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MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON MAY 16, 2007 A. Attendance: 1. Members Present: Bill DiNome (Chair); Joan Olsson (Vice Chair); Isobel Beebe; Donald Bergstrom; William Bolduc; Angela Edwards; Nancy McCoy-Fennell; Ted French; Katherine Hoyt; Adam Humphreys; Anthony Lees; Geoffrey Losee; Jack Morgan; Rebecca Reinmann; Charlie West. 2. Members Excused: Don Austermann; Dick Boylan; Bill Claytor; Posie Ewart; Thomas Lamb; Penelope Morningstar. 3. Members Absent: John Colter; Sarah Flaherty; Philip Gerard; Vernon Harrell; Dykes Hewett; Bill Hodder; Stanley House; David Jenkins, Jr.; Mark Kesling; John McCoy; Clyde McDaniel; Marimar McNaughton; Majel Reinheimer; Roland Stout; Spencer Swinton. 4. Staff Present: John Milligan; Bob Workman; Kristal McHugh B. Summary of Discussion: 1. Bill DiNome called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. 2. Bill asked any new members who had not been present at the previous meeting to introduce themselves. 3. The Minutes of the February 21, 2007, meeting were unanimously approved without revision. 4. General Manager’s Report: a. John Milligan said that the spring pledge drive had been very successful. 1,022 on-air pledges had been received, averaging $119.50 per pledge. The overall $150,000 pledge goal had been exceeded, which was very encouraging. He explained that member pledges cover some 50% of the station’s operating expense, the balance coming from corporate donors, grants (not all of which are available to meet operating expenses) and federal funds (which are declining). b. Station staff are in process of putting together this year’s budget. Three new staff positions are being created: • A Planned Giving Coordinator, to open up a potentially important source of future income which has been neglected in the past. Kimberly Houston has been recruited for this position. • Two additional Corporate Account Executives are to be recruited, together with a replacement for Megan Gorham who is leaving to take a position with the Children’s Museum. c. In addition, the WHQR/UNCW Graduate Internship Program is providing three graduate interns to work full time at the station for a period of 12 months. They are selected UNCW graduates who wish to make their career in broadcasting and will be partially funded by UNCW. d. The Annual Meeting of the Station is to be held on July 10th at CFCC North Campus. Official notification will be posted on the website. e. The meeting opened to discussion. Joan Olsson regretted the lack of information from the station. She no longer received the “Hear Say” newsletter - which was dropped years ago, or the program listings. John explained that they are cutting down on mailings and putting more emphasis on information delivery via the web site and the Star-News. The reason being for cost efficiencies and carbon footprint reduction. Ted French asked whether there could be more varied program offerings, for example, he would like to hear more rhythm and blues and easy- listening music. Bob Workman explained that program decisions are based on Arbitron data and financial considerations. With the advent of HD radio, there will be opportunity to provide a greater range of programming choices but currently our options are limited. Charlie West said we need to focus on the few things we do well. Adam Humphreys said we need to listen to the public, we need to get out and talk to people, find out what they want. 5. Task Force Report: a. Bill DiNome presented the findings and recommendations of the task force set up at the last meeting (attached). Bill opened the meeting for discussion. b. Adam Humphreys, task force member, emphasized the importance of CAB members getting out into the public, marketing WHQR, generating new ideas. He suggested preparing a set of “talking points” to ensure delivery of a consistent message. Nancy McCoy-Fennell said she was very excited about the idea of restructuring the CAB, making it more proactive. Charlie West asked what sort of donation was envisioned? The CAB was not a “fat cat” board. Was this in addition to what members already contributed to WHQR? Adam Humfreys explained that it would be a nominal amount to cover such things as coffee/donuts at public meetings, tents at local festivals, etc. The intention is that CAB activities not be a financial burden on the station. c. Following the discussion, Bill DiNome called for a motion to accept the Task Force recommendations. The motion was proposed by Nancy McCoy-Fennell and seconded by Anthony Lees. The motion was unanimously approved. d. Bill then said he wanted to set a date for the strategic workshop recommended by the task force. He would like to be able to report on the redefined CAB mission at the WHQR AGM, scheduled for July 10, 2007. He suggested Saturday, June 2, 9 or 16. He will e-mail members find which date is best for the majority. 6. New Business: None 7. Next Quarterly Meeting: Wednesday, August 15, 2007, at 4:30 p.m. 8. The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m. C. Agreed Action: 1. Bill DiNome to set a date for the strategic workshop, after polling members for availability. 2. Members to revisit and redefine the CAB mission and methods at the above-mentioned strategic workshop. 3. The next quarterly CAB meeting will be at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 15, 2007. **Prepared by Anthony P. Lees, Secretary. Task Force Final Report to the CAB 16 May 2007 Task Force Members: Bill Bolduc Bill DiNome, ex officio Adam Humphreys Roland Stout Ken Newbold, WHQR Board of Directors, ex officio DISCUSSION The Task Force was charged in February 2007 to make recommendations to the full Community Advisory Board regarding possible redefinition and repurposing of the CAB, within the constraints of CPB regulations, in order to better serve the long-term vitality and stability of WHQR. The Task Force reviewed a range of models currently employed by a sampling of stations across the country. The stations included WNYC, WUNC, WQUB, KNAU (Arizona Public Radio), and Kentucky’s Public Radio Partnership. The Task Force’s work was also informed by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s “Community Advisor Board Requirements” and an article on community advisory boards from the Station Resource Group (http://srg.org/governance/CAB/CAB.html). Issues raised included the following: - focus on public relations -ensuring the productivity & effectiveness of the CAB -stagnation & longevity among CAB members -potential benefits of introducing term limits -outreach & educational mission of CAB -UNCW interns -collaborating with school superintendent and local schools -contribution to cultivating new membership -promotion of WHQR and new public-radio programming, especially in light of WHQR’s forthcoming digital capabilities -WHQR’s changing demographic, including Hispanic population; implications for programming and representation -ideas for outreach programs, member recruitment, etc. -annual CAB meeting -social and educational activities for CAB members The Task Force recognized the need for, and wisdom of, obtaining input from all WHQR staff in addition to that of all CAB members in redefining the CAB’s purpose and methods. Any revision of the CAB’s mission statement should be a top priority and a collaborative effort. Any costs connected with proposed CAB activities must be considered and seed funds or foundation grants sought prior to embarking on such activities. Consideration should be made to maintaining for the CAB some level of independence from station staff and the BOD. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. The Task Force concludes that WHQR’s Community Advisory Board should redefine its role and its methods in order to better serve the long-term viability of the station. Specifically, the CAB should become a membership organization requiring a minimum donation of its members. The donation may be waived when appropriate in specified circumstances. The CAB should focus its mission, role and activities into six areas of effort, broadly divided internally (within the station) and externally (outside the station): Internal: -Advising — Provide non-staff perspectives on programming goals in advance of programming changes and gather anecdotal feedback from the population at large. -Volunteerism — Help within the station & cultivate new volunteers. -Social & Educational Development — Sponsor social gatherings, educational workshops and cultural activities for CAB members; maintain an informative CAB web page. External: -Outreach — Community outreach (e.g., coffee meetings with public, wine-& cheese discussions, information tables at local festivals, web page, etc.), membership cultivation -Fundraising — A by-product of membership cultivation (not intended to seek or deal with major donors). -Education — Work with local school systems to promote on-air programming as curricular aids; develop PowerPoint presentation(s) that CAB members may use to deliver consistent messages about public radio and WHQR. 2. The CAB should schedule a strategic, half-day workshop for all CAB members to take place before the 2007 general meeting, the purpose being to revisit and redefine the CAB’s mission and methods. -Experienced facilitators should be utilized (John Milligan and Ken Newbold have professional experience). -The process should involve input from all station staff. -At this workshop, the CAB should generate a working list of 50 specific projects the CAB could feasibly undertake within the broad categories presented above. The CAB should then choose the 3 to 5 most viable projects with which to start. |
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