Capital Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C.
In Attendance:
- Jon Dube
- Tom Brew
- Denise Polverine
- Jody Brannon
- Ken Sands
- Jim Brady
- Kinsey Wilson
- Neil Budde
- Dick Meyer
- Christine Montgomery
- Kurt Greenbaum
- Anthony Moor
- Ju-Don Roberts
- Jon Hart
- Jane McDonnell (new executive director)
- Tom Regan (acting executive director/conference)
Not in Attendance:
- Teresa Hanafin
- Katharine Fong
- Sherry Skalko (Editor, ONA/journalists.org)
The meeting was convened at 5 p.m. EDT.
Conference Wrap-Up: Ju-Don Roberts and Tom Regan said we had very positive feedback, sold many day passes, but the rooms were too crowded. Hotel was accommodating. Amy and Tiffany planned a wonderful conference, great panels, good line-up. We needed stronger wireless. The social networking aspect of the conference was superb (Twitter). We also need a more structured volunteer program for the conference.
Job Fair: Ju-Don reports that she received very positive feedback from all companies involved. Some mentioned they will be back next year and others want to expand their presence at the job fair.
Press Coverage: We didn’t get as much press coverage as in years past. Might be because Tiffany usually handled this and she was the co-chair this year. We’ll come up with a plan for next year and think of accommodating press and reaching out to media outlets and bloggers.
Space: We really need to address the space issue. The panels were extremely crowded. We will really look at new options for upcoming conferences. A small group will check out the space in San Francisco to confirm everything for next year’s conference with will be in San Francisco, Sept. 30 – Oct 3.
Super Panel: The board discussed possibly changing the structure of this panel next year. Vendors: We need to reach out to potential vendors far in advance.
Awards: Tom Regan says we need to clarify how to submit awards. He received many emails and calls inquiring about the process. The board felt the award ceremony went well, but noted that the membership will be asked via a survey what it thought of the conference and awards ceremony.
Press Release: Jane will capture some comments from attendees and send out a press release about the successful conference.
ONA/Knight: The board discussed the state of the ONA/Knight relationship and noted that ONA, along with Knight will work on regional events, partnerships and other initiatives.
Other Organizations/Relationships: The board is taking a strategic look at which organizations we need to be/should be involved with. We have been approached by several. Jon Dube told the board he feels we need to continue strengthening our strategy on partnerships, membership growth, innovation, fundraising, etc.
Membership Growth: The board discussed ways to reach out to new/potential members. We will reach out to students and also look at viral possibilities including friendfeed, Twitter, facebook. Sherry, Jane, Kurt and Denise will discuss.
Member Survey: Jane says a survey of membership will go out in early October. Monthly Email: Jane says she will be sending out a monthly email to membership.
Strategic Plan: Jane and Jon going to work on new ideas/additions for this and present to the board.
Academic Partnerships: Jody Brannon is convening a summit of thought leaders from various journalism schools/universities. She feels it’s important to talk about the state of journalism, what it means and what students now expect and need.
Committees: Committee chairs need to file a report before each monthly meeting and board members should let Jon and Jane know what they want to do and if they feel the current committees are aligned correctly now.
Events: Ken Sands says he needs more help. ONA is having a regional event in January and event in April (Richmond), Ju-Don says Florida and Charlotte interested in regional events. Ju- Don will co-chair the events committee.
The board has agreed on a year-end in-person meeting in December in San Francisco.
The meeting was adjourned at 12 p.m. EDT.