Monday
February 28, 2000
MINUTES of the BOARD MEETING:
The Board of Directors’ meeting of the 1960 PC Users Group was held on February 28, 2000, at the Lasagna House III, 217D 1960 West, Houston, Texas.
Attendance: Lynn McLeland, Mike Flanagan, Linda Genaw, Bob Argo, Alex Dumestre, Betty Hesketh, Ed Hesketh, Cheryl Floyed, Butch Blasingame, Pat McDonald, Donna Dommel, Kevin Munson, Kevin O’Hearne, and Diana McCants.
Lynn McLeland called the meeting to order at 6:45pm. The first order of business was to approve the minutes from the previous board meeting on 1-24-2000. A motion was made and seconded to approve those minutes. The motion passed by voice vote.
Officer Reports:
Treasurer:
Bob Argo reported that February has been a good month. The end of the month financials will indicate a shortage of approximately $400, but this is due to the temporary over-run of $602 for the logo shirts that have not yet been purchased by our club members.
Membership revenues are about on target for the month. Advertising revenue was over budget by $345 due to a significant payment by the Computer Professor. Expenditures were essentially on target except for the temporary over-run for the logo shirts.
The January bank statement was reconciled on 2-4-2000 without any corrections. Our current checkbook balance is $5,134 as of 2-28-2000.
Nine more CDs were received this month from Viagrafix reducing our backorder now to fourteen.
President:
Lynn McLeland announced that Diana McCants has regretfully resigned from the Board of Directors as Secretary effective April 1, 2000 due to work and personal commitments. The search for a new secretary is currently underway.
The NAM lease was signed in January, 2000 with no problem.
The 1960 PC Users Group recently received some free radio publicity when Lynn McLeland, Butch Blasingame, and Mike Flanagan appeared on 90.1 FM on Wednesday, 2-23-2000, from 8:00-9:30pm. They were interviewed by Jay and Peter for thirty minutes, and hope to go back again to talk about the 1960 PC Users Group Computer Fair. Mike Flanagan has asked the two disk jockeys to speak at one of the seminars at the Computer Fair on May 6, 2000, and they have graciously agreed.
After considerable discussion about getting products for review, Lynn volunteered to talk to Ryan Kelly, our Product Review Coordinator, about taking a more proactive approach to reviews. We need product reviews for Viagrafix to be published at least once a month in our newsletter. In return, we are entitled to receive three free CDs for every one review.
VP-SIGs:
Alex Dumestre reported that SIG attendance in general has been very good.
The Roundtable SIG will meet next Tuesday and continue to discuss the upcoming Computer Fair.
The Hardware SIG formally voted Scott Floyed as its new leader. So we would like to officially welcome Scott Floyed aboard with our sincere appreciation.
In the Software SIG, nineteen members attended to hear Leon McGraw begin his series on ACCESS.
The Graphics SIG is continuing to present Publisher 2000. Linda Genaw provided an entire table of creative offerings to inspire the membership to learn about Microsoft’s Publisher.
The Genealogy SIG has really taken off recently. Their individual web page is up and running and looks great.
We still are looking for a Windows SIG leader and need a volunteer to fill this position. We also discussed the possibility of bringing in new, younger members with the creation of a Games SIG.
VP-Programs:
Mike Flanagan announced that Creative Labs would be the presenter at the March General Meeting to discuss a multimedia demonstration of the hottest new technologies for the PC, MAC, and Home Theatre.
Sierra is slated for April, and Dwight Silverman, columnist for the Houston Chronicle, will be here in May to talk about "big pipe" connections.
VP-Communications:
Kevin O’Hearne announced that advertising for our club’s newsletter is off by $80 a month. We have lost three advertisers since the first of the year. He promises that he will have new advertisers very soon to make up for this shortfall.
Kevin also reported that the 1960 PC Users Group will receive a free, short write-up in the Wimbledon subdivision newsletter, and a representative will be at our next meeting. Kevin said he had a very positive discussion with the subdivision’s representative.
Butch Blasingame apologized for getting the newsletter out later than usual this month. He is very upset about the quality of the printing for our March newsletter. He has contacted other printers to obtain estimates. He will gather this information and get back to the Board next month.
An advertising brochure is still needed for Kevin O’Hearne’s use to solicit new advertising business. The ball has been dropped on this project for several months now and needs to be completed soon.
Lynn McLeland wants to see a Message Board set up on our website for our membership to post messages and write questions 24 hours a day. Ideally, she would like a "button" on our home page reading "Message Forum" for easy access. Anyone could answer the questions. After much discussion, it was decided that this was a good idea, and we could try it on a temporary basis. We will discuss it some more next month.
Membership Chairman:
Linda Genaw initially reported that $595 had been added to the club’s treasury during the month of February, but this figure was later amended by e-mail to read $844. Our club membership now stands at 223.
The membership renewals due for February were 23. The actual renewals were 13. Five members were removed from the membership roster for December. Three new members were added this month.
Linda Genaw spoke to Bob Argo to request that she be allowed to order all of her office supplies for the year on a one-time basis. A motion was made and seconded to allocate $150 for Linda Genaw’s office supplies and to purchase $200 worth of stamps for her use. This motion passed by voice vote.
Directors at Large Report:
No report was presented.
Old Business:
Donna Dommel and Kevin Munson reported that the Computer Fair was on track. They are still in need of more volunteers.
A sample flyer for the Computer Fair was presented for discussion and suggestions.
Butch Blasingame presented a publicity budget for the Computer Fair. In general, the Board felt that the proposed $1170 was excessive and needed to be pared down. Butch will re-work this budget and present it at a later date.
The use of a portable lighted sign was suggested and discussed for the Computer Fair in May. Kevin O’Hearne will obtain an estimate of the cost.
New Business:
Lynn McLeland asked the Board to approve a six month hiatus beginning in February, 2000, for club member, Aki Omori, who is seriously ill. Linda Genaw decided the easiest way to handle this situation on her membership books was to extend his club membership for six additional months. A motion was made and seconded to this effect. The motion passed by voice vote. The Club wishes Mr. Omori a full and speedy recovery.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Diana J. McCants
Secretary
March 5, 2000
