Abstract
This year's convention was held in Miami, Florida. This was the trst time the AFA had been to Miami in 14 years. For the majority of the attendees, the convention ofccially started on the August 4, 2005; however, there are a number of activities that occur prior to and after the actual convention. Additionally, Miami offered several off site attractions to our attendees.
Board of Directors Meetint
The Board of Directors meeting started bright and early on Tuesday morning, August 2, 2005. The rrst order of business was to review all of the submitted quarterly reports by the appointed and elected Board members. Some highlights from the Board reports included:
* Jim Hawley, Chief Financial on:::cer, noted that our balance as of 7/29/05 was a grand total of $99, 607.
* Mark Moore, AFA Store Manager, shared the new AFA Store items with the Board including ties, artwork, boxes, and many other different items which were available for purchase at the AFA Storr booth and will be available soon at the online store on our website.
* An ad hoc committee was formed to create a proposal for D:luciary responsibility and nonpro[] training for the Board in time for the next Board meeting in October.
* An ad hoc committee was formed to research the feasibility of hiring a professional fundraiser.
* Genny Wall gave a presentation on PAWS to the Board.
There is always an open invitation to all AFA members to attend the Board meetings and this year we had a very good turnout, including Sandee Molenda, Marshall Liger, Carol Woodson, Sue Hutson, Nora Schmit, Pat Chinnici, Marilyn Hawley, Bob Queen, Cathy Kelly, Jerry Johnson, Olivia Kong, and Andy Sanford. Thank you to all of you for joining us!
House of Dele,ates Meetint
On Wednesday morning, the annual House of Delegates meeting convened. Much of the morning was spent reviewing the 17 proposed bylaw changes that came from the roor According to those who have attended many HOD meetings, this year's meeting had the biggest turnout in many years. There was a great deal of discussion about the various proposed changes with a very good discussion of the pros and cons of each. After the voting was tabulated, none of the proposed bylaw changes passed. In addition to the voting, CFO Jim Hawley gave a brief update on the tnancial status of AFA and Genny Wall gave another presentation on PAWS to the House of Delegates.