The following message will be sent soon to the ICS e-list. Please distribute it to any one or any list you think may be interested. If you are not on the ICS e-list and want to be added for all of the latest updates and news, contact me.
George --------------------------------------------------- Dear Friends, Some of you have been wondering how you can help with the 15th International Congress of Speleology (ICS). The ICS is organized entirely by volunteers and all assistance is welcome. There will be many things to prepare, do, and dismantle before, during, and after the ICS. For more information and if you want to help, please contact Nancy Weaver, our Volunteer Coordinator, at nan...@io.com. Here are two special and very different ways you can help: Auction: Each year, members of the U.S. National Speleological Society (NSS) donate interesting, unusual, and often rare items for auction at the annual convention. The funds go to supporting speleological projects and activities. This tradition is being brought for the first time to the ICS. People from around the world are encouraged to donate cave-related items for the auction, which will occur on Wednesday evening, 22 July 2009. What types of items are auctioned? Books, photographs, artwork, music, newsletters and journals, jewelry, historic equipment, registration to future conferences and trips... anything cave-related. Use your imagination! Remember, what may not seem special to you may be precious and rare to people from other countries. The auction is always exciting and fun, and will provide needed money to the speleological organization of your choice: the International Union of Speleology or the NSS. Security: The ICS Security Task Force needs people to watch the gate into the ICS, and roam the university campus to help out with questions, directions, and anything that will make the ICS run smoothly. This should be easy, but with all the various languages involved it will also be interesting and fun. We need to get volunteers soon to schedule you into a time slot to earn your ICS Security t-shirt. All you have to do is to work one 4-hour shift on the gate and one 4-hour shift roaming the campus. Simple, and many of you would do it anyway! Please contact Ernie Coffman at ecjc...@charter.net so he can put you into the schedule and order you a nice shirt. George George Veni, Ph.D. Chairman, 15th International Congress of Speleology Adjunct Secretary, International Union of Speleology Executive Director, U.S. National Cave and Karst Research Institute