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COMMITTEES of the Michigan Alliance of Environmental & Outdoor Education

AWARDS COMMITTEE
 Responsible to:

  1. The Board of Directors of the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education.
  2. The Membership.

Duties:

  1. Submit information and nomination forms for publication in the "MAEOE Gram" by the November/December deadline.
  2. Select a committee of three to review nominations submitted by the membership.
  3. Send copies of nominations submitted by the membership to committee members to review. The criteria for evaluation will be included.
  4. Meet to make award selections, based on the criteria established by the MAEOE Board of Directors, to be presented at the annual MAEOE conference.
  5. Have awards ready to be presented at the Spring MAEOE Conference. Select one or more persons to present awards at the Spring MAEOE Conference.
  6. Send out press releases to the MAEOE-Gram, local newspapers and major papers for the Julian W. Smith and Environmental Educator of the Year Awards.

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE
As co-chairs, the Past-President and President-Elect shall be responsible for:

  • Seeking committee members.
  • Developing and submitting a conference budget.
  • Overseeing publicity of the event.
  • Overseeing solicitation and selection of presenters.
  • Overseeing general conference planning and implementation.
  • Working with the Membership Chairperson on the registration process for the Spring Conference.
EDUCATION COMMITTEE
 Responsible to:
  • The Board of Directors of the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education.
  • The Membership.

Duties:

  • Keep abreast of the latest in environmental and outdoor education so that we may keep our members informed.
  • Inform members of environmental and outdoor education opportunities, activities and resources. This may be done through:
        A. Regular contributions to the MAEOEgram.
        B. Distributing literature at conferences.
        C. Producing display boards for regional representatives.
  • Coordinate efforts to accomplish MAEOE's yearly educational objectives, set at the Board retreat to meet MAEOE's goal of promoting environmental literacy through education.
  • Collaborate with other groups/individuals working to achieve environmental and outdoor education goals in Michigan.
  • Promote, monitor, evaluate, create, modify or support environmental and outdoor education programs or projects such as: Project WILD, Project Learning Tree, Project WET, Envirothon, and others.
  • Serve as a member of the Project WILD Executive Committee.

FINANCE COMMITTEE
 Responsible to:

  • The Board of Directors of the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education.
  • The Membership.

Members:

  • Chaired by the MAEOE Treasurer
  • Spring Conference Chairperson
  • Others as appointed by the President

Duties:
Provide the MAEOE Board with a yearly budget recommendation.

Research information concerning any fiscal decision the MAEOE Board is considering and make recommendations, e.g. purchases, endowments; grants, etc.

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
Responsible to:

  1. The Board of Directors of the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education.
  2. The Membership.

Duties:

1. Set up a standing committee of MAEOE members.
2. Process memberships with the registrar and treasurer and maintain a current membership list.
3. Work to attract new members and keep existing members.
4. Work to insure new members receive a 'Welcome to MAEOE" packet.
5. After Spring Conference, send notices to members whose memberships have expired.
6. Run mailing labels for MAEOE Gram and other board members who request them.
7. Publish names of new members in MAEOE Gram.
8. Report changes in membership demographics to the board, when requested.
9. The Board has instructed that MAEOE's mailing list is not to be released without their permission.

NOMINATION COMMITTEE
Responsible to:

1. The Board of Directors of the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education.
2. The Membership.

Summary of Position:

Responsible for soliciting nominations from the general membership for the following Board positions: President-Elect, two Board Members at Large and every other year: Treasurer and Secretary. The Past-­President shall be the Chairperson of this committee.

Duties:

  1. Solicit nominations from the general membership for the open Board positions.
  2. Attempt to have at least two persons running for each position.
  3. Have a list of nominee's published in the MAEOE Gram prior to the Spring Conference.
  4. Run the election at the annual meeting and announce the winners.
  5. Build an ad-hoc committee from general (non-Board) members of MAEOE.

A. Solicit nominations for Board members and officers.

  • Obtain information and photos from the candidates for the newsletter preceding the spring conference.

B. Conduct the election at the spring conference.

  • Before the conference, prepare the ballots.
  • During MAEOE's business meeting at the conference, distribute the ballots and introduce the candidates to the general membership.
  • Collect the ballots and tally the vote. Keep the results confidential. Pass the results on to the new president so that the results may be announced later at the conference.

PROJECT WILD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Members: Committee members are the officers of MAEOE or as designated by the President with the advice and approval of the board.

Duties: There are three aspects to the Committee’s job:

  • Advise the Board on matters concerning Project WILD.
  • Annually review the performance of the Project WILD Michigan Coordinator and Project WILD’s administrative home and make a recommendation to the Board.
  • Serve as a liaison to Project WILD’s administrative home and to the Project WILD Coordinator.
  • Work with the Project WILD Coordinator on yearly goals and objectives, review reports, proposals, and policy questions before they are brought to the full Board.
SALES AND DISPLAYS COMMITTEE
Responsible to:
  • The Board of Directors of the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education.
  • The Membership.
  • The Spring Conference Committee.

Duties:

  • Maintain a database which lists addresses and phone numbers of previous vendors, along with a list of vendors interested in displaying the upcoming year.
  • Send letters which invite all vendors to display at the Spring Conference.
  • Coordinate space for sales and display tables with the Spring Conference Committee and the current conference site.
  • Collect payment for reservation of tables and forward funds to the Treasurer.
  • Send letter which confirms reservation of table(s) and payment, if any.
  • Arrive at the conference on Friday to coordinate spacing and labeling of tables.

SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE
 Responsible to:

  • The Board of Directors of the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education, through the Past President.
  • The Membership.

Duties:

  • The Committee shall solicit scholarship nominations from several colleges and universities in Michigan.
  • Select up to five candidates.
  • Notify candidates of their scholarship.
  • Introduce candidates to the membership at the Spring Conference.

Skills and Experiences:

  • Have some knowledge of Michigan Colleges.
  • Able to solicit and choose appropriate candidates.
SITE/CONTRACT COMMITTEE
Responsible to.
  • The Board of Directors of the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education.
  • The Membership.

Duties:

  1. Suggest 3 or 4 possible sites for the Spring Conference. After discussion, the final one or two sites should be investigated thoroughly and visited, using the following criteria:
        2. a. Total overall cost to MAEOE, including:
          i. -sleeping accommodations
          ii. -meals, snacks, daytime "coffee", etc.
          iii. -extra charges for classrooms, equipment, etc.
        b. Suitability of site for our needs, possibility of utilizing any of their staff to enhance our program.
        c. Availability of classroom space and cost, if any.
        d. Natural beauty of site, including a variety of natural settings for our use such as a meadow, lake, bog, woods, etc.
        e. Other areas of local interest such as nature preserves, museums, lakes, parks, forests, etc. available for our use.
        f. Availability of area for participants who have motor homes, campers, or tents.
        g. Availability of miscellaneous program needs such as PA system, projectors, screens, shades, windows, extension cords, etc.
        h. Quality of food served.
  2. Obtain maps from the chosen facility, suitable for duplication, which clearly show directions to the facility from the main highways and the layout of the actual camp property, showing buildings, trails, lake and other features.
  3. Make a recommendation to the Board for the final selection.
  4. Attempt to identify a site two years in advance.
  5. Negotiate a contract for the final approval by the Board.