Meeting Minutes

Spring 2004 - Arlington, Virginia

PUBLIC RADIO IN MID-AMERICA
MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Public Radio Leadership Forum
May 11, 2004
Sheraton National Hotel, Arlington VA
7:30 a.m.

Minutes

I. CALL TO ORDER

PRIMA President Patty Wente. Meeting began with informal discussions. Called to order approximately 7:40 a.m.

II. ADDITIONS & APPROVAL OF AGENDA

III. SECRETARY'S REPORT:

PRIMA Secretary Cleve Callison. Minutes of meeting February 6, 2004 (distributed via email 2/9/04) distributed. Approved.

IV. TREASURER'S REPORT:

PRIMA Treasurer Dorie Vallillo. Balance in checking account 2/1/04: $17,449.87. Income $4,426.09. Expenses $12,150.76. Balance in checking account 5/1/04: $9.725.20. Includes essentially all income and expenses from the Winter 2004 conference in New Orleans.
Vanguard Money Market Account balance 3/31/04: $10,485.09.
Approved.

V. COMMITTEE REPORTS:

A. Scholarships -- members should be thinking about nominating newcomers to PRIMA to be scholarship recipients for the Fall meeting.

VI. PRESIDENT’S REPORT (Patty Wente):

Tim Emmons and Patty Cahill are running for the Board. It appears that PRIMA will not have a representative at the NPR Board (other than PRIMA members on the Board). Don Mullally of WILL-Urbana has had some health problems lately. Steve Meuche is no longer GM at WKAR-East Lansing, but is still working at Michigan State University until January 2005. Dale Ouzts has officially retired from WOSU-Columbus. Tom Godell has left WSIU-Carbondale and is now at WUKY-Lexington. Tim Eby will be leaving WVPE-Elkhart and become Station Manager at WOSU.

VII. OLD BUSINESS:

A. Fall 04 meeting update -- October 7 & 8, 2004, in St. Louis

B. U:SA update -- Linda Carr and Craig Beeby. Intellectual Property Center at this meeting; CD materials to be distributed to stations. Co-sponsored by NPR.

C. Doug Vernier -- 3rd round of HD grants will be coming up soon. Get ready to file. Construction timetable may be longer than with round 2. AM stations should contact CPB very soon.

D. Bruce Haines -- NPR Strategic Plan work is going on; meeting later this week.

VII. NEW BUSINESS:

A. NPR Board update (Tim Eby); Board will take up revisions to fundraising policies that will affect the Cahill amendment and others. Should clarify and focus the intent of the amendment as well as provide more specific guidance to NPR management and Foundation; ideally should encourage station and NPR cooperation. It will address underwriting and major gift solicitation. Will go out to the system, with action perhaps at the July Board meeting. Al Bartholet: Major Gifts Task Force is proceeding. Torey Malatia: SRG is looking at the larger question of how and what other entities are doing, as PRI and producers get into major gift fundraising. Eby: perhaps we need a national feasibility study so we don’t leave money on the table. Patty Wente: concerned about NPR’s staying inside the boundaries; some behavior we’ve seen is unprofessional (approaching potential donors without notifying local stations). Concerns echoed by Patty Cahill. What are the incentives for local stations to collaborate if NPR does not play by the rules?
Partnership compact: has been the recipient of good suggestions from the membership. NPR Board will not be approved at this meeting; will take up again later this year.

B. Nominating Committee needed for elections at fall meeting. Positions to be nominated are: Vice-President (Greg Schnirring); Treasurer (Dorie Vallillo); Board position #2 (Christina Kuzmych). All 3 incumbents are eligible for re-election. Jon Schwartz, Regina Dean, Dan Skinner mentioned as possible members. Patty will name a chair and inform the membership

VII. ADJOURN

Meeting adjourned at 8:04 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Cleve Callison
Secretary, Public Radio in Mid-America
May 11, 2004