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Minutes of
the Business Meeting
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 | The decline in membership from a total of 337 paid-up members at the meeting in Malmo to 203 currently paid-up members. |
| The lack of sponsors, and the reduction in the sponsorship, for the Gardone Meeting. |
Treasurer’s Report
Dr Dannheim circulated the balance sheet. It was noted that the balance of the Society’s funds had declined slightly but still remained sound.
Election of Officers
Dr Wild reminded the Membership the Dr Kitazawa’s four year term of office as Vice President had come to an end. The Board had recommended that Dr Kitazawa serve a further period in office. Dr Hart proposed acceptance by acclamation; the Society approved.
Dr Dannheim’s term as Treasurer had also expired. The Board had nominated Dr Mills for the position of Treasurer. Dr Newman proposed acceptance by acclamation; the Society approved. Dr Wild thanked Dr Dannheim for his many years as Treasurer of the Society.
Future Structure of the Board
Dr Wild described the proposed reorganization of the Board. A reorganization was felt to be necessary in order for the Society to retain and increase membership. The Board recommended that the current Working Groups be disbanded and that four new committees should be established:
| Scientific – responsible for the academic aspects of the Society. |
| Development - responsible for fundraising. |
| Communication - responsible for publicity of the Society’s activities and for development of the Society’s web pages. |
| Membership - responsible for membership recruitment. |
The committees would deliberately have some overlap of function. Within each committee, one member would be drawn from each of three geographical areas namely the Americas, Europe and Asia-Oceania. Each of the three members within each of the designated committees would be considered as a co-chair of the committee. Each co-chair would be able to co-opt members from within the corresponding geographical region.
Dr Mills pointed out that, although the reorganization would require Constitutional Amendment before the next meeting in 2000, it could be implemented immediately if the members of the Board remained responsible for the current working groups but also undertook the activities required by the new structure.
The proposed format was discussed amongst the Membership. The Board proposed that, in order to achieve the geographical representation necessary for the Committee structure outlined below, the two retiring representatives of the Members-at-Large, Drs Gandolfo and Werner, and the retiring Treasurer, Dr Dannheim, should be invited onto the Board.
| The Americas | Europe/Africa | Asia and Oceania | |
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Scientific |
Dr Casson |
Dr Dannheim Dr Safran Dr Burk |
Dr Vingrys |
|
Development |
Dr Le Blanc Dr Mills |
Dr Heijl |
Dr Kitazawa |
|
Communications |
Dr Hart Dr Wall |
Dr Brusini Dr Wild |
Dr Iwase |
|
Membership |
Dr Werner |
Dr Gandolfo Dr Zulauf |
Dr Matsumoto |
Dr Chauhan suggested that Dr House from Perth, Western Australia, should be asked to represent Asia and Oceania if Dr Vingrys declined to accept the role. The proposal for reorganization was passed unanimously by the Membership.
Election of two new representatives of the Members-at-Large
Drs Henson, Asman, Goldberg, O’Brien and Sample were nominated to represent the Membership-at-Large. Drs Sample and Henson were elected.
Location of the IPS 2000 Scientific Meeting
A number of members had volunteered to host the IPS 2000 Meeting: Dr. Mutluken - Istanbul, Turkey; Dr. Chauhan - Halifax, Nova Scotia; Dr. Sponsel - San Antonio, Texas; Drs. Fingaret and Patella - San Francisco, California.
Since North America had previously been considered to be the most suitable venue, Drs. Chauhan, Fingaret and Sponsel had been asked to make a short presentation to the Membership. Dr Wild informed the Membership that the Board felt that Halifax was the most suitable choice. Following the presentations, the Membership expressed by acclamation the choice of Halifax.
Location of the IPS 2002 Scientific Meeting
A presentation was given by Dr Goldberg concerning the possibility of hosting the 2002 Meeting in Sydney under the auspices of the International Congress of Ophthalmology. Dr Goldberg explained that any such Meeting could only take place within the Convention Centre used for the ICO Meeting and that the dates and the length of the IPS Meeting would be determined by the ICO. However, the administration, advertising and fundraising for the IPS Meeting would be handled by the ICO.
Considerable reservation had been expressed by the Board over the cost of travel to Sydney and over the restrictions imposed by the ICO. Dr Wild asked for a show of hands from the Membership in favour of Sydney as the venue. Approximately 50% were in favour.
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 13.35.
Copyright 2002. International Perimetric Society
