Board Minutes

Unapproved Minutes of the Meeting of the WOMR/WFMR Board of Directors,
5pm, Sunday, January 29

Minutes of the Meeting of the WOMR/WFMR Board of Directors
5pm Sunday January 29, 2012

Ed McManus called the meeting to order at 5pm

Present: Ed McManus, Susan Blood, Bob Weiser, Terry Ryder, Mary Lyttle, Dave Cole, Gary Delius, Vernon Porter, Seth Rolbein.
Staff: John Nelson, Matthew Dunn, John Braden
Absent: Justine Alten, Chuck Cole, Carol Courneen, Patty DeLuca, James Paul Ludwig, John Yingling

Public Comment - Dave Cole related a comment from a DJ. The individual had difficulty finding minutes of the Board meeting on the website. We now know the location and that will be related to the individual.

Minutes of the December Board Meeting
Matty Dunn read the December Program Committee report into the minutes, as they had been omitted. Bob Weiser moved to accept the minutes as ammended. Vernon Porter seconded. Motion passed 9-0.

Finance Committee
Station Manager John Nelson reported for the committee, as the scheduled meeting was snowed out and there was difficulty finding a date to reschedule. The next meeting will review the November, December, and January financial statements. As of Jan. 29th, we are $22,000 in the black for FY2012, compared to $29,000 in the red at this time last year. There are many reasons for this, including the fall pledge drive exceeding the goal and the CPB grant being larger than was anticipated. However, February and March are lean months for income.

Report of the Station Manager
With the receipt of grants from the Nararo Foundation and the Lucretia Foundations, the fall pledge drive passed the goal of $48,000 to a total of over $51,000.
The Subcommittees of the Board have been established.

Personnel: Vernon Porter, Chuck Cole, Terry Ryder, Mary Lyttle, John Yingling, Ex Officio;
Policy: Tony Filiberto, Ed McManus, Vernon Porter, Bob Weiser, Dave Cole, John Yingling, Ex Officio;
Programming: Carol Courneen, Chuck Cole, Charles Fields, Susan Lindquist, Helene
Watt, Hilary Bamford, Kathy Tarr, Rich Willecke, Andy Rahorcsak, John Yingling, Ex Officio;
Finance: James Paul Ludwig, Ex Officio, Seth Rolbein, Gary Delius, Patty DeLuca, John Yingling, Ex Officio;
Events: Bob Weiser, Terry Ryder, Justine Alten, Bob Thayer, Paula Sperry, John
Yingling, Ex Officio;
Development: James Paul Ludwig, Ed McManus, Justine Alten, Susan Blood, Mary Lyttle, Tony Pasquale, Ira Wood, John Yingling, Ex Officio;
Nominating: Ed McManus, Seth Rolbein, Sheila House, Ira Wood, Richard Costello, John Yingling, Ex Officio

Saturday morning oldies DJ Nolan Rozelle passed away after a long battle with illness. Tina Lynde represented the station at the service and broadcasting of Tuesday January 24 was dedicated to his memory. The winter mailing goes out on February 1 with a goal of $22,000. In order to improve the prospects of the fall pledge drive by having it completed before Thanksgiving, all pledge drives will be moved up about two weeks this year. The spring pledge drive will run from April 13-27. The summer pledge drive will run from July 27- August 10. The fall pledge drive will run from November 2-16. Given that the mailings have consistently met and exceeded their goals, we will be adding a mailing to the spring drive this year. All three on-air pledge drives will now have mailings associated with them. The first installment of the CPB grant has arrived, which will allow us to pay our dues to the NFCB. The second installment of the grant will arrive after we have submitted the SAS survey and the audit of our finances. Last year we needed several extensions of the deadline to submit our audit. Our bookkeeper has been notified that we cannot ask for such extensions this year. The Station Manager asked to be excused from the meeting at 6pm.

Programming:
Matty Dunn reported for the Program Committee. Rich Willecke was elected chair of the committee. Hania Cennerazzo and Deb Flame have resigned from their shows. Dida Hagan, Sam Holmstock and Stuart Carduner are all trained and available for subbing. Vanessa Downing, Sandra Hemeon-McMahon, Melissa Nussbaum Friedman, Rod Funston, Richard Brezner, Alice Neiley, and Brian Zayetz are all training. Susan Lindquist and Elizabeth Bridgewater are collaborating to host the CDP talk show which lost its former host. Rich Willecke moved from Thursday afternoon to Wednesday 1-4 alternating with Helene Watt. Matty Dread moved from Saturday night to Thursdays 1-4pm. Kent Isham was granted Sunday mornings from 6-9am. The committee continues to work on DJ self-evaluations and program reviews. Evaluations were received from Anne Levine, Howard Weiner, and Dinah Mellin and were very helpful. The committee rescinded a previous decision regarding the Sunday 9pm-midnight slot. The slot had been awarded to Steve Milkewicz, but will continue to be split by Steve and Kevin and Amanda for the time being.

Personnel:
John Nelson reported for the Personnel Committee. The job description for the position which begins in March is nearing finalization. The job description outlines responsibilities and salary for the position. Ads will go in the Cape Cod Times on Wednesday as well as the Banner and maybe some other advertising. The position will be advertised for two weeks. Resumes will be received electronically. The Station Manager and his Assistant will review the submissions. The leading two or three candidates will be interviewed by the Personnel Committee on February 25. Station Manager John Nelson will make the hire by March 1. The tentative starting date is March 12. Given the compressed time frame for the hiring process and the need for immediate production from the position, it is likely that the successful candidate will already be familiar with the station. The position is for six months, with an option to renew pending evaluation.

Policy:
Ed McManus reported for the Policy Committee. He was elected committee Chair. Progress was made on the development committee description. Responsibilities include short and long term financial support and providing direction and support to the development staff. The committee is to include 5 Board and at least 2 non-board members for a term of 1 year. The Committee is empowered to create working groups which must include at least 1 committee member. Work was done to combine the various elements of the station�s open meeting policies. A revised policy will be submitted for consideration of the board with a vote to be taken next month. Next meeting is March 4 at 3:30pm. A proposal was made by Bob Weiser and Ed McManus to form an ad hoc committee on issues of technology. The committee would be concerned with signal strength, transmitter, internet stream, and podcasting. It was decided that the committee would operate until December, and then be reviewed concerning extending its work. Vernon Porter moved to create the committee. Terry Ryder seconded. Gary Delius and Bob Weiser volunteered for the ad hoc committee. Motion to create ad hoc committee passes 9-0.

Events
Meetings take place on third Thursdays at 5pm at Cape Associates in Eastham. 30th Birthday weekend is March 24-25 featuring The Blind Boys of Alabama and a party at the Harbor Hotel. Committee is working to get Ray Wiley Hubbard, Brother Son, and make summer plans with partners. The Second Annual Lower Cape Sprint Triathlon will take place June 16. A budget for the event will be submitted next month. The Cape Cod Athletic Club have asked us if we would consider cosponsoring a race with them later in the summer. The station would provide promotion. The CCAC would produce and have a substantial volunteer base. Ed McManus will solicit a more concrete proposal. The next meeting is Feb 16.

Development
Mary Lyttle reported that we have the marketing brochure now we need to figure out how to distribute it. Directly mailing it to our list is too expensive. We might mail it out to individuals who have already been large donors. The party at Dinah�s house was a success. We need to find others to host a house party. We could host some events in public spaces like the Chatham Squire and Harvest Gallery. Next meeting of the committee is 11am February 15 at Cape Associates in Eastham. Ed McManus is exploring a partnership with Cape Cod Community Media Center and the Chambers of Commerce to do an event possibly in April.

Old Business
None

New Business
Vernon Porter suggested that we should have a hardwood floor in the Davis Space and will do research on how much that would cost. Bob Weiser says he has an underwriter that would have appreciated a renewal notice. The new staff member will help to manage underwriting portfolio.

Terry Ryder moved to adjourn. Mary Lyttle seconded. Meeting adjourned at 6:09.

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Here are the minutes of the latest meeting of the WOMR Board of Directors....

Approved Minutes of the WOMR/WFMR Board of Directors meeting December 18, 2011

Meeting called to order 7:04
Present: Chuck Cole, Carol Courneen, Bob Weiser, Justine Alten, Gary Delius, Ed McManus, Mary Lyttle, JP Ludwig, Dave Cole, John Yingling, Terry Ryder, Susan Blood, Patty DeLuca, Vernon Porter
Staff: John Nelson, Matthew Dunn
Absent: Seth Rolbein

As this was the first meeting for the new Board members, President of the Board John Yingling asked everyone to introduce themselves.

Public Comment: no one was present from the public.

John Yingling said that Seth Rolbein sent his regrets due to his father-in-law passing away the night before.

Minutes of the November Board Meeting:
Ed McManus moved approval of the minutes. Carol Courneen seconds. Unanimous approval.

Election of Officers of the Corporation for FY2012
Chuck Cole nominated John Yingling for President. Gary Delius seconded and moved to close nominations for president. JP Ludwig nominated Dave Cole for vice president. Dave declined the nomination. Chuck Cole nominated Ed McManus for Vice President. Seconded by Gary Delius. Ed McManus nominated JP Ludwig for Treasurer. Seconded by Chuck Cole. Gary Delius nominated Vernon Porter for Clerk. Seconded by JP Ludwig. Slate of candidates for officers passed unanimously.

Finance Committee
JP Ludwig reported for Finance Committee. Mike Callahan will take over responsibilities from Steve Roderick for the preparation and submission of the monthly financial statement to the Station Manager, for distribution to the Board. John Yingling stated that we should start the process to get the audit done now. John Nelson says the process has started. JP Ludwig says the CPB grant process is also under way. Progress should be made next week as various signatures are collected.

Report of the Station Manager
Total for the fall pledge drive as of Friday 12/16 was approximately $41,000. The goal was 48k. The soft sell can bring 7-10k after the main pledge drive has concluded. The mailings have been the most lucrative part of recent fund raising activities. We had never had a winter mailing bigger than 14k until last year when we got 22k. The summer mailing also exceeded expectations. A fall mailing was sent out for the first time and brought about 9k. Based on this success, we will add a spring mailing. Drives have suffered from under performance of particular shows. A large percentage of our on-air pledges come from just a few programs, and some of these hosts needed subs during the fall drive. Summer and Spring drives did not meet their goals so we had a Columbus Day drive to make up the deficit. The Station Manager passed out forms for Board members to sign up for committees.

Programming
from Matthew Dunn - A great time for new DJs and trainees. At least 4 new DJs ready to do shows. Indira Ganesan is returning after more than twenty years away. She has been subbing Monday mornings first light with a jazz and world format. Justine Alten has done her training and starting subbing with an indie pop and rock show. Stuart Carduner has done his training and has done a good job subbing for jazz and world music. Kris Handel has done his training and is ready to sub with a rock and folk show. Yankee Dave is returning to the air after taking a leave of absence. Walt Gately has been forced to resign his show due to health reasons. Programming Committee has finished work on a new set of "On Air Guidelines" and a DJ self-evaluation form which will begin to be distributed in January.

Personnel
Vernon Porter stated that the Personnel Committee did not meet, so there was nothing to report.

Policy
Dave Cole reported for the Policy Committee. Open meeting policy is under discussion. Dave will have a draft to compare with the town�s version of such at the next meeting.

Events
Bob Weiser reported. The first meeting of the 30th Anniversary Birthday Committee was held. We will celebrate on the weekend of March 24-25, including a concert by the Blind Boys of Alabama. There will be a VIP party at the Crown and Anchor after the show. We are planning a station celebration party on Sunday March 25th, from 3-8pm, hopefully at the Harbor Hotel. We plan to make the 30th year a topic for promos and marketing through out the year. Kevin Howard proposed our participation in a battle of the bands in April. From one to three nights of performances could be held at Cotuit Center, Preservation Hall or Yarmouth Cultural center with the winners getting to perform in the Arts Foundation summer concert series. John Yingling wants to bring the band Interactivo from Cuba, possibly during the second week of April. We have a chance to bring Ray Wiley Hubbard, an alt-country partner of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, in May. Greg Greenway's band, Brother Son, may perform for us on May 27. Guy Strauss will present a play in the Davis Space in August. The Rev�s band, Life�s Other Side, will perform in the Davis Space on June 26th, as a benefit for WOMR. The Second annual Lower Cape Sprint Triathlon planning will begin shortly. The Events Committee listened to a presentation from Dick Hilmer proposing that we use the Orleans Pops stage on a Thursday in Aug. John Nelson said Ellen Lebow has agreed to work on a logo for 30th Anniversary year events.

Development Committee
Mary Lyttle reported that the Development Brochure was finished, is getting printed, and will be distributed within two weeks. The first development house party is planned for Jan 8th at Dinah Mellin's in Orleans. Sean Caughey's promotional video will be presented. There will be brief talks given by DJs with an "ask" by Ed McManus. The idea is to be a model for something we can do again. Ed says maybe we can get some business members to come.

Old Business
Dave Cole, who had to leave the annual meeting early, and missed receiving his award in person, thanked the board for his award. Personel and development are responsible for getting the job description together for the new Development/Fundraising staff position to be filled in March.

New Business
Policy Committee needs to address the structure of the Development Committee which was established since the last Policy statement on committee structures. John Nelson asked board members to recruit new members for the Events Committee. Vernon Porter moved to approve the slate of non-Board committee members. Patty DeLuca seconded. Unanimous approved.

John Nelson announced that the February Board meeting would be held on Jan 29, 2012, at 5pm, instead of February 5, 2012, Super Bowl Sunday, if there was no objection. A couple of Board members had conflicts, but it was decided to go with the January 29th date. He asked Board members to respond to messages from him concerning the meeting, to assure that we would have a quorum.

Ed McManus moved to adjourn. Justine Alten seconded. Meeting adjourned at 8:03