NAI Region 6 Workshop Board Meeting Minutes

3:00 p.m. February 25, 2018

In attendance: Rachel Roth, Don Simons, Rebecca Sellers, Lauren Marshall, Donna Horton,

Michelle Soenksen, Ken Forman, Chris Pistole, Tara Humphreys, Jay Schneider, Mystina Swaim,

Theresa Coble, Kayla Gomance, Robin Gabe, Rusty Scarborough Absent: Shelley Flanary, Hollie

Sanders, Jerrel Geisler, Pat Silovsky

Review minutes from last meeting- After reading the minutes, Donna moved to accept the

minutes, Ken seconded. Motion carried.

Workshop Report – Delia Lister and Amanda Alessi gave a workshop report. Things are

going great.

Director’s Report – Jay Schneider

National Board/Advisory Council Update

o Amy Lethbridge keynote speaker

o Meets 3 times of year and discusses region director business

Some regions are struggling so other regions help them

Jay is the Chair of the Advisory Council

Email use/listing

o One region director and assistant director was spoken to about sending reports

and membership statuses. The “call-out” ended up being taken to the national

office as harassment. Jay was using his business email address to send these

emails and will be switching to his personal email to handle NAI business so ASP

will not be in the direct line of fire for any NAI business, good or bad.

Be cautious of using your work contact information in NAI business to

protect you and your place of business from any possible, spams, spoofs,

etc.

Constant Contact for Email

o Discussion on using Mailchimp instead of Constant Contact

We can still use our region gmail account

Ken and Rachel will work on testing Mailchimp out and we will go from

there

Advertising for Scholarships/Awards

o We only gave away one scholarship so we need to think of ways to advertise our

scholarship and get more applications

o According to NAI, those that are already a member of NAI are eligible for the

scholarships

Are we willing to include the new membership fee into the scholarship to

get more applicants?

o We also need to advertise other trainings to get our members certified in more

than just CIG.

We have so many qualified CIGs that aren’t moving up into higher

certifications and we aren’t sure why

We need to look into advertising these trainings better

It was mentioned that the program video section of the CHI training may

be holding up some qualified interpreters

Ken mentioned that we need to have video recordings of all our

workshop sessions, that way the presenters have those videos of

their programs they can use for their CHI certification or other

certifications

Website for T-shirts

o We have new NAI swag for sale

o Rachel will be looking into a website for our t-shirt sales and is open for

suggestions

Website: past awards

o Our website has a location for past conferences and news

o We need a section on our website for past scholarship winners, past award

winners, etc.

o Rachel is already working on something similar and will be working with Lauren

for a list of the past award winners

o We need a new tab for a lineup of future conferences

Donna has a list of all the past conference locations

Joint conference with another region

o National board meeting in Phoenix Jay had an idea to pair regions for a super

region conference, in place of our Region 6 conference

We will probably have separate awards ceremonies and business

meetings

Rebecca moved that we continue to pursue this idea and for Jay to look

into it further. Chris seconded. Motion carried.

We introduced ourselves and our positions on the board

Deputy Director’s Report – Chris Pistole

Update from Amy Stephens, Planning Committee Chair for the 2020 workshop in

Bartlesville, OK:

o The planning for the Bartlesville 2020 workshop has been going strong for a year

now. We have nailed down all the

venues and menus. We also have a

creative lineup of field trips that are

starting to be finalized.

o The theme is “Interpretation

Connects Nature, Culture & Art.”

You will see from the logo that the

committee has included some art

deco touches, which suit the

centennial date. Birding is always

an important part of our Region 6

Conference, and we are also

fortunate that Bartlesville is home

to the Franklin Lloyd Wright Price

Tower, so it is an architectural icon for our conference and the site of our

opening mixer.

o A few venue contracts are still being signed and going back and forth between

Michelle Farmer at the National office and Amy Stephens as she has questions.

Some places don’t want the deposit until a year out, etc. But everything is

“booked.”

o Early member registration fee will be $187 for an attendance of 100 people. In

2014 there were 121 registrants for the workshop in Guthrie, OK.

Update from Rusty Scarborough for the 2021 workshop in Louisiana:

o Stacy Gray, Caddo Parish Parks & Recreation’s Education Coordinator has agreed

to Chair the 2021 Region VI Workshop in Louisiana. Louisiana is looking forward

to hosting again and making the conference food and fun even more memorable

than Natchitoches was in 2015 and 97 were in attendance

It is best to plan upcoming regional conferences at least 3 years

This is my last workshop as Deputy Director since my term expires at the end of 2019. I

will continue assisting the workshop committees for 2020 and 2021 until then and help

the new Deputy Director transition into their role. It’s been an honor to serve the

members of Region VI these past few years and to work with the annual workshop

planning committees to implement successful workshops. They deserve all of the credit!

We are fortunate to have such dedicated members that make our region exceptionally

strong.

Secretary’s Report – Mystina Swaim

Minutes are available on our Region 6 website under “Board”

I was invited to serve on the NAI International Conference Committee

o I will get more information on my duties soon and give you an update

o Region 6 can now have a voice for international conference planning and

locations

NAI International workshop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil coming up – May 20-24, 2019

o Conference registrations: $250 USD for early bird (March 15 deadline); $300

USD regular registration

o Conference Theme: Building Interpretive Alliances for Collective Impact

o Pre- and Post- conference tours

o Interesting sessions and off-site sessions

NAI National workshop in Denver, Colorado is November 12-16, 2019

Interpreters birding in Thailand

o A small group of Region 6 interpreters traveled to Thailand in January for a 17-

day birding tour of the different Thailand habitats

NAI Region 6 members: Ted Cable, Mystina Swaim, Cyndi Cogbill, and

retired-members Doris Burnett Kathy Cavender

AMI member: Jeff Cantrell

o The group collectively saw 416 bird species and several herp, mammal, insect,

and plant species

Treasurer’s Report – Kayla Gomance

Balance o Fourth Quarter - $37, 594.10 was the balance as of December 31, 2018 o This puts us at $994.99 in the red for 2018, but this will change as more

workshop registrations come in.

Scholarship Disbursements o $3315.00 for three student scholarships @ $1,105 each (includes registration,

travel stipend, and scholarship). o $540.00 for three financial aid recipients’ registration @ $180 each (all were

regular registrations, not student). o $180 for financial aid for one furloughed, federal employee (includes

registration). The executive committee voted earlier to offer financial aid to a

furloughed federal employee to attend conference We had one member apply for the financial aid and it was given

National Workshop at New Orleans, LA (NOLA) Booth o $160 paid out to have a booth at the National Conference and we made $233

Awards Chair’s Report – Lauren Marshall

Had some very worthy nominations this year

o Will be presenting one award Monday during the business meeting and the rest

during the banquet.

Edited the 2019 Award list to reflect the most nominated awards.

Proposal to board to rebrand the Retired/Senior Interpreter Award as the Keeper of

Interpretation Award.

o Donna moved to accept the award name change, Rebecca seconded. Motion

carried.

o Since the award name change was accepted, the award’s committee would like

to send an updated plaque to Ms. Judy Sneed who is the single award recipient

we have in this region.

John Miller was nominated for the Bob Jennings Meritous Award, but he has won this

award twice already so we’d like to award him the new “Keeper of Interpretation

Award” since he has recently retired

Election Chair’s Report – Robin Gabe

In the fall of 2018, we had one person run for Director and one person run for Treasurer.

o Congratulations to Jay Schneider who is now serving his second term as Region 6

Director and to Kayla Gomance who is now serving her first term as Treasurer.

They will serve a 3-year term through the year 2021 and we’ll hold elections for

their offices again fall of 2021.

In the fall of this year (2019), we’ll hold elections for two offices.

o Deputy Director (currently held by Chris Pistole 2017 – 2019)

o Secretary (currently held by Mystina Swaim 2017 – 2019)

o Individuals interested in either of these two offices should contact the existing

officers or me for more information on the positions’ job descriptions. I will need

candidate bios and photos by midsummer.

o We have 3 interested members that have already spoke with Robin

Membership Chair’s Report – Hollie Berdeja

Total Membership on the NAI Region 6 dashboard reports 972 but the roster excel sheet is at 1038. Not sure what the difference is.

Current Membership in Region 6 states are below. Remember this is apples and oranges; every state has different circumstances (including size, finances, number of active interpreters in the field, etc) that account for membership numbers.

o AR 102 o KS 73 o LA 45 o MO 156 o OK 40 o TX 312 o The rest of the membership are from other states and some countries

Membership Type: according to the excel spreadsheet directory for region 6 Life members - 50 Professional membership - 715 Retired members -29 Students - 138 Volunteers - 46 Seasonal - 19 Institutional - 21 Commercial - 19 Honorary? – 1

National Conference Region 6 attendees: 153 registered

New members from 3/1/2018-2/22/19: 334 o Hollie sent new member lists to state directors for outreach

Membership Goal for 2019 o Send quarterly reports to state directors on members that are new and members

that are close to being inactive. This can be a good outreach tool to encourage active membership at a state level.

Newsletter Editors’ Report – Jerrel Geisler and Ken Forman

The editorial staff of VIsions continues to work to make the newsletter relevant, and

useful to our region's members. Any suggestions for improving the newsletter to

achieve these ends will be gratefully met by the editors, and possibly rewarded with

cookies.

o Ken and Jerrel are looking into ways to make the newsletter more interactive

with a possible addition of a column on the website for members to comment on

recent articles

There are problems with some members not getting the newsletter so it may have to be

an option they select when they first become a member

o Rebecca has student members not being confirmed and has spoken to the

national office about this issue

In this day and age of practically instantaneous communication opportunities, a

newsletter may feel outmoded and old-fashioned. The editors feel this can be

counteracted by encouraging more discourse within the members via the editorials

presented in VIsions.

Distribution continues to be through emails. The Google server allows us to distribute a

finite number of emails per day. This means the out-of-region recipients receive their

copy the day after those who reside in-region. It has been suggested that such mass

emailings may be flagged as spam by our members' mail servers. Informal queries

indicate members are receiving their newsletters, but that may not be the case for all

members. A Constant Contact option has been suggested, but doesn't seem to be cost

effective. However, if the board feels it would be preferable to the current system of

distribution, we can provide some further details on the cost.

o If the webmaster or communications group agrees to pursue the Constant

Contact option then I think we would support it.

o This platform or possibly another should be able to track emails sent out, then

give a report as to which addresses no longer exist, how many are blocked and

also allow recipients to opt out. We should be tracking this in order to have

accurate member numbers.

o Also this or another platform would allow for “on site” creation or design so that

others can weigh in on the styles.

Bounced emails continue to be a small issue. Would it be possible and reasonable to ask

the national folks in Ft. Collins to reach out to all members ensuring members' email

addresses are current? Other regions may have a similar issue that can be corrected at

the national level.

Ken is reaching out to the other regions to be included on their mailing list if they

produce a newsletter, and offering to include them on ours.

Ken needs articles by March 1st

Scholarship and Professional Development Chair’s Report – Rebecca

Sellers

One person applied for a stipend for the national conference but did not follow through

and was no longer in contact, so did not receive the scholarship

We need to look into changing the deadlines to make it more convenient to

scholarship/stipend applicants

o Keep student scholarship deadline in September since the students will be back

in school during that time

o Possibly pushing back the other scholarships/stipends

There were two scholarship winners from Missouri who are both presenting at the

Wichita conference

Carrie Saunders is a scholarship recipient from Arkansas

Two stipends were awarded to Louisiana members who are attending conference

Website Report – Rachel Roth

Social Media:

o Been working on upping social media game

o Facebook live our evening events during the conference

Lots of ideas for what to do with it during and after the workshop

o Facebook Page: 515 Lifetime Likes

o Can someone make Rachel an admin in the members group?

o We regularly engage more people than the national NAI page. This week:

Website:

o All-time views: 42,587

o All-time visitors: 13,469

o Traffic down to 1.2K this year compared to 1.8K last year around this time.

Stickers: We have two new sticker designs for the Regional workshop.

Email Communications:

o Rachel would like to start using a mail service to send our region-wide emails.

After comparing services like Constant Contact, Mailchimp, and ActiveCampaign,

she thinks Mailchimp is the best option for us

Mailchimp has a free plan as long as we don’t have more than 2,000

subscribers. Our highest number for an email list has been just over

1,000. https://mailchimp.com/help/about-the-forever-free-plan/

Templates to make emails look nice

Reliable – keeps email out of spam box

Multiple users so newsletter folks and others can use the service with

different accounts.

We would be able to schedule emails, let people unsubscribe or

subscribe, and set up different “campaign” lists for newsletter and

general region info.

No SMS capabilities – Constant Contact would allow us to send text

messages (communicate with conference attendees), but Rachel doesn’t

think this is worth the price

Arkansas State Report – Don Simons

Arkansas State Parks are hiring

o There is a lot happening in the Natural State this spring. Arkansas State Parks

interviewed for 25 seasonal interpreter positions. Hiring should take place soon,

just in time for spring break. Two full-time interpreter positions are anticipated

at Mississippi River and Delta Heritage Trail State Parks in eastern Arkansas.

New visitor center at Jacksonport State Park

o Jacksonport State Park will dedicate its new visitor center in March, with an

immersive exhibit gallery designed and built by Taylor Studios of Rantoul, Illinois.

New visitor center planned for Petit Jean State Park

o A new visitor center is being planned for Petit Jean State Park with exhibits by

Taylor Studios.

ASP & APRF partnering to build Monument Trails

o Arkansas State Parks is working with the Arkansas Parks & Recreation

Foundation on a multi-million dollar project to design and build the Monument

Trails in at least six parks. Monument Trails will be multi-use, with mountain

biking as the primary use, and designed to modern, sustainable standards. They

will also include immersive experiences such as unique architectural features

and art installations at trailheads and throughout the trails.

ASP partnering with Girl Scouts Diamonds to host events

o Arkansas State Parks is partnering with the Girl Scouts Diamonds of Arkansas,

Oklahoma, and Texas to host events at 30 parks for the National Girl Scouts in

State Parks Weekend, coming up this July. This event and further projects under

development are part of the National Memorandum of Understanding between

the Girl Scouts of the USA and the National Association of State Park Directors,

aiming for partnerships in all 50 states.

AGFC unveiled an Outdoor Skills Program

o Arkansas Game & Fish Commission has unveiled an Outdoor Skills Program

featuring 10 different patches geared toward helping the people of AR learn and

continue in their pursuit of outdoor skills.

The Northwest Arkansas Nature Center is in the middle of foundation work and the

target for opening the center is still summer of 2020.

Caleb Coulter was nominated by his peers as AGFC 2018 Education Employee of the

Year.

The Central Arkansas Nature Center is excited about hosting several events this

upcoming spring like the Corp of Engineers Changing of the Guard and the Project

Learning Tree National Conference.

Arkansas will be hosting the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD) annual

conference in Rogers in September 2019.

o They will be visiting a few state parks in Northwest Arkansas

Kansas State Report – Pat Silovsky

No report given

Amber Meyers gave a short report in Pat’s place at the workshop business

meeting and thanks members for attending the workshop in Kansas

Louisiana State Report – Rusty Scarborough

The Walter Jacobs Nature Park weather station recorded 75.31” of precipitation in 2018

and our yearly average is 55”. And 2019 has begun with continued heavy rains.

The National workshop in New Orleans was a great time! Some snags with the hotel

losing power on the arrival day for a lot of us but it all worked out and the session that I

attended were very rewarding.

Walter Jacobs Memorial Nature Park just completed their 14th annual Owl Night and

what a wonderful time it was, with just under 2000 people attending! Owl enthusiasts

got to meet 4 common species of owls out on our Audubon paved LED lighted trail, take

night hikes, attend owl seminars, play owl identification games, make owl art, buy owl

art, take night hikes into the forest with no flashlights and also make almost 700 s’mores

at our pavilion fire place.

In January Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park’s Fairy Houses & Gnome Homes

program was recognized by the Louisiana Recreation and Parks Association with the

Innovative Programming Award. This program was also recognized at Region VI NAI last

year Outstand Special Event Award. We are preparing for this event now and it will be

on April 13, 2019 from 11-4.

Lily Jonsek has taken the place of Judy Sneed on the Awards Committee, representing

Louisiana. I would like to thank Mrs. Judy for her over 13 years of service on this

committee. And we are happy to have Lily on the committee. Lily is a naturalist at

Walter Jacobs Memorial Nature Park.

Stacy Gray, Caddo Parish Parks & Recreation’s Education Coordinator has agreed to

Chair the 2021 Region VI Workshop in Louisiana. Louisiana is looking forward to hosting

again and making the conference food and fun even more memorable than

Natchitoches was in 2015

o Monroe may be the conference location

Louisiana State Parks are still getting budget cuts

Missouri State Report – Michelle Soenksen

Alison Bleich is the new interpretive center manager at Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery

and Conservation Center. She replaced John Miller when he retired.

o Leah Eden has announced that Alison Bleich (pronounced “bly”) is the new

interpretive center manager at Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery and Conservation

Center.

o Alison grew up on a farm in east central Illinois. She graduated from Missouri

State University with a degree in Wildlife Biology in 2013. She has conducted

field research with quail, grouse, and sea turtles and spent the past 2 years

working for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in western Nebraska.

o She started out as a Park Naturalist, doing programs and outreach activities

around Lake McConaughy State Recreation Area and last year became the Park

Superintendent at Ash Hollow State Historical Park.

New chocolate program at Felix Valle State Historic Site

o Melissa Blank reports a new chocolate program took place at Felix Valle State

Historic Site on Saturday, February 2.

o As part of the city of Ste. Genevieve’s annual Chocolate Walk, Interpreter

Melissa Blank, CIG, demonstrated historic methods of chocolate making while

sharing the French relationship with the delectable treat!

o Felix Valle State Historic Site is also participating in the creation of a new

National Park in Ste. Genevieve. Part of the Felix Valle properties will be included

in the new National Park site that will generate more visitation to the Ste.

Genevieve area.

Seasonal interpreter positions available with Missouri State Parks

o The Missouri State Parks is looking to fill seasonal interpreter positions at several

sites throughout the state. Some of these sites provide housing. Please check

out the www.mostateparks.com website for more information.

DNR Spring Interpreters Training School

o The DNR Spring Interpreters Training School will be held May 19-22 at Knob

Noster State Park.

o This training provides the opportunity to learn the basics of developing

interpretive programs and earn the Certified Interpretive Guide certificate if you

choose. Contact Jamie Hubert at Jamie.hubert@dnr.mo.gov to learn more.

Dawn Fredrickson is the new program director for the MSP Grants, Recreation &

Interpretation Program

o Michelle Soenksen announces Dawn Fredrickson as the new program director for

the Grants, Recreation & Interpretation Program with Missouri State Parks.

o Dawn has been with Missouri State Parks for nearly 17 years. In her current role

as director, she oversees a unique program that touches many of the Division's

visitor engagement efforts, including recreation, outreach, interpretation, trail

planning, and grant administration.

o The Grants, Recreation & Interpretation Program can truly be said to include all

the fun aspects of Missouri State Parks -- teaching people how to kayak, building

new trails, giving money to communities for much-needed recreational facilities

and historic preservation, and creating memorable experiences for visitors

through interpretation and outreach!

Exciting 2019 initiatives in Missouri State Parks

o Dawn Fredrickson reports on exciting initiatives in Missouri State Parks for 2019.

o Women in Nature, or WIN, is an initiative that offers outdoor skills classes

specifically for women; to increase confidence and encourage independent

exploration in the outdoors.

Class offerings include archery, orienteering, fishing, outdoor

photography, kayaking, outdoor cooking, etc.

Currently, four state parks have been chosen for WIN classes: Lake of the

Ozarks, Finger Lakes, Cuivre River and Lewis and Clark.

All classes will be taught by women instructors, many of whom are our

field interpreters.

Class offerings and locations will be expanded in 2020.

National Girl Scouts in State Parks Weekend

o Sixteen parks and sites have volunteered to host an event for the National Girl

Scouts in State Parks Weekend on July 13-14.

o This is a national event co-sponsored by Girls Scouts USA and the National

Association of State Park Directors.

The Missouri State Parks Director and Deputy Director attended the NAI National

Conference in New Orleans, which is the first time in history that the directors have

attended a NAI conference

o The Deputy Director will also be attending this 2019 Region 6 conference in

Wichita, KS

MSP to partner with Fry’s Lyon Foundation on a Missouri Civil War Passport Program

o In 2019 Missouri State Parks will partner with Fry’s Lyon Foundation on a

Missouri Civil War Passport program.

o The passport program will begin in April 2019 and it will be a one year program.

Participants will travel to various sites across the state where Civil War battles

occurred.

o Eight locations within Missouri State Parks are represented in this passport.

o Participants who complete the entire passport can receive a certificate of

completion.

o A new passport program for 2020 will celebrate Missouri’s Bicentennial.

Southwest Missouri Herpetological Society

o Kathy Miller reports 20 years being celebrated by the Southwest Missouri

Herpetological Society in Springfield Missouri.

o Meetings

The society meets every second Thursday at 6:30 at the Bass Pro Property

Conference Center on Sunshine. The meeting includes plenty of

visitation time, but also an educational program given by either one of

our members or someone we have recruited.

At the January meetings we play John Miller's Herptile Jeopardy, and in

December Herptile Pictionary.

o The society is always seeking speakers on anything related to Herpetology, so

contact them if interested.

o Education and field experience for the members include visits to Herpetological

facilities, and field herping distant and locally.

o Wheelchair accessibility

The society is always looking for wheelchair accessible field trips either to

visit a facility or go herping, so your suggestions would be welcome.

o Reptile Days at Fairbanks School educational programs

Education is also offered to the public a few times a year at the free

Reptile Days at Fairbanks School in northern Springfield, part of many

free community resources there. Also we provide education at Zoo

events and during Herp Expos.

o Annual Expo in the fall

We host an annual Expo in the fall at the Ozark Community Center (Nov

9, 2019), and this year will be providing education also at each of the 4

Springfield Show Me Snakes Expos.

o Conservation efforts

Our Conservation efforts include a highway cleanup 4 times per year and

using Leave No Trace principles and collecting trash at all of our field

sessions. We raise funds for 3 conservation donations to the Missouri

Department of Conservation Hellbender Project, the International Iguana

Foundation, and the Turtle Survival Alliance.

o SWMHS social media

Like us on Facebook, SWMHS.

We're gifting ourselves for our 20th celebration with an almost ready

website.

We always welcome visitors and, of course, members ($15 individual, $20

per family.) For more information, contact Kathy Miller,

kathyscreations@att.net, 417.598.9991

Oklahoma State Report – Donna Horton

2020 workshop update

o Moved to the Tulsa County TriTech

o Sunday night mixer will still be at the Price Tower

A mega-park, The Gathering Place, has opened up in Tulsa

o They’ve created a wetlands and planted older tree forests in mid-town Tulsa

o The park was created to bring all 4 corners of Tulsa into a central gathering area

(the 4 areas of Tulsa are their own separate communities

CIG trainings scheduled

Oklahoma Native Plant Society is celebrating 200 years of Thomas Nuttall and his work

Are there term limits for state coordinators? Answer: no.

Texas State Report – Tara Humphreys

LLELA partnering with Conservation By Design

o Lisa Cole, Education Coordinator at Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area

shares LLELA staff is working with Conservation By Design to create their first-

ever Interpretive Plan to guide their efforts. They are at the beginning of the

process and are very excited about what’s to come.

CIG training availability

o Amber Pepper, CIT, has available spots in upcoming Certified Interpretive Guide

(CIG) classes:

Houston Downtown Aquarium: June 4-7, 2019

The Houston Zoo: June 11-14, 2019

TSP interpreters participated in CIG training at Bastrop State Park

o Twenty Texas State Park interpreters took CIG at Bastrop State Park in January.

Some of the presentation topics included the living dead, monarchs, wood ducks,

not so extra-terrestrials, alligators and discontent on the Texas Plains. We’re

looking forward to their park programs!

2019 Statewide Interpreters Conference at Camp Buckner

o Almost 100 Texas State Park interpretive staff attended the 4-day 2019

Statewide Interpreters Conference at Camp Buckner.

o The theme was “Bringing Balance to Interpretation”, and they did just that

through sessions on mindfulness, Maslow’s for Interpreters, connecting through

conversation, resilience, and dimensions of diversity to name a few.

o Interpreters led concurrent sessions and field trips allowed for exploration and

networking.

National Board Report – Theresa Coble

NAI has 7,000+ members

We are in a good financial position

o Adequate checking/savings accounts with a $0 line of credit

o There are financial reserves to minimize/eliminate use of line of credit during

low cash flow

o Current financial focus: mortgage for the national office property on Cherry

Street in Fort Collins, CO (Journey Home Campaign)

As of January 2019, $50,000 in cash and pledges went toward retiring the

mortgage.

We have a remaining balance of $148,000 so we’re getting close. Once

paid off, we will use a portion of the funds for student and professional

scholarships.

There was a board meeting at national workshop in New Orleans, LA.

o During the meeting, they developed a harassment policy to manage interactions

between members and boards to make sure we are a national board thoughtful

in leadership. This is a first for this type of policy.

Current strategic plan NAI adopted in 2015 to run until 2019. We will take a year off to

see that plan finish through. We will be starting a new strategic plan soon after.

o Matrix map for mission impact for each program area- we have around 11

program areas in NAI

Treasurer’s report- Vicky Bassman. 110000 in checking account. Mortgage for the

property 148,000 as part of the Journey Home campaign to retire the mortgage. We

should wrap this up this year.

Working on member benefits-

o Equalize member benefits between regions

o Journal of Interpretive Research- strategy discussions about it and a task force

has been created to work on the strategy to implementing the journal better.

Hopefully the journal will get in one the publishing houses like EBSCOHOST

Brenda Lackey is the Journal of Interpretive Research Task Force Chair

Bob Powell Clemson and Marc Stern are the co-editors

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

o DEI statement approved at the national workshop in Corpus Christi, TX

o Emphasis on DEI sessions/tracks at national workshop in New Orleans, LA

o Alternate years with international committee themes

Looking to create a student pipeline to encourage students to pursue majors in the

interpretation field since our field is mainly discovered by those later in life that

transition from other fields or wish they had a career in our field instead

Discussion on reforming our definition of heritage interpretation (Interpretation is a

mission-based communication process…)

o NAI Definitions Task Force

Theresa Coble (Chair), Jay Miller, Margo Carlock, Brenda Lackey, Sam

Ham, and Emily Jacobs

o Delphi Process with 4 rounds

Round 1 – July 2018: discussion at August and November national board

meetings

Round 2 – January 2019: survey format, partial due to federal

government shutdown

Round 3 – Now: solicit feedback on four proposed definitions

Round 4 – back to original Delphi respondents in a consensus definition,

accept or choose to remain outside the consensus and why. The national

board voted Round 4 to take place in June 2019 or electronically later in

the summer

o NAI definition Task force ideas:

1. Interpretation is a purposeful approach to communication.

2. Interpretation is purposeful communication that fosters meaningful experiences

that connect, inform and inspire.

3. Interpretation is a purposeful approach to communication that fosters connections

to places, ideas and each other.

4. Interpretation is a purposeful approach to communication about natural and

cultural heritage that stimulates people to think, help people discover meanings,

and inspires people to care.

Adjourn- Spring 2019 Region 6 Board meeting was adjourned at 5:45pm