Minutes of the April 20, 1999 SGB EC Conference Call

1) ACM HQ Update

HQ Liaison Baglio informed the SGB EC that she had received resignations from 3 SIG staff members within the last week. Patrick McCarren, Associate Director of SIG Services was leaving to join the National Association of Fleet Administrators in New Jersey as their Deputy Executive Director. Raj Mohar, Program Coordinator responsible for proceedings and newsletters was departing to join Continental Airlines also located in New Jersey and David Reiderman SIG Program Director responsible for working with SIGCHI was leaving to join Hilton Hotel Corporation. Baglio indicated that Mojar's position was filled and she was working on replacing McCarren and Riederman.

Motion: Move to thank McCarren, Riederman and Mohar for their fine work and service.
acclamation

2) August Meeting Schedule and Agenda

VC Notkin led discussion by reviewing the survey data he'd gathered from SIG Chairs. It appears that October is the best time for the meetings. Despite concerns with regard to a 1 day meeting, this set of meetings which are to include the orientation will be scheduled for 1 day. The SGB EC supported the following schedule pattern:

  • Day 1 - Friday - Orientation in am and pm, with some SGB EC members participating in the am. In the afternoon the SGB EC will convene their meeting. On Friday evening there will be a dinner for everyone.
  • Day 2 - SGB Meeting all day
  • Day 3 - SGB EC meeting in the morning until noon. This will give participants the opportunity to get home by Sunday evening.

Based on ACM's current conference schedule, the best time for the meeting would be the weekend of October 1-3 or October 8-10. Notkin asked Baglio to find a location and forward him the details. Once a location is secured the information will be sent to the SGB.

Action: Baglio will find a location for the October SGB/SGB EC/Orientation meetings in NY for the weekend of October 1-3 or October 8-10. She will report to Notkin.

3) SIGAPL

Small SIG Advisor Cassel led discussion by reviewing the SIGAPL newsletter schedule submitted by the SIGAPL leadership. They understood that were submitting a schedule that they were being firmly held to. They intend to put out 6 issues this year to catch up. They included a note indicating that they hope to do better but did not want to over commit themselves. Cassel reminded the Board that the SIGAPL leadership was asked to come up with a schedule and they came up with a rational one. She recommended approval. The SGB EC found that the plan was reasonable and supported accepting it. they expected to receive reports at the checkpoints to be sure that SIGAPL wasn't fading. The first milestone for SIGAPL is to have the next issue to HQ by May 17th, the day before the next conference call. Baglio was asked to report the status to the SGB EC during that call.

Action: Baglio will report on the first milestone of the SIGAPL production schedule during the May 18th conference call.

4) SIGCHI's Proposal for Society Status

Chair Ellis forwarded the SIGCHI society proposal which was submitted by the SIGCHI leadership. They are suggesting that their election be held up in order to include the suggested bylaw changes. Baglio reported that the SGB EC needed to make a decision as the ballots were scheduled to mail shortly.

Ellis spoke to Lewis Johnson and was disappointed to find out that SIGCHI did not work with him as Chair of the Alternate SIG Task Force. Ellis did not see how this proposal could move ahead without input from the committee that will allow all SIGs to move ahead should they choose to. Lidtke was concerned about moving ahead before policies or procedures were formed. Whitton had spoken to Johnson during the last set of SIG meetings and he did not believe that societies were his primary goal in dealing with structure. She'd hoped he'd have interest once a proposal was generated but this proposal hasn't done that. Notkin wondered why SIGCHI had not taken the advice that Ellis had given them with regard to the proposal. She'd requested that hey address how they'd be more meaningful to ACM as a whole and suggested they outline how they would serve the practitioner population. She suggested coming with programs that would showcase this. Lidtke suggested that they be told to work with Lewis Johnson to come up with policies to form societies along with any other group that wants to see this proceed. There was concern by the SGB EC that the leadership has gone around every policy on this. The minimum requirement is that they work within the scope suggested by Carla. They must come up with a legitimate proposal and indicate how they support the Association and what they provide. Whitton didn't believe that CHI should be solely responsible for the development of policies but they must be active in the development. Soffa suggested putting together a subgroup of Johnson's committee that would concentrate on societies. SIGCHI must be an active participant of that group in order for this to work for them, all the SIGs and the ACM. Whitton suggested that she and Soffa champion the effort on behalf of the SGB EC as soon as they can.

The SGB EC reviewed pieces of the proposal and indicated they had a hard time differentiating between a SIG and a society. The bylaws look exactly like SIG bylaws with the word society substituted for SIG making the change appear cosmetic.

The SGB EC recognized the frustration that the SIGCHI leadership must feel with regard to this but hope they understand the frustration on the other side as well. No one is against this idea if it's done right for all to benefit from, not just a single SIG. There will be criteria that the groups that pursue this must accept and will have to follow. They will likely include size and financial stability. SIGCHI quite possibly has what it takes but in order to support the concept through the ranks of governance the SGB EC will need a detailed proposal that considers the needs of the association and its submits. The SGB EC agreed that SIGCHI should proceeded with their election and be told that they can work with a sub-committee headed by Soffa and Whitton on moving ahead. Ellis will inform Atwood of the decision. Baglio suggested a possible response which the SGB EC asked her to draft and forward to Ellis, Whitton and Soffa for discussion and action.

Action: Baglio will forward possible response based on SGB EC decision to have SIGCHI move ahead with their election. She will forward to Soffa, Whitton and Ellis for comment. informing them to move ahead with their election.

Action: Ellis to inform Mike Atwood of SGB EC decision to have them move ahead with their election and work with alternate committee sub-group on society proposal.

5) Dissolution of SIGNUM

Small SIG Advisor Cassel reported that she will get in touch with the Chair of SIGNUM to further discuss their dissolution activities.

Action: Cassel will get in touch with the Chair of SIGNUM to further discuss their dissolution activities.

6) FCRC

Baglio reported that there were over 1,000 registrants to the conference. The planning has been challenging as each conference tries to retain their own identity within the larger event. ACM HQ is assisting the conference organizers in every way they possibly can. The membership, IS and SIG departments have all been pitching in to make this event a success.

7) ACM Portal Report

Conference Advisor Snodgrass reported that a steering committee was being formed at the ACM level with support from the SGB. The project is moving along.

8) ANSI Dues

VC Furuta reported that ACM had received an ANSI dues bill. Based on the current state of the Technical Standards committee he requested guidance in paying the bill. The SGB EC advised that the bill be paid.

Action: Baglio will have ANSI dues paid.

9) SGB EC Member Reports

All EC members may provide a report if they wish to. It would be helpful if the following people could provide information: Baer - Election Task Force, Furuta - SIG Model Task Force and Technical Standards Committee, Notkin - Program Review

There was no time to discuss SGB EC Member Reports during the calls.

10) Review status of Current Action Items

A list of action items will be distributed.

There was no time to discuss the current action items during the call. Board members that have completed an action item should report that completion to Baglio.

 

Participants:

  • Jean-Loup Baer
  • Donna Baglio
  • Boots Cassel
  • Jim Cohoon
  • Carla Ellis
  • Rick Furuta
  • Doris Lidtke
  • David Notkin
  • Richard Snodgrass
  • Mary Lou Soffa
  • Mary Whitton