Special Note To All Members:
The Desert Survivors annual meeting will be held Saturday October 25, 2003 Harrison Center, Lincoln Park (Santa Clara Ave. & High Street Alameda, CA.
AGENDA
Second Annual Conference
Saturday, October 25, 2003
1:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Harrison Center, Lincoln Park
(Santa Clara Ave. & High Street)
Alameda, CA
1:15 p.m. WELCOME
Steve Tabor, President, Desert Survivors
1:25 DESERT ISSUES REPORT AND DISCUSSION
Helen Wagenvoord
Helen is a past Director of Desert Survivors. She will discuss the California Desert Protection Act and other desert environmental issues with others from Desert Survivors
Audience Question & Answer Period
2:25 THE BLACK ROCK DESERT: HISTORY & FUTURE
Dave Lefevre, BLM Winnemucca Field Office
Dave is Outdoor Recreation Planner for the new Black Rock/High Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. He will provide a PowerPoint presentation on the Black Rock NCA and its management plan and answer questions about the plan.
Audience Question & Answer Period
3:25 COFFEE BREAK (Refreshments donated)
3:45 DESERT JEOPARDY
Members of the audience are invited to compete in a Jeopardy-like contest of knowledge of desert issues. (Prizes donated)
4:15 SURVIVOR AWARD
To be presented in recognition of exemplary service to desert protection.
4:30 OFFICER ELECTION, REVIEW 2003 ACTIVITIES & 2004 PRIORITIES, FINANCE REPORT
Members who attend the business portion of the meeting will be eligible for the drawing for door prizes. (Door prizes donated)
5:30 POTLUCK DINNER AND BARBECUE
7:00 CONTRA DANCE
With live music and calling by Tom Thoreau and the Cactus Huggers
9:00 CLOSE
Come Join Us For the
DESERT SURVIVORS SECOND ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Saturday, October 25, 2002
1:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Potluck BBQ after the meeting, followed by DANCING!
Harrison Center/Lincoln Park, Alameda, California
(Directions enclosed)
Once again the Desert Survivors Annual Membership Meeting will coincide with a larger desert conference. Our Second Annual Desert Conference will endeavor to focus member activism on issues and involve the membership in the group’s activities. Once again, we have shortened the business portion of the annual meeting to just one hour.
The rest of the day will be an informative, interactive conference on the desert for DS members, guests and the general public. We’ll have presentations by two speakers heavily immersed in desert issues — one a DS member, the other a Bureau of Land Management operative caring for the Black Rock Desert. We’ll also conduct a “Desert Jeopardy” question-and-answer game — watch us “stump the stars”. All of this will be followed by a potluck barbecue dinner for members and their guests. Following the dinner, we’ll have a special treat, a FIRST for Desert Survivors — a Contra Dance for members with a live band led by a genuine step caller!
The conference venue, Lincoln Park, is a lovely neighborhood park with a large modern playground, plenty of grass and shade trees for picnicking, a handball court, tennis court and onsite recreation staff. The Harrison Center has a large outdoor patio with built-in barbecue grill and plenty of seating. Bring your kids!
Please join us. Desert Survivors is an entirely volunteer-run, member-driven organization, and your participation makes a big difference in what we do, and how well we do it.
The business portion of the Annual Meeting is YOUR opportunity to:
*** HEAR the Board’s accomplishments for the past year and priorities for the coming year.
*** ASK the Board anything relating to DS activities, goals, priorities, finances, management.
*** HOLD the Board accountable
*** ELECT new Board members.
*** STAND for election to the Board. All Board positions are open every year.
*** GET INVOLVED. Find out about opportunities to work on the Survivor, the website, membership development, service trips, and anything else you think we should be doing.
You don’t have to RSVP to attend, but a head count will help us to plan setup, food, etc. To let us know you’re coming, contact Steve Tabor at StevTabor@aol.comor (510) 769-1706.
See you there!
DIRECTIONS TO THE DESERT SURVIVORS CONFERENCE
Harrison Center, Lincoln Park
1450 High Street (at Santa Clara), Alameda, CA
*** FROM THE SOUTH
Take I-880 north toward OAKLAND
Take the HIGH STREET/ALAMEDA exit
Keep LEFT at the fork on the ramp
Merge onto COLISEUM WAY
Turn left onto HIGH STREET
Take the first LEFT after crossing the bridge, onto FERNSIDE
Follow Fernside as it curves, about 5 blocks
Lincoln Park will be on your right, between Liberty and Central streets
- you'll see a large grassy area with bleachers and a playground beyond
Park on Fernside or thereabouts
*** FROM THE NORTH:
Take I-80 west to I-880 south
Take I-880 south toward ALAMEDA/SAN JOSE
Take the HIGH STREET exit towards ALAMEDA
Keep RIGHT at the fork in the ramp
Go RIGHT on HIGH STREET
Take the first LEFT after crossing the bridge, onto FERNSIDE
Follow Fernside as it curves, about 5 blocks
Lincoln Park will be on your right, between Liberty and Central streets
- you'll see a large grassy area with bleachers and a playground beyond
Park on Fernside or thereabouts
*** FROM SAN FRANCISCO:
Take I-80 across the bay
Take the I-880 South exit towards ALAMEDA/AIRPORT/SAN JOSE.
Take the HIGH STREET exit towards ALAMEDA
Keep RIGHT at the fork in the ramp
Go RIGHT on HIGH STREET
Take the first LEFT after crossing the bridge, onto Fernside
Follow Fernside as it curves, about 5 blocks
Lincoln Park will be on your right, between Liberty and Central streets
- you'll see a large grassy area with bleachers and a playground beyond
Park on Fernside or thereabouts
*** FROM THE EAST
Take I-580 West towards SAN FRANCISCO
Take I-238 NORTH towards I-880
Take the I-880 NORTH exit on the left towards OAKLAND
Take the exit towards HIGH ST/ALAMEDA
Keep LEFT at the fork in the ramp
Merge onto COLISEUM WAY
Turn LEFT onto HIGH ST
Take the first LEFT after crossing the bridge, onto Fernside
Follow Fernside as it curves, about 5 blocks
Lincoln Park will be on your right, between Liberty and Central streets
- you'll see a large grassy area with bleachers and a playground beyond
Park on Fernside or thereabouts
*** BY PUBLIC TRANSIT
BART: The closest BART station is Fruitvale. There is no bus
service from Fruitvale BART to Alameda on the weekends. Volunteers will be available to
shuttle people from the BART station to Lincoln Park from 12.00 -
1.00, and after the potluck. To pre-arrange a ride, contact Jessica at
JesseRoth@aol.com or 510.525.4921. When you get to Fruitvale
BART, call Jessica on her cell at 415.517.0439. Pre-arrangement is
helpful but not required.
*** BUS: AC Transit Route 51/51A goes from the Berkeley
Marina, through downtown Berkeley, along College, down Broadway and through Alameda from
the south, to Lincoln Park. On Saturday, there are arrivals at Lincoln
Park at 12.30 and 1.00, and departures on the hour up to 8 p.m., and
then again at 9.50 p.m. For a detailed route map and schedule, see
www.transitinfo.org/Sched/AC/51/WE/SB.html or call TravInfo at
510.817.1717.
*** PARKING
There is very limited parking near the park entrance on High Street.
There is more parking on Fernside, which runs parallel to High Street
along the back of the park, and on Liberty and Central streets. Please
carpool or take public transit if possible.
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Preface to the Desert Survivors Annual Report, 2002-2003
September 30, 2003
Members and Friends:
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I welcome you to our Annual Meeting/Desert Conference for 2003.
In the past year, Desert Survivors has built on the spirit of advocacy and membership involvement engendered by our highly successful Desert Conference/Annual Meeting on October 26, 2002. Fifty-five members attended, the best turnout in years. Members were attracted by the special programs that we offered at the event, and so we’re doing it again this year. All who read this are invited to our Second Annual Conference on October 25, 2003.
The turnout to last year’s Conference and the high level of enthusiasm shown by members energized our Directors and volunteers to do more this year. Outstanding issues of the SURVIVOR resulted. The Board engaged new desert issues and entered into two legal actions. Members advanced issues work by starting a program of monitoring trips, complete with reports including photos in full color. The Issues Group was rejuvenated as a direct result of discussions at the meeting. And our website was reworked as a direct result of discussions in the “break-out sessions” at the meeting.
As our newest Director, Li Miao started up the Issues Group after it had been discontinued years ago due to lack of interest. The group held monthly meetings and wrote its own comment letters. Attendance was lower than expected, but real work was done on important issues of the day.
Several members wrote formal reports of their trips and submitted them to the Board and to agencies. Reports were written on the Calumet Mountains and the Bighorn Mountains Wilderness. Craig Deutsche and Kelly Fuller along with other activists in So. California performed an intensive monitoring program in Imperial County. Dave McMullen conducted a monitoring training.
The Board entered into two legal actions: a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management’s management plan for the Imperial Dunes and an appeal of the approval of a “game guzzler” in the Calumet Mountains. In each case, the group joined other environmental groups for added clout. We’ve pledged considerable funds to these. Both have the potential for setting far-reaching precedents governing public lands in California and the West.
Jessica Rothhaar and Hall Newbegin continued work on the new and improved SURVIVOR. It pains me to announce that Jessica, who as Communications Director wrote most of the Annual Report that follows, will be stepping down from both the Board and Communications Director duties. She’s done a great job and has moved the group forward on many levels. We will miss her.
Dave Launchbury, our new webmaster, has redone the website. I look forward to working with Dave on web issues. Peter Ruddock, the Keeper of Lists (DS On-Line & DS Electronic Mail), will also be stepping down from the Board. Thank you, Peter, for your contributions over the years. Members seldom realize the work that goes into these services, which most members take for granted.
Desert Survivors goals for the coming year include: 1) increasing our membership, 2) continuing our work on the new monitoring program, 3) doing more outreach beyond the Bay Area, 4) remaining a strong advocate on desert issues, and 5) involving more members in desert advocacy. With your help, we will achieve these goals and more as we move on through the Millennium.
Respectfully Submitted,
Steve Tabor, President
We Want YOU
For the Board of Directors
Each year DS must elect its entire Board of Directors anew. Serving on the Board is one of the most educational and fulfilling ways to get involved, while deepening your understanding of desert issues and nonprofit management. No special knowledge is needed, only a willingness to roll up your sleeves and pitch in. The only requirement is that you must be a voting member yourself to stand for election. (To become a voting member, just attend the business meeting and declare your desire to become a voting member at the appropriate time.)
Desert Survivors is governed by an 11-member Board of Directors, whose responsibilities are described below. Directors are nominated and elected each year at the annual meeting, by a vote of all the voting members present. Incumbents must stand for re-election, and new candidates are encouraged to put themselves forward. It’s a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.
President: The President has general supervision, direction and control of the business affairs of Desert Survivors, subject to the control of the Board of Directors. He or she presides at all board and membership meetings.
Activities Director: The Activities Director organizes and has supervisory powers over trips and other educational and scientific activities as may be appropriate to advance the aims of Desert Survivors. This Director compiles the quarterly trip schedule and organizes the annual Trip Leaders Meeting.
Communications Director: The Communications Director organizes and has supervisory powers over communications to the memberships and others, including publication of the SURVIVOR, maintenance of the Desert Survivors website, and media relations.
Managing Director: The Managing Director organizes and has supervisory powers over the financial affairs of Desert Survivors. This director produces our quarterly and annual financial reports and filings.
Secretary: The Secretary is responsible for the records of Desert Survivors, including taking and keeping the Minutes of all Board and Membership meetings. The Secretary keeps the Articles of Incorporation, these Bylaws, as amended to date, a Membership list, Financial and Membership reports and any legal or other memoranda produced by a Director for the information of the Board. The Secretary also produces and distributes the Notice and Agenda for the Board of Directors’ and General Membership meetings.
Volunteer Director: The Volunteer Director organizes and has supervisory powers over volunteer coordination in support of Desert Survivors’ activities. Responsibilities include recruiting and coordinating volunteers to help mail out the Survivor, trip schedules and Alerts, as well as for other projects that may need volunteers (e.g., Solano Stroll).
Directors at Large (5): Directors at Large participate in Board meetings but have no other standing duties. This gives them considerable freedom to initiate their own projects, or to assist other Board members in special projects. There may be up to five Directors at Large.
If you want to stand for election, we recommend that you arrange beforehand for someone to nominate you, and for someone else to second your nomination. You may also nominate or second yourself. Come prepared to make a brief statement about why you want to serve on the Board.
If you think you may be interested in standing but would like more information about what it may entail, feel free to contact any of the current Board Members listed below.
Steve Tabor, President
(510) 769-1706
president@desert-survivors.org
David McMullen, Activities Director
(510) 559-9114
malakai@sbcglobal.net
Jessica Rothhaar, Communications Director
(510) 525-4921
JesseRoth@aol.com
Janet Johnson, Secretary
(510) 782-7828
jjohnson@unitycouncil.org
Loretta Bauer, Managing Director
(510) 799-7489
Loretta@alkos.com
Paul Menkes, Volunteer Director
(510) 525-9347
paul.Menkes@fkilogistex.com
Jerry Goss, At Large
(408) 248-8206
jergo2000@aol.com
Bob Ellis, At Large
(510) 525-8742
bobellisds@earthlink.net
David I. Barr, At Large
(510) 465-9762
DB@rb2.swrcb.ca.gov
Peter Ruddock, At Large
peterruddock@yahoo.com
Li Miao, At Large
(415) 334-8799
miao@smccd.net