Report 2020

Minutes, Annual General Meeting, Canadian Association of Palynologists
Thursday, October 29, 2020, 3:30 PM EST Zoom Meeting

Members present: Florin Pendea (Newsletter Editor), Manuel Bringué (Website Editor), Francine McCarthy (Secretary-Treasurer and Councillor to IFPS), Terri Lacourse, Diana Tirlea, Vera Pospelova, Sandy McLachlan, Cale Gushulak, Zhen Li, Roslin Chen, Anne de Vernal, Peta Mudie, Anna Pieńkowski (President – joined late due to scheduling conflict). Quorum reached.

Meeting called to order by Francine M., 3:30 pm EST

  1. Acceptance of agenda

Peta M. moved to accept the agenda, seconded by Manuel B. Motion carried, agenda accepted.

  1. Reading of the minutes of the 2019 Annual General Meeting, Québec, QC

Manuel B. read the highlights of the 2019 CAP Annual General Meeting.

  1. Business arising from Minutes

No business arose.

  1. President’s report, Anna Pieńkowski

Florin P. read the President’s Report for Anna Pieńkowski in absentia.

5&6. Secretary/Treasurer’s report, Francine McCarthy, and Auditor’s statement, Sarah Finkelstein

Francine M. read a summary of the Secretary Treasurer’s Report and Auditor’s Report, thanking Sarah Finkelstein for auditing the CAP accounts.

This was not a normal year for membership, with only 31 members in good standing (38 needed for balanced books). Terri L. inquired about the decline in membership – it was gradual and has been an on-going challenge for years. Francine M. will send out reminders for membership renewal, and every effort should be made from all members to encourage new palynologists to join. See further discussion under item 14.

Sizable donations were made, which helped balance the books and for which Francine – and the whole association – were very grateful.

  1. Newsletter Editor’s report, Florin Pendea

Florin P. read a summary of the Newsletter Editor’s Report

  1. Website Editor’s report, Manuel Bringué

Manuel B. read a summary of the Website Editor’s report.

  1. CAP Councillor to IFPS’ report, Francine McCarthy

Francine M. read a summary of the report of the CAP Councillor to IFPS.

Peta M. moved to accept all reports from the Executive, seconded by Vera P. Motion carried, all reports accepted.

  1. Appointment of auditor

Diana T. kindly offered to audit CAP accounts for the next AGM. 

  1. Location of 2021 AGM

CANQUA, AASP and DINO12 were suggested as possible venues, with a strong preference for the first two. A hybrid (online) format is to be adopted no matter where the meeting is physically held. Florin P. proposed to ask membership in the Newsletter. 

  1. Vacancies on Executive – President-Elect, Newsletter Editor, Councillor to IFPS

Florin P. reiterated his willingness to stand for the position of President-Elect (Motion to vote by Anna P., seconded by Vera P.; motion carried). Everyone was in favor, and Florin P. elected to the position of President-Elect, effective immediately.

Anne de V. offered to encourage some of her students to take on the role of apprentice to the Newsletter Editor position.

Terri L. offered to stand for the position of IFPS Councillor (Motion to vote, Manuel B., seconded by Vera P.; motion carried). Everyone is in favor, Terri L. relieved Francine M. and became CAP’s new Councillor to IFPS, effective immediately.

  1. Discussion of timing and location/ format of next International Palynological Congress (at request of IFPS President Jean Nicolas Haas)

Agreement for virtual IPC 2021; CAP to continue preparing a bid for 2024 or (more likely) 2025 in Toronto, in a hybrid format (Motion to approve, Manuel B., seconded Terri L.; motion carried).

  1. Priorities and Goals

Priorities and goals leaned heavily on boosting membership:

  • Diana T. offered to step in as membership promoter and to take charge of CAP’s Twitter account. With the help of others (e.g., Cale G., Roslin C.), she will “beat bushes”, send reminder emails to renew membership and contribute to association, urge heads of labs to encourage grad student membership (Motion to approve, Anna P., seconded by Vera P.; motion carried).
  • Vera P. suggested making renewal emails more personal (make sure to include the member’s name), and to add a note suggesting that if money is an issue, CAP can be flexible on membership cost.
  • Terri L. suggested CAP sponsored sessions at meetings, to promote Canadian palynology and get exposure for CAP. Cale G. suggested promoting CAP on Paleoforum.
  • Peta M. highlighted that declining membership might be linked to dwindling enrollment in palynology at Canadian universities.
  • Terri L. suggested to make the application process smoother on the website. Manuel B. will look into creating an online form.
  • Cale G. suggested looking into PayPal, but e-transfers work well and without any fee.
  • Vera P. informally challenged every member in attendance to bring someone new at the next AGM.
  1. Other Business

Florin P. discussed how hard it is to get enough material for the Newsletter (which everyone agreed was the main benefit of membership – praise was expressed for the quality of the newsletter and Florin was thanked for his ongoing service as a replacement is sought). Ideally, the new Newsletter Editor would be bilingual.

Anne de V. agreed that an article in honour of Pierre Richard is overdue and will redouble efforts to get his former students and collaborators to write this.

  1. Adjournment

Vera P. moved to adjourn the AGM, seconded by Anna P. Meeting adjourned at ~ 5:15 pm EST.