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The ISTS has a 10-member Board of Directors (BoD), plus a President, a President-Elect, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. Further, the presidents of the previous 3 annual terms participate in the BoD meetings providing their expertise and knowledge.

The ISTS BoD has typically gathered once each year during the Symposium to conduct its corporate business, but in 2004 we realized that a single BoD meeting per year is insufficient given all the responsibilities surrounding the organization of a gigantic annual symposium and management of more than 1000 members. Thus, the first BoD retreat took place in August 2004 at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, where, among other things, the Vision and Mission Statements of our Society were established (Mast 2004). In line with the above thoughts, we conducted the second BoD retreat from 15 through 17 August 2005 at the same place. Thirteen
BoD and Executive Committee members participated from Asia, Australia, Central America, the Mediterranean, and the USA. The results were excellent, several issues of major importance werediscussed, with crystal-clear procedures and transparency being the overall concerns. I report below some of the most pressing issues.

Nominations
Our current system of renewing the Officers of the Society (i.e., President, Secretary, Treasurer) and the BoD of the Society depends largely on the good work of the Nominating Committee (NC). This 5-member Committee, elected by the membership, has the responsibility of drawing from the vast reservoir of our members people who are willing and have the capabilities to become an Officer or BoD member of the Society, or member of the NC itself.

The NC consists now of Matthew Godfrey (chair), Larisa Avens, Angela Formia, Neca Marcovaldi, and Jeanette Wyneken (past BoD member). The current NC has the task to elaborate a slate for President-Elect, a Secretary, a Treasurer, 2 members for the BoD, and 2 members for the NC (one of whom, for the forthcoming
term, should be a past BoD member). The NC should finish with this and present it for approval to the BoD, by 31 December 2005. In order to assist the NC, in its important task, please submit to the NC Chair Matthew Godfrey <mgodfrey@seaturtle.org> your suggestions for President Elect, Secretary and Treasurer as well as nominations to fill the two vacancies in the BoD (5-year term) and the 2 vacancies in the NC (2-year term). Do not hesitate to suggest or nominate colleagues with experience, enthusiasm, team-spirit and availability for work. Please, note that the deadline for submitting nominations to the NC
is 15 November 2005. The final slate of candidates, approved by the BoD, will be posted to all members and on the ISTS website, by the end of February 2006.

Additional nominations, for BoD and NC members, will be accepted from the floor at the ISTS Plenary meeting to be heldd uring the next Symposium (Island of Crete, Greece, April 2006). Nominees should be prepared to provide a written statement that he/she accepts the nomination. If the slate contains multiple names for the same position(s), a secret ballot shall be conducted at the Plenary. Please note that only members of the Society can nominate someone, and the nominee has to be a member of the Society.

Resolutions
A topic that received much discussion among members of the BoD was the ISTS’s current policies for receiving, reviewing and approving resolutions, a process that has become cumbersome and even controversial in recent years. The main issue at hand is whether or not the ISTS is meeting its full potential as an advocacy leader for sea turtles. Resolutions are usually admonishments or criticisms addressed to individuals, governments, and/or the World Bank, UN or other multilateral agencies. While the targets of these resolutions may indeed warrant criticism for their actions (or inaction) in relation to sea turtle conservation, these resolutions are typically ignored and seldom, if ever, have any long term positive impact; nor are the resolutions themselves used in any positive way to communicate our message to other audiences.

It was felt by the BoD that a more effective advocacy strategy for the ISTS is definitely needed. For instance, such a strategy might reward the people and institutions who manifest positive actions in support of the ISTS’s Vision and Mission, rather than continue a fragmentary and random criticism of those whom we perceive to be “wrong-doers.” Rewarding positive behavior is a far more marketable communications tool, and as such could serve to draw media attention to the ISTS and to the “stars” in our movement whose actions most merit recognition. To further explore this, as well as other ideas, a Task Force was formed (chairs: Rod Mast, Jeff Seminoff) to propose means of more effectively leveraging the substantial advocacy power of the ISTS. The Task Force will present a report to the BoD by 31 January 2006. The BoD will discuss the report and present the final proposals at the next Plenary meeting on the Island of Crete.

In the meantime, and since some members may have already planned submission of resolutions, we will continue receiving resolution proposals at the next BoD and Plenary meetings, especially if these constitute urgent or important issues or have a great probability to provide meaningful results. However, the resolution procedures for the next Symposium will be very strict, as far as the deadlines and the contents are concerned, in order to have more time for consultation, to be more effective and to avoid unnecessary controversies. For instance, resolution proposals to be discussed at the next Symposium should be submitted by 31 January 2006 at the latest. Please, check the new Resolution Guidelines at
the Symposium website before submitting a resolution proposal.

Modification of Constitution and By-laws
Following discussions from the 2004 BoD retreat and the BoD meeting in Savannah, we have made some modifications to the ISTS Constitution and By-laws for better consistency and clarity. Soon, we will post these documents with the proposed
amendments to the ISTS website for input by the membership. The final discussion and voting will be done at the next Plenary meeting (Island of Crete, Greece, April 2006).

Institutional Strengthening
A Finance Task Force consisting of Roderic Mast, Nick Pilcher, Frank Paladino, Michael Coyne, was established at the 2004 BoD retreat and its representative, Roderic Mast, reported on a proposed strategy to add a paid staff member (an Executive Director, or some similar function) to the ISTS structure. In concept, this staff member would serve to strengthen the ISTS in its efforts to fundraise for its annual recurring costs, as well as to establish a cash reserve to buffer against the risk of a crisis situation. The Finance Task Force was asked to provide further research and insight on this idea in Greece, and to suggest ways in which such a change might be financed and implemented.

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank all participants, some of them crossing half the globe, for their valuable contributions, and for providing freely their expertise and knowledge: Lisa Campbell, Milani Chaloupka, Michael Coyne, Ed Drane, Nancy FitzSimmons, Rod Mast, Clara Padilla, Frank Paladino, Jeff Seminoff, Kartik Shanker, Manjula Tiwari, Thane Wibbels. Thanks also to: Earl Possardt for arranging the meeting and accommodation facilities at the NCTC; Rod Mast for providing his home as a staging (and dining) area for those arriving at the airport; Thane Wibbels for arranging our transportation to and from NCTC; Brendan Godley for, despite the fact that he couldn’t make it to the meeting, providing important issues for discussion. Conservation International’s Sea Turtle Flagship Program financed the retreat both in 2004 and 2005.

MAST, R.B. 2004. The International Sea Turtle Society celebrates its first annual planning retreat in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, USA (August 16-19, 2004). Marine Turtle Newsletter 106:13-14.