Meeting held
St Catharines, Ontario
Tuesday October 7 2003
4:45 pm to 6:15 pm
Newman Room, Four Points Sheraton Hotel

Present: Gail Chmura; J.A. Legault; F. McCarthy; J. Jansonius; A. Traverse; J. Ford; B. van Helden; M. Head; V. Bryant; J. McAndrews; R. Mathewes; G. Norris; C. Yansa; and A. Beaudoin.

1. Welcome and opening of meeting:
The meeting was called to order by CAP president, Alwynne Beaudoin, at 4:45 pm.

2. Minutes of the 2002 AGM:
The minutes of the meeting were accepted as presented.

3. Unfinished business from last AGM:
At the last AGM, C. Yansa was nominated to be President-Elect, but a quorum was lacking because of low attendance. A. Beaudoin moved that C. Yansa be elected President-Elect. Motion passed. Yansa assumes Presidency in January 2004.

4. President’s Report:
A. Beaudoin and M. Head were commended for their role in the production of the CAP-sponsored Special Issue of the Journal of the Geological Society of London on "Boundaries," which will be published in early 2004. F. McCarthy was commended for co-organizing the joint meeting of CAP, AASP and NAMS. (See page 4 for the full President’s report.)

5. The Secretary/Treasurers Report:
M. Pellatt reported that there are currently 39 paid members, a decrease of 11 members since 2002. A. Beaudoin suggested that when a membership lapses,a CAP officer(s) send that person a "friendly reminder" to renew membership, as an email and as a hard copy of the letter. F. McCarthy suggested that the conference participant list be used to approach people about becoming CAP members. There were also discussions about whether unpaid CAP members should be included in the International Directory of Palynologists. All agreed that only paid members will be included in the IDP. M. Pellatt will update the list of current members to include only those in the next directory. (See page 5 for the full Secretary/Treasurer’s report.)

6. Newsletter Editor’s Report:
M. Vetter (not in attendance) requested to step down as editor and that CAP members find someone else to take over this position. (See page 5 for the full report.)

7. IFPS Councillor’s Report:
R. Mathewes encouraged CAP members to attend and participate in the next XI International Palynological Congress in Granada, Spain, in July 2004. R. Mathewes will make a decision whether or not he will continue to be the IFPS Councillor in 2004. (See page 5 for the full report.)

8. Website Editor’s Report:
A. Beaudoin mentioned that there is no charge to maintain this Scirpus site. There are several hits per month (see page 8 of the Newsletter). She suggested that we add information to the site, such as "palynological personalities" and obituaries and memorials. Beaudoin also mentioned that AGM information could go under the heading "Organization and Administration" and essays on interesting palynological topics could be included.

J. Legault moved to accept all reports, which was seconded by G. Chmura, voted with all in favor.

9. Appointment of a Nominating Committee:
G. Chmura and C. Yansa agreed to serve on this committee to seek nominees for the positions of Newsletter Editor, President-Elect, and IFPS Councillor.

10. Appointment of Auditor for 2003-2004:
Decision was made to appoint R. Mathewes as auditor, which he accepted.

11. Next AGM to be held at the XI International Palynological Congress in Granada, Spain: Motion put forth by M. Head, seconded by G. Chmura, voted with all in favor. There was a discussion about hosting a CAP session or presentation on "Palynology in Canada" at the meeting in Spain. C. Yansa agreed to co-ordinate making and presenting a poster about the history of palynological research in Canada with contributions of images and text from the CAP membership.

12. Lapsed members:
There was further discussion about lapsed members. All attending were encouraged to find new members and encourage former members to renew their memberships.

Meeting ended at 5:50 pm.

Respectfully submitted
Catherine Yansa
CAP President-Elect

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President’s Report

This past year has seen some important events for CAP, which have, I believe, maintained the Association as a significant contributor to the palynological scene.

The most important of these events is our participation in this joint meeting with our colleagues from AASP and NAMS. This arose from an invitation over a year ago from the AASP Organizing Committee, and I thank them warmly for this. Planning for this meeting has gone on for many months, and the diversity of presentations and events in the program is a tribute to the energy and enthusiasm of the Organizing Committee.

CAP members have made many presentations at this meeting and have sponsored two special symposia: "Land Sea Correlations in the Cenozoic", convened by Martin Head and Alwynne Beaudoin, and "Palynology in the Great Lakes region", convened by Sarah Finkelstein and Catherine Yansa. This collaborative meeting gives us a chance to meet and exchange ideas with colleagues from the many subdisciplines in palynology. Such interaction can only be beneficial to the discipline as a whole and I hope that this sets a positive trend for future meetings.

CAP has also made significant contributions to the palynological literature. Last summer saw the publication of a CAP-sponsored special issue of Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (Volume 180(1-3), pp. 1-251) entitled New Frontiers and Applications in Palynology and Micropalaeontology: A Canadian Perspective. Co-edited by Martin Head and me, it included ten papers illustrating a broad range of approaches to palynology and micropalaeontology. The papers featured many microfossil groups, and spanned geologic time from Silurian to present. This issue derived from a session we organized at the GeoCanada 2000 meeting in Calgary. Several papers were developed from presentations in that session, but other contributed articles broadened the scope and highlighted the diversity of research in these fields.

At the moment, Martin Head and I are in the concluding stages of assembling another Special Volume. This one springs from the Special Session held at the GAC/MAC meeting in Saskatoon last year. Entitled The Palynology and Micropalaeontology of Boundaries, it is planned for publication by the Geological Society, London. I hope to have more to report about this in the December newsletter.

Next year is the IPC Meeting in Granada, Spain. The preliminary program looks very exciting and e-mail announcements of symposia and sessions continue to appear. CAP will have time and space set aside for a meeting, by the generosity of the IPC Organisers. If it is the opinion of this meeting that sufficient CAP members will be in attendance, we have the option to select this as the venue for our 2004 AGM. I encourage as many CAP members as possible to consider attending the IPC and make it a truly memorable congress.

One of the real pleasures of belonging to a professional organization and working on the executive is the chance to meet and work with some outstanding colleagues. I am coming to the end of my term as President of CAP and will look forward to handing the gavel over to Catherine Yansa, whose presidency I expect will take effect at the end of the year. It is my pleasure also to thank and acknowledge my other colleagues on the executive for their support and assistance over the last two years. I thank Rolf Mathewes (CAP’s Representative to IFPS), Mary Vetter (Newsletter Editor), and Marlow Pellatt (Secretary/Treasurer), for their dedicated service to the association.

With the support of the membership, I am optimistic that we can keep CAP a vibrant and important part of the palynological scene, both in Canada and on the wider world stage.

Respectfully submitted
Alwynne B. Beaudoin
CAP President 2002-2003
September 28, 2003

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Secretary/Treasurer’s Report

i) Membership Report: As of September 30, 2003, CAP had a total of 39 members in good standing. This has decreased by eleven members since 2002. Ways to attract new members as well as regain the support of past members should be examined.

ii) Financial Report For the period ending August 29, 2003, the balance of the CAP account was $3622.98. The balance remains healthy, and the cost of membership continues to cover our modest costs - newsletter production and mailing, IFPS dues, and bank service charges.

Respectfully submitted
Marlow Pellatt
CAP Secretary-Treasurer
October 1, 2003

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Newsletter Editor’s Report

We continue to publish two newsletters per year, in May and December, in hardcopy format mailed out to all members. Response to the call for items for the newsletters continues to be fairly strong. Continued membership support in this way is essential to the successful continuation of the newsletter. In particular, the contribution of conference reports, thesis abstracts, lists of recent publications, news, and articles is very helpful.

The costs for duplication and mailing of the newsletter continue to be borne by the GSC-Atlantic through Rob Fensome. I would like to thank Rob for this, and Nellie Koziel for assistance with the duplication and packaging of the newsletter. Marlow Pellatt, Alwynne Beaudoin, and Rob also work together to maintain the mailing list - thank you!

This is my fifth year as Newsletter Editor, and I have enjoyed it immensely! However, I would also like to step down from this position if someone is willing to take over this task. It is not an onerous one, requiring several hours twice a year.

Thank you very much, everyone, for your continued support of our newsletter - your contributions, comments, and suggestions are most appreciated!

Respectfully submitted
Mary Vetter, CAP Newsletter Editor
September 25, 2003

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IFPS Councillor’s Report

When I replaced Gail Chmura as CAP Councillor to the IFPS (International Federation of Palynological Societies) in 2001, I had little understanding of IFPS’s role, beyond helping to organize an International Congress every four years. In addition to this central responsibility i s a considerable amount of "behind-the-scenes" activity which revolves around information gathering and distribution to member societies, primarily through the newsletter PALYNOS, but also to the executives of the many member societies. I encourage all our members to read PALYNOS online to find out about news and views of personalities, institutions, publications, meetings and meeting reports, and other noteworthy items on the international scene.

When I was a graduate student back in the 1970s (Paleozoic it sometimes feels like) and first heard about international palynogical congresses, I lusted after a chance to go and hear, and maybe even rub shoulders with, the likes of Gunnar Erdtman, Knut Faegri, Margaret Davis, Jock McAndrews and many others. Since then I have managed to attend five of these events, and they stand out as highlights in more ways than one.

I mention these reflections because as you probably know, next year the international palynological community will convene for the 11th time in Granada, southern Spain. Alwynne Beaudoin and I have been in touch with the organizers, and asked for a CAP meeting place and time in the program. Whether this time slot will be for a formal meeting, or an informal gathering of CAP members will be decided in St. Catharines very soon. Our hope is that a significant number of CAPers will attend in July of 2004 to present papers or posters. CAP has a long history of international participation, considering our relatively modest numbers, and those of you who have been saving your travel funds for something special now have an ideal venue for discussing your latest findings on pollen, spores, and dinoflagellates. Granada is beautiful and historically rich, and the organizers have put together an excellent program of symposia, field trips, and open sessions.

The modest annual dues of $1.50 US per active member that we pay to IFPS as a member society is money well spent to emphasize our role as active international participants in matters palynological. In the final analysis, however, it is the actual participation of scientists like you and me at international meetings like IPC’s that will maintain and raise our collective image overseas. I close by restating my hope that I will see a goodly number of CAP members for discussions over a cold cervesa or sangria next summer in Spain! With kind regards to all:

Rolf W. Mathewes
CAP IFPS Councillor
September 25, 2003

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This summary originally appeared in CAP Newsletter 26(2):3-6, 2003.