Call to order
Dr. Dan McBride called to order and opened the session with prayer for the regular meeting of the Texas Taxidermy Association at 6:30 PM on 02-26-2016 in Kerrville, Texas.

Roll call
Marie Holdridge conducted a roll call. The following persons were present:
Officers and Board: Dan McBride; Roy Holdridge; Linda Poerner; Marie Holdridge; Jimmy Fontenot; James Poerner, Jerry Huffaker; John Paul Barber; James Newport; Mark Hernandez, Jacob Poerner; Daryl Hajek and Ben Cromeens.

Excused Absences: Brian Fees, Jake Carter and Mason Morrison

Quorum Announcement
A quorum is present.
Amendments/Additions to Agenda
No additions noted at this time.

President’s Remarks
Dan McBride stated – A lot of work to be done in the next few weeks. I have heard from others who also go to other shows that the TTAI show goes very well. I cannot thank everyone enough and am very proud of the Board.

Approval of minutes from last meeting
Marie Holdridge provided a copy of the minutes from the August 15, 2015 meeting. The minutes were approved as read by silent assent.

Treasurer’s Report
Linda provided a handout of current financials. (See attached handout.). The total account balance is $21,995.83. Motion to accept the report by Roy Holdridge, second by Jerry Huffaker. Motion carried.

Committee Reports
2016 Convention Chair: Jimmy Fontenot, reports that he recently visited Lubbock. There are three areas to cover in this report:
1. Convention center & space: Security will cost $35.00 per hour. Primarily for bar but can be for other needs. Case bar is $250 each. James Poerner stated we usually gets one. No food may be brought into convention center except through approved caterers. They do not have pallet jacks but electricity is free. The wifi is free but can be spotty or interrupted due to volume of use. Lengthy discussion about internet is critical for registration and for auction. Board approves an adhoc workgroup to investigate hot spot and other options. John Paul Barber and Jacob Poerner will lead this and work with Linda and Marie. The convention center agrees that TTAI may bring water and sodas for judges and workers. They will install vending machines for member attendees. Jimmy is exploring options for registration assistance. Lengthy discussion about the convention center layout. Jimmy working with James Poerner and Clay Wagner to determine use of space for Master’s Challenge. There are two options for tablecloth rental. If convention center provides this it is $7.50, if caterer it is $7.00 per table. Approval for caterer to do this.
2. Food: Jimmy has found a caterer who is close to the location for Friday and Saturday night food. Friday night will be chicken fried steak at $10-$11 per person. Saturday night will be smoked prime rib at $25.00 per person. James Poerner made motion to accept food type/price, second by Marie Holdridge. Motion carried – unanimous. Lengthy discussion about the number of meals to plan to order. Marie and Linda will evaluate 2015 data and provide recommendation. Marie also asks if they will do smaller child/youth portions. Jimmy to follow up.
3. Hotel: Jimmy reports that the hotel room block end date is 6/17/16. That was negotiated due to our membership tends to sign up later than typical. The hotel has only reserved 5 king beds for the room block. Jimmy states that anyone wanting a king bed needs to contact the hotel soon. He stated that the room comp rate is 1:35. Marie looked up the contract and reports that they actually agreed to a 1:30 rate.  The contract was forwarded via email during discussion. Jimmy will follow up.
Jimmy states that overall he is working with Jake to make sure he is aware of what needs to be done. If any Board member has suggestions or information please let him know.
Competition Rules Committee – James Poerner chair, overall things going well. Lengthy discussion about a question raised at the Mini Seminar earlier today regarding competitor who would attend a workshop and mount item with teacher and then bring that to the competition. This situation has allegedly happened in the past and caused problems. The TTAI needs to avoid this if possible. Review of TTAI Handbook indicates that competition rules state “Individual Work – All taxidermy procedures must be done by the individual competitor.” Linda Poerner suggested to simply add to current language – “without supervision”. Additional discussion that it might help to define it better by adding in parenthesis (Examples including, but not limited to, items mounted at a workshop or educational seminar.) James Poerner and the Rules Committee members will look this over and other parts of the Handbook that need clarification and will get that completed.
Competition Room Committee – Roy Holdridge chair, reports that everything going well. He is thankful for the help.
Supply Room Site Committee – Mark Hernandez states that all is going well- he is ready.
Backboard Committee – Dan McBride chair, asks about backboards, response is that there are plenty backboards.
Judges Committee – Clay Wagner, chair. Reports that there are 5 judges this year. Danny Owens is judging birds and the TTAI will not need to pay for his room. Marie has provided the contracts and Linda requests that the signed contracts are sent to her as soon as feasible. This really helps.
Friday Night Committee – Clay Wagner Chair. The Friday Night activity is centered on the Master’s Challenge. This year it is Gameheads and Birds. Marie sent the current rules to John Paul Barber who will modify them for the Bird category. Clay to review rules for current year. These need to be posted on website. Marie can email to members as well. There will be belt buckles for both categories in 2016. Lengthy discussion about possibly using the Lubbock SCI donation ($2,500) to sponsor the Friday night meal. It was decided that use the SCI donation as a higher level sponsor, perhaps a new level called Platinum at $1,500 and then use remaining money to sponsor belt buckles for Master’s Challenge.
Activities Committee – Kasha Crisp, Chair. Dan reports that Kasha is working with Brian Fees on children’s activities.
Sponsors & Vendor Committee – Jimmy Fontenot, chair. Jimmy is going to contact vendors to begin 2016 convention registration.
Seminar/Mini Seminar Committee – Clay Wagner, chair reports that they are about 80% complete with getting seminar instructors for the convention.
Auction/Raffle Committee – Jimmy Fontenot reports that Tim Bane- will do the auction for 2016.
Points Keeper/Awards Audit Committee – Katie (Poerner) Hewitt, chair. Marie reports that she met with the database designer he is willing to develop the new database to house Provenzano points. The Board stresses that this needs to be completed well in advance of the convention. The Board is willing to pay a fair price to get this done. Marie is authorized by the Board to make this happen.
Awards Committee – James Poerner, chair. James reports that awards continues to be a significant expense for the TTAI. Lengthy discussion about possible options. Dan asked if the scalpel handle will still work for award for judges & seminar instructors. All agreed that these are well received.
Photography Committee – Clay Wagner, chair. James Newport and Jerry Huffaker stated that Ken Edwards will be here again this year.
Bylaws Committee/Ethics – will be discussed at the end of the meeting today.
Site Selection Committee – Ben Cromeens, chair. Ben reports that Killeen has been contracted for the next three years. Dan reports that the hotel has been contacted and will be contracted soon.
TTAI Magazine – Jerry Huffaker, chair. The Board applauded the work that Jerry, James and others have done for the TTAI Magazine.
Advertising Committee – Jimmy Fontenot, chair. Significant efforts to obtain and collect for TTAI Magazine and newsletter advertisements. This has gone very well. Lengthy discussion about how to track the money received for this. Linda will see what can be done to provide that information, which is not currently segregated in the database.
Communications Committee – Jerry Huffaker, chair reports everything going well.
Technology Committee – James Poerner, chair. Already discussed the need to find options for internet connectivity for Lubbock.
Membership Committee – Dan McBride, chair. No concerns.

Old Business
1. Open/Other – none

New Business
1. New Award - Brian Harness Award. This is a new award to honor Brian Harness’ contribution to taxidermy. It will be for the most artistic small mammal in the Professional or Master’s Divisions. Brian’s wife requests that Shane Davenport choose the mount. He will not be competing for this award. Motion to approve by James Poerner. Second by John Paul Barber. Unanimous approval.
2. 2016 Incoming Officers and Board Members. No election this year. Per Robert’s Rules of Order, voting is not required when no contested seats. Marie reported that although there were several nominations, most did not accept and a couple were not qualified for the office. During this process one Board member did not respond to accept nomination until after the official deadline. He has responded that, if appointed, he will accept the position. Officers who will return with 2 year term ending in 2018 are: Roy Holdridge, Vice President; Linda Poerner, Treasurer; and Jimmy Fontenot, Parliamentarian. Returning Board members are: John Paul Barber, Jerry Huffaker and James Newport. Roy Holdridge made a motion to appoint Brian Fees to the Board. Second by Jerry Huffaker. Unanimous approval.
3. Open/Other. Roy Holdridge mentioned that is was brought to his attention that a TTAI member – E. Whitlock tragically lost his wife and has three young children to raise. It was asked if the TTAI would consider some type of fund raiser or help. Motion by James Poerner that the TTAI issue a $1,000 immediately to this member and then pass the hat for donations at the 2016 Convention. Second by Clay Wagner. Unanimous approval.

Executive Session – Ethics Committee Report
The TTAI Board reviewed confidential matters after instruction regarding maintaining confidentiality. The Board has prior approved current actions.
Adjournment
Dan McBride after motion by Roy Holdridge and numerous seconds by the Board members adjourned the meeting at 9:39 PM.

Minutes submitted by:  Marie Holdridge, TTAI Secretary
Minutes approved by:  TTAI Board 6/22/2016