20 January 2005 Waynet Board Meeting Minutes

Waynet Executive Board Meeting
January 20, 2005

Present:

Randy Baker, President (Richmond Power & Light)
Misty Hollis, Vice-President/Treasurer (Wayne County Visioning)
Jim Buckler, Secretary (WorkOne)
Gary Arndts (Marketing & Creative Services)
Dudley Fetzer (First Bank Richmond)
Tom Kirk (Earlham College)
Jodi Johnson (Western Wayne Schools)
Bill Pendley (Potter’s Wheel Bed & Breakfast)
Jane Holman, Executive Director, Ex Officio, (WayNet.org)

Call to Order
President Randy Baker called the meeting to order at 12:10 PM in the large conference room at Richmond Power & Light.

Minutes from the Board meeting of November 18, 2004 were reviewed. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Dudley Fetzer and seconded by Bill Ponder. Motion carried.

Old Business
There were no Fee-Waivers for review.

The financial balance sheet for 2004 was reviewed. Ending balance for the year was $15,033.30. Expenses for the year were $6,666.84 less than budgeted. This was attributed to conservative spending knowing the uncertainty of the conversion to 501c3 incorporation. A motion was make by Misty Hollis and seconded by Tom Kirk to approve the budget. Motion carried.

New Business
The proposed budget for 2005 was reviewed. Based on the current number of members, an increase of basic members from 22-32 and sponsor members from 18-24 would be required. Jane’s salary needs to be reviewed. Application for grants are on hold until the conversion to 501c3 is complete. There is an issue with the current DP equipment Jane is using. In order to take on large projects her system will need to be upgraded as well as software. This may be covered by a potential $3000 grant. Jane encouraged board members to use their influence to recruit new members or encourage current members to upgrade to a higher level of sponsorship. A motion was made by Tom Kirk and seconded by Jodi Johnson to accept the 2005 budget with the exception of reviewing Jane’s salary. Motion carried.

The Marketing Committee report was presented by committee chair Jim Buckler. The proposal to convert from a membership to a sponsorship organization was presented. The sponsorship levels would be as follows.
Platinum - $2500
Gold - $1000
Silver - $500 (was Sponsoring level)
Bronze - $300/yr. or $75/qtr. (was Business level)
Contributor - $60/yr. (was not-for-profit or basic)
Supporter – Any donation amount, any time
Tax-deductible contributions are an added benefit for sponsors. The digital camera loan program and web seminars would be discontinued. Purchase of a Content Management software program was discussed as a possible tool for adding a benefit for sponsors (This is currently not in the 2005 budget). Once the conversion to 501c3 is complete, a letter to all current members would be drafted to explain the change. A news release promoting the change would be sent to Palladium-Item as well as Cambridge City. Even surrounding county newspapers such as Liberty, Connersville, New Castle Winchester and Indianapolis was suggested. Another mailing to Chamber members, Richmond /Wayne County as well as Western Wayne may be helpful. Emphasize the fact that over 1000 users visit WayNet.org on a daily basis. This can be a powerful and impressive selling fact to convince advertisers to sponsor WayNet. The relationship with Wayne County Tourism was discussed. This relationship has sometimes been contentious. Tourism and WayNet should be complimentary organizations. Information placed on Tourism’s calendar would be useful if added to WayNet’s calendar. Since Tourism is funded through a “bed tax” authorized by County Council, it was suggested that working with the Council or commissioners might help to build a closer relationship. A motion was made by Tom Kirk and seconded by Jodi Johnson to approve the sponsorship proposal as presented by the marketing committee. Motion carried.

Jane gave the Executive Director’s report. She began an ad campaign in the Palladium-Item. A 1”/1 column ad twice a week for 36 weeks is planned. The motto “one click to all things local on the Internet” was discussed. Jane was considering a change to “the key to all things on the Internet” using a key logo. However, discussion reflected the importance of consistency with mottos and logos. She completed the Artists of Wayne County project. She has worked on a new version of the home page. She showed four versions. The group’s preference leaned to version one. Jane will continue developing the home page. She wants to position the $2500 sponsorships toward the top of the page. She is also working with positioning of the weather center and photo. The Web Trends program has not been working. She has begun using AWStats program from our web host. We are currently averaging almost 34,000 user sessions per month with 3 times that on “hits.” There has been a decrease in users for 2004 compared to 2003. Some of this may be related to the change to a new web host during 2004 and using a different log analysis program. Misty Hollis moved to approve the Executive Director’s report. Dudley Fetzer seconded. The motion carried.

Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 1:35 PM. The next regular board meeting will be March 17, 2005 at noon, with lunch at 11:30 at Richmond Power & Light.

Respectfully submitted,

Jim Buckler
Secretary

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