Minutes of February Board Meeting

DRAFT

February 7, 2007

1. The meeting was called to order at 3PM by Greg Stuart. The following board members were present: Greg Stuart, Susan Ross, Gloria Jahnke, Jayne Boyer, Rose Anne McGee, Errol Zeiger, Dana Dolinoy, Dan Shaughnessy, Jeffrey Ross, Stephen Little, Janice Allen, Cindy Innes, Kristine Witt, and Frank Stack. An assortment of cookies and soft drinks were made available to the participants by the host, Susan Ross and the Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences. Corrected minutes from the January 11, 2007 board meeting were approved.
2. Treasurer’s Report (one handout). Susan Ross presented the treasurer’s report. The balance in the checking account and in the money market account were reported in a handout. The treasurer’s report was approved by the board.
3. Old Business -
   

• GEMS Web Site -Frank Stack and Jeff Ross lead discussions about a GEMS website using 1and1.com. There was some discussion about which account plan would best suit GEMS needs. It was agreed that the 1and1 Small Business Plan had certain features that would better benefit GEMS, including marketing tools to communicate better with the members, and business forms for posting online membership/meeting registration to permit easier filing. Web development is via FTP, Unix, or Microsoft development tools that are provided by 1and1. Jeff's experience with 1and1.com has been very positive; they are reliable, have good tools, and billing is quarterly. Also, 1and1.com does not have obligatory advertisements on the site. The Board approved motions (1) to initiate a Small Business web account with 1and1.com, (2) to transfer GEMS web domain from Yahoo to 1and1, and (3) to initiate building the new GEMS web site under GEMS own domain. Frank Stack agreed to begin working on the new web development.
• 2007 GEMS Spring Meeting (handout of proposed agenda and catering guidelines) Rose Anne presented an agenda for the proposed ½-day GEMS Spring Meeting. The meeting will be held at EPA on Monday, April 16, 2007. A buffet lunch (“Executive Deli Buffet”) will be available during the registration period from 11am–12 noon. It is anticipated that there will be five invited speakers with 45 minutes allotted per speaker. A 15 minute break (no food) will occur after the first two speakers. A reception will be held at the end of the meeting and feature assorted munchies, cookies, and cold drinks. Food expenses will be approximately $15/person. The meeting topic is “Systems Biology Approach to DNA Damage Response”. Possible meeting titles are “DNA Damage: A Systems Biology Approach” and “DNA Damage Biology: A Systems Biology Approach”. Steve Little will help coordinate the audio-visual needs (laptop computer, projector) for the meeting, as these will not be included in the facility rental. Prior to the meeting, a list of registrants will be provided to the security station at EPA. Attendees will need to show a photo ID and will need to sign in at the guard desk prior to check-in for the meeting. Dan Shaughnessy led the discussions on possible speakers for this meeting. Dr. Ben van Houten, NIEHS, has agreed to give the opening talk giving an overview of the field. Possible outside speakers are Martin Brown (Stanford), Michael Yaffe (MIT), and Thomas Begley (MIT). Further discussion and confirmation of meeting speakers will be done by email. Based on previous Spring Meetings, attendance at this meeting is anticipated to be 90. Early registration will begin March 16 for a 2 week period (closing April 1?). A meeting announcement, draft meeting agenda, and meeting registration form will need to be ready for distribution and web posting before March 16. Meeting cost for members is $30 for early registration and $40 for later registration. Student members will pay $10. Nonmembers will pay $40 for early registration and $50 for later registration. Nonmember students will pay $15. The cost for meeting registration was approved by the board.

Next GEMS Board of Directors Meeting is Thursday, March 1, 2007 at 3PM at The Hamner Institute.