Activities

Through the Semester we held regular meetings of the Chapter. In October we participated in the first ever AFS Student Retreat in Ocean Springs, MS, on the 25th and 26th. In November we had the chapter cookout graciously hosted at the house of Shawn and Shelly Earles. In February we attended th Mississippi AFS Annual State Meeting at Delta State. In addition, we also sent 3 students to the Southern Division Meeting in Wilmington, NC.

February 2002: The officers represented the MSU Student Subunit at the AFS Southern Division Mid-year Meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas by presenting a poster presentation on the history of the MSU Student Subunit.

February 2002: Attendance and participation at joint meeting of the Mississippi and Louisiana Chapters of the AFS in Biloxi, Mississippi from 2/6 to 2/8/2002. A total of 14 members attended the meeting. Registration costs for members without research funds are being covered by the proceeds from funds awarded by the MSU Student Association. Additionally, the Subunit arranged for lodging and travel for those without funding. Members participated in the meeting by assisting with the Student Caucus, selling raffle tickets for the student raffle, selling club t-shirts, serving as moderators of technical sessions, and presenting research results. Additionally, the officers also represented the MSU Student Subunit at the meeting by presenting a poster presentation on the history of the club.

January 2002: Had t-shirts made to celebrate the arrival of our twentieth anniversary in Fall 2002. The design used on the current t-shirt is the same design used on the t-shirts made by the club in its inaugural year (1982).

January 2002: Solicited and obtained donations from local and regional merchants for a student raffle to be held at the joint meeting of the Mississippi and Louisiana Chapters of the AFS in February 2002. Proceeds from the raffle will help fund student travel awards available for all student members of the Mississippi Chapter-AFS.

November to December 2001: Held annual Christmas fruit sale to raise funds to reduce the costs of attending the annual meeting of the Mississippi Chapter-American Fisheries Society for Subunit members.

November 2001: Weekly cleanup of student lounge as part of community service activity organized by Dean’s Council of the MSU College of Forest Resources.

November 2001: Hosted guest speaker as part of our Departmental Seminar Series. Dr. Mark Belk (Department of Zoology, Brigham Young University) gave two seminars during his visit to Mississippi State. Dr. Belk presented an informal seminar to the MSU Subunit members on “Species concepts and rare desert fishes: detecting cryptic species of leatherside chub” on 11/29/2001. He presented a university wide seminar discussing “Restoration of the Provo river: creating refuge in a dangerous world” on 11/30/2001.

November 2001: Hosted guest speaker as part of our Departmental Seminar Series. Dr. Steve Mims (Aquaculture Research Center, Kentucky State University) gave a seminar discussing “An overview of Kentucky aquaculture” on 11/6/2001.

October 2001: Held workshop on resume design. Five MSU graduate students and one faculty member shared their thoughts on effective resume design for obtaining graduate, professional, and faculty positions in fisheries, aquaculture, and ecology.

August 2001: Updated our web page as part of our commitment to disseminating fisheries/aquaculture information to the Mississippi State University community, the State of Mississippi, and the world.

May 2001: Elected officers for the 2001-2002 school year and the officers are as follows: Rocky Smiley (President), John Davis (Vice-President), Shelley McNamara (Treasurer), Rohasliney Hashim (Secretary).

April 2001: Hosted guest speaker as part of our Departmental Seminar Series. Dr. Glenn Parsons (Department of Biology, University of Mississippi) gave a seminar on “Shark research in the Gulf of Mexico”.

March 2001: Held meeting to discuss restructuring of the web page.

March 2001: A donation of $200 was made to the American Red Cross to assist with storm-related disaster relief efforts in Oktibbeha and Pontotoc Counties.

February 2001: Attendance and participation at the Mississippi Chapter-AFS meeting in Jackson, MS. A total of eight members attended the meeting. Members participated in the meeting by assisting with the organization of the Student Caucus, serving as moderators of technical sessions, and presenting research results. A summary of the MSU Student Subunit activities during Fall Semester 2000 was presented by Rocky Smiley (Vice-President) at the business meeting.

December 2000 – Annual Christmas Fruit Sale

November 2000 – Guest Speaker – Scott Syska. How to Get a Job with a State or Federal Agency. Missouri Department of Conservation

October 2000 – Workshop – “How to get a graduate position in fisheries”

September 1999 – Guest Speaker – Tad Penczak. Riverine ichthyological research in Poland. Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology, University of Lodz, Poland.

September 1999 – Guest Speaker – Angelo Agostinho. Patterns of colonization in Neotropical Reservoirs. Universidade Estadual de Maringa, DBI - Nupelia, Maringa, Parana, Brazil.

October 1999 – Community Service – Helped raise funds for the United Way by participating in the MSU Campus Board Activities Halloween Festival.

December 1999 - Prepare, edit, copy, and distribute of Mississippi Chapter AFS newsletter and maintain chapter membership roster.

December 1999 – Annual Christmas Fruit Sale

February 2000 – Attendance and participation in annual meeting of the MS Chapter-AFS. Organized first Student Caucus ever held at the annual meeting.

April 2000 – Fishing Rodeo – Chadwick Lake, MSU

April 2000 – Guest Speaker – Dr. Dale Holt. Objectivity: the view from nowhere. Department of Philosophy and Religion, Mississippi State University.

April 2000 - Participated in student colloquium with University of Arkansas- Pine Bluff Fisheries Subunit

April 1999 - GIS workshop

February 1999 - Prepare, edit, copy, and distribute of Mississippi Chapter AFS newsletter and maintain chapter membership roster

February 1999 - Co-organized annual meeting of the Mississippi Chapter AFS held at MSU

February 1999 - Accepted as an official student sub-unit by Miss Chapter of the American Fisheries Society during annual chapter meeting here at MSU

February 1999 - Assisted with Mississippi 4H Youth Sportfishing Program

December 1998 - GPS workshop

November-December 1998 - Annual Christmas Fruit Sale

November 1998 – Guest Speaker - Mickey Porter. Application of Geographic Resource Analysis and Support System (GRASS) to commercial catfish aquaculture. Department of Natural Sciences. Mississippi Valley State University.

November 1998 – Guest Speaker - Bill Beaumont. Temporal dynamics of chalk stream fish populations in England: “the damn things move you know!” Institute of Freshwater Ecology, Wareham, England

October 1998 - Participated in annual MSU Discovery Day

August 1998 – Guest Speaker - Jim Reynolds. Current research with electrofishing in fisheries science. University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

June 1998 - Workshop - Boat-repair workshop (in cooperation with Columbus Boat Gallery)

April 1998 - Organized and hosted a two-day student colloquium with University of Arkansas- Pine Bluff Fisheries Subunit.

February 1998 - Co-organized annual meeting of the Mississippi Chapter AFS in Bay St Louis. Hosted raffle (art prints and AFS books) at the meeting as club fundraiser.

January 1998 – Guest Speaker - Chris O'Bara, Tennessee Technological University

November-December 1997 – Annual Christmas fruit sale

October 1997 – Guest Speaker - Barry Smith, American Sportfish, Inc.

September 1997 – Guest Speaker – Donna Minnis, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Mississippi State University.

June 1997 - Assisted with annual Kid's Fishing Day at Waverly Waters Resort in West Point

1997-1998 Participated in Mississippi DOT 'Adopt-a-Highway' program

February 1997 – Guest Speaker - Charles Knight, Director of Natural Heritage Program with the Mississippi Natural Science Museum

Fall 1996 – Guest Speaker – Dale Holt, Department of Philosophy and Religion, Mississippi State University.

Assisted with educational outreach program at Noxubee Wildlife Refuge. Talked with school groups about fish, fisheries, and aquatic ecology.

Had hats made with embroidered logo to help raise money for the club.