The Alpine Club of Canada
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
May 11-12, 2002
Location: Graduate Student Centre, UBC, Vancouver, B.C.
Present: David Toole, President
Rod Plasman, Secretary
Gord Currie, Treasurer
Peter Muir, VP Access & Environment
David Zemrau, VP Services
Cam Roe, VP Activities
Jeffrey J. Potter, VP Facilities
Bob Sandford, VP Publications (May 12 only)
Mike Mortimer, Director, External Relations
Peter Furhmann, Honorary President
Sections Reps:
Joe Turnham, Central Alberta
Jackie Clark, Calgary
Enid Higham, Edmonton
Simon Statkewich, Manitoba
Mike Rogers, Montreal
John Warren, Okanagan
Dwight Yachuk, Ottawa
Dieter Ayers, Prince George
Ron Scholtz, Rocky Mountain
Dave McCormick, Saskatchewan
Andre Mahe, St. Boniface
Frank Pianka, Thunder Bay
Willa Harasym, Toronto
Fern Hietkamp, Vancouver
Tom Hall, Vancouver Island
Eric Vezeau, Whistler
Pierre Gravel, Club Vertige / Section Outaouais
Staff:
Bruce Keith, Executive Director
Nancy Hansen, Director, Facilities and Mountaineering
Audrey Wheeler, Director, Club Programs
Guests:
Bruce Hardardt, Assistant to VP Facilities
Regrets: Peter Amann, Jasper/Hinton Section Rep
1. President’s Welcome (D. Toole)
David Toole called the meeting to order at 8:30 am, welcomed everyone and proceeded with introductions.
Motion by P. Muir, seconded by R. Plasman: that the visitors present be allowed to observe the Board meeting.
CARRIED
D. Toole continued and expressed his delight in this unique occasion to have Board and AGM meetings outside of Canmore area. He thanked F. Hietkamp, who has put a lot of effort into this event, as well as the Vancouver section.
D. Toole mentioned that Bob Sanford would not be at the meeting on Saturday, but he planned to be present Sunday morning and would give his report at that time.
D. Toole mentioned the successful Executive Planning Retreat that took place April 13, 2002 in Canmore. He also noted the new section application from Club Vertige, and some discussion took place on that application
2. Approval of Agenda
Motion by C. Roe, seconded by J.J. Potter: that the agenda be approved.
CARRIED
3. Approval of Minutes of October 20-21, 2001 Board Meeting
Motion by P. Muir, seconded by C. Roe: that the minutes from the previous Board meeting be approved as presented.
CARRIED
4. Reports
a. Sections
All Section representatives present provided highlights from their respective sections. Section reports that were not previously submitted were circulated during the meeting or were reported verbally.
b. Secretary
R. Plasman spoke to his report. There was one change since the report was written: the new Internet access is now up running at Clubhouse thanks to the cooperation from Town of Canmore. The National Office will be able to implement such system functions as on-line facilities reservations. The time frame for this is yet to be decided. B. Keith expressed a need to come up with a description of what National Office should offer in the way of on-line services. Some of this will be part of the budgeting process. R. Plasman reminded everyone that the volunteer awards would be presented that afternoon and thanked all those who participated in the email voting process. Membership has seen a slow, steady growth and is now above 6000. There have also been several inquiries from groups wishing to become sections. He expressed a belief that the ACC image appears to be strengthening. J.J. Potter thanked R. Plasman for his work to get the high-speed connection into the Clubhouse.
c. Treasurer
G. Currie spoke to his report. Highlights from a recent set of financial statements (to the end of March/02) include: a $15,000 projected annual operating surplus for the 2002 fiscal year; a higher than budgeted net contribution from camps and facilities; capital spending to date that is well below budget. He reiterated that the financial outlook for this year is good and the ACC continues to be in a solid financial position as of the end of March. B. Keith said that at this afternoon’s AGM, the 2001 audited financial statements will be approved and, to that end, there will first be a Board motion to accept them. As a result he urged Board members to review the statements beforehand (copies were then distributed to the Board).
ACTION: G. Currie
d. VP Access/Environment
P. Muir circulated his report. He stated that the NAECC meets periodically throughout the year. The western group and eastern group held a combined meeting recently. A cross-country teleconference meeting (April 10th) brought some global perspective back to the Committee. The intention of the meeting is for the Sections to give their local perspectives, while National looks at the "larger picture". The Committee will start to move towards policy making for sections on a more general level, but from a National scope it may be too early to adopt these policies. There was concern about cross-country discrepancies that may be created by sections adopting their own policies. P. Muir stated that NAECC policies should have a national perspective and need to be concerned with matters which do or could affect all sections. The Committee also needs to work to make itself more effective. P. Muir thanked all Sections and Committees for their work, and stated that their different views are appreciated. He also thanked Paul Geddes, Nancy Hansen and Audrey Wheeler for their support.
e. VP Services
D. Zemrau spoke to his report. The Leadership Development Committee now has 9 members from 8 sections across the country. The participants for the North Face course in August have been selected. New "soft skills" development has been added to the program. A survey was sent to sections re: leadership and what support they felt they require. The committee received 11 responses. D. Zemrau thanked those who responded.
Dave Dorian, chair of the Competition Climbing Committee, reported to D. Zemrau that the members (adult and youth) are slightly more active this year than last year. Dave Dornian has also agreed to chair the ISMC (International Ski Mountaineering Competition) Committee. M. Mortimer elaborated that such competitions currently involve only a small group of competitors, from a relatively small number of countries.
D. Zemrau also mentioned the "Alpine Accidents in Canada" publication. The initiative involves an electronic database, linked to a safety page which resides on the Edmonton website. It covers the past 35 years of alpine accidents and is broken down by location, accident type and province.
He stated that N. Hansen is editor of "Accidents in North American Mountaineering" and that accident information should be passed along to her.
He also stated that the ACC Safety Committee has now expanded to 7 members across the country.
Finally, he mentioned that the Banff Mountain Film & Book Festival will continue to involve the ACC.
f. VP Activities
C. Roe spoke to his report. A new Mountaineering Adventures Program registration policy was implemented this year. Promotion is going well, and it now appears that every camp in the brochure will go ahead. Food preparation for all camps has been contracted to Lisa Palechuk to streamline costs and achieve consistently high food quality. Winter camps and International camps went well over the past 6 months. The Clemenceau to Columbia traverse was so popular that a second one was added. The GMC is now full. M. Mortimer is continuing to gain new international contacts for the "ACC Mountaineers Club" program.
The Karl Nagy Memorial Scholarship 2002 participant that has been selected is Dan Doll of the Calgary section.
C. Roe encouraged all Board members to contact N. Hansen with ideas for 2003 winter and summer camps and trips.
ACTION: Board Members
g. VP Facilities
J.J. Potter spoke to his report. Clubhouse occupancy (55 %) could be higher so Facilities is looking into Associate Hostel status. This is not expected tohave any negative impact on ACC members. Facilities is also working on a project management policy to formalize projects, budgets and commitments.
Bruce Hardardt gave an update on the Peyto Hut renovations and mentioned that the Huts Committee is looking to do things that generate revenue. The Committee has adopted a policy to use only high-quality materials in order to reduce maintenance costs over the long term. J.J. Potter and B. Hardardt are planning to visit the Section facilities in Bon Echo and the Keene Farm in September 2002.
A suggestion was made for Activities to change the name of the ‘Custom Guiding’ program to something that reflects that this service can provide catering and transportation in addition to guiding services.
ACTION: C. Roe
Peter Fuhrmann suggested that letters be sent to the Neil Colgan and Scott Duncan's families together with a copy of the new Huts Brochure.
ACTION: J.J. Potter
h. VP Publications (Sunday morning)
B. Sandford spoke to his report. He also thanked the Vancouver Section for the great location for this meeting. He commented that the strategic planning that took place during the Executive Retreat on April 13, 2002 was very successful. Since 1994, the ACC has made some real strides, from dealing with operational problems to focusing now on creating a future vision and direction. The Publications Committee is returning to its original approach of having a volunteer editor for "The Gazette", Bonnie Hamilton. B. Sandford wants to re-energize the Publications Committee and, to that end, has initiated by-law amendments e.g. re-naming the portfolio "Mountain Culture". He wants to reclaim the ACC's position as a high profile National organization and include arts and culture in its range of activities. The intention is to build a new committee around this broader portfolio mandate.
The 2002 CAJ ("Canadian Alpine Journal") has gone to press and will be the most elegant issue the ACC has ever had. The CAJ is the journal of record for Canadian Mountaineering and it is crucial that it reach young climbers. "Gripped" magazine reviewed the 2001 CAJ very favorably. He suggested the ACC should go back to having CAJ as a non-optional part of membership. He continued to say that most alpine clubs do this and there is a greater economy in larger numbers when printing. Membership cost would not go up that much (B. Keith estimated that 2001 memberships would have been an average of $12 more, based on just the recovery of related expenses). It would also allow the ACC to sell the CAJ at retail outlets for a lot less.
B. Sandford reported that the American Alpine Club has given the ACC $15,000 for a joint publication of the Ernest Ostheimer 1927 expedition to the Columbia Icefields. The book will be in print by June 15, 2002.
He also stated that The Grizzly Group agreed to be the subjects of the next biography series booklet. This series is very important to our legacy.
B. Sandford said he is starting to prepare for next year’s initiative, the UN's "International Year for Fresh Water."
He concluded by thanking B. Keith and A. Wheeler in National Office for all their support.
i. Director, External Relations
Mike Mortimer spoke to his report. He outlined some of the challenges with developing ACC programs for Clubs in other countries. For example, the German Alpine Club's Wapta Traverse trip had to be cancelled due to lack of participants, possibly because of the ACC's trip requirements for everyone to carry a "self sufficient" pack and share the cooking/cleaning duties. Not all Europeans are used to this style of trip.
M. Mortimer mentioned that the UIAA has 3.5 million members and that the ACC members are all ambassadors for the Club. So when these UIAA members use our huts, ACC members have to ensure that the UIAA visitors are treated well. They are bringing in excellent revenue, which pays for other ACC programs.
j. National Office
B. Keith spoke to his report. There has been significant turnover in staff over the past 6 months. He thanked N. Hansen, A. Wheeler and the National staff, all of whom pulled together to help return the office to normal operations.
There has been a decline since September 11 in corporate financial support, which will be discussed on Sunday. For example, it has been more difficult than usual to attract advertisers to ACC publications.
B. Keith expressed his gratitude for the implementation of the high-speed Internet connection to the National Office, and thanked R. Plasman for his efforts in that regard. He also thanked J.J. Potter and his team for the renovation improvements to National Office. He handed-out an organizational chart of the National Office and the "ACC Directory" contact list for Sections to review, update and return by June 3, 2002 to J. Larochelle at the National Office.
ACTION: Section Reps
5. Decision Items
New Section Application
Pierre Gravel made a presentation on behalf of Club Vertige to the ACC Board regarding his Club's application for membership as a new ACC Section. He stated that their club already operates in a similar way to ACC Sections and that his group have been established for 25 years. They started as a climbing club and are now involved in multiple activities including, hiking, climbing, mountaineering, skiing and some nautical activities. They would also like to have a broader view and gather experience from other parts of Canada. They want to offer more to their members and believe the ACC is the best option to do this. He also said the ACC gives them the opportunity to grow & gain expertise re: skills, safety, leadership management activities and access and environment issues. His Club believes they can become a valuable and contributing part of the ACC and are very excited about making this happen.
Motion by R. Plasman, seconded by D. Yachuk: that the Club Vertige's application to become a section of the ACC be accepted.
CARRIED (Unanimous)
Peter Toole welcomed Pierre Gravel and Club Vertige into the ACC. Pierre Gravel indicated the new Section will be called "Section Outaouais".
7. 2001 Financial Year Audit Approval
G. Currie asked if all Board members had the opportunity to review the 2001 audited financial statements circulated earlier in the morning. The response was positive.
Motion by G. Currie, seconded by C. Roe: that the 2001 audited financial statements be approved as presented.
CARRIED
8. Other Items
a. ACC Awards Review
A. Wheeler asked each person that voted "yes" for the 2002 ACC award nominations, through the email voting process that took place earlier this year, to sign the "motion sheet" she circulated at the meeting.
b. ACC Grants Review
A. Wheeler asked each person that voted "yes" to the 2002 ACC financial grants, through the email voting process that took place earlier this year, to sign the related "motion sheet" she circulated at the meeting.
Highlights were given on the 2002 ACC grants:
- M. Mortimer, Helly Hansen Adventure Award: this grant is designed to promote adventure and passion for the mountains. There were 12 applications submitted with requested funding totaling $34,000. Committee members for this fund are M. Mortimer, Dave Dornian and Tami Knight.
- A. Wheeler, Jen Higgins Fund: there were 6 applicants and 2 were provided funding. One was for 2 American sisters climbing in Peru; they were given $3250. The other was for a group of 4 Canadians to do a ski traverse around Logan, which included climbing Mt. Vancouver and St Elias range. The Jen Higgins Committee is now reviewing the selection criteria for this fund.
- Peter Muir, Environment Fund: there was only $2800 available this year and 5 applications. "Defrost in the Alpine Awareness Program" was given $400. Vancouver section received $1400 to help with the Tantalus Range Hut Waste Management System. A study of vascular plants in Kawkawa was given $1000.
- Gord Currie, Endowment Fund: $14,000 was available this year.
He discussed some of the major issues facing the selection Committee this year, including whether or not it was appropriate to place one or more conditions on the grants awarded. The concensus was that there are circumstances where conditional grants are appropriate, provided they don't introduce substative new or changed criteria to the assessment/selection process. With regard to the 2002 grant to the Heathens Club on Vancouver Island: following some discussion, the concensus was that their project would be of direct benefit to the ACC and that the condition placed on their grant should therefore be removed.
Motion by P. Muir, seconded by C. Roe: that the meeting be terminated for the day.
CARRIED
MAY 12, 2002
Motion by R. Plasman, seconded by E. Vezeau: that we resume with the meeting agenda approved on Saturday.
CARRIED
b. Other Items (con't)
c. Bylaw Amendments Notice
Notice was given to the board regarding two proposed by-law amendments. As a result, these will be voted on at the October board meeting. The Board was advised to discuss the amendments with their respective sections and be prepared to vote on them in October.
The proposed By-law changes are as follows:
1. Change VP Publications to VP Mountain Culture.
a. Section II, subsection B, #5 will be changed to read:
"3. A Vice President for Mountain Culture whose duties shall include the celebration of art, science, literature, history and mountain culture in Canada, the overseeing and coordinating of the work of the Mountain Culture Committee and programs of the ACC related to its history and culture as determined by the Board, and rendering such assistance and support to the President as he may require and request."
b. Section II, subsection D will be changed to replace the term "Vice President for Publications" with "Vice President for Mountain Culture".
2. Board voting:
Section IX, sub-section B will be deleted and replaced with the following new subsection IX. B: "Except where otherwise stated in these bylaws, at any meeting at which a vote is taken, the vote of the majority of those present shall govern and the chair is entitled to a vote on all matters. In the case of a tie vote, a motion will be considered as having been defeated."
Section IX, a new section D will be added; "Between Board meetings, the Secretary may authorize the holding of a vote via email or other similar means on a matter deemed to be too urgent to wait until the next meeting. In such situations, the requirements regarding a quorum and the votes needed for the approval of a motion shall be the same as for regular Board meetings. The Executive Director shall ensure that a Board motion voted on in this manner be documented, and that those casting the majority of votes provide their signatures on the related document."
d. Student Outdoor Club
Sections Reps reported that there is a large diversity on the progress and activity with the sections that are involved with Student Outdoor Clubs. Those Sections that have been or are involved with Student Outdoor Clubs include; Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Edmonton and Prince George. It was agreed that the program should continue for those sections who wish it to.
e. Centennial Committee Report
M. Mortimer spoke to his report on this topic. He highlighted the potential projects that are being considered for this club celebration in 2006. He indicated he is still refining what our financial needs and sources would be for the celebration.
D. Toole suggested that we look at changing the nature of how the revenue from the endowment fund is distributed to help facilitate the funding of these projects for 2006.
ACTION: G. Currie
M. Mortimer requested that any new ideas for Centennial projects be emailed to him.
ACTION: Board Members
f. UIAA Update
M. Mortimer reported that the UIAA Annual Congress meeting will be held in Flagstaff, Arizona, Oct 2-5, 2002.
g. International Year of Mountains
B. Sandford referred to his report. International Year of Mountains was actually a "last minute" initiative in Canada but is now progressing very well. Posters, banners, and event calendars are available and 163 partners are hosting events across the country. There will be a commemorative ascent attempt on SE face of Mt. Logan (one of highest unclimbed ascents in world) by 3 young climbers May 26-June 26. The ACC is also a partner in a planned Mt Columbia ascent in July and for a Rogers Pass mountaineering event in August. B. Sandford will send out an IYM interpretive manual to each section within the next few weeks.
ACTION: B. Sandford
h. Mountain Guides Ball
Discussion was held regarding an appropriate Patron for the 2002 Ball. Also, Sheila Copps has been invited to attend.
i. Mountaineering Museums
i. Canmore
J.J. Potter explained that there was a motion passed at the ACC Executive committee meeting in April to form a committee for the "National Museum of Canadian Mountaineering", and to carry out certain pre-feasibility study tasks. P. Furhmann elaborated further about the ideas, plans and benefits of this museum. His concept is that it would be housed in the old Town of Canmore office. The Executive Committee members have toured the building. Robert R. Janes (Museum Advisor) has offered his assistance and has produced a marketing study/analysis which indicates he believes this should be a museum of national and international significance. The Whyte Museum has also offered assistance. D. Toole said the resolution passed at the Executive Committee meeting is an "exploratory" one, and R. Plasman added that the ACC had not committed any financial resources at this time. J.J. Potter stated that there may be some interesting funding possibilities including the Canadian Geographic Society and The Hudson’s Bay Foundation.
ii. Whistler
Liz Scremin, Vancouver Section Chair, spoke on this topic. She indicated the section has a number of artifacts and published materials that were not being treated well or were going missing. Significant mountaineers were passing away, their materials were being lost and the existing facilities were too small to take on the task of housing such materials. However, the planned "Whistler Museum and Archives" building will be a new larger facility. The Vancouver section made a presentation to the Whistler Museum and Archives group and proposed that mountaineering be part of their visual mandate, from the Canadian border to Alaska. The museum's mandate is now "Mountain Life". This gives the Vancouver, Vancouver Island and Whistler Sections the opportunity to keep their materials, and keep them closer to their members. They have drafted an agreement with the Museum and are still negotiating; they hope this home for "coast mountaineering materials" will assist them in saving some of their local collections.
j. Corporate Partnerships
B. Keith expressed regret at the loss of the C.P. Charitable funding for the CAJ and Patagonia's funding for the Youth/ Student Outdoor Club program. He explained he has experienced difficulty since September 11, 2001 in attracting advertisers and has not been able to find replacements for National sponsors. He requested that he be advised by board members of any national opportunities that they become aware of.
k. Executive Committee Strategy Session
D. Toole spoke about the Executive Committee strategic planning retreat held April 13, 2002. The purpose was to begin articulating a vision and direction for the Club over the next 3-5 years. The retreat process was based on commonly used techniques for a strategic planning activity i.e. looking at the organisation’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; preparing a list of vision "elements"; prioritising those elements; and assigning responsibility for at least some (if not all) of the elements.
D. Toole spoke at the Board meeting about some of the nine vision elements, and committed to including in the minutes the full list of those elements. That list, in order of the relative priority of the elements and the associated coordination responsibility as agreed to by the Executive Committee, is as follows:
- Implement a system of recruitment, training and reward that results in a set of long-term, enthusiastic and qualified volunteers (#1). R. Plasman agreed to coordinate the activity regarding this element.
ACTION: R. Plasman
- Generate new funding sources (#2). G. Currie agreed to coordinate the activity regarding this element.
ACTION: G. Currie
- Implement an integrated communications strategy, including an effective means of information exchange and communications infrastructure (#3). There was no agreement on who should coordinate this activity. However it was agreed by the Executive Committee that this would be revisited at some point so that appropriate progress could be made.
- Celebrate a dynamic and vibrant ACC Centennial in 2006 (#4). M. Mortimer is already coordinating the activity regarding this element.
ACTION: M. Mortimer
- Increase the longevity/retention of ACC memberships (#5).
- Attract/retain competent staff (#6).
- Expand the geographical base of ACC Facilities (#7).
- Implement a multi-year financial plan that provides predictable funding for Facilities, Publications, Activities, Services, Access/Environment and the National Office (#8). With regard to Publications, the Executive Committee agreed in principle with ensuring a sufficient level of annual operational funding is provided to the portfolio; however, it was agreed that the specific funding formula would be addressed as part of the 2003 budget cycle
- Enhance the ACC’s public profile (#9).
Note: It was agreed by the Executive Committee that the relative importance and possible coordination responsibility for element #'s 5 to 9 would be revisited at a future time.
In addition, as a result of the retreat it was agreed that a Membership Commission should be formed to:
D. Toole stated that the Executive Committee believed the retreat session was very worthwhile, and that it would therefore likely be repeated in the future. Several Board members expressed support for the Executive Committee’s strategic planning initiative, but some encouraged the Committee to look at ways that the "section perspective" could be included in any such sessions in the future.
l. Upcoming Meetings
Executive Committee meeting: Sept 21, 2002, Canmore
Fall Board meeting and Mountain Guides Ball: Oct 26-27, 2002 Lake Louise
Spring Executive Committee Meeting: April 5, 2003, Canmore
Spring Board meeting and AGM: May 10-11, 2003, Canmore
7. Adjournment
D. Toole extended thanks again on behalf of the entire Board of Directors to the Vancouver section, and thanked all those who attended and participated in the weekend events.
Motion by R. Plasman, seconded by C. Roe: that the meeting be adjourned.
CARRIED
