OMC Meeting 12/2008

Angeles Chapter Office & Teleconference, Monday, 1 December 2008, 7:30 P.M.

Agenda

Call to Order (7:30)
1. Kent Schwitkis, OMC Chair*
2. Tina Bowman, LTC Chair*
3. Jane Simpson, WTC Chair*
4. Phil Wheeler, Safety Committee Chair*
5. Melody Anderson, Dick Schroer ICO Rep*
6. Ann Pedreschi*
7. Donna Specht*
8. Silvia Darie*
9. David Meltzer*
10. Marc Hertz*
11. John Hinz (alternate)
12. Brent Costello (alternate)
13. Keith Martin, LTC Rep.
14. Kay Novonty, Safety Committee Rep.
Approval of Agenda (7:35)
1. Move item 7a (NSS rep speech to OMC) forward?
Approval of Minutes (7:40)
1. 6 Oct 2008
Notices
1. Tejon Ranch Access comm.
Committee Reports (7:45)
1. Treasurer & Int'l Trip Liaison - Donna Specht
2. WTC - Jane Simpson/David Meltzer
3. LTC - Tina Bowman - see report
4. Safety Committee - Phil Wheeler
5. LOSC - Mark Hertz / Sherry Ross
6. Conservation - John Hinz - see report
7. Ombudsman - Bill Jackson
8. Bus Transportation - Joel Goldberg
9. First Aid Coordinator - Steve Goldstein - see report
10. Land Manager Coordinator - Patrick Vaughn
11. ICO - Melody Anderson - see report
12. Carbon Footprint TF - Ross
13. Diversity TF - M Anderson - see report
Old Business (7:55)
1. OMC website pages - Schwitkis
2. Affiliations with SCMA and Red Cross - Schwitkis
New Business / Action Items (8:55)
1. NSS representative to speak to OMC
2. Assembly
  1. Review of 2008 event
  2. Prepare for 2009 event - create nom comm. and assembly comm
3. Mentoring - Gerard Lewis
4. Chapter Excomm delegated Rideshare definition responsibility to "Outings" - page 3
  1. Acceptance of charge.
5. Suggested change to Code of Conduct - page 4
6. Entity Safety Policy process
  1. Current process
  2. Conservation & Political Comm procedures
Meeting Adjournment (9:30)

Next Meeting

Next "regular" OMC meeting is 2 February 2008

Reports

First Aid Coordinator Report

The last several classes have had very few students but produced three dedicated leaders for Sierra Club. I have incorporated updated material into my class and it has been received very well by the students. Thanks to Steve Shuster for all his guidance and friendship.
Next year there will be about 80 students I taught about four years ago, and will be due again. I plan to offer group classes for the chapters and groups who need to re-certify as well as HQ classes. I want to thank Howard Kayton who helped me find locations and set up the classes when I was starting to teach for the Sierra Club. He is really a very special person who really cares about people. I would also like to thank Terry Ginsberg for all his assistance in the past and present.
I will continue to teach at the Chapter Headquarters on a regular basis and look forward to providing classes for the members and motivated leaders for Sierra Club.
Thank you all for your support.

Steve Goldstein Angeles Chapter First Aid Coordinator American Red Cross Instructor

LTC report

We've had several navigation outings and a rock checkoff/practice since the October OMC meeting.
Three of four candidates passed the M rock checkoff. The next rock checkoff is December 6th.
The I-level FAQ document is about ready to be sent to outings chair and to be posted on the LTC web site (probably will also be in the next LRB).

Tina Bowman

Ombudsman Report

No report this month.

Bill Jackson

International Trip Liaison & Treasurer Report

No report this month.

Donna Specht

Safety Committee Report

No report this month.

Phil Wheeler

ICO Report

OC ICO Chair Barbara Creighton will serve as the ICO rep on the OMC for 2009. I will be the alternate.
LA ICO is starting up a youth leader program. Youth Leaders are permitted by ICO National and lead under the direct supervision of an adult ICO-certified leader. They must be at least 14 and have all the same training and other requirements as a regular ICO-certified leader, except for the background check. They also are not required to take our LTP seminar. We hope to have some youth leaders trained and leading by March or April of 2009. Our hope is that these young people will become full-fledged ICO-certified Angeles Chapter leaders when they turn 18 (at which time they would need to take the LTP seminar and have a background check.) OC ICO has already successfully added to the Angeles Chapter leader corps by having some of their former youth participants become ICO-certified leaders.

Melody Anderson

Diversity TF

Mike Sappingfield, Sharon Moore and I have already met to discuss our diversity plan for 2009. We are going to invite another Angeles Chapter member to join the task force. Our main goal in 2009 is to put into action some of the good ideas that the 2007 Outings Assembly participants and the 2008 TF (led by Ann Pedreschi) have come up with for increasing diversity within the Chapter and the Club.

As part of that action plan, one outing is already in the works -- a February day trip to Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park to celebrate Black History Month. Allensworth, just north of Bakersfield, is the only California town to be founded, financed and governed by African Americans. 2008 was the 100th anniversary of the town which is now a state historic park. We will advertise this trip both within and outside the Club.

We encourage all members of the OMC, and leaders throughout the Chapter, to plan and publicize outings that will appeal to potential new Club members of all demographics.

Melody Anderson

2009 Outings Assembly Results

2009 member list
16 entities were represented in 2008
Date for 2009, improve attendance
Continuation of Carbon Footprint and Diversity TF

OMC rep - Morales
OMC rep - Darie
OMC rep - Specht
OMC rep - Denny
OMC rep - Hinz
Safety - Gerard Lewis
LTC - David Meltzer

Chapter Excomm delegated "Rideshare definition" responsibility to "Outings"

Motion text - "Outings" shall be in charge of defining and upkeep of rideshare points.

2009 OMC members

OMC chair - Schwitkis
LTC chair - Bowman
Safety chair - Wheeler
WTC chair - Simpson
LOSC reps - Hertz & Ross
ICO reps - Barbara Creighton & Anderson
OMC rep - Morales
OMC rep - Darie
OMC rep - Specht
OMC rep - Denny
OMC rep - Hinz
Ombudsman - Bill Jackson
Bus Transportation - Joel Goldberg
First Aid Coordinator - Steve Goldstein
Land Manager Coordinator - Patrick Vaughn
Secretary ?
Vice Chair ?
Liason to Conservation Comm ?
Rideshare Czar ?

Suggested change to Code of Conduct

Background

It has become apparent that having cell phones available during an outing, even an urban conditioning hike, can be a valuable safety measure in the event of an emergency. Moreover, as a result of the Mountaineering Review Task Force findings by OAGC in 2006-2007, OAGC has recommended carrying cell phones (satellite phones for remote outings, if available) on outings.

In the past the Safety Committee explicitly discouraged carrying personal communications devices on outings. Based on the above, is time for us to change this stance and explicitly encourage carrying cell phones. Further background will be provided in the Dec 1 OMC meeting.

Existing Paragraph in Website Rules of Conduct (also on p. 18 of Schedule #309)

"Firearms are prohibited. Animals are prohibited unless a specific announcement that animals will be allowed is included in the trip write-up. Radios such as "walkman", or similar entertainment devices are prohibited on outings. Radios necessary for navigation and GPS receivers are permitted. The leader and the sponsoring entity may regulate the use of electronic communication devices."

Replacement Paragraph recommendation 1

"Cell phones can be very useful in an emergency; leaders and participants are encouraged to carry them on all outings, but use them only for safety purposes, not for personal phone calls. Participants should recognize the authority of leaders to manage all communications in the event of an emergency. Firearms are prohibited. Animals are prohibited unless a specific announcement that animals will be allowed is included in the trip write-up. Radios such as "walkman", or similar entertainment devices are prohibited on outings. Radios necessary for navigation and GPS receivers are permitted."

Replacement Paragraph recommendation 2

"Firearms are prohibited. Animals are prohibited unless a specific announcement that animals will be allowed is included in the trip write-up. Leaders and the sponsoring entity of an outing may regulate the use of all electronic devices, but they may not prohibit the carrying of communications and navigation devices that might have value in an emergency."

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This page updated 12/4/2008