Minutes of the SPJ D.C. Pro Chapter Board Meeting
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Virtual meeting held via videoconference and conference call
Present: President Randy Showstack; Treasurer Dan Kubiske; Vice President Dee Ann Divis; Recording Secretary Kathryn Foxhall; Corresponding Secretary Amy Fickling; board members Julie Asher, Denise Dunbar, Jacqueline Fuller, Ken Jost, and Selma Khenissi.
Excused absences: Board members Jacqueline Fuller and Celia Wexler.
Special Guests: Stephenie Overman, SPJ Region 2 coordinator; Kathleen Burns, student chapter liaison; and Andrew Schotz, chapter member.
Call to Order
President Randy Showstack called the meeting to order at about 6:47 p.m.
Minutes
Treasurer Dan Kubiske moved that the minutes of the November meeting, as previously emailed by Recording Secretary Kathryn Foxhall, be approved with changes suggested by Corresponding Secretary Amy Fickling. Board member Julie Asher seconded the motion.
The board voted to approve the motion.
Treasurer’s Report
Kubiske moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report which had been emailed earlier by Fickling. Board member Selma Khenissi seconded the motion.
The board voted to accept the Treasurer’s Report.
Committee Reports
Kubiske gave a brief report on programs the national SPJ International Community, which he co-chairs, is working on for the next month or two.
Kathleen Burns, Student Chapter Liaison, gave an update on work on journalism student activity at local colleges and universities, including potential internships
Region 2 Coordinator Stephenie Overman reported the region is preparing for a super regional meeting of April 9-10, online, with all the SPJ regions that want to participate. She said ideas are welcome. Chapter member Andy Schotz told the board that, particularly with the potential new student chapter at GWU, there is money available in the chapter grant program. He said SPJ is looking for judges for the Mark of Excellence student journalism awards and this year they will have a COVID-only category and other categories.
Audit Committee Report
Vice President Dee Ann Divis moved the board accept the audit committee report recently emailed to the board. Board member Julie Asher seconded the motion.
Members noted the recommendation in the report that there be an assistant treasurer and the fact the board had previously decided that. In terms of the recommendation to change the bylaws to accommodate that Fickling noted that when a similar idea came up a few years ago when the chapter bylaws underwent a complete overhaul, the board at the time discussed that it is hard to get people to run for the board at all, so adding another position that has to be filled by election create another burden. She said the assistant treasurer could be an appointed position.
Divis noted there is a definite fiduciary responsibility in that position.
Kubiske said he would defer to the members who re-wrote the chapter bylaws to talk about what they meant on these issues. Divis said that some of the recommendations in the audit report do not track our bylaws and we may need a taskforce to work on it.
The board voted to accept the audit report as submitted.
Kubiske moved to authorize the treasurer to purchase a laptop computer and appropriate software keeping cost and efficiency in mind, as recommended in the audit report. Divis seconded the motion. He said the technology had gotten better for storage, etc.
The board approved the motion authorize the treasurer to purchase a laptop computer and appropriate software keeping cost and efficiency in mind.
There was discussion of the fact the chapter had talked about buying such a computer previously, on the recommendation of the audit committee last year, but had not followed through with it.
Kubiske moved the board authorize the treasurer to investigate and report back to the board in a reasonable time on a digital wallet to pay for programs and activities. Khenissi seconded the motion.
The board approved the motion authorize the treasurer to investigate and report back to the board in a reasonable time on a digital wallet to pay for programs and activities.
Kubiske moved that the board establish a committee to discuss and propose changes to the chapter bylaws to reflect the audit committee recommendations including establishing a position of an assistant treasurer and having term limits on the position of treasurer.
Khenissi seconded the motion. The board approved the motion to establish a committee to discuss and propose changes to the chapter bylaws to reflect the audit committee recommendations including establishing a position of an assistant treasurer and having term limits on the position of treasurer. There was one negative vote.
Asher, Kubiske and Burns volunteered to be on the committee. However, Kubiske asked that Fickling be on the committee and he asked that an email be sent to the board asking for volunteers.
Schotz suggested the board get a nonboard chapter member on the committee and keep in mind the SPJ best practices for financial matters.
Divis said we might invite someone from the audit committee to be on the committee.
Guest Visit by Members of the SDX Board
Four board members of the SDX Foundation of Washington, D.C., Reginald Stuart, Frank Quine, John Henry and Joel Whitaker, met with the board to update the members on its activities and recent developments.
The foundation raises funds and gives scholarships annually to journalism students in the Washington, D.C., area.
Fickling, who is vice president of the SDX Foundation, noted that at the last SDX board meeting in November the members had approved an innovation on the scholarship to allow recipients to use some of their award funds on computer equipment rather than have it all go toward room, board and tuition.
This was in a nod to the COVID-19 restrictions that have meant online classes.
Quine, treasurer of the foundation, thanked the chapter for paying for the tax filing each year, which he said was 28 pages.
Henry said he appreciated what the chapter does for the scholarship fund. He said last year the scholarships were $4000 each and they had dropped to $2500 this year. He said the idea of allowing for computer equipment to make up a portion of the award to a student was a way of broadening interest in the scholarships.
Vice President Dee Ann Divis asked if the foundation had looked at agreements in which computer equipment would be provided to students at a discount. Henry said he would look into it. The foundation has been advised it needs to purchase the equipment, itself, for tax reasons. He said the foundation is working with a couple of vendors.
PIO Issue
Foxhall said one of the most important things the chapter did on the issue of constraints on reporters through PIOs was to send a letter to David McCraw, the top attorney at the New York Times. She said she would follow up on it. She said we can move toward a process of holding major outlets responsible for saying or doing something on this issue.
She thought the most important role for the chapter at this point is to support the national SPJ in approaching the incoming Biden administration. She would like SPJ to get a coalition of groups together to contact the Biden administration continuously.
She also recommended the chapter contact groups on the issue, but cautioned there is always a need for first ground level education and then much follow-up.
She also recommended a “no-holds barred” letter to the Washington Post and possibly a white paper. She lauded Divis’ proposal for research.
Showstack said his priority would be for the task force to bring proposals to the entire board and for us to think big about what the next steps are, and map out a strategy for making this issue better known.
Divis said she would like us to find people who will underscore and emphasize what we are doing.
Board member Selma Khenissi said one issue with the federal government are all the many contracts and clearances federal employees must consider.
Frostburg Student Paper
Schotz also noted that in Frostburg, Maryland, the university is clamping down on the student newspaper. He said the chapter might weigh in.
Event Report
Showstack noted that Dateline Awards contest coordinator Jane Giles reported dates for accepting entries are January 1 to February 28.
He also noted several efforts at publicity for the awards.
Showstack announced SPJ President Matt Hall will do an event with the chapter sometime in January, online for perhaps 60 to 90 minutes.
Fickling noted in regard to the upcoming membership appreciation meeting, she has not been able to get a good report from the national headquarters database on chapter membership to know who will have five or 10 year anniversaries
Kubiske said, referring to the pandemic, that we might be able to have an outdoor meeting by March, with precautions. Otherwise, we might put a video together. The indoor space we have used the past three years is closed through the end of January at least.
There was general consensus to shoot for a March meeting, do groundwork before the next board meeting and announce a tentative plan to the membership.
Internships
Kubiske, who had provided a list of ideas on using interns, said we cannot pay interns, but we can provide experience and skills training, for instance with the newsletter, the PIO issue, campus programs, social media, or other areas. All interns’ work would be under the supervision of a board member, he said.
Showstack said the intern would occasionally meet with him. Divis said we have to be sure that the intern gets as much out of it as the chapter does.
Burns said she had mentioned the internship possibility to the schools. She also noted we have not done much in getting people who are not on the board involved.
Kubiske asked we find out what the universities will require of us for an internship program.
Khenissi said it’s possible to spread the word through department newsletters. A program she attended was a course on being an intern and we would have to work with the course teacher.
Divis said the Washington Center could give us information, but we need to have competitive program.
Showstack asked if we would be ready in January or February. Khenissi said she felt we need more time to prepare a good internship.
Kubiske said we might start advertising in the spring term. He pointed out that we can focus on the Washington area schools, but we don’t have to limit ourselves to those, since everything is virtual now.
It was the board’s consensus to do more groundwork on the internship program.
Kubiske said the next step is to find out what the schools require of us and he asked Burns to make contacts. Divis said she would call the Washington Center.
Showstack said we should pull together much more information on what to do before January.
Asher suggested we put something on Linked In.
Adjournment
Kubiske moved the meeting be adjourned. Divis seconded. The board approved the motion.
The meeting was adjourned at about 8:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathryn Foxhall
Recording Secretary
2020-2021