CNTA 2004 REPORT
Calendar year 2004 was a busy and productive year for CNTA. Some major organization changes occurred. Fred Davison, our Board Chairman, passed away April 28th, and was replaced by Dr. Susan Wood, retired Director of Savannah River Technology Center. Bill Reinig, our long-time Vice Chairman, moved to Annapolis and was replaced by retired Rear Admiral Dean Sackett, who lives in Aiken. Paul Rideout of Security Federal Bank became our Treasurer. To increase our productivity and effectiveness, some new committees were formed and old ones were strengthened. The current committee structure is attached. Karen Bonavita became our Administrative Assistant (Office Manager) in January. The size and scope of our library continues to grow, mainly through contributions from members.
Steve Sheetz accepted the Chair position of the Speaker's Bureau. Todd Crawford, the previous Chairman, was being stretched thin because of his work on the Heritage Center. The Speaker's Bureau is being reorganized and expanded with more up-to-date talks and improved focus, not just in the Aiken-Augusta area, but regionally. The Speaker's Bureau is investigating ways to develop educational programs for schools that fulfill education credits for teachers in both South Carolina and Georgia. More changes to strengthen the Bureau are in the works. Details of talks given are included in the attached table.
We held five Up & Atom breakfasts with attendance averaging over 100. They are listed in the attached table.
Our 2nd Annual Golf Tournament was held at Houndslake Country Club in August, with 95 golfers. Our net profit was $9,347, which exceeded the profit from our first tournament in 2003 by nearly $3,000.
Kara Beharry won the Robert Maher Scholarship Award for 2004. Kara is a student of South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, majoring in Nuclear Engineering and Physics. We had 14 applicants for this year's award.
Our Distinguished Scientist Award was named the Fred C. Davison Distinguished Scientist Award. The winner this year was Dr. Ned Bibler, Senior Advisory Scientist at the Savannah River National Laboratory, where he has worked since 1965. Dr. Bibler is an internationally recognized expert on radiation chemistry, with emphasis on effect of radiation of materials. Dr. Todd Crawford, Chairman of the Awards Committee, presented Dr. Bibler with an inscribed crystal bowl at the 13th Annual Edward Teller Lecture/Banquet.
The 13th Annual Edward Teller Lecture was held in November with Dr. Henry Wagner as speaker. Dr. Wagner is an international authority on nuclear medicine, and was a pioneer in that field. He is from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His talk was "The History and Future of Nuclear Medicine." The Medical College of Georgia (MCG) was a primary co-sponsor of the event, and Dr. David Stern, Dean of MCG's School of Medicine, introduced the speaker. We held the Teller Lecture at the Augusta Towers Hotel, formerly The Augusta Sheraton. Their banquet hall will seat 450 and we had about 440 attendees. We obtained 21 sponsors for the event and the VIP reception, and we had a net profit of over $6,008.
In calendar year 2004, we wrote more than 50 letters to editors of newspapers and magazines, most of which were printed. We also submitted 3 guest editorials, all of which were printed, and two of which were printed in more than one newspaper.
We acquired 3 new corporate sponsors giving a total of 17, and finished the year with 2100 family members and 15 small business members. Financially we finished the year "in the black." A budget for 2005 of $178,800 was submitted to, and approved by, the Board of Directors.
We began an effort, now well underway, to obtain a visitor center and museum for SRS. This effort has been spearheaded by Walt Joseph with major support from Todd Crawford, a member of our Board of Directors. They created a non-profit corporation, the SRS Heritage Foundation, and have submitted a request for 501(c)3 status as an educational (non-lobbying) group. The facility will be called the SRS Heritage Center. With excellent cooperation from DOE-SR and WSRC, artifacts of historical significance are being collected and stored. DOE has offered building 742-A for the Heritage Center, and has agreed to retain (not demolish) several facilities, including the C Area where the C-Reactor is located. The next step will be to obtain a Board of Directors and begin solicitation of funding.
Our 3-year-old initiative to obtain a teaching and research reactor at SRS is progressing well, but slowly. Mel Buckner has chaired the committee to try to get this facility, now known as the SUNRISE facility. A consortium of 17 universities from the Southeast was organized, chaired by Dr. Farzad Rahnema of Georgia Tech. They have had several meetings, and have developed a business plan. They met with Bill Magwood, Director of DOE's office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology to solicit his support. Several commercial companies have expressed interest in contributing to and participating in this venture, including Areva, General Atomics, Washington Group, and Entergy.
We devoted considerable effort to obtain new missions for SRS, particularly the Pit Disassembly and Conversion Facility, the MOX plant, the Hydrogen Laboratory, and the Modern Pit Facility. This was done by writing letters, making phone calls, and giving testimony at public hearings.
Strategic planning by the Board of Directors has already led to a number of improvements and will lead to more in 2005. These changes have, or will, include increasing member involvement, expanding our financial base, expanding the geographic area of our influence, increasing the involvement of Board members, making greater use of committees, and improving our website. Members of the Board assisted in obtaining new corporate sponsors to broaden our financial support base.
Still to be done in 2005:
- Strengthen our relations with reporters and newspaper editorial boards outside of the immediate area by scheduling meetings with them for our Chairperson, Vice Chair and Executive Director.
- Strengthen and expand our Speaker's Bureau by adding new talks, upgrading old talks, and making contacts with schools, civic clubs, and professional societies in Columbia, Charleston, and Savannah.
- Strengthen our ties to nuclear utilities in the Southeast and to the Nuclear Energy Institute.
- Increase and strengthen our relations with elected officials in Georgia and South Carolina by scheduling meetings with them for our Chairperson, Vice Chair and Executive Director.
TABULAR LISTING OF 2004 ACTIVITIES
| COMMITTEES: | DESCRIPTION: | COMMENT |
| Executive Committee Meetings Board Meetings |
1/19/04 2/14/04 5/26/04 6/21/04 7/ 6/04 8/11/04 9/14/04 10/14/04 12/ 9/04 1/22/04 2/17/04 5/26/04 6/21/04 7/ 6/04 8/11/04 9/14/04 10/14/04 12/ 9/04 |
All Executive and Board meeting minutes sent to board members. |
| Speaker's Bureau Committee Meetings & Presentations | 8/24/04 9/ 9/04 10/ 7/04 12/ 8/04 Presentations given this year: 9 Total of 75 presentations in the last 4 years. |
Speaker's Bureau meeting minutes sent to committee. |
| Finance Committee Meetings | 2/16/04 9/ 8/04 10/ 5/04 Presentations given this year: 9 Total of 75 presentations in the last 4 years. |
Board members given companies to contact. Finished "in the black" this year. |
| Robert Maher Memorial Scholarship | Presented to Kara Beharry - Student at South Carolina State University-Orangeburg | $5,000 scholarship given Total 14 applicants |
| Distinguished Scientist Award | Presented to Dr. Ned Bibler - Senior Advisory Scientist at SRS | Inscribed crystal bowl given |
| Membership Cultivation | Dues Statements/Letters sent to Membership on 1/9/04 Up & Atom Breakfasts: -- 2/24/04 - Hadyn Williams MD-MCG, New Developments in Nuclear Medicine -- 3/ 9/04 - Tom Christopher, Areva, The Future of Commercial Power in the U.S. -- 5/18/04 - Dr. Daniel Lafontaine, Director, SC Meat-Poultry Inspection Dept., Using Food Irradiation for Food Safety -- 7/27/04 - Dr. Eduardo Farfan, Dr. Marc Garland, Dr. Travis Knight, & Ms. Valencita Valdes, Nuclear Engineering Education Comes to South Carolina: A Discussion on New Programs -- 9/21/04 - Preston Rahe, President of Washington Group International, Back To The Future - WGI and CSRA Continuing a Fifteen Year Heritage of Reinvention. |
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| Charity Golf Tournament | Houndslake Country Club - August 6th | 95 Golfers - Profit $9,347. |
| Teller Lecture/Banquet | Augusta Towers Hotel & Convention Center - Dr. Henry Wagner, November 18th | 442 Attendees - Profit $6,008. |
| Outreach (Letters, Op-Eds, Press Releases, Newsletters, Community Meetings/Events | Total of 50 Letters, Op-Eds, Press Releases, etc. 3 Newsletters were sent out in 2004 Total of 93 meetings, lunches and dinners |
|
| SRS Heritage Center | On-going | |
| New Missions: MPF MOX SRNL Pit Disassembly & Conversion Facility |
On-going | |
| Webmaster | Updating and revision of CNTA website | Jeff Allender has a good start on this project |
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEES 2004-2005
| Board Offices | Chairperson | Susan Wood |
| Vice Chair | Dean Sackett | |
| Treasurer | Paul Rideout | |
| Executive Committee | Susan Wood, Chair Dean Sackett Keith Wood Bill Reinig Susan Cathey Paul Rideout (Ex Officio) |
|
| Standing Committees | Fred Davison Distinguished Scientist Award | Todd Crawford, Chair Carol Jantzen Major Thompson Ed Albenesius |
| Robert Maher Memorial Scholarship | Susan Wood, Chair Ralph Byington Susan Graham Keith Wood |
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| Finance | Susan Cathey, Chair Paul Rideout (Ex Officio) Craig McMullin John Paveglio |
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| Membership: Family | Vacant, Chair Susan Cathey |
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| Membership: Business | Vacant | |
| Corporate Sponsors | Keith Wood | |
| Golf Tournament | Susan Cathey, Chair Steve Sheetz Mel Buckner Stan Goodman Frank Shallo |
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| Membership Cultivation (Up & Atom Breakfasts, Teller Lecture, etc.) | Mal McKibben, Chair Karen Bonavita |
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| Nominations | Susan Wood, Chair Dean Sackett Keith Wood Bill Reinig Todd Crawford |
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| Outreach (Letters, Op-Eds, Press releases, Newsletters) | Mal McKibben, Chair Dean Sackett Paul Rideout Susan Cathey Keith Wood Bill Reinig Susan Wood |
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| Speakers Bureau | Steve Sheetz, Chair Todd Crawford Mel Buckner Bill Wabbersen Ken Stephens Gail Jernigan Craig Martin Ben Cross Susie Grant Mal McKibben (Ex-Officio) |
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| Ad Hoc Committees | Heritage Center | Walt Joseph, Chair Todd Crawford Don Orth Bob Young Lee Poe |
| SUNRISE Research/Teaching Reactor | Mel Buckner, Chair Mal McKibben Joe Kelley |
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| Webmaster | CNTA Site | Jeff Allender |
| Staff | Executive Director | Mal McKibben |
| Administrative Assistant | Karen Bonavita |
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