Draft Agenda
WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting
2-4PM, Sunday, 22 October 2017
Wooden Nickel, 3269 Inner Perimeter Rd, Valdosta, GA 31602

Kayak raffle, paddle races, songwriting contest, festivals, water trails, water quality monitoring, pipelines, phosphate mines, and more.

All WWALS members, especially committee members, are invited to attend, as is the general public.

All WWALS Board Members are expected to attend in person or by telephone.
The more done on the board list, the less time we’ll have to spend on them in this meeting.

Board Members:

• John S. Quarterman (President, Chair PR, Watershed Issues, and Trails Committees, and Suwannee Riverkeeper®)*,
• Gretchen Quarterman (Treasurer, Chair Membership and Grant-Writing Committees, and Acting Executive Director)*,
• Dave Hetzel (VP Ambassador and Secretary)*,
• Bret Wagenhorst,
• Phil Hubbard (Chair Outings Committee),
• Tom Potter (Chair Science Committee).
• Shirley Kokidko
• Eileen Box (Chair Events Committee)

* Executive Committee

1. Call to Order including welcoming guests and explaining how this meeting is conducted (anyone can speak; only board members vote; try to stick to the topic at hand).
2. Secretary
   1. Agenda Review: Additions and Changes
   2. Approve Minutes
      1. 12 July 2017 WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting
      2. Vote: Record in minutes of this WWALS board meeting the Email votes by WWALS Board or Executive Committee since previous WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting (12 July 2017) (see Secretary Report).
   3. Next Meetings:
      1. Numerous outings and events; discuss under Outings Committee and Events Committee.
      2. ?? January 2018 WWALS Quarterly Board meeting
         Set day of week, date, time, and place.
3. Treasurer
   1. Update on Paypal account change.
   2. Update on Georgia Gives / Tuesday Giving Day / Click and Pledge
   3. Many thanks to John Phillip Ramsey and Malibu Kayak for donating the Trio-11 kayak for Suwannee Riverkeeper Report (advocacy)“>the kayak raffle. We’ll do the drawing on the December 10th outing in the Okefenokee Swamp.
4. President
   1. Still could use more board members and committee chairs. Also officers.
   2. Start thinking about Advisory Committee.
5. Suwannee Riverkeeper (advocacy)
   1. Advocacy at WRK, GWC, FSC, FERC, GA-EPD, FDEP, SRWMD, in the media, etc.
   2. Scheduling talk with Live Oak middle school after consultation with St Johns Riverkeeper; need to do more of those.
   3. Set up meetings with Tifton, Quitman, and Lowndes County about water quality monitoring like with Valdosta.
   4. See Suwannee Riverkeeper Report (advocacy) for some potential legislation (fracking, coal ash, water quality monitoring) and other advocacy.
6. Acting ED (business)
   1. WWALS should reprint ARWT Brochure, with updates and fixes.
   2. Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail Brochure: we have money to print one ($500 from Valdosta-Lowndes Tourism, and we can make up the difference).
   3. Fundraising strategy: Any new ideas?
7. Committee reports are appended to agenda, with items marked for discussion or vote included directly in the agenda.
8. Membership Committee: Chair Gretchen Quarterman Newsletter, measurable goals, new members.
   1. An item needing discussion by the Board.
   2. An item needing a vote by the Board.
9. Grant-writing Committee: Chair Gretchen Quarterman
   1. We got a $2,000 Mott Regrant and this is what we are required to do: “WWALS will support the priorities of the Georgia Water Coalition by engaging constituents through quarterly public meetings and outreach efforts and maintaining contact with legislators in the watershed.”
10. Events Committee: Chair Eileen Box
    1. Must schedule quarterly meeting required by Mott Regrant. Needs to be scheduled before 28 Feb 2018.
    2. 2017-10-12-15: Suwannee River Roots Revival at SoSMP
    3. 2017-10-27-29: Hulaween at SoSMP
    4. Songwriting Contest
       Everybody (throughout the world) knows one song about the Suwannee River, and some of us know one more. Who knows any song about the Withlacoochee, Little, Willacoochee, Alapaha, or Alapahoochee? Let’s have a songwriting contest!
       Need musicians, radio host, date, time, and place.
11. Outings Committee: Chair Phil Hubbard
    1. GA Rivers Alive cleanups done by WWALS members:  Sheboggy landing, Pafford landing, Nankin Landing —BBW working on summarizing and submitting data
    2. Make sure nobody starts paddling before everyone hears the safety lecture.
       1. Safety lecture should include wear your PFD, keep others in sight, watch for hazards. Establish leader ahead and sweep behind: it’s a group paddle, and we need to be sure everyone is safe. Safety lecturer should advise what features we will see, how far, and how to recognize them.
    3. Consider WWALS policy on alcohol and firearms on outings.
    4. Beginning Alapaha Quest in January 2018 at Sheboggy Landing (US 82) to cover entire river in 10 or so outings. Will be scheduling regular monthly outings to cover other rivers.
    5. 2018-04-28: BIG Little River Paddle Race — OK to send permit request to DNR for this event? (BBW will do)
    6. 2018-?: Suwannee River Paddle Race
       Like BLPR, plus contestant boat markers and locations for prize announcements, upstream and back on the Suwannee River in the late spring? Set date, time, and place. Start PR.
12. Public Relations Committee: Chair John S. Quarterman
    1. Could use more people doing PR.
13. Watershed Issues Committee: Chair John S. Quarterman
    1. Advocacy at WRK, GWC, FSC, FERC, GA-EPD, FDEP, SRWMD, in the media, etc.
    2. Organize regular, frequent water quality monitoring, beginning upstream and down of the main problem areas (Valdosta, Tifton, Quitman) and expanding to upstream and down of the other known point sources of pollution, plus every landing, spring, and swimming hole.
14. Science Committee: Chair Tom Potter
    1. Collect any and all water quality monitoring data within the Suwannee River Basin.
       • Do open records requests for Valdosta and other records for the past 20 years or entire data record.
       • Compare side by side Tifton and Valdosta for responsiveness, completeness, etc.
       • Get water quality data from Arnold Springs as an example.
       • Try to get Georgia to make state law to require publishing water quality monitoring records.
         1. Like USGS water quality website.
         2. But with more readings (conductance, p.H., E. coli, fecal coliform, nitrates, phosphorus, etc.)
         3. More sites.
         4. More frequently.
         5. Upstream and down from every permitted facility.
         6. Regularly, not just now and then after spills.
15. Trails Committee: Chair John S. Quarterman
    1. Need:
       1. Resolution of landing names and addresses,
       2. Updated ARWT brochure and new WLRWT brochure,
       3. Signs (kiosks near the water and on roads).
          • Have interest from several scout troups.
          • Last quarter voted funds to buy and place signs at Sheboggy Landing (US 82), and at at least one other place on the ARWT.
16. Other Business
17. How busy everybody is
18. Adjourn

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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