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Thursday July 13, 2006

The Association of Independents in Radio
Meeting of the Board of Directors
Thursday July 13, 2006

Present: Barry Rueger, Sid Selvidge, Karen Lewellen, Sue Schardt, Jake Shapiro, Dolores Brandon, Matthew D. Payne, David Freedman

Regrets: Geo Beach, Maureen Jackson, Joan Rabinowitz, Amy Coombs

Meeting Commenced at 1:00 EST.

1.   Minutes from the Meeting of June 8, 2006
   Motion: To approve the minutes. (David/Karen) Approved

2.   McArthur Foundation
They have changed their funding guidelines and it is possible that we will no longer receive funding from them. The guidelines on the web site are not the current guidelines. We have a "semi" invitation to apply again - within the next two and half weeks - to apply for project funding, not operational. McArthur gave us little warning of these changes. This $75,000 a year represents roughly half of our operating and programmatic budgets.

A discussion ensued which looked at ways that AIR could fit into the new "digital" focus of the McArthur guidelines. A brainstorming meeting will take place next week to consider our options. We have a draft version of guidelines but need clarification on how they define their terms.

We also need to look at other smaller but more diverse funding sources.

3.   Earned Revenue
Following on the Executive meeting we are looking at ways to increase earned revenue. Possibilities include an increase in membership dues; adding a fee for Mentorship placements; and developing sponsorship opportunities. A discussion ensued which examined questions of timing and amounts.

Motion: That regular Membership Dues be raised to $125 per year beginning January 2007. That the membership be encouraged to renew at the old rate up until that time. (Sid/Barry) Passed
Motion: Amend to also increase Student Dues to $45; Organizational/Station Dues to $200 and $300. (Barry/Jake) Passed.

The Executive will work to communicate and implement these changes.

4.   Election planning
Barry has developed a plan for a minimal AGM and election process.
Motion: To approve as a tentative plan, with dates to be amended. All pending advice from Ernie Sanchez. (Sid/Jake)
Amended proposal to be circulated.

5.   Other Business - none

6.   Meeting Adjourned 2:24 PM

The next meeting of the AIR Board is scheduled for early August. Day and time TBD depending on Geo.

AIR AGM and Election Plan

Small is good.

Dates:

Reports Posted: Tuesday September 12. These will be in the Members only area of the web site.
Annual General Meeting: Tuesday September 19
Candidate Discussion Boards: For the period of Sept 20-27 each candidate can accept questions on a discussion board. These will be in the Members only area of the web site.
Election: September 28th - October 2.

Annual General Meeting

Given our strained resources and other issues, this will be small and formal. A classic "just the facts ma'am" type event.

An on-line member chat with reference to reports such as the Report from the President; Audited Financial Statements; and any other mandated reports.

Agenda

1)    Welcome from the President
2)    Minutes from previous AGM
3)    Reports from the President and Executive Director
4)    Presentation of Financial Statements
5)    Bylaw Amendments
6)    Other Business
7)    Adjourn

Question: how to handle voting on these items? We need to hear back from Ernie Sanchez.

Question: would this be a good time to announce that Dolores is planning to leave us?

We will need two people minimum: one to keep track of who is on line, and one to moderate the discussion.

We need firm ground rules from the top.

Candidate Discussion Boards:

I will set up one discussion Board for each Candidate, and post their Statement to launch the discussion.

We can e-mail all Active members inviting them to visit and participate.

Discussion Boards are open from Friday September 20 to Friday September 27.

They will be closed to comments on September 23rd, and removed on September 28th.

Election: September 28th - October 2.

Depending on Legal advice we will either mail ballots to members, or direct them to a Web Page with an electronic ballot.

I will consult with Josef on how that was handled last time, or we can ask our developers how hard it would be to build a little voting system that interfaces with our membership database.