Before the meeting began, our museum contact person taught Dave Duguid and Ken Walsh how to use the new A/V system. It’s easy.
Dave began the meeting by asking everyone to introduce themselves and tell him what our expectations are. Dave Duguid (Chair) has been caving for 4 or 5 years now. Howard and Hayden Holgate disclosed nothing about themselves. Ken Walsh was briskly typing as the TriTrog Secretary, and Zoey Shepherd introduced herself as a person who works with scouts. Diana Gietl cited her expertise as cave photography, and then we moved on to the back row. John Hennert was dragged along by Bob Smith, as were Jordan Diem and Caulfield Patrick (who had caved in an Austrian glacial cave). They hoped that The Descent was not an indicator of how our cave trips went, and this launched a discussion about the comedy The Cave. Bob Smith had done some lava tubing near Portland, Oregon but hasn’t yet been in a limestone cave. Matthew Lubin and Mark Dautridge were both on the trip to New River Cave, and Matt Westlake (Vice Chair) and Melanie McCullough wandered in late.
We then discussed the Wiley Elementary School’s Family Science Night. Several members met before the meeting to plan for the event. This year’s event will be more interactive for the kids and parents with 4-5 stations, each one with pertinent cave information. Topics include conservation, cave formation, erosion, habitat, and formations. Zoey suggested that we could push chairs together to teach the kids to go over and under, but we also plan to have the crab trap and a squeezebox. Howard will bring a projector and last year’s slide show.
Dave announced that the officers plan to buy new headlamps for the grotto loaners and are looking for suggested models. Three-watt LEDs are sure to blind the surrounding cavers, and Howard described headlight etiquette to the new people. Zoey pointed out that Energizer lamps can be purchased at Walmart and Lowe’s for just $15. Jeff Howe has volunteered to donate some helmets to the grotto, but we don’t have further details.
Dave also announced that he plans to buy Cave Minerals of the World for the grotto library.
Grotto members who did not pay their dues should expect a reminder from Mark Little.
Mark, Matt, and Matthew described their trip to New River Cave. After the train finally went by, the trip got to be a lot of fun. They enjoyed the six-mile long cave with lots of interesting sections, including a 100-foot high waterfall. The group climbed 20 feet up the waterfall to reach the tightest squeeze of the day; unfortunately the big room it led to was filled with fog. The group belayed each other down the waterfall and also followed the stream way down where the formations were impressive. Diana pointed out that the last thing you want in a cave is an accident. The trip lasted just under eight hours with about two miles of caving. It’s always challenging to see everything. The group saw a few bats covered in dew and knew it was dusk when the bats were waking up. Mark also added that he could smell the outside as we approached the entrance and found it a good way to navigate.
Howard and Hayden described the trip to Paxton’s Cave after sharing Ken’s photos on the new screen. They described the cave as a huge maze and shared the map. This somehow led into a discussion about finding human remains in caves, and Diana mentioned that she had seen some ancient remains in Russell Cave in TAG.
Some formations will never come back because water flow stops, but others can grow back at a centimeter every hundred years. Howard shared that the group took the opportunity to see a lot of the maze through quite a few loops in the 7.2 miles of cave. To find our destination, we had to choose one side passage among thousands. There was little vandalism in the cave, and everyone was encouraged to treat caves like their grandmothers’ living rooms.
Upcoming Trips
March 14-16 NCRC Weekend orientation. Diana suggested that everybody should be in the stretcher at some point during the weekend.
March 21-23 Grand Caverns/Fountain Cave cleanup—Ken may join this with a trip down to the American Shakespeare Center.
March 29—Venture Crew trip to Breathing Cave
April 19—Sport trip for novices
June 5-8 VAR/SERA event in Bristol, TN
July 4-Mammoth Cave survey with CRF
Aug 11-15 NSS Convention—Dave Duguid
Dave will be pushing more caving trips this year of various types: conservation trip, vertical trip, photo trip, more sport trips. He encouraged members to keep trips on the calendar.
Zoey added that she plans to lead a Girl Scout trip to four different caves, including sleeping overnight in Lost Cave. She needs help at Appalachian Caverns on the Saturday, August 2 trip with the kids. She is also planning a second trip the weekend of October 3-5.
Dave announced that the Annual grotto trip will be chosen from 3-4 weekends that work best for members.
After the break, Ken introduced the group to TriTrog Hoopla. We learned that:
1) Zoo-ie Shepherd doesn’t recognize her own name.
2) Hayden likes ferocious cave turtles.
3) Gibbs ascenders go Clang-Clang-Clang.
4) Croll sounds like crawl.
5) The Eiffel Tower is built from French tinker toys.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
TriTrog Officers Meeting Minutes 2/12/2008
[Action items shown with the designee’s name in bold]
Dave Duguid, Matt Westlake, Mike Broome, and Mark Little were all in attendance at the Tandoor Indian Restaurant in RTP, NC.
We began the meeting with discussion about the web issues. Mike described the web site transition as involving two elements: updating the website (all content is in hand) and handling the web hosting. Mark suggested that GoDaddy may offer a discount and offer 4-5 email addresses. Mike described setting up alias addresses (e.g., chair@tritrogs.org) as a way to handle the web pages long term and suggested that the list serve may actually be run through such an address.
After the discussions, the officers authorized Mark to get paid for the domain name. Mike is authorized to make the transition for web hosting and will do it in March. Mike will aim for the end of March so that we’ll be sure to have the system altered before the rtpnet account runs out in May.
Later the officers discussed new ideas for the web site. Dave suggested that the Members Only section should add locally produced cave maps. Mike will look into integrating the mailing list with the blog so that notices of new postings are sent to members. Matt suggested Flickr for the photo gallery, but the upload time of the current photo gallery might be restrictive.
The officers also discussed more participation from past and present members. Those members who don’t show up for the next meetings will get a dues reminder from Mark. In terms of reaching back to older members, the officers have chosen to send invitational letters to those we can still reach. Mark will provide addresses, Dave the form letter, and Ken the personal notes.
In terms of officer meetings, everyone was happy with quarterly meetings after work, accompanied by dinner. Other club members are encouraged to attend. Dave will try to have an agenda beforehand and will poll officers for input to the meetings.
Mike will handle ordering two new (electric) lamps for the grotto supplies and an Ecrin Roc helmet.
The officers talked about the grotto library holdings and their lack of a lot of recent material. Mike expressed that the library storage bin is heavy. Dave asked the NSS about electronic media for the library and will ask again to better store the information. The officers agreed that Dave could purchase the copy of Cave Minerals of the World he was authorized to buy several years ago. Mike assured the officers that the list of the library materials would be going on the web with the updates. There was also a discussion about getting NSS county bulletins for nearby states and a cool book that Mark saw offered by the NSS.
Mark indicated that the outstanding money promised to conservancies as VAR/MAR door prizes but never claimed would remain on the books for one year.
Rosters need to stay more up to date for the active members, and Mark agreed to continue making updates.
Discussion of officially changing the officer descriptions in the Bylaws was tabled until the next officers meeting.
Ideas were passed around for upcoming meeting programs: Knots, the V-squeezebox, Ken’s team trivia twist, lessons in hypothermia, A/V programs from the NSS, and white nose fungus. Ken will handle the February program while Dave and Matt figure out the new A/V equipment. Ken shared the contact information at the Museum with Dave and Matt so that they can learn how to use the new equipment at the museum.
To prepare for the Wiley Elementary School Science Night, Ken will hold a dinner immediately before the next meeting to discuss. The officers approved reimbursing that group up to a set amount if they have any production costs for materials that can be reused at future outreach events.
A brief discussion was held, asking whether the grotto should assist with the production costs of cave maps. However, the cartography production discussion was tabled until a future date.
Some discussion was had about promoting more caving activities this year, especially getting people underground. Perhaps through more conservation trips, a grotto annual trip, quarterly photography trips, or other such activities.
The officers discussed outreach to the rock climbing community. Matt asked if trips had been advertised with the Climbing email group, but Mike responded that we had not tried this yet and should accompany it with an announcement of novice trips. The mailing list includes hundreds of people, so the trips may have to limit numbers. At a minimum, the TriTrogs should likely post a flyer at the local rock climbing gyms (“Helmet too shiny and clean?”).
Mark Dautridge and Matt Westlake had discussed caving one day and then climbing the next for some weekend trips. Mike added that caving weekends have been combined with hiking, mountain biking, and kayaking in the past.
Officers feel the need to push more grotto members to get involved and lead caving trips. They then engaged in a short discussion about how to make this happen. Matt suggested that we set up a system to allow people to sign up for trips instead of responding to the planner with emails, and Ken made a wise crack about putting the signup sheet outside the museum. Officers generally agreed that Evite is not the system to use, but some of its features might be worth emulating.
Dave stated that setting up a trip isn’t that hard and only entails picking a location, date, and overnight accommodations, as well as arranging landowner permission. He suggested that the grotto should have more sport trips going out. Mike has some novice friends that he wants to take caving, so he’ll set up a trip after April. He wants to navigate via the cave map.
The officers discussed how to approach members about leading trips. Making the trip you’re soliciting into a reality includes specificity about the type of trip (vertical, photography, etc.) and getting a tentative date set.
The conversation then turned to different types of cave trips. In terms of conservation/cleanup efforts, the trip to clean up Hancock Cave’s back entrance began the discussion. We might propose half a day cleanup followed by half a day caving on the property. Dave asked if there were any possible cleanups that might help the TriTrogs gain access to a closed cave, and Ken suggested Flat Ridge Cave. There was also interest in visiting a cave multiple times for cleanup trips, but no cave name was suggested.
Dave volunteered to organize a kid-friendly trip for parents and their children. Target ages would be under ten years old. Howard and his coworkers may be interested in getting some teen trips on the calendar (which may still involve some parental supervision).
The officers plan to hold the traditional TriTrog parties again this year (Pool Party, Halloween Party, and the Annual Holiday Party) but did not want to start having food and drink at the museum meetings. The feeling was that the After-the-Meeting Meeting is an important part of the club activity, and we should not take away from its time.
Grotto auctions aren’t necessarily good fundraisers, but they can be entertaining programs. However, there wasn’t much enthusiasm about having one this year unless meeting attendance increases. The officers expressed that they would rather see Charles McEachern at a meeting than his gear (for auction). The officers did not show interest in obtaining his vertical gear for use or profit. Officers agreed that they’d rather focus on outreach than fundraising this year.
The discussion then turned to awarding grotto members for active participation in the grotto. Mike mentioned that he was willing to provide homebrews for trip reports as he has done in the past, and the grotto could reimburse him. Dave and Ken also presented the notion of a point system with awards when the grotto members each reached a benchmark, perhaps something to celebrate 20 years of TriTrogs. Mark played off of this idea and suggested Appreciation Awards that could be given for the overall points winner, who led the most trips, etc. He suggested that an awards ceremony could be held (perhaps in March each year) to honor the previous year’s recipients. Ken compared this to some awards for Best Teacher, Best Photographer, etc. that the grotto has awarded in the distant past. The feeling was that it is healthy to acknowledge participation and encourage some competitive spirit, and possibly offer gift certificates as awards. Mike might ask Matt Jenkins about ways that scores could easily be tracked and posted online for the grotto membership. This awards process would best be handled by a committee separate from the officers, and Dave plans to try to establish an awards committee at a future meeting (March at the latest).
There was a short discussion about a grotto calendar and how that might fit in with a photo salon program, but no action items were raised.
The meeting closed shortly before 9 PM.
Dave Duguid, Matt Westlake, Mike Broome, and Mark Little were all in attendance at the Tandoor Indian Restaurant in RTP, NC.
We began the meeting with discussion about the web issues. Mike described the web site transition as involving two elements: updating the website (all content is in hand) and handling the web hosting. Mark suggested that GoDaddy may offer a discount and offer 4-5 email addresses. Mike described setting up alias addresses (e.g., chair@tritrogs.org) as a way to handle the web pages long term and suggested that the list serve may actually be run through such an address.
After the discussions, the officers authorized Mark to get paid for the domain name. Mike is authorized to make the transition for web hosting and will do it in March. Mike will aim for the end of March so that we’ll be sure to have the system altered before the rtpnet account runs out in May.
Later the officers discussed new ideas for the web site. Dave suggested that the Members Only section should add locally produced cave maps. Mike will look into integrating the mailing list with the blog so that notices of new postings are sent to members. Matt suggested Flickr for the photo gallery, but the upload time of the current photo gallery might be restrictive.
The officers also discussed more participation from past and present members. Those members who don’t show up for the next meetings will get a dues reminder from Mark. In terms of reaching back to older members, the officers have chosen to send invitational letters to those we can still reach. Mark will provide addresses, Dave the form letter, and Ken the personal notes.
In terms of officer meetings, everyone was happy with quarterly meetings after work, accompanied by dinner. Other club members are encouraged to attend. Dave will try to have an agenda beforehand and will poll officers for input to the meetings.
Mike will handle ordering two new (electric) lamps for the grotto supplies and an Ecrin Roc helmet.
The officers talked about the grotto library holdings and their lack of a lot of recent material. Mike expressed that the library storage bin is heavy. Dave asked the NSS about electronic media for the library and will ask again to better store the information. The officers agreed that Dave could purchase the copy of Cave Minerals of the World he was authorized to buy several years ago. Mike assured the officers that the list of the library materials would be going on the web with the updates. There was also a discussion about getting NSS county bulletins for nearby states and a cool book that Mark saw offered by the NSS.
Mark indicated that the outstanding money promised to conservancies as VAR/MAR door prizes but never claimed would remain on the books for one year.
Rosters need to stay more up to date for the active members, and Mark agreed to continue making updates.
Discussion of officially changing the officer descriptions in the Bylaws was tabled until the next officers meeting.
Ideas were passed around for upcoming meeting programs: Knots, the V-squeezebox, Ken’s team trivia twist, lessons in hypothermia, A/V programs from the NSS, and white nose fungus. Ken will handle the February program while Dave and Matt figure out the new A/V equipment. Ken shared the contact information at the Museum with Dave and Matt so that they can learn how to use the new equipment at the museum.
To prepare for the Wiley Elementary School Science Night, Ken will hold a dinner immediately before the next meeting to discuss. The officers approved reimbursing that group up to a set amount if they have any production costs for materials that can be reused at future outreach events.
A brief discussion was held, asking whether the grotto should assist with the production costs of cave maps. However, the cartography production discussion was tabled until a future date.
Some discussion was had about promoting more caving activities this year, especially getting people underground. Perhaps through more conservation trips, a grotto annual trip, quarterly photography trips, or other such activities.
The officers discussed outreach to the rock climbing community. Matt asked if trips had been advertised with the Climbing email group, but Mike responded that we had not tried this yet and should accompany it with an announcement of novice trips. The mailing list includes hundreds of people, so the trips may have to limit numbers. At a minimum, the TriTrogs should likely post a flyer at the local rock climbing gyms (“Helmet too shiny and clean?”).
Mark Dautridge and Matt Westlake had discussed caving one day and then climbing the next for some weekend trips. Mike added that caving weekends have been combined with hiking, mountain biking, and kayaking in the past.
Officers feel the need to push more grotto members to get involved and lead caving trips. They then engaged in a short discussion about how to make this happen. Matt suggested that we set up a system to allow people to sign up for trips instead of responding to the planner with emails, and Ken made a wise crack about putting the signup sheet outside the museum. Officers generally agreed that Evite is not the system to use, but some of its features might be worth emulating.
Dave stated that setting up a trip isn’t that hard and only entails picking a location, date, and overnight accommodations, as well as arranging landowner permission. He suggested that the grotto should have more sport trips going out. Mike has some novice friends that he wants to take caving, so he’ll set up a trip after April. He wants to navigate via the cave map.
The officers discussed how to approach members about leading trips. Making the trip you’re soliciting into a reality includes specificity about the type of trip (vertical, photography, etc.) and getting a tentative date set.
The conversation then turned to different types of cave trips. In terms of conservation/cleanup efforts, the trip to clean up Hancock Cave’s back entrance began the discussion. We might propose half a day cleanup followed by half a day caving on the property. Dave asked if there were any possible cleanups that might help the TriTrogs gain access to a closed cave, and Ken suggested Flat Ridge Cave. There was also interest in visiting a cave multiple times for cleanup trips, but no cave name was suggested.
Dave volunteered to organize a kid-friendly trip for parents and their children. Target ages would be under ten years old. Howard and his coworkers may be interested in getting some teen trips on the calendar (which may still involve some parental supervision).
The officers plan to hold the traditional TriTrog parties again this year (Pool Party, Halloween Party, and the Annual Holiday Party) but did not want to start having food and drink at the museum meetings. The feeling was that the After-the-Meeting Meeting is an important part of the club activity, and we should not take away from its time.
Grotto auctions aren’t necessarily good fundraisers, but they can be entertaining programs. However, there wasn’t much enthusiasm about having one this year unless meeting attendance increases. The officers expressed that they would rather see Charles McEachern at a meeting than his gear (for auction). The officers did not show interest in obtaining his vertical gear for use or profit. Officers agreed that they’d rather focus on outreach than fundraising this year.
The discussion then turned to awarding grotto members for active participation in the grotto. Mike mentioned that he was willing to provide homebrews for trip reports as he has done in the past, and the grotto could reimburse him. Dave and Ken also presented the notion of a point system with awards when the grotto members each reached a benchmark, perhaps something to celebrate 20 years of TriTrogs. Mark played off of this idea and suggested Appreciation Awards that could be given for the overall points winner, who led the most trips, etc. He suggested that an awards ceremony could be held (perhaps in March each year) to honor the previous year’s recipients. Ken compared this to some awards for Best Teacher, Best Photographer, etc. that the grotto has awarded in the distant past. The feeling was that it is healthy to acknowledge participation and encourage some competitive spirit, and possibly offer gift certificates as awards. Mike might ask Matt Jenkins about ways that scores could easily be tracked and posted online for the grotto membership. This awards process would best be handled by a committee separate from the officers, and Dave plans to try to establish an awards committee at a future meeting (March at the latest).
There was a short discussion about a grotto calendar and how that might fit in with a photo salon program, but no action items were raised.
The meeting closed shortly before 9 PM.
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