President Dr. Rasma Lazda called the meeting to order at
9:00 a.m. Members present were Dr. Rasma Lazda, Gunars Cazers, Nellie Tietz,
Dieter Tietz, Trudy Clements, Dr. Douglas Lightfoot, Angela Ferguson, Lonnie
Davis, Ludwig Gustafson, Traci O'Brien, Raegan Lemmond.
I. Welcome and Announcements
• President Lazda welcomed all attendees and thanked Angela Ferguson
and Samford University for the room arrangements and the refreshments provided
• W.I.L.D., Weekend Immersed in Language Development, is to take place
on Friday, November 14 -Sunday November 16, 2008 at the YMCA Hargis Retreat
Center
• The 14th Annual High School German Day at the University of Alabama
will take place on Monday, March 2, 2009. Topic: Berühmte Persönlichkeiten.
• Congratulations to two chapter members: Dr. Rolf Goebel from the
University of Alabama in Huntsville for the best article in the German Quarterly,
and Dr. Douglas Lightfoot from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for
the best article in the Unterrichtspraxis.
• The AATG/ACTFL Annual Meeting will take place in Orlando, FL, November
21-23, 2008.
• The AAFLT Annual Conference, will be at the Birmingham Jefferson
Convention Center, in Birmingham, Alabama on February 6-7, 2009.
II. Old Business
A. Secretary-Treasurer's Report
The minutes of the previous meeting were read by Nellie Tietz and approved
as read by the membership. The financial report was then read. The September
balance was $1,559.06. The report was then also approved.
B. Dr. Lazda put a request for $150 before the membership.
As neither she nor any other officer will be able to attend the ACTFL Chapter
President's meeting, she asked that the $150 available in the budget for
this purpose be given to Dr. Douglas Lightfoot, who will be her representative
at that meeting. The request was voted on and approved.
C. National Testing and Awards Program
Dr. Lazda will be contacting Tom Nadar from Auburn, to confirm that he is
still willing to chair the program.
III. New Business
A. German Olympiad
Trudy Clements explained the program to the members and encouraged everyone
to participate. The competition includes online essays and a reading competition.
The 2nd round will be in Chicago. The winner of the competition wins a trip
to Germany.
B. Chapter Project Proposals
Dr. Lazda suggested having an immersion weekend for teachers, and asked
if there was any interest. After discussing the possibilities, everyone
agreed that this would be a good idea. Dr. Lazda will submit the idea as
a chapter project proposal.
C. Alle lernen Deutsch – Minority students and German.
http://ald.aatg.org/resources/making connections/
There was a lively discussion about attracting minority students to the
study of German. The discussion produced two suggestions:
• Put the rap produced by Verena Bolten's students, which they performed
on German Day, on the web. Everyone agreed the rap was fantastic and that
it would be a good way to attract minority students, as it had been produced
and executed by minority students.
• Offer a session at the AAFLT Conference which would consist of a
panel discussion of university students who are part of a minority group
and who are currently taking German. The members present voted on awarding
a stipend of $30 to participating students in order to encourage participation.
All university professors present agreed to try to find students willing
to participate.
IV. Other
Trudy Clements reported on the plight of AATG member Serena Duncan, whose
husband is critically ill with cancer. Everyone asked what they could do
to help. Trudy suggested donating Sick Bank days to Serena, as she has no
days left. She also suggested donating blood in Davie Duncan's name. All
members present sent their heartfelt greetings to Serena and wished her
the strength to persevere in this very difficult time.
V. Adjournement
The business meeting was adjourned by the president at 11:35 a.m.
VI. Study Abroad
All members who have had or currently have a study or travel abroad program
reported on their experiences, good and bad. Everyone contributed to the
discussion and felt they had learned some do's and don't from each other.
The discussion ended at 12:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Nellie Tietz
Secretary/Treasurer