President-Elect Doug Beard called the meeting to order at 3:15 p.m.

Mr. Beard noted that the Organization's president, Hope Barrett, had left her position with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Game and had, in effect, resigned her position. Therefore, Mr. Beard presented the President's message. In his discussion, Mr. Beard noted that OFWIM was at a crossroads and reiterated the growing need for a professional society that supports information management, geographic information systems, and remote sensing for wildlife-related agencies and organizations. He continued to encourage members to take an active role in the Organization's activities and identified a number of potential upcoming items.

There was no formal Secretary's Report since Secretary Shirley Ahern resigned in late July. Meeting minutes from the Organization's annual meeting in August, 1997, in Reston, Virginia, were approved as written.

Treasurer Lisa Sausville reported that the Organization had completed payment of all past debts. She noted that, after payments to cover this annual meeting, the Organization's account balance would be approximately $3,500. Ms. Sausville also noted that the Organization is not currently required to file tax returns because of it's low income; however, as the treasury grows, both tax filing and long-term planning will be needed.

Continuing Education: President-Elect Beard noted that this committee had been very active this past year. Specifically, Organization members presented several workshops, including a microcomputer workshop at the national American Fisheries Society meeting in Monterey, California, in 1997. The response from AFS has indicated that this was the best AFS continuing education workshop at an annual meeting. Members also conducted a workshop for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the new National Ecological Training Center, in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. A one-day session at the Southeast Section of The Wildlife Society's annual meeting was very much appreciated by leadership, but not too well attended, due mostly to scheduling. Organization members were also involved with a USGS/NSDI project to provide state-level training session for metadata development in February 1998 in Denver. Lastly, Organization members worked with the Smithsonian's Center for Conservation and Research to develop a conservation GIS course for field biologists, which was held at Front Royal. This workshop was very well-attended, and Organization members are checking to see if this can be a standard class in the OFWIM list.

Communications Committee: Newsletter Editor Jeff Smith noted that one only newsletter came out this year, due in some part to lack of effort on his part and difficulty in finding appropriate newsletter material. He also identified several issued needing resolution, including the logo, number of issues/year to be printed, and the cost of printing (noting that the Fish and Wildlife Information Exchange had paid for the cost of printing/mailing the June newsletter). Much discussion ensued on these topics. Organization members agreed that 3 newsletters should be published each year, and should include calls for papers (first one out by early January), meeting agendas (no later than April). Mr. Don Schwab also noted that a post-meeting presentation on the web site or in the newsletter would help set the stage for the next call for papers. Mr. Jeff Waldon suggested the Organization should evaluate establishing a newsletter subscription rate (e.g., $10). Mr. Andy Loftus proposed that OFWIM offer a special one-year deal to members of sister organizations (e.g., The Wildlife Society's GIS and Remote Sensing Workgroup, American Fisheries Society Computer Users Section). Mr. Stan Allen and other Organization members reiterated concerns about benefits for dues-paying members, particularly if the newsletter is made available on the Organization's web site. Members committed to writing more articles for the newsletter; this avenue is particularly valuable for program staffs who want to write about items that are not publishable in other journals. Mr. Schrupp suggested establishing a section in the newsletter entitled "Featured Developments" to profile a program in each issue; he also suggested a standard sidebar to highlight new or interesting Internet links. The Communications Committee was encouraged to include a good summary of this meeting, including a list of presentations, for inclusion in the next newsletter. Items should be e-mailed to Mr. Smith at jeffs@gis.dep.state.nj.us (all lower case). Organization members were encouraged to contact colleagues in other states, and in federal or regional agencies. Mr. Waldon was asked to provide meeting attendees with a list of state contacts for reference.

Membership Committee: There is currently no committee chair. The Executive Committee was encouraged to use instruments available to garner new members, and to appoint a chair who can take on membership duties and develop strategies for recruiting. Mr. Allen noted that regional recruiting and contacts would probably be more effective in getting new members. He also encouraged Mr. Beard to provide information about membership and an announcement about next year's meeting to listservers such as FWIM-L, AFS, TWS, etc. Organization members also discussed a need to update the OFWIM brochure and make it more easily reproducible. Mr. Jeff Trollinger agreed to work on this task.

Outreach Committee: No report; outreach items were covered under Continuing Education.

Technology Trends: No report

Data Standards Committee: No report. However a group will be needed to develop standards as needs were identified as an outcome of the Freshwater Fisheries Database Summit.

Mr. Beard assumed the position of President as outlined in Organization bylaws.
President-Elect: nominations--Lila Borge-Wills (elected by acclimation)
Treasurer: nominations--Jeff Trollinger (elected by acclimation)
Secretary: nominations--Kathy Quindlen (elected by acclimation)
Member At-Large: nominations--Don Schrupp (elected by acclimation)