Called to order: 7:10PM
Attendees: Dick Gingras, Andy Woodruff, Lisa Leifels, Jim Scheef, Bruce Preston, Bill Saturno, Bert Goff
Minutes of previous meeting were accepted.
Treasurer report
Balance on hand 6/1/14 |
$3,546.22
|
INCOME | |
Dues | $105.00 |
Total Income | $105.00 |
EXPENSES | |
Newsletter Postage | $112.67 |
Newsletter Printing | $156.00 |
Renewal Postcard Postage & Supplies | $10.20 |
Resource Center Phone/Internet | $71.63 |
Total Expenses | $350.50 |
Balance on hand 6/30/14 | $3,300.72 |
Bank Balance | $3,216.85 |
PayPal Balance | $83.87 |
Confirmed Balance | $3,300.72 |
Board Meeting topics
- Recognized Lisa and Andy for organizing the Hackers Fair and Bruce for conducting the XP to Ubuntu workshop.
- Discussed suggestions for 25th year celebratory events and preparation.
- We need to list all of DACS assets and replacement costs. Bert said he would do it by September. During discussion it appears that the projector is the only high-value current asset, we discussed scrapping much of the obsolete items in the resource center such as 32-bit processor computers, the rack cabinet, 10/100 switches and routers, etc. New Milford will accept electronics for recycling at no charge.
- In the past much of the Board Meetings have concentrated on determining program for general meetings. The board feels that it should concentrate on long-term goals, especially increasing membership, and have a program committee work on identifying general meeting content. Dick asked Lisa to be on committee. Bruce will attend if it can be a virtual meeting. Andy also likes idea of virtual meeting as it doesn’t require investment in travel time. Dick will set up a distribution list for program committee. With that Bruce can create a Skype group for conference calling. It was also suggested that we name Steve Harkness as “DACS Evangelist as he has demonstrated skill in spreading the word about DACS with door-to-door canvassing of local area businesses.
- Discussed revenue producing options:
- Bert will investigate as to whether a portion of dues qualifies as IRS tax deduction. If so we should so state on web enrollment form etc.
- Discussed pro/con of “Amazon Smile” click-through program for non-profits, etc. (see http://smile.amazon.com/about) Bert will look into it. Jim asked if it would be viewed negatively by advertisers in DACS.doc? Consensus was that Amazon is targeted for ‘goods’ where DACS.doc advertisers tend to be ‘services’.
- Bill will put together a sheet with suggested types of advertizing we might offer.
- We are a 501c3 non-profit and as such we can accept tax deductible contributions of cash or property. Do we have the required forms to give to recipients? Bert will create one.
- Re-establish and revise Newsletter Ad rates. Deferred until we get Bill’s sheet (c above)
- Dick would like to create Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze sponsorship levels
- Corp membership dues linked to annual Bronze sponsorship prerequisite ($150)?
- Still based on advertising?
- Web site ad links
Comments: Four levels may be overkill. Jim suggested linking sponsorship to 25th anniversary of club.
- Solicit relevant area retailers to offer 6-month DACS membership free with purchases > $xxx. This would be a one-time per family offer. Bill will write up an implementation plan.
- Benefits of membership include SIGS and our award winning newsletter. Dick has heard several people comment “Why join when I can get the newsletter free online”. Since dacs.org website has undergone an overhaul, it is planned to have a MEMBERS ONLY section that provides added value such as current DACS.doc newsletters, a membership directory that can be edited by each member, upload photos, surveys, SIG notes/code/scripts, links to special offers (such as APCUG discounts,computer/tablet/smartphone discounts from area retailers), etc.
- Annette distributed an e-mail that described the currently available but not implemented mechanism for authentication. If we implement this the follow-on would be to integrate authentication to CiviCRM such that members would be able to post to forum, update their profile, etc.
- For visitors to site: Collect first name, last name, and email at a minimum with other optional info (TBD) User is sent an automated email with temporary password and instructed to respond. What additional material would they then be able to access?
- Dacs.org opens with the login screen and instructs new user to assign a permanent password and granted access. (Later, when we are integrated with CiviCRM, if user is not already a member the user is encouraged to join DACS to get extended access.
At this point we digressed into production of videos promoting DACS consisting of recorded general meetings etc. We went off on a tangent as to distribution rights especially if post-production was done at Comcast or Charter facility.
- Public Relations push:
- Press release mailing status – Did newspapers print our GM press releases. If not we need to understand why!Ridgefield Press: No (Bruce checked)Danbury News-Times: No (Bruce checked)Newtown Bee: Yes (Dick & Lisa)New Milford: No (Jim)Others? Need to check with Richard T. to see which other media outlets received press releases for John Patrick and the Camera meetings.
- Web site – share links with other sites including SCORE, Hackerspace, Candlewood Camera Club, GM presenters’ websites, etc.
- Social media – radio & cable TV e.g. WXCI (WestConn), cumulus.com (i95) Berkshire Broadcasting (WLAD) Comcast, Charter, etc. New member Tom Zarecki has contacts here and will approach.
- Social media – internet e.g. HamletHub.com, Patch.com, etc. We will look to Tom Zarecki again.
- Discussion of future meeting topics.
As reported earlier, the determination of general meeting programs will be handled by the program committee. A few assignments for preview and review were made and are reported here:- August 5: Protecting yourself, your computer, and your identity (Avast! evangelist) Preview: Bruce or Steve H, Review: Steve or Bruce
- September 2: Constant Contact Preview: Lisa, Review: ________
- October 7: Orienteering Preview: Bill, Review: ________
- November 4 T.B.D. Preview: ________, Review: ________
Note: The program committee will take up these items, and in the future only ready-to-go items will be reported to the board and show up in the minutes. Only items discussed during this board meeting will be listed here.
- “Meet the SIG” segment between the Ask DACS session and the featured presentation. – We have been through the active SIGS so we will suspend this component of the general meeting for a while unless a new SIG is formed.
- Wait for rumored Apple announcement of a bio-monitoring capability.
- Bill Saturno may have access to someone who has Google Glass, and perhaps other health-related wearable devices.
Jim brought a different microphone/speaker combination to the meeting and connected for use by Skype. The entire meeting went without Skype audio drop outs where people in the resource center weren’t heard by Skype participants. We will acquire like components for virtual meeting usage. Purchase price is well within the discretionary authorization limit of the president.
Adjourned: 9:20PM