Gathered in the Chat room on Monday, July 17th at 8:00 p.m. CDST were Loren Toomsen, Greta Thompson, Isaiah Harrison and Barbara Hug. Sharyl Ferrall and Mark Christian had informed Barbara they might not be available for the meeting.
State Coordinator Hug presented the name of Loren Toomsen to the board for approval as treasurer with the term beginning July 1, 2006 and running through June 30, 2006. The members present approved the position. Names for Secretary and Director At Large will be presented next month.
The group agreed to have suggested changes to the bylaws brought up for vote at next month's meeting. Greta said she would develop motions based on last year's committee findings and have as part of next month's agenda so we can vote. The bylaws state that changes can be made by a 2/3 majority vote of those present at the meeting. (the details of this were decided at the beginning of the teleconference)
The group also agreed to using the purpose statement in the bylaws as our mission statement. If we need to change it later, we can.
The group then moved to a telephone conference and Sharyl Ferrall and Karen DeGroote-Johnson joined the group.
Loren asked the group to talk about the value of IAGenWeb and what he should be talking about to potential corporate sponsors. Lots of ideas were presented. Loren will send his notes out to the group to add to or edit for misinterpretations.
The group decided to meet the 3rd Monday evening of every month for the rest of this year in the chat room. Time will always be 8:00 Central Daylight Savings Time or Central Standard Time.
Isaiah asked how many brochures Loren would need to use for his presentations - about 10 or so.
Loren mentioned that IAGenWeb started August 6, 1996 so that we will be celebrating our 10th year.
Meeting adjourned.
Transcription of meeting chat.
Notes Loren took from telephone conference.
System whispers: Welcome to the Iowa Secularist Chat!
Barb: I'm logged in but doing other things, so I'll check back every once in awhile. Check your email for brochure.
User Greta enters the room IS Chat.
Greta: Hi Barb
User Loren enters the room IS Chat.
Greta: Hi Loren.
Loren: Hi Barb, Hi Greta
Greta: Barb isn't speaking. She must be thinking. :)
Loren: I can't believe how much I can get done in an hour :)
Greta: Since you were last here, you mean?
Loren: She'll be back -- Isaiah was in here earlier this evening
User Isaiah enters the room IS Chat.
Isaiah: Hello
Loren: That's right,, Greta
Greta: In fact, here he is. Hi, Isaiah.
Loren: Yo Richard
Loren: Just talking about you, Isaiah
Greta: Yo ho ho ho. I can hear my brother singing it.
Isaiah: Hope it was good
Loren: Twas
Isaiah: Why does Greta's name have ID in front of it?
Greta: I was wondering that too.
Loren: Hummm? I don't see an ID
Greta: Hope it's not short for idiot.
Loren: Oh -- yes I do
Barb: Ok, here I am. tme slipped by
Loren: I haven't the foggiest idea why, Richard
Isaiah: If you click on it an ID screen pops up
Loren: Yo Barb
Loren: I wonder is this all of us?
Isaiah: Sharyl?
Loren: Can I get my big request out on the table first, Barb:?
Greta: and Karen?
Barb: Sharyl can't attend and neither can Mark.
Barb: No one else contacted me.
Greta: Karen is having email problems.
Greta: I'll try emailing her now.
Loren: WEll, maybe it is just us
Isaiah: We may have a thunderstorm any minute
Barb: I hope people checked their email about the new site
Loren: We had several move through Clear Lake, Iowa this morning and afternoon
Loren: The lawns needed it
Barb: We have had only about 1/4 inch since May
Loren: One house was hit by lightning -- BAD
Isaiah: The rain has been wonderful here
Loren: Say, can I toss out an idea?
Barb: I thought you lived in Ariz?
Isaiah: We usually get them in teh late afternoon or evening
Barb: Sure
Loren: Okay, over the next several months
Isaiah: We have a Monsoon season
Barb: Ah.
Loren: I'd like to make appointments with a number of Iowa Corporationgs
Loren: Corporations
Loren: and then go visit them
Barb: Way to go.
Loren: But, what I need is a telephone conference call with about six of us -- to live brainstorm
Greta: Works for me as long as you come back with some pledges. :)
Loren: The brochure is good, yes, but I need some human live input -- with all of you
Loren: We all have perspective and energy for the project -- and that is what I want to garner
Barb: Can we do this tonight? We can't keep putting this off.
Greta: About what for example?
Loren: Barb:, I'd like to schedule the phone call for the middle of next week if I could
Greta: Why not now? Let's go for it.
Barb: We have some other business to take care of tonight, too.
Loren: There are only four of us -- and we really need a couple more
Loren: Energy will build energy
Barb: I think you could call Karen.
Loren: I'm just now getting to a point where I can get back into this
Greta: I sent her a high priority email a minute or two ago.
Greta: her = Karen
Loren: If we can get a good group tonight -- I'm all for doing it yet tonight
Loren: Just would like more people in on this
Barb: Can we do some other business and see if anyone else joins us?
Isaiah: Good idea
Greta: Sounds good to me.
Barb: We really need to work on the bylaws.
Loren: Barb, let's do the other business -- then let's have a conference call among the four of us -- you'll see why once we get started
Barb: As Greta pointed out last year.
Barb: for one thing the Director At Large, the secreetary and the Treasurer comes from the membership. We don't have other members besides past SCs
Loren: What's your thoughts on handling this, Barb:?
Barb: We also need to set up Monthly meeting for the rest of this year.
Barb: We have been neglectful for way too long on the Friedns
Loren: I am all for a monthly meeting -- that brings us back together
Barb: Tonight, I'd like to provide the name of Loren Toomsen for Treasure and ask the board to approve.
Loren: BTW I accept the nomination
Isaiah: I approve
Greta: Me too.
Barb: I have asked others to be Secretary and D-at-L, but no response.
Barb: Ok, Loren will be our treasure for another year.
Loren: I will prepare our annual filing when the time come
Loren: s
Barb: We'll wait until next month to do the secretary and D at L
Isaiah: :oren is always our "treasure"
Barb: But I think we need to start following our bylaws now that we are with the IRS
Loren: Amen, Barb!
Isaiah: Yes
Barb: and our bylaws state that the Sec, Treas. and D at L are appointed yearly.
Barb: Term of office is from July 1 through June 30.
Isaiah: I thought the DatL was the SC
Barb: Director At Large
Barb: is supposed to represent the membership
Barb: the way i am interpreting the bylaws????
Greta: SC is President, Director at Large is someone else
Isaiah: I'm confusing it with another office
Barb: I'd like for the committee that met before to present some changes
Barb: that we can vote on next month.
Isaiah: I nominate Greta for Secretary
Barb: I would be glad to work with you, but it just doesn't make sense to start completly over.
Barb: Greta will respond
Greta: phone call
Greta: nrb
Greta: brb
Barb: Greta is running for a national office and thinks she'll be too busy to be Secretary, so I asked Sharyl
Loren: Say, guys, if we're going to do a phone call tonight -- why don't we do all this in a phone call -- it will go a lot faster
Isaiah: Did she agree?
Barb: I didn't hear from Sharyl on this.
Loren: If there is the four of us -- let's have a conference call right now
Barb: Loren, I'd rather have this part in writing.
Greta: i just called karen and left a message.
Barb: For the record.
Loren: Okay, -- I get you. Fine
Isaiah: I'll volunteer to be DatL just so we'll have one
Barb: I'd also like for us to adopt a Mission statement tonight IF possible.
Greta: and then Noah called. But here I am. I told Barb: I'd consider being Secretary if I lost the AB race but won't know that till August
Greta: Thank you for suggesting me, Isaiah.
Isaiah: You're welcome
Barb: I think Mark suggested using our purpose statement for the mission.
Barb: But does it meet all the criteria.
Isaiah: I can go along with that
Greta: And it's okay with me.
Barb: Loren?
Loren: Yes
Isaiah: It can always be revised if we desire to later on
Barb: That's just what I was going to say
Greta: And it's the kind of thing we need, but don't want to waste time on right now.
Greta: We need Loren to go talk to the money corps
Barb: I think that we have covered the items I wanted in writing.
Greta: That's spelled without an e.
Loren: If we have this in writing, would you all type in your phone numbers and I'll conference call you
Isaiah: 420-393-0799
Loren: Hang on , I'll be calling each of you now
Barb: 641-791-9485
Greta: I was going to say earlier that I summed up the work of the Bylaws committee, and sent it to all of you, butwould be glad to send it again. That could be a jumping off point for revising the bylaws. I'm 920-739-8896.
Isaiah: wrong! 520-393-0799
Greta: Will somebody offer a mild ha, ha at my joke?
Isaiah: ha ha
Greta: THANK YOU!
Isaiah: oH, I get it!
Barb: Greta, I keep spelling your name Great and I think that's right
Greta: And THANK YOU!
Barb: Let's leave so I can copy the chat. Here's Loren
Here are my notes from last nights conference call. A brainstorm is where you put the pedal to the metal, let the ideas flow and ask no questions or set conditions.
Now comes the time where we review the ideas. “Your idea ain’t worth a dime, but it just gave me one that is.” Would you review the list below and see if more ideas come forward or tweaks can be made to the list below.
I will soon make appointments with potential corporate sponsors. I want to visit with them on your behalf as your emissary reflecting your input and ideas. Seeking corporate sponsorship will become an ongoing event in the future and we need to develop our groundwork and technique early so we can pass this success formula on to future generations of our project. – Loren Toomsen
July 17, 2006, Monday
Notes from a brainstorm telephone conference call. Attendees: Greta Thompson, Isaiah Harrison, Barbara Hug, Loren Toomsen, Sharyl Ferrall and Karen DeGroote-Johnson.
When visiting with a potential corporate sponsor what do we showcase?
- Show the IAGenWeb on a laptop computer – on their computer if possible.
- Leave with them a brochure and supportive materials and addresses so they may enter the project after our meeting.
- Show the State Page, it is a beautiful user friendly page.
- Special Projects: The interactive genealogy boards; Grave Stone and Photo Project; History Project; Civil War Project; list all of our projects
- Statistics page views compiled by Mark Christian
- Spam blocking on our genealogy boards devised by our tech team.
- Our own volunteer technical team.
- Our paid professional back up association with Web Journeymen.
- Our own dedicated 18 gigabyte server.
- IAGenWeb is one of the leading State projects in the USGenWeb Project and has set a standard in a continuity of leadership – we elect a new state coordinator each year. Explain the three year leadership commitment.
- A twice annual review of the project to keep it fresh, current and working.
- IAGenWeb is an important part of the nearly 2,200 USGenWeb volunteers effort putting genealogy online free – we do not ask for money from our users.
- First class volunteer county projects that contain volumes of data. A true labor of love creating an enormous value.
- Showcase county projects, i.e. Jasper; Madison; Scott; Jones; Allamakee
- Tax Benefit because of our 501c3 status.
- Be part of a sense of history and pride.
- Look up genealogy records of whomever we are interviewing at the moment. Show them how this works in real time with their own family.
- “If you support the IAGenWeb Project you are honoring all Iowans past, present and future.”
- Seek an endorsement from the current Iowa Governor or his/her spouse and perhaps renew this annually, or each term and show that endorsement on our page.
- Showcase testimonials found on some of our county project pages.
- The IAGenWeb offers something of great value personal value in a society that is dominated by money. Theme: “Keeping Family History Free”
- The project is open to volunteer contributions from users and members of the project, finances do come in from multiple sources.
- The IAGenWeb is now ten years old having been formed on August 6, 1996.
- BE PREPARED: To answer questions on security and privacy issues.
R
- oughly 100 County and Assistant County coordinators maintain the web pages while an estimated triple that number work behind the scenes posting obits, biographies, etc., to our project.
- The project owns many valuable scripts such as the Genealogy Boards, Surname Helper, Gravestone, Forum, Voting Booth,
… list all the scripts we own and use
- Sponsorship will allow the project to seek out more scripts in the future and expand our offering on line.
- People do online genealogy from the comfort of their own home.
- Our corporate sponsor’s logo and a “Proud Corporate Sponsor of the IAGenWeb Project” statement with a link to their webpage is provided on each of our genealogy boards and wherever else appropriate throughout the IAGenWeb Project to give recognition to our corporate sponsor. This is not an Ad, but a recognition of the corporate sponsors very important contribution to the project. A corporate sponsor is a member of the project inputting value, such as the many hours of contribution by each of our volunteers. The whole is greater than the sum of all of its component parts.
- Iowa Corporations roots are in the state of Iowa hence the powerful association.
- Iowa County project is well done (Amana Colonies)
- Prepare a PowerPoint presentation
- Surname Index of the person I am talking too, locate people from a certain county.
- Demographics (what is the age group of people who use IAGenWeb? For example the same people who buy Winnebago Motor Homes are the same group who do genealogy
- Genealogy is enjoyed and pursued by all age groups but there is great PR value in associating with the IAGenWeb Project
- Genealogy is the third largest hobby (avocation) in the United States today.