Cincinnati SPJ Board Meeting – 11-21-07

Members present: Hagit, Josh, Taelonda, Tony, Monica, Amanda,, Emil, Aiesha

1) Hagit calls meeting to order at 11:33 a.m.
2) Approval of minutes from last meeting           
- Amanda moves to approve minutes. Josh seconds. Passes.

No report from Alex today. He is stuck at the airport with a story.
3) Old Business -  
    I. Bylaws discussion  - board membership - propose amendment
Bylaws discussion
            Hagit: Constitution changes are needed.
            Monica: I thought they were really inconsistent and confusing. It’s obvious that the officers are elected by the membership, but the other officers are inconsistent.
            Hagit: I hate putting a number on the board, unless we have a mechanism for removing people who stop showing up. I don’t want to turn away new blood.
Suggestions

1. Board members shall attend at least eight of 12 meetings unless their absence is excused
2. Let’s cap the board at 15, with a quorum of a simple majority.
3. Let’s post on Web site to serve as notification of chapter membership.
4. Josh will send an email to the executive board members to make sure they know attendance is expected or excuses should be sent to the president.
5. Monica: No length of terms in here.
6.  Hagit: Let’s get a good idea of when board members were elected/appointed. Josh will compile for Hagit
7. Monica: Article 4 says that bylaws may be amended by 2/3 of attendance at a meeting. And article 3 contradicts. She suggests we clean up the language in article 4 to match article 3. You’ll never get 2/3 a vote of the actual membership.
8. Josh will get a clean word document of bylaws to Monica.

    II. coverage for board members

1. Monica: Inquired about whether SPJ has insurance to protect board members from lawsuits. It could be cheap for general liability insurance, but the word journalist in the name will raise the risk factor. Protects against 3rd party liability and property damage.
2. Josh/Alex will provide information to get a quote.

4) New Business -    

     I. Treasurer's Report – Alex – None, he is at the airport.

I. Secretary's Report - Josh  -   
          -  website   - from  5212 hits in Jan and just 4059 in June to 13,403 in October
- 395 to 978 unique viewers
- Josh moves that we change the name of the board from the Queen City Professional chapter to the Greater Cincinnati Professional Chapter. Emil seconds, passes. Josh will email national to let them know.

 III. President's Report - Hagit
- one extra member. About 30 new members since June. That is without the extra people that we should get since removing the local membership fee.
- Program next week at Ronald McDonald House, next to zoo. – Steve Leeper to attend.
- Monday, Dec. 17 is holiday party at Banker’s club.
- Gen-J: Are looking for mentors for entry-level people at national. Will put notice on Web site and listserv. Aiesha will formulate.
- Asked board for sense of if we want to get involved with employment issues. Board consensus to defer these to national.
- High School essay contest through national. Do we have a mechanism for delivering scholarships? We will ask Felix.

IV. Banquet report – Amanda

1. all banquet loose ends are tied up. Picked up the banner. Will start planning for next year’s banquet after Thanksgiving.
2. Josh: Aim for Saturday next year to avoid conflicts with Prep sports.

5) Programming
            Hagit has organized programs through May, but will need help after that. Will need greater help from programming chair in the future.
            - Tuesday, January 22, 7p.m. WCPO – “Race”ing the news with Jason Reece.
            Tony moves to authorize an honorarium up to $500, passes.
            - Tuesday Feb.–19 -  Tony will take lead on program on new media/informatics - at NKU/ 7 p.m.
            - Wednesday, March 19th – Cincinnati Bar Association “Law and Media Day” – after work reception and program. Joe Tomain will chair. At CBA.
- Monday, April  7 -  "War on News" - Miami University - Ken Paulson of USA Today and other national notables from publications such as The New York Times and Washington Post discuss the challenges facing journalism as an independent Fourth Estate. This is a forum no journalist should miss; it was a huge hit at the National SPJ Convention
           - May –  no date yet – “How to cover Non-Profits” – what they have to provide and what they don’t.

Meeting adjourned at 12:45 PM