The Minnesota Section of the American Institute of Professional Geologists - Executive Committee (ExComm) is working on revising the Minnesota Section bylaws.

Here’s a summary of the DRAFT revisions made to the 1991 version of our Bylaws:

• Secretary and Treasurer are now identified as separate officer roles filled through the process of election every 2 years.  Although not specified in the DRAFT Bylaws, it may be feasible to fuse the Secretary and Webmaster roles in practice (pending candidate interest) given that our website is now our primary hub for documentation/communication.
• The National AIPG Code of Ethics is now referenced in our Section’s Bylaws given the relatively new ethics continuing education requirements for geologists licensed in MN.
• Officer and Executive Committee Director descriptions have been specified further.
• Further descriptions of the Standing Committees have been included to parallel National’s Section Officers’ Manual requirements.
• Redundant terminology has been reduced.
• More inclusive language has been added to modernize the Bylaws.
• Some confusing language has been clarified where it was previously observed.
• Modern methods of sharing information and voting on business matters have been identified in the Bylaws given the ubiquitous usage of online platforms for professional communication today.

The proposed bylaws revision document can be viewed here: Proposed Revised Bylaws

The existing bylaws (from 1991) can be viewed here: Existing Bylaws

The Schedule:

1. An emailed notice shall be sent to the Members of the MN Section of AIPG and published online informing them that a comprehensive revision/update to our Bylaws is being proposed for ExComm review.
2. The DRAFT Bylaws should be reviewed in their entirety and the proposed modifications should be appropriately scrutinized by the Voting Members of ExComm.
3. After 30 days’ notice to our Section Members, ExComm can so move to approve or reject the DRAFT Bylaws for submittal to the National AIPG Secretary.  
4. If the DRAFT Bylaws are rejected by ExComm, they will be reviewed and modified accordingly before another version is drafted for ExComm vote.
5. If the Draft Bylaws are approved by ExComm, they can be formally submitted to the National AIPG Secretary for review.
6. If the proposed revisions to the MN Section Bylaws are deemed acceptable by the National AIPG Secretary, the Bylaws will be submitted to the National AIPG Executive Committee for approval or rejection at the next AIPG National Annual Meeting in September 2017. 

If you have any comments or questions, please send them to Adam Krieger.

Join us to remember our colleague, friend, and mentor, Gil Gabanski. Gil passed away suddenly at his home on March 31. Let us gather and celebrate Gil's life, share memories of him, and connect with one another.

The Memorial Social for Gil Gabanski will take place on Thursday, June 29, 2017 from 4:30-6:30 PM at the Able Seedhouse + Brewery.  Please register for the event.

Minnesota Brownfields will be putting together a few photo posters. If you have any photos of Gil you would like to share, please send them to Natalie Brown at nbrown@mnbrownfields.org.

Thank you to Minnesota Brownfields for organizing this event! The event is supported by the Minnesota Section of the American Institute of Professional Geologists and the Minnesota Ground Water Association. Gil was an active member of all three organizations.

AIPG member Gil Gabanski unexpectedly passed away on Friday, March 31^st at his home. Gil’s family is planning a remembrance service, and we’ll update our members when details become available in the coming weeks/months.

Gil was involved in several professional organizations in Minnesota, including the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) Minnesota Section, the Minnesota Groundwater Association (MGWA), and Minnesota Brownfields.  Gil was an early member of the Minnesota Brownfields Advisory Committee. Gil was a co-founder of MGWA and also the President of the MGWA Foundation for many years. Gil also served on the Professional Geologist licensing committee in the late 1990s.

Gil was an active, engaged, and enthusiastic volunteer for the AIPG Minnesota Section.  He was very involved in the early days of the AIPG MN Section – helping us recruit members and keep the section growing. Recently, he was serving as a Director and on the Bylaws Revision Committee. It was Gil’s idea to start the Student Support Committee, and he chaired the committee since its inception in 2015.  The committee reviews dozens of college/university student resumes each year at no cost.  He participated in many of our geoscience career panels and presentations at local colleges/universities. On Monday, March 27, Gil was a guest presenter in the Practical Skills for Professional Geologists course at the University of Minnesota. His talk left such an impression, that a couple of the students told their professor that they were now considering careers in environmental geology as a result of Gil’s visit! 

Gil was a judge at the Minnesota Academy of Sciences State High School Science Fair for the last 11 years and always encouraged his fellow geologists to volunteer as well.

Gil worked for several companies over the years.  Most recently he worked at Hennepin County in the Contaminated Lands Unit where he helped manage the Environmental Response Fund grant program. He also kept his own consulting firm, GJG Environmental Consultants, going for the last 15 years.

Gil had a profound impact on the groundwater and geosciences professional communities in Minnesota. Gil was a mentor and friend to many of us and he will be missed.

04/18/2017 - Gil's family has posted an obituary, which includes visitation information. Visitation to be from 3 to 7 PM on Thursday, June 8, 2017 at Gearty-Delmore Plymouth Chapel, 15800 37th Avenue North at Vicksburg Lane. 763-553-1411 or www.gearty-delmore.com

The Minnesota Section of the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) is pleased to announce our 2016 Scholarship winner: Glen J. Hartford, Jr. a geology major at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Glen’s professors and teammates have high praise for his leadership, academic knowledge, excellent character, and his “immense passion for rocks as well as people.” Glen is a starting football player and a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).  Glen intends to use the $1,000 towards a geology field camp registration this summer.

Congratulations Glen! 

The election of the AIPG MN Section 2017 officers and the nomination of the 2017 Executive Committee Directors is complete.

The election resulted in Stephanie A. Theriault elected as President-Elect, Ryan Q. Mathieu elected as Vice President, and Adam Krieger elected as Secretary-Treasurer.

The Executive Committee Directors serve a two-year team (2017-2018). Paula Berger, Robert Blakely, Gilbert Gabanski, Nathan Gruman, and Ryan Schaefer were nominated as directors; Shanna Schmitt, as Past-President, is automatically an Executive Committee Director for one-year.

A big thank you to our outgoing Officers and Directors: Jake Dalbec, Dan Hunter, Paul Putzier, and Laura Scheid! The Minnesota Section is better because of you!  

Congratulations to everyone and thanks for in volunteering! Thanks to all the members who took the time to vote. Click here (http://aipgmn.org/board.php) for a listing of the 2017 Officers and Directors.

As a 2017 AIPG MN Section Sponsor, your personal AIPG MN member account has been credited with 2 Luncheon Vouchers.  You can use them for anyone you register using your member account during 2017.

When you get to the payment screen, you'll see a section where you can select to use a voucher: 

Please select how many vouchers you'd like to use and click on APPLY.  You'll proceed through the registration process with a $0 balance.  If you have questions or issues using the vouchers, please contact Shanna Schmitt at past-president@aipgmn.org or 651.757.2697.  Thank you for your sponsorship!

The AIPG Minnesota Section Sponsorship Committee is pleased to announce we are now offering Section Sponsorships for the 2017 calendar year. This annual sponsorship will be $250 per year, and will provide the following benefits to sponsors:

• Company or individual name/logo featured on a continuous loop PowerPoint display for approximately 30 minutes before/during the announcements at the beginning of each monthly meeting.
• Company or individual name/logo featured in a sidebar on each monthly meeting agenda.
• Company or individual name/logo featured on the AIPG Minnesota Section website.
• Two free lunch meeting attendances to be used at any time during the calendar year (cannot be carried over to later years). Two voucher credits will be added to your membership account and will be visible when you login and register for a meeting on to the Minnesota Section website.
• Option to give a 3 minute presentation at a monthly meeting (coordinate in advance with the Section President)
• Company or individual name/logo listed as a sponsor on the AIPG Minnesota Section newsletter (quarterly).

The AIPG Minnesota Section is one of the most active sections in the country because of the participation of our members. A large part of the participation in the Minnesota Section is the monthly meetings. Please consider becoming a Section Sponsor to help us continue to be able to offer low cost monthly meetings to all.

If you would like to become a Minnesota Section Sponsor or have questions about the sponsorship, please contact us at sponsorship@aipgmn.org or paula.berger@wspgroup.com. 

You can "order" your 2017 Section Sponsorship on our website here!

Bruce Johnson awarded the 2016 AIPG Section Leadership Award!

Bruce Johnson, CPG-9364 was awarded the AIPG's 2016 Section Leadership Award. Bruce's nomination was published in the AIPG Honors & Awards booklet at the 2016 AIPG National meeting. The award was established by the AIPG Executive Committee in 2013 to recognize members who have demonstrated exceptional leadership for their section. The award details can be found here.

The nomination reads: "Bruce has been a leader and supporter of the Minnesota Section for many years. He's done so much to keep our Section active and promote professional geology in Minnesota.

Bruce has been actively involved inthe AIPG Minnesota Section for years.  He's held almost every position within our Section, but my favorite has been the Field Trip Committee!  I've been on at least 3 fabulous field trips arranged by Bruce. He was heavily involved in planning and field trips when the Twin Cities hosted the AIPG Annual Meeting, which is when I started being a more active member.  Bruce has helped organize at least 15 of our annual Spring Social eents and many of our golf fundraising events. Bruce is very generous with his time volunteering. He's organized our student scholarship for years, has given numerous geology talks to students, and participated in several recent career panels at local universities. Bruce is an involuable resource for the Minnesota Section!"

Thank you Bruce!!!

Students from the University of St. Thomas Geology Department recently formed an AIPG Student Chapter.  Thier bylaws were signed on 02/13/2015, and AIPG Headquarters recognized them on 03/30/2015. Congratulations!

Sara Nelson of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is the AIPG MN Section liason with the University of St. Thomas AIPG Student Chapter.