Bethesda-Chevy Chase Community Center
Bethesda, Maryland
Present: President Randy Showstack; Vice President Dee Ann Divis; Immediate Past President Jonathan Make; Treasurer Amy Fickling; Recording Secretary Kathryn Foxhall; board members Julie Asher, Selma Khenissi, Ken Jost and Dan Kubiske.
Excused Absences: Board members Celia Wexler and Denise Dunbar.
Special Guests: Stephenie Overman, SPJ Region 2 Coordinator; Steve Taylor, awards coordinator; and Andy Schotz, chapter member.
Call to Order
President Randy Showstack called the meeting to order at about 12:06 p.m.
He discussed activities during the annual chapter meeting, which was coming up right after the board meeting.
Minutes
Board member Julie Asher moved and board member Dan Kubiske seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as presented. Recording Secretary Kathryn Foxhall had sent the draft minutes by email prior to the meeting. There had been suggested corrections from Showstack and Treasurer Amy Fickling. The board approved the minutes with the suggestions.
Financial Reports
Foxhall moved and Asher seconded the board approve the financial report for December 2. The board approved the report.
Asher moved and board member Selma Khenissi seconded the motion to approve the January financial report. The board approved the report.
Award Nominees
Steve Taylor led a confidential discussion about possible nominees for the Hall of Fame and the Distinguished Service Awards.
* Board approves sense of board that Taylor should continue awards work: It was the sense of the board that he should continue his work on this year’s nominees and that the board greatly appreciated his work.
Membership Raffle
Region 2 coordinator Stephenie Overman presented a proposal that each time someone in the chapter recruits a new member to join SPJ and the local chapter, the member’s name will be entered into the raffle, through June 1. The prize will be one early bird registration to the EIJ 2020. The winner will be announced at the Awards Dinner. Her name for the project is “Each one, Nudge one.”
The project will be tied into the national membership drive in February.
Asher moved we carry out such a raffle. Kubiske seconded the motion.
Overman will check with national that the memberships do come in.
* Board approved membership raffle: The board approved the motion.
Dues During Membership Push
Foxhall suggested the chapter waive chapter dues during the month of February.
Immediate Past President Jonathan Make moved we discount the chapter dues during February.
Kubiske offered a friendly amendment that instead the chapter lower the chapter rate to $15 for February. Make accepted the amendment.
Fickling reminded the board that $8.50 of each dues payment goes to the Washington SDX foundations.
Andy Schotz, a chapter member, noted that the membership forms make it difficult for a person to understand how to join a chapter or know if they have joined a chapter.
He also said another project might be to sign a person in for automatic pay. He said it might be better to give people a discount for that rather than focus on other discounts.
Overman said she thought the publicity push and people appealing to their co-workers or others would make the difference.
Kubiske said if we want a discount for chapter membership, we can just ask the SPJ webmaster to change the dues for February.
Khenissi suggested we just send an email to all SPJ members in the area who are not chapter members and ask them to join.
Fickling said suggested we tell people that the $25 you save on national dues you can apply to the chapter dues.
Make said we should do something to match the national push, at a time when the national membership and chapters’ membership tend to be flat or declining.
He said he would rather have zero dues this month than not have any reduction.
Members suggested we make every person in our area who joins national in February automatically a member of the chapter for a year.
Overman said she would track those new memberships for the chapter.
Kubiske made the suggestion a motion, that is: we make every person in our area who joins national in February automatically a member of the chapter for a year. Vice President Dee Ann Divis seconded the motion.
* Board approved automatic, free chapter membership for February: The board approved the motion.
WTOP Program
Fickling moved we approve up to $100 for refreshments for the planned WTOP program on February 18.
* Board approved funds for WTOP program: Asher seconded the motion. The board approved the motion.
* Board has sense of board that a program’s wrangler should be at the program: In terms of the WTOP program, Make suggested the chapter not do programs at times when the person who suggested them cannot attend. Members agreed on that general principle for future programs, but decided to move forward with the WTOP program.
Various Programs
Showstack said the work on this year’s Dateline awards is going well.
Divis reported the deadline for proposals for EIJ2020 was the next night, but the chapter has already sent many good proposals.
Kubiske agreed and suggested we arrange visits during EIJ to Washington bureaus. Make said he talked to a number of bureaus about visits and then nothing happened with national.
Overman said she would hand out cards to people at the membership meeting, to follow shortly, for people to write down the journalism contacts they have.
Divis said that anyone who wanted to do visits to bureaus should put in a proposal, even if it is brief statement.
Recording Secretary Kathryn Foxhall suggested the chapter set a goal of spending $10,000 prior to EIJ for the purpose of reinvigorating the chapter during this time. She said we should come up with good ideas to highlight the chapter. She said we will not get this kind of opportunity to reinvigorate the chapter again for a long time.
Fickling said she is more comfortable with working up a budget to justify spending $10,000 rather than the other way.
Showstack said he wondered if we could work on things piece by piece, such as budgeting money for an email service.
Members noted it is difficult to get members to present or help with programs. The chapter discussed hiring someone to do programs.
Members noted the assistant we have now is doing a good job on the awards contest, but there is still a need for a board member to work with her.
Showstack noted this is a long conversation and asked if there are pieces we can approve now.
Divis moved we take volunteers to meet to brainstorm the ideas in the next three weeks. Foxhall seconded.
* Board plans a brainstorming session: These board members volunteered to be part of that meeting: Foxhall, Khenissi, Make, Divis, Fickling, Overman and Showstack.
Mail Services
Foxhall moved we authorize up to $800-1200 to pay for a mail service this year as we need it.
Asher seconded the motion.
Make asked why, since we have mailing lists, we need such a mail service.
Foxhall said that is because it is very difficult to do a large a mailing without such a service.
* Board approved plan to reimburse board members for authorized use of mail service: Make suggested a friendly amendment to reimburse board members who are authorized to use such a mail service for chapter information, on a case by case basis, until we can talk about the issue further. The board approved the motion.
Foxhall suggested the board plan a Sunshine Week session featuring Frank LoMonte, author of the recent legal analysis on the restrictions on reporters through public information officers.
* Board approved funds for Sunshine Week Session: Divis moved the board allocate up to $100 for refreshments for such an event. Asher seconded it. The board approved the motion.
Kubiske moved the board adjourn. Asher seconded the motion. The board approved the motion to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathryn Foxhall
Recording Secretary
2019-2020