Minutes 2006 LASG

Minutes of the CLAG Board Meeting
Annual Meeting of the AAG
San Francisco, April 18, 2007

Board members present: Taylor Mack; Inés Miyares; Eric Perramond; David Robinson; Margaret Wilder; Antoinette WinklerPrins;

Approval of Previous Minutes
Minutes were presented from the CLAG Morelia meeting, but there were no minutes from the CLAG Board of Directors Meeting at the AAG Meeting, Chicago, 2006. That meeting was the first in which CLAG & the Latin America Specialty Group of the AAG held a joint meeting, and no minutes are available for the CLAG portion of the meeting because of miscommunication.
Approval of the Agenda
The agenda of the CLAG Board of Directors meeting was approved unanimously.
Financial Statement
Inés Miyares, Executive Director, presented an overview of the CLAG budget, and the organization is currently in good financial shape. As of April 4, 2007, the CLAG account had $16,739.46. Printing costs for the Journal of Latin American Geography, had increased slightly, but this was because of the increased number of pages. Anticipated expenses for the upcoming CLAG Colorado Springs Meeting include the Student Awards. Checks from Project MUSE continue to be an important source of income for CLAG, and another check was expected shortly after the AAG meeting.
JLAG Report
David Robinson, editor of the Journal of Latin American Geography, presented an overview of the Journal for the members. He has been in contact with the University of Texas Press to determine the fiscal year for subscriptions to JLAG. Volume 6, no. 21, is scheduled for printing in August. Starting with Volume 6, no. 2, the number of copies printed will drop to 250. This drop in the number of copies printed will still cover the CLAG membership and subscriptions to JLAG, but will save money by printing fewer copies.
- 4a). The current cost per copy is $13.33. He also presented a detailed report covering income and expenditures in 2006 for Vol 5, nos. 1 & 2, and projected costs for 2007 for Volume 6.
- 4b). David presented statistics on the number of articles processed for JLAG in 2006. There were 24 submissions, 6 rejected, 6 withdrawn after review, 12 revised and resubmitted after review, 65 external reviews, 15 maps/graphics had to be redrawn, and a total of 382 e-mail messages concerning articles.
- 4c). David presented information on Volumes 5 and 6 of JLAG: Vol 5(1) - 6 articles, 4 book reviews, 145 pp.; Vol 5(2) - 6 articles, 7 book reviews, 154 pp.; Vol 6(1) - 9 articles, 9 book reviews; 210 pp.; Vol 6(2) - 5 artices, 6 book reviews, 104 pp.
- 4d). David presented information about JLAG and Project Muse downloads. In 2005, there were 4,604 downloads and this increased to 7,910 in 2006. He also included two graphs showing the number of downloads by published item, and the number of downloads by volume/issue.
5. CLAGnet Update
David Robinson presented information on the numbers of CLAGnet. On May 15th, the 58 non-members were going to be deleted from the listserv if they had not paid their dues by then. UT Press would inform David by email of all new members for addition to CLAGnet. The listserv had 170 members in the USA, 12 Latin American members, and 3 Canadian members.
6. Amendment of CLAG Bylaws
David Robinson made the following proposals to amend the CLAG Bylaws:
- 6a). Proposed amendment to Article II, Section 2. To add the words "by means of an electronic ballot" as shown below: Article II. Board of Directors - Section 1. The property and affairs of CLAG shall be managed by a board of Directors (hereafter referred to as "the Board"). - Section 2. The Board shall consist of eighteen members, elected by means of an electronic ballot by the total membership. The members will serve a three-year term, and one-third of the membership will be replaced each year as of July 1.
  Joe Scarpaci made a motion for the amendment, it was seconded by Greg Knapp, and and it passed unanimously.
- 6b). Proposed amendment to Article II, Section 2.
  To add the words "or electronic" as shown below: Article III. Officers.
  - Section 2. The Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall be elected for a term of two years by a mail or electronic ballot of the board and shall serve from July 1 to June 30 of the corresponding year. The Secretary and Treasurer shall be appointed by the Chairperson and shall serve concurrently with the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson during their term in office. Officers of CLAG shall hold office until their successors are elected. Offices which fall vacant during the year shall be filled for the balance of the year by special election at the next Board meeting after the vacancy has occurred.
  Karl Offen made a motion for the amendment, seconded by Eric Perramond, and it passed unanimously.
Award Notification
John Harner represented the Awards Committee, and said that the official presentation of the awards would occur at the CLAG 2007 Colorado Springs Meeting. The committee considered awards for 2006 and 2007, because of the break between CLAG meetings.
- Carl Sauer Award
  2006 - William "Bill" Woods
  2007 - Thomas Klak
- Preston James Award
  2006 - Horacio Capel Saez
  2007 - Robert Kent
- Enlaces Award 2007
  Patricia Solís
- Student Field Study Award
  Rolando Diaz, University of Arizona
CLAG 2007 Colorado Springs Update
- 8a). Presented by Eric Perramond. There are currently about 40-50 abstracts, and some field trips planned. The numbers attending are smaller than normal, but a more intimate meeting is expected. Chairperson Atoinette WinklerPrins thankeds both Eric Perramond and John Harner for all their hard work in organizing the meeting.
- 8b). Discussion commenced on the next CLAG Meeting. The National Council for Geographic Education proposed a joint meeting in San Josée, Costa Rica, in August 2009, but this would be longer than the traditional 18 months between CLAG Meetings. There is a group of CLAG members working on an alternative site more in line with the CLAG meeting schedule, but they haved asked the Executive Committee for a few more weeks to come up with their proposal atuntil the CLAG 2007 Colorado Springs Meeting. The University of dad de los Andes, Bogotá has expressed interest in hosting the meeting in 2009 or 2010. The decision would be made at the CLAG 2007 Colorado Springs Meeting.
CLAG Membership Discussion
David Robinson explained how CLAG membership was processed via subscribing to JLAG at the UT Press website. Some former members thought they were still members, but had not renewed their membership through UT Press. Renewal notices are currently not sent out to members. David is in the process of communicating with UT Press for a better link to JLAG and their website. He also noted that that downloads via Project MUSE had happened all over the world, including Baghdad.
Other Business
Nominations for the CLAG Board are now open for 3 board positions. Everybody should check with a nominee to see if they are willing to serve before nominating them, and self-nominations are also welcome.
Items for the LASG/CLAG Newsletter should be sent to Taylor Mack, with the next Nnewsletter coming out shortly after the CLAG 2007 Colorado Springs Meeting.
From the floor, David Robinson asked the Chair to contact the AAG to ask them to permit paper presentations in any of the native languages of the America. Inés Miyares said she would take this matter to the AAG Council.
Miguel Aguilar Robledo informed members of an International Conference in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, November 14-16, 20076, and that he would send more information out on CLAGnet.
John Harner introduced discussion on the "Geography in the Americas" Conference in La Serena, Chile, which was schedule to be heldwas the week before the CLAG 2007 meeting in Colorado Springs, and that there was zero communication from the AAG to CLAG on the timing of the conference. Inés Miyares said that the Latin American institutions that had initiated the conference had planned the conference in La Serena, and then later contacted the AAG after the whole conference had been organized. She also said that the AAG was working to better communicate with CLAG in the future.
Conclusion of the Business Meeting
CLAG Chair Antoinette WinklerPrins thanked the members of the Awards Committee and Student Travel Awards Committee, and closed the meeting at 7:36 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Taylor E. Mack, LASG Secretary/Treasurer
(substituting for Cynthia Simmons, CLAG Secretary, who was unable to attend because of a family emergency)

Minutes of the CLAG Board Meeting Annual Meeting of the AAG San Francisco, April 18, 2007

Minutes of the CLAG Board Meeting
Annual Meeting of the AAG
San Francisco, April 18, 2007