Minutes of the Aug. 6, 2015, meeting
of the Journalism Association of Community Colleges Board of Directors
Attending: President Patricia Stark, Santa Barbara City College; Northern California Faculty Rep Judy House, College of the Sequoias, Visalia; Southern California Faculty Rep Kate McLaughlin, El Camino College, Torrance; At-Large Rep Walter Hammerwold, American River College, Sacramento; Student President Cheyenne Drury, American River College, Sacramento; Student Northern California Rep Joseph Daniels, American River College, Sacramento; Student Southern California Rep Evan Solano, Citrus College, Glendora; Four-Year Rep Dave Waddell, CSU Chico; Communications Director Alicia Edquist, Cerritos College. Norwalk; Joe Wirt, CNPA Services Inc. Absent: Industry Rep Joey Berumen, Los Angeles News Group;
Stark called the video-conferenced meeting to order at 4 p.m.
Minutes of June 19 NorCal meeting at CNPA Services Inc., Sacramento, incorporated herein by reference, were approved by NorCal directors. Minutes of the July 20 SoCal meeting at Burbank Marriott, incorporated herein by reference, were approved by SoCal directors.
Stark reminded participants that committee reports could be approved by affirmation rather than following an in-depth review. Such action would be a time-saver, she said, as would filing reports for review prior to board meetings.
Stark then explained that her forward-directed report was intended to establish timelines for JACC operations, chiefly, regional conferences, membership services, budget, 501c3 status and discussion for or against a Midwinter Faculty Conference in 2016.
McLaughlin asked about options for an events director, noting that SoCal conference planners lacked time or expertise to organize and track logistics for multiple events. Stark said Wirt would handle that point in his report.
Stark told the group that she would lead efforts to revise the JACC Constitution to reflect changes in board and staffing structures. She said she hoped to have a revised document ready for a board vote at the next meeting.
Stark told the board that monitoring and proposing action upon the status of troubled member programs would not fit into her schedule, but said Immediate Past-President Mary Mazzocco (Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill) would try to take on that role.
Drury listed three options for a student communications platform: private Facebook group, Google group or WordPress blog. Edquist recommended a closed Facebook page. Students and faculty concurred. House asked for clarification on administration of the group. Student reps described how they would handle hands-on administration and agreed that Edquist would be, for continuity, an overall administrator. Stark asked the student directors to move ahead on creation of the Facebook page and prepare a report on its progress for the board.
Wirt provided an overview of CNPA Services Inc.’s administration of JACC operations: mail, bank, accounts payable, budgeting and financial reports, membership, contests and events.
Stark said she would monitor how JACC’s events organization integrated into the workload and staff resources of CNPA Services Inc.
Of 47 schools: 1 has closed (Antelope Valley), 1 has opted out (Mount San Antonio). JACC holds 20 outstanding invoices: $25,275 is due JACC. McLaughlin asked if bank records for 10 years would be saved when the accounts were moved. Wirt said he would try to obtain them.
Stark suggested that the October overdue date for the annual $500 membership dues be shifted back to Sept. 15, to allow JACC to accurately budget earlier based on the number of renewing schools.
House volunteered to contact Mount San Antonio regarding membership continuance.
Wirt told the group that organizational governance and 501c3 compliance would come under the eye of CNPA Services Inc. legal staff very soon. And he told about plans to create a mailing and campus-specific poster for member newsrooms outlining both JACC benefits and those of belonging to CNPA.
Stark replied that a JACC outreach to prospective members is in the idea stage.
McLaughlin shared an email from Erin Hiro (Palomar College, San Marcos) of the SoCal conference committee, which was linked to the agenda. Much of the communication related to in-flux concepts for the Oct. 3 event at Fullerton College. Stark said the SoCal committee’s preferences and work appeared workable and should be provided to the CNPA Services Inc. office for implementation.
Stark asked for input on SoCal per-person conference fees and a registration deadline. The actual cost would be determined after a budget is prepared by CNPA Services Inc. staff. The group agreed that host-college students would receive half-price registration; host adviser would attend for free.
House briefly shared plans for the Northern California conference at CSU Sacramento. The group shared opinions on cost vs. benefit of a printed conference program at regional conferences and discussed the use of a mobile conference app either in conjunction with or in lieu of a printed program. They concurred that a printed program would be a given at the state convention regardless.
Edquist reviewed a proposed communications strategy that referenced public and private websites, Facebook and other social media. She is striving to obtain and oversee administrative access to all social media owned by JACC. Edquist referenced work she and Hammerwold had done on a social-media and email policy for faculty and student members.
Hammerwold shared a protocol on roles and duties of faculty proctors at on-site contests, which was attached to the agenda.
McLaughlin asked about stipends for speakers, and House said a policy would be appreciated. Stark said a way to cover speakers’ expenses would be appropriate and said she would create a protocol that addressed both expenses and gratitude – and any cases where a stipend would be necessary.
Stark called time and reminded the group that the next meeting would be at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3. She called adjournment at 5:47 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Joe Wirt, CNPA Services Inc.