November 2014 Sydney Burchell and Elections

Our November 2014 speaker was Sydney Burchell, one of Bob Gant’s star students. Sydney developed a process that converts the waste material from manufacturing Moon Shine into a sustainable food source and supply of recycle water for fermentation. Bob has praised the progress Sydney made in her project, and Sydney had the opportunity to explain the process she developed.

The November meeting had the youngest guest speaker in TIA history. Ms. Sydney Burchell, senior class president at Morristown-Hamblen High School East,  presented her original research project that made her the Southern Appalachian Science Fair Grand Champion and 1st place winner of the Environmental Management Division of the INTEL-International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, AZ.

Sydney described her work in developing a unique strain of edible fungus for converting Ole Smoky Mountain Moonshine waste into both a sustainable food source and a reliable supply of recycle water for fermentation. Her research demonstrated a low energy and cost alternative to conventional distillery waste processing withthe added benefit of creating high value pellets as catfish feed.

Election Information

The 2015 Officers and Board Members were elected at the November meeting. There are six officers of the TIA. These are a President, an Immediate Past President, a Vice President, a Corresponding Secretary, a Recording Secretary, and a Treasurer. All but the Immediate Past President are to be elected at the November TIA Meeting. The officers have the following duties:

The President presides over the meetings of the Board, the Annual Meeting, and any other meetings of the TIA. The President shall report on the health of the TIA at the Annual Meeting.

In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall carry out the duties of the President.

The Treasurer shall be the chief financial officer responsible for the financial matters of the TIA, subject to the direction of the Board.  The Treasurer shall report on the financial status of the TIA at the Annual Meeting.

The Recording Secretary shall be responsible for the records of the TIA including, but not limited to, a roster of the members and minutes of all meetings.

The Corresponding Secretary will distribute information concerning the TIA to outsider, primarily to inform the public of TIA activities.

The Board of Directors includes the 6 officers and 4 others who are elected for two-year terms. The Board of Directors are not limited in term, but every year two of the four directors are to be elected.

The following ballot shows the incumbents and the newly elected officers and board members. No one volunteered and no one was nominated as Recording Secretary. The position is currently unfilled.