Minutes of the May 21, 1998 Meeting of the GTA Board of Directors
The meeting was called to order
by Chairman Paul Kirby at approximately
4:00 pm at Clayton Hall, University of Delaware.
Attending were Robert Przygoda, Paul Kirby,
Robert Young, Russell DuFrain, Richard San,
Rosie Elespuru, Robin Leonard, and Dan Benz.
Due to scheduling constraints of some attendees,
the Treasurer's Report was postponed until
later in the Agenda.
R. San read the minutes of the Winter Board
Meeting. These were approved with one correction
(change of co-ordinator for spring 1998
meeting from K. Dearfield to R. Elespuru
and R. Leonard.)
Old Business
The Fall 1998 meeting will be organized
by K. Dearfield and D. Benz. The proposed
topic is the consideration of the "next
generation" of regulatory genetic toxicology
test batteries, including their development,
validation, and acceptance. D. Benz presented
a draft outline of the topics and suggested
speakers, as well as a request for the Board
to consider joint sponsorship of this meeting
by the Association of Government Toxicologists
(AGT). The Board members discussed several
aspects of the logistics of putting on the
meeting, including cost and control of venue.
The consensus reached was that the GTA should
solely sponsor, with a special invitation
to be sent to the AGT and the inclusion
of the AGT logo on the printed program.
R. Elespuru made this a motion, which was
duly seconded and passed. Specific recommendations
for changes on the draft program included
putting the GTA business meeting before
lunch, and moving J. MacGregor's talk to
be first to establish criteria for speakers
to address. Other general issues discussed
included the utility of choosing a few assays
to carry them through the approval/acceptance
process as examples, the issue of dealing
with non-genotoxic carcinogens, the general
unwillingness to try new assays, and the
generalizability of "designer" assays used
to meet stringent criteria for specific
applications.
Future Meeting Dates
The dates for future meetings are: October
29, 1998 and May 20, 1999. The smaller auditorium
and a lunch room seating 100 have been tentatively
reserved at Clayton Hall.
Treasurer's Report
R. Young gave the Treasurer's Report.
The Association's balance as of 5/20/98
was $19,959.61. Although all the bills had
not been received for the Spring meeting,
the estimated income was $2000, and estimated
expenses were $3100 for an estimated loss
of $1100. The lower than expected attendance
and the lack of corporate sponsorship had
a significant impact on the economics of
the meeting. A motion to accept the Treasurer's
Report was passed.
Changes in Treasurer's Work
R. Young recommended that the Association's
accounting system be made consistent across
all kinds of record-keeping, and that none
of these should be cash-based. At this time,
the Association has no problem meeting income/assets
cut-off for non-profit organizations. The
bank and the Delaware management firm, CT
Corporate Systems, will need to be notified
of the changes of authorized signatures
on the accounts. R. Young agreed to do that.
The bank will also be notified that the
Board has nominated the officers to be responsible
for the accounts. The authorization documents
will be read and signed by appropriate Board
members. R. Young will pass relevant archived
financial material to R. DuFrain. The current
Treasurer will maintain these materials,
along with the Association's seal. R. Young
will close out the Spring '98 meeting expenses
and income, and will then turn over the
books and accounts to R. DuFrain.
It was recognized that the Treasurer's responsibilities
were becoming burdensome, as they included
much of the meeting planning and preparation.
R. San agreed to help with registration
badges for future meetings, and R. Leonard
agreed to handle local arrangements with
the Univ. of Delaware, and to try and identify
an alternative to the Holiday Inn for those
speakers and members who require an overnight
stay.
Survey of Assay Use
The survey concerning current uses of
genetic toxicology assays is being coded
by R. Przygoda.
Wet Lab Workshop
A decision on whether to sponsor another
"wet-lab workshop" will be postponed until
the Fall 1998 meeting, at which time some
outcome from the 11-lab collaborative project
should be available.
Student Participation in
GTA
The encouragement of student participation
in the Association activities was re-introduced.
Student awards could be jointly sponsored
with EMS, or GTA could devise a new process
for selection. This discussion was postponed
until the summer Board meeting, at which
time R. Elespuru will present a draft of
specific criteria for student selection.
Communications and Collaborations
Discussion concerning GTA sponsorship
of a symposium at the next EMS meeting was
postponed until the Fall 1998 meeting.
Improved communications with the MidAtlantic
SOT will be sought by using their mailing
list to notify members of GTA programs.
However, the meeting announcements will
not be bundled with other mailings, but
will be sent separately.
Increased relationships with local academic
institutions will be sought. P. Kirby will
contact additional Univ. of DE faculty,
and R. Leonard will "market" the GTA to
faculty at Bryn Mawr and Thos. Jefferson
Univ.
The letter from the Association inviting
corporate sponsorship was distributed to
the Board, who will review and get comments
back to Paul.
R. Young mentioned that the EMS is changing
the location of their Home Page, and that
he will follow-up on this.
Investments
P. Kirby will identify possibilities
for staggering the maturity dates of the
Association's certificates of deposit at
Nation's Bank.
New Business
Joint sponsorship of a lecture or symposium
at a future EMS meeting would require a
coordination commitment about a year in
advance of the meeting. The coordination
of the project could be done by the Presidents
of the Societies (e.g., EMS, GTA,
GEMS, GETA) for about $250.00 through the
EMS Home Page. Jim Felton of the EMS would
be the contact person. This will be discussed
further at the Summer 1998 Board meeting.
The Summer 1998 Board meeting will be held
at 10:00 am, July 17, 1998, at the Sitek
offices in Maryland.
A motion was made and seconded for adjournment
by R. DuFrain. The meeting adjourned at
approximately 5:40 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin C. Leonard, Secretary
Minutes of the July 28, 1998 Meeting of the GTA Board of Directors
The meeting was called to order at Sitek
Research Laboratories, Rockville, Maryland,
by Chairman Paul Kirby at approximately 10:30
a.m. Attending were Dan Benz, Kerry Dearfield,
Rosalie Elespuru, Paul Kirby, Robert Przygoda,
Richard San and Robert Young.P. Kirby read
the minutes of the Spring 1998 Board of Directors
meeting. One change was made to indicate that
the Treasurer's name will be preprinted on
the registration badges but a signature would
not be necessary. The minutes were then approved
by the Board.
For the Treasurer's report, R. DuFrain relayed
the following information to P. Kirby since
he was unable to attend the Summer Board Meeting.
Arrangements would be made to have part of
GTA's funds stored as staggered certificates
of deposit so that some funds could be made
available in contingency situations. The transfer
of the treasurer's records from B. Young to
R. DuFrain was planned for mid-August. Although
no details were provided, there were no deficits
in GTA's financial situation. R. DuFrain has
already confirmed the availability of Clayton
Hall for the Fall Meeting (10/29/98) and the
Spring Meeting (5/20/99).
OLD BUSINESS
Fall Meeting (October 29, 1998, Clayton
Hall Conference Center, University of Delaware)
D. Benz presented a tentative agenda for
the Fall Meeting, and indicated that invitations
to the speakers would be sent via e-mail.
K. Dearfield would make follow-up phone calls
to the speakers and also discuss travel arrangements.
A paragraph on the Fall Meeting of the GTA
has been sent to the EMS Newsletter.
A motion was made and passed to send information
on the GTA meeting to the EMS home page.
A motion was made and passed to provide approximately
fifteen free student registrations to attend
the GTA Fall Meeting (five students from each
of three schools).
D. Benz would prepare a meeting flyer and
send it to J. DeLuca in mid-September for
mailing with the Newletter in early
October. It was proposed that the Meeting
announcement be printed on rainbow colored
paper.
Status of Survey
R. Przygoda reported that the results
of the survey would be presented at the Fall
GTA Meeting.
Improving Communications with the Mid-Atlantic
SOT
R. Przygoda would request a mailing list
of the Mid-Atlantic SOT.
Improving Interaction of the GTA and the
Biology Department at the University of Delaware
P. Kirby would contact the Biology Department
again. Because of the university schedule,
students are either busy preparing for final
examinations or are already off for the Summer
at the time of the GTA Spring Meeting. R.
Elespuru suggested that the Fall Meeting be
focused on basic science rather than regulatory
matters so that more students could be interested
to attend.
Corporate Sponsors
A sample letter prepared by P. Kirby was
reviewed and some changes were made. It will
be mailed to GTA members with corporate affiliations
along with the GTA Fall Meeting program. Public
announcement of the corporate sponsors will
be made during the GTA Meetings.
Sponsoring Student Travel to EMS Meeting
It was proposed that the EMS provide to
the GTA Chairman a copy of the applications,
from which the GTA Board of Directors will
recommend one selection to the EMS for sponsorship
by GTA.
NEW BUSINESS
Fall Elections
Two new members will be elected at the
Fall GTA Meeting. The Board of Directors will
begin the search for candidates and contact
them regarding nominations.
Spring 1999 Meeting
K. Dearfield proposed that R. DuFrain
and R. San be responsible for organizing the
Spring 1999 Meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at approximately
2:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
R. San
(Recording Secretary in the absence of R. Leonard)
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Minutes of the October 29, 1998 Meeting of the GTA Board of Directors
The meeting was called to order, and as Paul
Kirby and Rosalie Elespuru were rotating off
the Board, Bob Przygoda was elected the new
Chairman. Copies of the minutes and the corporate
sponsor letter were distributed. The Fall
meeting was judged a success, both from the
financial and content aspects.
May 20, 1999 was selected as the date for
the spring meeting. Rosalie made the suggestion
that we switch the applied meeting to Spring,
and have the more basic sciences meeting in
the Fall, so as to take advantage of the students
and other academic scientists at the Univ.
of Delaware who might be interested in participating.
It was suggested that we emphasize the new
technologies (CHIPS, robotics). Ken Beatty
was mentioned as a contact at Oak Ridge who
organized the Genomics meeting at EMS.
The minutes from the Summer Board meeting
were accepted with two corrections: the date
for the Spring meeting, and the number of
Board members to be elected in the Fall. The
new Board members elected at the Business
Meeting were Dr. Dan Benz, and Dr. Peggy Guzzie.
The Treasurer's Report indicated that 81 members
and 31 non-members registered for the meeting,
yielding about $6K income against an estimated
expense of $4.1K. All the books were transferred
to Russ in September, but he still needs an
updated membership list with paid-up dues.
Russ will obtain one and two year CDs with
staggered maturity for investment of some
of the Association funds. There was some discussion
about a credit card for the Association, but
issues of the fee and responsibilities were
of concern. The decision on a credit card
was postponed.
Anecdotal reports from a few members indicated
that the McIntosh Inn worked out pretty well.
Robin will get specific feedback from the
manager regarding the number of rooms booked.
There is a shuttle from the airport that will
be specifically mentioned in future meeting
notifications.
With regard to the spring meeting, R. San
and R. Dufrain have some contacts for new
technologies. Russ and Robin will get cost
estimates for rainbow paper for meeting notifications.
With regard to the survey, Bob should have
the coding done and preliminary results by
the next meeting. The goal is publication
in Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis.
Communications with other organizations such
as MidAtlantic SOT, NCAC/SOT, GEMS, and AGT
should continue. There was general agreement
that we should cross-advertise meetings in
each other's newsletters, and occasionally
co-sponsor meetings. The registration form
for the meetings should ask source of information
on meeting to help determine the value of
the cross-advertising. Dan Benz is the AGT
Newsletter Editor, so it will be simple
to deal with that organization. Dan is also
the contact for the EMS Web homepage. Russ
raised the question of reimbursement to the
EMS. Dan said the cost for the site is $395
per year, and as long as no additional cost
is incurred, reimbursement should be unnecessary.
Robin will put corporate sponsorship letter
on files.
A decision to sponsor student travel to the
EMS was made. The GTA will supplement the
$500 from EMS, and the student will be obligated
to attend the next GTA meeting and make a
report. This should evolve into an award of
$500 from the GTA and an invitation to attend
the next GTA meeting with expenses paid. The
selection of the student could be by the EMS
committee, with a regional "cut" that will
reflect the majority of the GTA membership
area. The Board will choose from the EMS nominees.
The winter Board meeting will be January 29,
1999 at BioReliance, 9630 Medical Center Dr.,
Rockville, MD.
Mary Szalkowski of PRISMA offered the possibility
of documents from the meeting being made available.
Russ will contact her, and bring the issue
to the table at the Winter meeting.
A motion to adjourn was made, seconded, and passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin C. Leonard, Secretary