About Us | Meeting Minutes

Board Meeting Minutes - May 18, 2017

Present:

  • Pam Merchanthouse, President (Friends Fellowship Community)
  • Beth Fields (Wayne County Government)
  • Tim Love (Reid Hospital & Health Care Services)
  • Jenie Lahmann (Morrisson-Reeves Library
  • Rob Tidrow, (Richmond Community Schools)
  • Brad Glover, Vice-President/Treasurer (First Bank Richmond)
  • Dakota Collins (City of Richmond)
  • Jane Holman (Executive Director, WayNet.org, Ex-Officio)

Absent:

  • Aubrey Blue, Secretary (Cope Environmental Center)
  • Lynn Knight, (Earlham College)
  • David Burton (Burton & Simkin Attorneys)
  • Randy Baker (Richmond Power and Light)
  • Richard Peterson (Porter Advertising, LLC)

Call to Order:

President, Pam Merchanthouse called the meeting to order at approximately 12:00 Noon in the Conference Room of Richmond Power and Light, and added appreciation for the use of the room.

Approval of Minutes

Rob Tidrow motioned approval of the March 16, 2017 meeting minutes, seconded by Dakota Collins and the motion passed unanimously.

Mrs. Holman provided an update on the membership drive and announced Lynn Knight wins the Chili's gift card, as she brought on Radford's as a new WayneNet member. Also, Kent's Harbor Marine is recently joined.

Review of Financial Report:

Net change to membership is ($400), as we lost TBK America due to non-payment and the Pal-Item has not responded to our continued requests for payment. They were a 20-year member, and Jane has extracted them from the website. Tim Love motioned approval of the financials, seconded by Brad Grover and the motion passed unanimously.

Director's Report

Mrs. Holman shared an election/political press release, and said this was discussed by the executive board, and they requested the input of the entire board. Mrs. Holman said she accepts press releases and typically posts for a two week period, but none have been for a political candidate. Noting this could create more requests of this nature, a discussion ensued concerning whether or not candidates should become a member, and the board determined this post would be appropriate and to monitor this type of activity.

Mrs. Holman then asked where WayneNet fits in, with the recent downsizing of the Palladium-Item. She asked if we need to change our mission statement. Mr. Tidrow stated this is an opportunity for WayneNet, as local news and local high school sports are of a great interest to our community.

Dakota Collins suggested WayneNet consider a long term strategic plan, to include strategies for the future, a marketing plan, and where we fit into everything. He said he is working to set-up a meeting of interested parties that filter information to our community, and suggested after that meeting, WayneNet can meet and determine where we fit in and what our niche would be. For instance, the EDC has a new employment website and we could link to them, and maybe our calendar page could become the calendar for the community.

Jane mentioned our website needs to be refreshed and that comes at a cost of $10,000 to $15,000. Dakota suggested we use other groups as sponsors, and let them link to our calendar. Mr. Tidrow said he was at a recent meeting and learned there was a need for daycare providers, and said WayneNet has that information. Jenie Lahmann felt we could capitalize on our "one click to all things local" slogan. She also suggested RSS feeds from our schools to WayneNet, as school sports news is popular.

Mr. Collins asked if it was feasible to have one calendar for all users, noting different organizations would have a different focus and audience and asked about filters for the calendar information. Mrs. Holman said there are numerous calendar packages available, and it would take research to find the right one, and it would come at a cost. Dakota felt the calendar could be funded by sponsorships. Brad Glover said this could be a community calendar, and it would draw more visitors and would aid in supporting ourselves. Jenie said our photos are also a popular item that draws folks to our site.

Mrs. Holman mentioned she is having concerns with Google analytics, and we will have to purchase a SSL certificate at a cost of $50 to $150 annually. The board agreed that is an appropriate purchase.

Mrs. Holman said she has filed the state and federal tax forms, and worked on cleaning up some files and opened more storage space by doing so.

Mr. Collins confirmed he will set-up the meeting with community members in the next two to three weeks. Mrs. Holman asked the board to review our mission statement and to complete the survey she passed out today and to return to her prior to the next meeting. Jane will reach out to all board members regarding the survey.

Adjournment:

Being no further business, Dakota Collins motioned to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Brad Glover and the meeting adjourned at 12:50 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Beth Fields, Acting Secretary

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Did You Know?

John Finley, Richmond, Indiana mayor from 1852 until his death in 1866, wrote the poem "The Hoosier's Nest", which is often cited as the first written reference to the word "Hoosier".