, and service activities for the Chapter's members each year, including stream clean-ups, state park visits, lectures from professionals in the field of water resources, Del. State Chapter events, and more. Participation in such events will also help in achieving the Chapter's networking goals, since many of them will allow the student member of the Chapter to meet and interact with professionals in the field. The Chapter will also pursue other networking opportunities.

Ms. Farris then spoke about the connections between the Student Chapter and the State Chapter. The Student Chapter members would like to attend the State Chapter's meetings and become involved in some of the State Chapter's activities. The Student Chapter would also like to have some State Chapter members speak about water resources issues they work on at Student Chapter meetings. Ms. Laura Whalen, President of the State Chapter, added that the State Chapter is excited to help the student members and would be glad to have student members attend the State Chapter's meetings. It also invited the student chapter to team up with them as much or as little as its members would like, and invited the student members to attend events it is participating in, such as UD's Ag Day, the Christina Basin Clean Up, and the Canoe/Kayak Day in June at Blackbird State Park. Ms. Whalen also mentioned that the State Chapter is considering sponsoring a student to attend the National AWRA Conference.

Ms. Martha Corrozi, Past President of the State Chapter, concurred with Ms. Whalen and remarked that she thought the first meeting of the Student Chapter was very successful and informative. Ms. Seymour wrapped up the meeting by saying that new bylaws with the changes agreed to at the meeting would soon be sent out to the members for approval. The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Submitted by Kelly Wolfe