President indicated that ESA President Larry Larson was unable to make it to the meeting due to airline ticket difficulties. President Guillot shared a few comments that he received from President Larson earlier. Paula Lettice, formerly with the US State Department is the new Executive Director of the Entomological Society of America. President Guillot stated that President Larson felt that the Branches have vitality and interest in the Society. Further, he felt that change was more valuable when it came from the grass roots such as the Branches. There will be an upcoming survey that will help direct the future of the ESA. Through President Guillot, President Larson urged members in the SEB to respond to the survey.

Secretary-Treasurer Richard Sprenkel indicated that the minutes of the 2000 Meeting held at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Mobile, Alabama were on the home page of the Entomological Society of America and were available at this meeting. He requested a motion to dispense with reading the minutes at this time and to approve the minutes as posted. Joe Eger moved to accept the minutes as posted. Mike Williams seconded the motion and the motion carried on voice vote. Sprenkel then presented the Financial Report. He reported that on February 28, 2000, the Branch had a balance of $44,625.30, all funds being held in a Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Active Assets Account. During the year, the Branch had an income of $34,192.69 and expenses of $28,812.16, leaving a final balance on February 28, 2001, of $50,005.83. He indicated that the proposed budget was changed from last year to reflect an anticipated savings of $1,500 due to printing programs only for those attending the meeting and the elimination of the auditing of the financial records. There was an increase in the proposed budget in the form of an addition of a cost for transportation of the poster boards. For the 2001-2002 budget, the projected subvention this will be reduced to $2,500 making a total anticipated income of $34,500 and expenditures of $33,450. Gary Herzog made a motion to accept the proposed budget. Gus Lorenz seconded the motion and it passed on voice vote.

Don Johnson, Chair, Auditing Committee, reported that the financial records of the Southeastern Branch were found to be in order and the financial status of the Southeastern Branch sound. The Auditing Committee certified that the balance on January 31, 2001, was $41,780.41. The Auditing Committee made the following suggestions: 1) That the Secretary-Treasurer develop a system for tracking on site registration that would improve the accountability of the cash receipts; 2) That the Secretary-Treasurer review methods for accounting for funds received at the meeting and then deposited; 3) Review the potential for using credit cards for payment of registration fees. Scott Stewart made a motion to accept the Auditing Committee’s report. Jim Harper seconded the motion and it passed on voice vote.

David Riley, Chair, Local Arrangements Committee, indicated that the room block commitment had been met and the required food and beverage budget was satisfied. He reported that the only problem was with the projection equipment. Projection stands, microphones and other items had to be rented causing the budget for A/V equipment to go from $800 to $1,300. He suggested that in the future digital projectors be dedicated to a single notebook computer with the presentation loaded from CDs. President Guillot suggested that the next revision of the SEB Guidelines specify these changes. President Guillot next presented a plaque of appreciation to David Riley for his work as chair of the Local Arrangements Committee.

President Guillot introduced Faith Oi as Chair of the Resolutions Committee. Faith recognized Ellen Thoms for her work on the committee. Faith remembered members who passed away this past year. These were Irving Fox, Marion Laster, Lamar Meek, L.C. Murphree, H. Page Nicholson, William L. Peters, Peter Sikorowski and Clyde Smith. Faith requested that the members present stand for a moment of silence in memory of these deceased members and that the Branch President send letters of condolence to the families. Faith offered a resolution of gratitude to Branch President, Frank S. Guillot; Past President, Randall G. Luttrell; Secretary-Treasurer, Richard K. Sprenkel; and ESA Governing Board Representative, Gary A. Herzog for their leadership in and management of the affairs of the Branch during the year. In addition, the efforts of Local Arrangements Chair David Riley before and during this meeting were recognized. Faith also submitted a resolution recognizing the efforts of Webmaster Chuck Bargeron for developing the website where the 2001 program was posted. Faith also presented a resolution instructing Secretary-Treasurer Sprenkel to write a letter on behalf of the members of the Branch to express appreciation to the management and staff of the Radisson Riverfront Hotel Augusta, for their cooperation, services, and hospitality which contributed to the completion of an outstanding and successful 75th Annual Meeting. A resolution was made expressing the appreciation of the Branch for the financial contributions of the following: Aventis, BASF, Bayer Ag, Cerexagri, Clemson University, Dow AgroSciences, Dupont, FMC, Griffin L.L.C., Monsanto, Rohm & Haas, Syngenta, Uniroyal, US Army, University of Georgia and Valent USA.

Joe Culin made a motion to accept these resolutions. Mike Williams seconded the motion and it passed on voice vote.

Chairman Oi made a resolution commending the following members for their awards:

D. Michael Jackson, USDA-ARS, Charleston, SC - 2001 Award for Excellence in Integrated Pest Management

Ronald H. Smith – 2001 Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension

R. Michael Roe – 2001 Recognition Award in Insect Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology

J. Wayne Brewer – 2001 Distinguished Award in Teaching

Nan-Yao Su – 2001 Recognition Award in Entomology

A resolution was made commending the following student members for their respective awards: 

A resolution of appreciation was made to Games Master, John Morse, and the fair and knowledgeable presence of the judges, Joe Culin, Frank Guillot, and John Ruberson as well as the teams participating, and congratulations to the winning and second place teams from the Auburn University and the University of Florida, respectively.

Gary Herzog made a motion to accept these resolutions. Don Johnson seconded the motion and it passed on voice vote.

Finally, because the Teacher Workshop entitled "Using Insects in the Classroom" will enjoy excellent local arrangements and support from Jeff Priest and Ruth Patrick of the Science Center at the University of South Carolina, Aiken and will be a great success due to the efforts of Kris Braman, Don Manley, Michael and Jan Williams, John Myer, and Joe Culin (Chair), the Branch expresses its appreciation to those involved in the teacher workshop.

Clarence Collison made a motion to accept this resolution. It was seconded by Joe McHugh and it passed on voice vote.

Student Awards Chair Gus Lorenz suggested to in-coming President Gary Lentz that the term of John Ruberson on the Student Awards Committee be extended by one year to provide continuity and that he serve as Chair for 2001-2002. Gus thanked the judges who were: Masters Oral; Scott Stewart, John Ruberson, Roger Leonard, Donn Johnson and John Bernhard: PhD Oral; Jeremy Green, Don Johnson, Randy Luttrell, John Adamcyzk and Joe Culin: Masters Poster; Chip Graham, Alvin Simmons, Clarence Collison, Raymond Hix and Mike Stout: PhD Oral; Chip Graham, Gloria McCutcheon, Lance Peterson, Joe McHugh and Don Cook. Entries for each competition were: MS Oral 11; PhD Oral 18; MS Poster 6; and PhD Poster 8.

Gus Lorenz, Local Arrangements Chair for the 2002 Meeting, announced the other committee members. They are Don Johnson (Co-Chair), Tim Kring, Jeremy Green, Glen Studebaker, John Hopkins, Don Harlan, Rob Ihrig, Ned French, Kelly Loftin, Donna Shanklin and Randy Luttrell. The meeting will be held at the Double Tree Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas on March 3-6, 2002. Room rates for the meeting will be $89/ night.

The 2003 Meeting Location & Time Committee Chair Seth Johnson was not able to attend the present meeting. However, President Guillot reported that Baton Rouge had been selected as the site. The normal dates of our meeting coincides with Mardi Gras. Economical rooms will not be a problem (approximately $69/night), but air connections through New Orleans may present difficulties. American, Delta, Northwest, Continental and US Air all serve Baton Rouge. Tentatively, the Radisson Hotel has been selected as the location for the meeting.

Joe Culin invited the Branch to hold its 2004 meeting in South Carolina with the most probable site being Charleston. Gary Herzog made a motion to accept this invitation and hold the 2004 meeting of the SEB in South Carolina. Don Johnson seconded the motion and it passed on voice vote.

Mitch Roof, Member, Publicity Committee, reported that several news organizations were contacted and announcements were made using a cotton list server. Competition with local news stories made it difficult to attract much attention.

President Guillot posed the question as to whether we, as a Branch, want to support any of the candidates for ESA President. He suggested that the members give it some thought and let him or the President-Elect know so that the position of the Branch could be relayed to the National ESA office

President Guillot asked if there was any Old Business to consider. Hearing none, he asked for any New Business. Scott Stewart pointed out that as the size of the student competition continued to grow, the Branch may want to consider recognizing the second place in the competition, particularly in the PhD and Master’s oral categories. The members discussed several ways in which a recognition could be made. After reviewing the options Scott Stewart made a motion that second place in the PhD and Master’s oral competition be recognized with a $100 award. Jim Harper seconded the motion and it passed on voice vote. President Guillot indicated that he would suggest to the 2001-2002 Student Awards Committee that they work out the details and implement this policy.

Nominating Committee Chair, Kris Braman, reported that the nominees for President Elect were Lance Peterson and Beverly Sparks and for Member-at-Large Don Manley and Catharine Mannion. Ballots were returned by mail to Secretary-Treasurer Sprenkel. Ballots received from the various states were Alabama-11, Arkansas-6, Florida-62, Georgia- 42, Louisiana-19, Mississippi-16, North Carolina-27, South Carolina- 17 and Tennessee- 13. Twelve of the ballots were from another or unknown location. A total of 230 ballots were received. Winners of the election were for President-Elect, Beverly Sparks and Member-at-Large, Catharine Mannion.

President Guillot asked Past-Presidents Gary Herzog and Don Johnson to escort President-Elect Gary Lentz to the podium. President Guillot presented the gavel to President-Elect Lentz. President Lentz presented a plaque of appreciation to Past-President Guillot.

President Lentz announced that he had selected the following Nominating Committee: Kris Braman, Gary Mullen, Janine Powell, David Oi, James Whitehead and Scott Martin. Joe Eger made a motion to accept the nominating committee as proposed. Don Johnson seconded the motion and it passed on voice vote.

President Lentz announced that he had selected Alvin Simmons and Jeff Willers to Co-Chair the Program Committee. He also selected John Ruberson to Chair the Student Awards Committee and expressed his appreciation to John for his willingness to continue to serve on the committee.

President Lentz stated that he had joined the Entomological Society of America as a student in 1965 and has spent most of the time since then in the Southeastern Branch. He indicated that he feels that entomologists have a unique opportunity at this time to affect public opinion through their activities in areas such as bio-diversity, water quality, and new technologies like genetically modified organisms.

President Lentz asked if there was other business. There was none.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:32 PM.