Fall 2006 National Council Meeting Thursday November 16, 2006 San Antonio, Texas      President Sandra Alspach called the meeting to order at 12:10 pm. Because of issues related to planning for the National Convention and Tournament, this meeting was not intended to follow our usual Fall meeting format. Rather, the purpose of this meeting was to address the critical Convention and Tournament issues.      Ed Hinck, local host, provided an update of planning activity. As of yet, there is still no guarantee that the University Food Courts will be open throughout the competition day. He will continue to work on that arrangement. He did report that room reservations have been made, and that photocopying has been secured. Additional rooms have been secured at the Hampton and Super 8 to accommodate room needs. We will need to closely monitor our web communication to direct schools to the remaining room options.      The banquet is not set. We do have space on campus, but have not worked out the type of service or received a final confirmation of the cost. The Council discussed the issues involved, including checking once more with the Soaring Eagle, and asked Ed to address this issue immediately upon return to Mt. Pleasant. The Council agreed that a final decision would be made soon based upon the new information Ed collects. The general consensus, however, was that the cost, transportation issues, and availability of the Soaring eagle would likely preclude that option. While the ambiance of the on-campus facility would not be as impressive, that appeared to be the only viable alternative. The Council did agree that we would make an effort to “dress-up” the facility and investigate providing other â €œvalue-added” services for our members.      The Council then discussed the option of canceling the Thursday Business meeting at the National Convention. The Council had agreed to do this at the Summer 2006 meeting, but subsequent email discussions suggested that all were not clear this action had been taken. The purposes of canceling this meeting are twofold: (1) to respond to the request from the membership to streamline our meeting process; and (2) to provide contestants and coaches more opportunity for some “down-time” that might include an unrushed evening meal. While all supported these rationale, it was clear that the impact of this action vis-à -vis our voting process had not been clearly articulated. After some discussion, the Council agreed that the following voting process is reasonable, consistent with constitutional requirements, and can be implemented concurrent with the decision to cancel the Thursday Business meeting.      Wednesday      Speeches by candidates for President-Elect B (Business Meeting)      Thursday      Voting for President-Elect (on campus)      Friday Business Meeting Meet the candidates for Council (on campus) Speeches by candidates for Council (Business Meeting) Saturday Voting for candidates for Council (on campus) Announcement of results (banquet) The Council also discussed two issues related to the election process. First, the speeches on Friday at the Business meeting will be limited to a total of 2 minutes per candidate, each candidate must speak, and each candidate can allocate a portion of his or her time to no more than 1 supporting speaker. Second, because there are multiple candidates for President-Elect the opportunity to complete an absentee ballot will be given to all chapters in good standing who are not able to attend the convention. Each such chapter shall have 1 vote and votes will be cast according to the following process. 1. Chapters who will not be able to attend the convention can request an absentee ballot either through email to Bill Hill (bjhill@email.uncc.edu), or phone call (704) 687-3385. Requests must be made by February 2, 2007. 2. Ballots will be sent to those chapters in good standing including current in their annual dues. 3. Ballots must be returned (two envelope system) by mail sent to Bill Hill at the following address:      College of Arts and Sciences      Fretwell 430      The University of North Carolina at Charlotte      9201 University City Blvd      Charlotte, NC 28223-0001 4. Completed ballots must be received by 5:00 pm (EST) Friday, February 23, 2007. Ballots MUST include the name of the chapter and signature of the Chapter Sponsor or Chapter President. Ballots otherwise received will not be counted. 5. If a chapter submits an absentee ballot and attends the convention, their absentee ballot will not be counted. 6. Announcement of this process and deadlines will be posted on the PKD web as soon as possible.      Following the open discussion of convention-related issues, Council members presented items within their various areas of responsibility. The following important announcements were included. The entire Council congratulated Phil Voight for his work pulling together a very successful pre-conference program. PKD will have 5 panel slots (1 meeting and 4 panels) at the NCA convention in Chicago. The Council agreed to continue to experiment with the student panel for another year. There are currently 2 nominees for the 2007 Order of Attainment. Sandra Alspach has set up a Centennial Planning Committee that includes the following: Communication: Sandra, Nina Jo Moore Site Planners:  Gina Jensen, Tom Huebner Finances:  Bill Hill, Phil Voight History:  Michael Bartanen, David Ray                  Events:   Robert Littlefield, Susan Millsap                  Banquet:  Tony Allison, Gary Horn We will explore creating a production video and possibly use internships for that process. The 2007 Summer meeting will the third week of June between the 20th and 24th. The site will be determined at a later time General Business Meeting Thursday, November 16, 2006      President Sandra Alspach called the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance. Council members distributed written reports to the membership. The following report highlights were noted. Presidents Report      Sandra Alspach referenced the continuing effort on the Civic Engagement project, announced the formation of the Centennial Planning Committee, summarized the results of a preliminary meeting of that group, and mentioned the possibility of developing a media team to assist promotional efforts. Secretary-Treasurer      Bill Hill noted that the organization remains in very stable financial condition, and that income actually exceeded expenses during 2005-06 (an unusual occurrence in an off-tournament year). He attributed that to the continuing success of the off-year tournament, and streamlining operating procedures and expenses. He also noted that we need to carefully monitor the number of chapters who have paid dues this year as the current rate is well below that of the past five years. Editor      Nina Jo Moore indicated that the Key will continue to be distributed on line, but that print copies can be made available selectively. She is also now accepting on-line submissions for The Forensic, but requests that those submission be in Word and not contain special formatting. Todd Holm of Concordia College will be the guest editor for the Winter 2008 issue and will distributing a call for articles related to “Ethics in Forensics.” President-Elect      Tom Huebner announced that the 2008 national Comprehensive Tournament will be held march 8-10 in St. Louis and will be hosted by Webster University. The 2009 National Convention and Tournament will held in Shreveport, Louisiana in March 2009 (dates TBA) and will be hosted by LSU-Shreveport. Tom also indicated that we need to codify all tournament procedures. Past-President      Susan Millsap indicated that the 2007 NCA meeting will be held in Chicago November 15-18. PKD will initially have 5 panel slots, including the one for the general business meeting. She indicated that all PKD members need to attend PKD-sponsored panels as raw attendance is a major factor in allocation of future panel slots. She also indicated that the poster session format will be changed in Chicago toa “Scholar-to-Scholar” model. Charter and Standards      Amy Veuleman indicated that membership packets have been recently sent to Westmont College and Colgate University. A membership inquiry has been received form Garden City Community College. We now have a counter on the PKD website and have had 1,700 page views in the past 30 days. Most importantly, we have had almost 400 hits on the adjoining page.s The website costs approximately $12/month to maintain. Professional Development      Phil Voight presented the Professional Development Report. He is in the process of developing pledge cards to facilitate development efforts. He is also developing a questionnaire to ascertain attitudes of the membership regarding specific types of development efforts, including naming opportunities. It will also be important for future efforts to more clearly separate professional development and fund raising activities as each is a critical area with unique needs and strategies. Province Coordinator      Gina Jensen presented the Province Coordinator’s report. She indicated that no nominees for the â €œOutstanding Province Recognition” award have been received. She has spent time talking to schools about affiliation. As of Spring 2006, Truman State University has joined the order and William Jewell has indicated interest in re-affiliating. Responses to the province survey have been sparse and more input will be required before meaningful conclusions can be drawn. She requested that Governors make an effort to maintain contact about PKD activities and needs in their respective provinces.      At this point, Tony Allison raised a question about the level of province activity, and the continuing role of the province structure in the organization. Some noted that this has been an ongoing concern and that some efforts have been made to assess these issues. The group agreed that a systematic effort to assess key issues related to the province structure needs to be made. Student Representatives      Shawna Nordwick (CMU) presented the student report. She indicated that Andrea Carlile (Gustavus Adolphus) has created a Facebook group for PKD to serve as a message and discussion group for students on that website. In addition, they have been working to identify types of team entertainment that can be available at the National Convention and Tournament. They are also making an effort to identify ways to work with the Chippewa Tribe. The students reinforced that Central Michigan University is looking forward to hosting the 2007 National Convention and Tournament. Historians Report      Michael Bartanen presented the Historian’s Report. New frames for the Traveling hall of Fame have been purchased and they will be used in 2007 at the National Convention No nominations have been received for the Order of Attainment or Hall of Fame. Progress has been made in using digital scanning of historical photographs. Attention needs to be directed to preserving material in the Archives at the National Office and filling in historical gaps as possible. National Tournament Director      Scott Jensen presented the Tournament Directors report. He summarized progress in finalizing logistical arrangements and indicated that the prospects for a successful tournament are bright. A discussion did emerge about the policy of the tournament regarding the use of on-line technologies to prepare for events. After a fairly pointed discussion, it became clear that we need to develop a clear, coherent policy statement that is consistent with competitive practices of other national organizations. Scott indicated that the tournament will be moving more toward a “green model” as Michael Bartanen had recommended, but that he would distribute a policy booklet at the general coaches meeting. Awards      Susan Millsap presented the 2006 annual awards. The following were recipients.      L.E. Norton Award   David Williams, Texas Tech      E.R. Nichols Award   Gene Alasandrini, Muskingum College      John Shields Award   Marty Most, Boise State      Bob Derryberry Award  Khris Kratch, Gstavus Adolphous        Top NCA Panel Award  Josh Compton, Southwest Baptist      Top Paper Award   Jack Rogers, Central Missouri      Top Undergraduate paper  Ashley Hinck, Central Michigan University