Board Meeting Minutes

Board of Director’s Meeting

New Wave Corporation

915 E. Broadway – Columbia, Mo. KOPN Studios, Cope Ashlock Room Meeting of December 21, 2010

In attendance were Thomas Sobieck, John Betz, Meg Pochė, Ted Carstensen, Ann Mehr, Tom Verdot, Ruth Montgomery, Ellen Froeschner, Bridgette Early and General Manager, David Owens.Absent: Scott Meiner, Sheryl Clapton, Jim Baker, Kyle Cook and Ray Marks
Guests: Jeff Wheeler, Brian Davis, Michelle Grant, Jackie Casteel, Joy Rushing, Jim Lane, and James Oxford

Call to Order:

Board President, Thomas Sobieck, called the meeting to order at 7:10pm and asked for any changes to the agenda. No changes were made.

Review of Minutes:

The minutes from the November 16, 2010 meeting were reviewed. Tom Verdot motioned to approve the Minutes. Ted Carstensen seconded the motion. All agreed.

*The minutes from the November 16, 2010 Board meeting were approved.

Treasurer’s Report:

John Betz presented an updated financial report current through November 2010. A discussion was held regarding avenues from which money was being made and pending bills to be paid.

Officers Report
Fiscal Situation – General Manager, David Owens, reported that we had been approved for CPB funding and were awaiting CPB’s software manager to upload documents which would require our signature before the check could be sent to us. As it is Christmas week and many people are on vacation, it will likely be a few weeks before this happens. Our grant application was 155 days late. As a penalty, CPB has elected to impose a fine. CPB was in part responsible for the delay. This most likely aided in CPB’s decision for leniency. A fine of $3,000 was imposed. Had they not been lenient, KOPN could have been fined half of the incoming grant amount.

A discussion was held for newer Board members on the history behind this recent grant process. Reasons for the delay involved the loss of KOPN’s accountant at the time when CPB grant applications were to be filed, and a mistake made by CPB in which they deleted our information when they realized they had posted the wrong forms online. The General Manager and the Executive Committee of the Board were left to re-establish a sound accounting system after losing the accountant and inheriting what he had left behind. Several extensions were filed with CPB, but despite that, KOPN was not ready to file on time and remained severely late in the process.

A general discussion was held regarding pending bills KOPN is faced with and what should be prioritized. Several items mentioned were programming such as NPR, PRI, and Pacifica, rent, insurance bill, utility bills, payroll, etc. Electric and insurance topped the list. It was decided that an additional $4,000 was needed within the week to cover the most important things and get us through the holiday until the grant money comes through. Meg Pochė and Tom Verdot volunteered to participate as Board representatives in the telephone appeal to KOPN members who had a history of generous giving. Appeals were also going out over the air by programmers such as Mark Haim, and on KOPN’s Facebook page appealing to listeners to help us out with an extra gift due to our delay in receiving federal monies. It was also suggested that we make appeals to programmers who were not up to date as dues paying members to step up and donate.

David also related that he had terminated Christine Garderner’s position as Volunteer Coordinator in part as an effort to stem payroll costs. A discussion prompted by this announcement was stemmed until a closed Board session could be held after the regular Board meeting.

David discussed the current political situation in which conservative domination of the House in Washington were inclined to do away with CPB funding. Finding other ways to raise money for KOPN should remain a priority in the future. David emphasized that he and staff felt that they needed more input from the Board in fund raising efforts. Thomas Sobieck raised the issue of working to increase KOPN’s listener ship through programming efforts. A discussion was held on pledge drive results based upon programming.

Annual Meeting – The Annual Meeting is scheduled for January 16, 2011. Thomas Sobieck contacted Unity Center and reserved it for 3-6pm. Three candidates had come in so far for Board nominations. Thomas Sobieck and Tom Verdot will also be up for re-election.

General Manager Evaluation – Thomas announced that the Executive Committee would hold an evaluation for David Owens sometime in the following week after Christmas.

Staff Reports

Staff activity was covered under the Officer’s Report above.

Committee Reports
Programming Committee – Thomas Sobieck presented the Programming Committee report in Ray Mark’s absence. Multiple spots are open for non-programmers on the Committee. In addition, 5 spots are available for programmers. A letter was sent to all programmers for self-nomination to the Committee. Two self-nominations came in: Kim McGinty and Darrell Foster. Three are still needed. A vote is needed by programmers to admit McGinty and Foster to the committee. Michelle Grant suggested that phone calls were more effective than letters in mailboxes to get programmer’s participation in this matter. The Board agreed that nominations followed by phone calls would be prudent. The Programming Committee is interested in having representation by a greater diversity of programmers. A program from WNYC called “Radio Lab” has been recommended by Thomas as a great free program to consider for KOPN. Thomas reports that it is a well produced science program with great entertainment qualities.

KOPN Advisory Committee – Scott Meiner had offered to host the meeting as his establishment, The Blue Fugue. A discussion was held on where to hold the meeting so as not to present a conflict of interest. It was agreed at November’s Board meeting that each Board member would attend this meeting and bring a guest. The goal is to hold the meeting by early March. Having a local restaurant cater for underwriting trade would be good.

*Scott Meiner agreed at the November meeting to set a date for the Advisory Committee to gather, with each Board member finding a guest to participate.

Meeting adjourned: 8:00pm Next Meeting: January 18, 2011Respectfully submitted to the Board by Meg Poché on January 16, 2011