4:09 p.m. – Call to Order

Absent: Liz Farmer, Martha Tiller

Present: Paul Wahlstrom, Zane Harrington, Barry Hoffman, Song Yang, Arnold Wayne Martin, Hugh Aynesworth, Cary Broussard joined via phone

 

Minutes: Song approved. Arnold seconded

 

Membership:

Board discussed the intricacies associated with paying by check. Board discussed building membership back up again and following up with new and expired members after the Legends afterwards.

 

Website and Social Media:

Legends content and sponsorship fully updated.

Song to begin updating and utilizing the calendar. Paul has also been updating accordingly.

 

Foundation:

Scholarship updates – postponed to June discussion.

 

Happy Hour – tentatively scheduled for June 18 at Lorenzo Hotel.

 

Legends Awards:

Board discussed parking, ticket numbers and volunteers for the event. Reviewed the entire agenda for the evening to ensure a seamless evening. Zane Harrington provided full update as well as delegated appropriate tasks.

 

5:17 p.m. – Meeting Closed

April 23, 2019

Cary Broussard Headquarters – 6060 N. Central Expy #101

Attending board members: Paul Wahlstrom, Cary Broussard, Zane Harrington, Song Yang, Hugh Aynesworth, Martha Tiller

Absent board members: Liz Farmer, Arnold Wayne Jones, Barry Hoffman

4:15 p.m.

Approval of Minutes – March 26 Meeting

Martha Tiller made a motion to approve the minutes, Zane Harrington seconded.

Meeting Presentation with Talem Consluting

Membership
Zane Harrington gave membership report. He said he would reach out to two new members within the coming months.

Legends Awards

Board decided to wait until after Legends Awards for consideration of proposal submitted by Talem Consulting.

Paul was working on fundraising efforts with assistance from various other board members.

Zane Harrington gave an update on what else needed to be accomplished as far as event planning, and Cary Broussard volunteered to help where she could.

Communities Foundation/Scholarship

We briefly discussed the need to get moving on this. Paul asked Cary to reach out and report back at next meeting.

5:48 p.m. – Meeting adjourned.

Cary Broussard Headquarters – 6060 N. Central Expy #101

Attending board members: Paul Wahlstrom, Liz Farmer, Zane Harrington, Arnold Wayne Jones, Martha Tiller, Barry Hoffman,

Absent board members: Song Yang, Cary Broussard, Hugh Aynesworth

4:11 p.m.

Approval of Minutes – Feb. 26 Meeting

Martha Tiller made a motion to approve the minutes, Arnold Wayne Jones seconded.

Membership

The club welcomed two new members, though one or two dropped, who Zane Harrington plans to reach out to.

Steve Smith said there are several items to follow-up with, including removing the P.O. Box from the website.

Financial report

Paul Wahlstrom said the club finances, compared to last year, are down because of events.

Barry Hoffman moved to approve the latest financial report, Arnold Wayne Jones seconded.

Communities Foundation

Paul Wahlstrom said the scholarships deadline is May 1, so it needs to be promoted.

Legends

Zane Harrington is sending an updated press release about Legends and Steve Smith is getting Martha Tiller a photo. Zane Harrington said he’s also compiling Legends headshots and bios and will be pitching to media soon. Paul Wahlstrom said he’s waiting to hear back about insurance for the event.

Sponsorship

Paul Wahlstrom said he, Barry Hoffman and Hugh Aynesworth have been working on sponsorships and trying to revamp.

Dedie Leahy presented them with a proposal to consult on sponsorships. Given the nature of the proposal and the cost, the board agreed it was best not to act on it at this time.

Barry Hoffman made a motion to decline contract at this time and Arnold Wayne Jones seconded.

Aynesworth Awards

Due to financial constraints and scheduling, Paul Wahlstrom recommended putting the Aynesworth Awards on hold and possibly picking it back up next year, which could allow the board to switch the timing with that of the Legends, as previously discussed. The board reached a consensus to put the event on hold for this fall.

5:57 p.m.

Adjourned

Cary Broussard Headquarters – 6060 N. Central Expy #101

Attending board members: Paul Wahlstrom, Song Yang, Cary Broussard, Barry Hoffman, Liz Farmer, Hugh Aynesworth, Zane Harrington, Arnold Wayne Jones, Martha Tiller

Absent board member: Tristan Hallman

4:24 p.m.

Approval of Minutes – Jan. 22 Meeting

Arnold Wayne Jones made a motion to approve the minutes, Barry Hoffman seconded.

Financial Report

Cary Broussard said the board is $944 behind last year and she will be double checking that the final payment to Irving Convention Center has gone through. Taking that payment into account, the board has about $13,500 in the bank.

Martha Tiller asked if all the sponsors have paid and Cary Broussard offered to follow-up to see.

Martha Tiller made a motion to approve the financial report from January 31, Arnold Wayne Jones seconded.

Membership Report

Zane Harrington said there were two membership expirations that he’s trying to follow-up with and two others that he got reinstated.

Arnold Wayne Jones said that the website was down recently. Paul Wahlstrom said it is back up.

Communications

Liz Farmer shared the Facebook post about the networking event with key Facebook groups and contacts. She also developed a flyer with job development and job search tips for the event.

4:42 p.m.

Steve Smith joined the meeting by phone.

Website changes

Song Yang reported that there were three days of outage, which she’s looking into. She said she couldn’t get into the CMS but is making progress on the website and would like to put tools like Chartbeat into place. Chartbeat would monitor the site, provide insight into the growth of it, and alert the board to any outage.

Fundraising

Paul Wahlstrom said ideally our fundraising goals would be to raise at least $15,000 for each of the two big events.

Cary suggested the board hosting an event featuring Hugh Aynesworth’s Netflix docuseries on Ted Bundy.

Legends Awards

The board set the date tentatively as May 18 and decided to open up nominations soon.

5:30 p.m.

Arnold Wayne Jones ducked out.

Education training

Barry Hoffman suggested hosting a forum featuring top broadcast talent from Texas on the state of journalism.

Martha Tiller suggested getting speaking fees underwritten.

Changes committee

Zane Harrington offered to look into swapping Legends and the Aynesworth Awards, perhaps for 2020. If they were swapped, the board discussed that submissions for Aynesworth Awards could open Jan. 2 and close March 31.

Board changes

Tristan Hallman submitted his resignation from the board in writing. Barry Hoffman moved to accept the resignation and Liz Farmer seconded.

6:03 p.m.

Adjourned

Press Club of Dallas

Board of Directors Minutes

Jan. 22, 2019

Cary Broussard Headquarters – 6060 N. Central Expwy #101

Attending board members: Paul Wahlstrom, Song Yang, Cary Broussard, Barry Hoffman, Liz Farmer, Hugh Aynesworth, Zane Harrington, Arnold Wayne Jones, Martha Tiller

Absent: Tristan Hallman

The meeting convened at 4:03 p.m.

Steve Smith joined

Approval of Minutes – November 27th Meeting – Secretary Liz Farmer c/o Barry Hoffman

Arnold Wayne Jones made a motion to approve the minutes, Song Yang seconded.

Financial Report

Paul Wahlstrom said the board still owes the Irving Convention Center and needs to review whether there are any outstanding sponsors.

Steve Smith will need to do audit to make sure the old PO box isn’t listed anywhere else and if so, replace with Mac Duvall’s address: 329 Oaks Trail, Suit 109 Garland, Texas 75043.

Zane Harrington made a motion to approve financials, Arnold Wayne Jones seconded.

Membership Report

Zane Harrington has reached out to those whose membership has lapsed and plans to work with Steve Smith to send out a new email to other members.

Paul Wahlstrom suggested reducing the cost of corporate memberships.

Communications

Liz Farmer said that she posted about The Dallas Morning News layoffs on social media and is available to promote other content that members suggest.

Website changes – Song Yang

Song Yang did an audit and reviewed the infrastructure of the website with Steve Smith and Todd. It is the lowest hosting on GoDaddy, which is one reason it runs slowly. She said she will run Google Analytics to see the club’s pageviews to better understand what direction to go in. In the long term, she plans to streamline the site, so it’s simple for multiple people to use.

Communities Foundation

Paul Wahlstrom said he would like the board to get guidance from the Communities Foundation on sponsorships. Steve Smith said they have free classes for how best to raise funds through North Texas Giving Day to maximize it.

Legends Awards

Paul Wahlstrom suggested using the Sixth Floor Museum again and Cary Broussard suggested getting members outside the board to help orchestrate this event. Zane Harrington offered to facilitate with the board and see if anyone followed up with Café Momentum.

Martha Tiller suggested doing a sponsorship package for both events.

Aynesworth Awards

Arnold Wayne Jones suggested having the Aynesworth Awards in May, instead of Legends, but Paul Wahlstrom disagreed.

Steve Smith said he can update the Google doc form for submissions so the board can start sending it out and set a date later.

Networking Happy Hour – following Dallas Morning News layoffs

PRSA offered to co-sponsor a networking happy hour in January or February, particularly to help journalists recently laid off. Arnold Wayne Jones is heading the effort and Liz Farmer is assisting.

Education & Training

Barry Hoffman said he’s in discussions about a potential event regarding problems that the press is facing.

6:15 p.m.

Adjourned

Location – 6060 N. Central Expressway, Suite 101, Dallas, TX

Attending Board members – Paul Wahlstrom, Arnold Wayne Jones, Zane Harrington, Barry Hoffman, Song Yang, Liz Farmer (by phone)

Absent – Martha Tiller, Cary Broussard, Tristan Hallman, Hugh Aynesworth

The meeting convened at 4:02 pm

Old Business  Approval of the minutes for Oct. 23, 2018. Moved by Barry Hoffman,  seconded by Arnold Wayne Jones. Unanimously approved.

Financials  As of Oct. 31, 2018, net assets were $8,644.23, but this did not account for net revenue from the Legends event or sponsorship for the Aynesworth Awards. Zane Harrington moved to accept the financial report, and Song Yang seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Membership Report  Zane Harrington said he was having difficulty pulling up info people whose memberships had lapsed. Paul Wahlstrom said the algorithm on the membership portal had been changed. He told Zane he would be updated so he could obtain the proper information. Paul said the Press Club would have membership information and sign-up sheets at the Aynesworth Awards on Dec. 1.

Next Happy Hour  Paul said the holiday Happy Hour for the Press Club would be Dec. 11 at the Mansion on Turtle Creek from 5-7 pm.

Hugh Aynesworth Awards  Paul said the parking garage would begin charging a $10 parking fee at 4 pm on Dec. 1, and the reception would start at 5 pm. Liz Farmer asked what time the Press Club volunteers should begin arriving and Paul suggested 4 pm. There would be a separate reception area for sponsors and finalists, he said, and board members’ presence would be most appreciated.

Song Yang said she would be at the civic center at noon Dec. 1 to do a run-through of the visuals for the program. Barry Hoffman and Paul Wahlstrom said they both would be there as well.

Arnold Wayne Jones showed a preview of the program, which all board members thought was quite effective. He listed deadlines for sponsorships and where their placement would be in the program.

A discussion was held to determine which finalists would actually be called to the podium, and it was agreed that all participants – award winners and finalists – would be invited to come up and receive their awards.

Adjournment — Paul said the next meeting would be held Jan., 22, 2019, place and time to be determined.

The meeting was adjourned at 435 pm.

Minutes submitted by Barry Hoffman

Attending board members: Paul Wahlstrom, Song Yang, Cary Broussard, Zane Harrington, Barry Hoffman, Arnold Wayne Jones, Liz Farmer, Martha Tiller, Hugh Aynesworth

Absent: Tristan Hallman

Cary Broussard Headquarters – 6060 N. Central Expy #101

The meeting convened at 4:01 p.m. Steve Smith was also in attendance.

Cary Broussard made a motion to approve all sets of minutes from August and September. Arnold Wayne Jones seconded the minutes. All those in attendance approved.

4:08 p.m.

Financial report

Cary Broussard clarified that the cash in Chase Bank Special Events is actually a scholarship fund that Brett Shipp set up in Bert Shipp’s honor.

4:13 p.m.

Scott Goldstein joined via phone.

4:14 p.m.

Arnold Wayne Jones moved to approve the August and September financials. All those in attendance approved.

4:15 p.m.

Legends

Scott Goldstein explained how much the Legends made in sponsorships and items to take up regarding the contract.

Paul Wahlstrom said the club is trying to do Legends in May in the future, so it doesn’t bump up against the Aynesworth Awards. He said he’s also thought about doing a reunion and inducting a few new Legends, perhaps three.

Scott Goldstein said it can be done in three or four months of planning. Paul Wahlstrom’s asked if Scott Goldstein would be interested in helping organize again. Scott Goldstein said he could help but wouldn’t be able to take on the same leadership role.

Paul Wahlstrom suggested just having a reunion in May, but Arnold Wayne Jones said he didn’t think people would turn out for that.

Cary Broussard suggested getting former Legends involved as a planning committee. She said there are about 80 people who are members. Scott Goldstein said they should definitely be involved and suggested holding off on this decision until after the Aynesworth Awards. He said he doubted that it would turn into much of a fundraiser without honoring specific people. Barry Hoffman suggested having a big keynote Legend to draw a crowd.

Cary Broussard said financially, the club is actually ahead of last year. Café Momentum still needs to be paid for Legends, though.

Scott Goldstein said the sponsors need to be added as members.

4:39 p.m.

Membership report

Zane Harrington will be reaching out to the seven members who lapsed or who cancelled their membership.

4:47 p.m.

Communications

Zane Harrington is going to work on press releases.

Steve Smith said it would be nice to get a calendar developed as a strategic plan.

Paul Wahlstrom suggested coming up with a list, so members know who to go to in order to get things out via MailChimp versus social media.

Song Yang volunteered to organize who will do what tasks regarding communications.

4:52 p.m.

Communities Foundation

Cary Broussard said the funds made from Texas Giving Day will be moved.

4:53 p.m.

Aynesworth Awards

Barry Hoffman said the judges have completed the judging. He said he’ll send the results and the press release with the finalists to Paul Wahlstrom Friday. After it’s approved, he’ll send it to the contact at the AP.

The board members reviewed the numbers of submissions and finalists.

Paul Wahlstrom said the club is expecting about 150 people in attendance and need to set ticket prices.

5:01 p.m.

Arnold Wayne Jones said the publisher of the Dallas Voice agreed to do the layout of the program and asked for certain specifications, including the deadline. Paul Wahlstrom said the club would like at least 250 copies.

Martha Tiller shared the status of sponsorships for the Aynesworth Awards.

5:34p.m.

Barry Hoffman said he’d like to do a forum for college students and the public about journalism.

Paul Wahlstrom said UNT is interested and the club could get TCU and SMU involved.

5:53 p.m.

Hugh Aynesworth said the club needs to get the major media more involved, as well as TIL, Texas Institute of Letters, an organization with authors that has a monthly newsletter. He said the club needs to get in contact with them and get them Press Club press releases. Martha Tiller said the club also needs to get more freelancers. Steve Smith offered to talk to freelancers to see what resources would benefit them.

6:02 p.m.

The meeting adjourned

Press Club of Dallas

Board of Directors Minutes

Sept. 25, 2018

Cary Broussard Headquarters – 6060 N. Central Expy #101

Attending board members: Paul Wahlstrom, Song Yang, Cary Broussard, Zane Harrington, Barry Hoffman, Arnold Wayne Jones, Liz Farmer, Martha Tiller (4:20 pm)

Absent: Tristan Hallman, Hugh Aynesworth

The meeting convened at 4:08 p.m.

Minutes from Sept. 17

No approval, postponed the vote

Memberize

Briefly discussed Memberize. Zane Harrington is chairing membership committee.

Website

Hoping webmaster won’t have to update the website and that board can cover it.

Aynesworth submission needs to be taken down.

Song would like to be main person on the board heading up the website.

Paul said he doesn’t see Todd being the person to upload minutes etc. Someone on the board should do it.

He said Michael Grant has promoted Legends on Facebook, more than anyone else.

Liz Farmer said Angela has been great pushing out Legends, but it’d be great to have more help, like a committee. Paul Wahlstrom responded that Liz Farmer could set up committee to help if she wanted, but we can also just coordinate between who’s working on events and what they need in terms of promotion etc.

4:20 p.m.

Martha Tiller joined the meeting.

Aynesworth Awards

Zane Harrington pushed out the Aynesworth Awards with the Visit Dallas contacts

There was discussion of the cost.

Barry Hoffman said we had 40 entrees last year, 56 entrees this year, a lot came from weeklies

Paul Wahlstrom said we need to get started soon to decide who will take over the event committees next year, so they can learn as the club goes through them this year.

Paul Wahlstrom said he would like to get an entry brochure with application to send out.

4:32 p.m.

Cary Broussard suggested someone to head communications.

Paul Wahlstrom said we can discuss in January when we have a moment to regroup. He wants to do Legends in May, so it’s not within six months of the Aynesworth Awards.

4:33 p.m.

Zane Harrington asked if a freelancer wrote something for a Texas publication if it would qualify for the Hugh Awards. Barry Hoffman and Paul Wahlstrom agreed.

4:36 p.m.

North Texas Giving Day

Cary Broussard stated not every donation gets matched.  Press Club raised just under $500.

4:37 p.m.

Legends

Cary Broussard said 31 tickets have sold.

She said she assumes that doesn’t include 10 tickets are reserved for students and faculty that Pierce Allman has donated.

She thinks capacity is 325 at Sixth Floor.

Cary Broussard said having more Legends can help increase attendance because they bring their families and round it out. This year there are nine Legends, as opposed to a larger number before.

Paul Wahlstrom said most of our fundraising events are outside of membership.

Cary Broussard suggested launching a campaign and perhaps sending out an e-blast tonight.

Paul Wahlstrom said this is why he wanted to do a happy hour next week to promote it.

Arnold Wayne Jones suggested using a QR code to link to the Eventbrite. He agreed to look into it.

Paul Wahlstrom said he thinks we should get board members to come and pitch it as a way to help promote the club.

Paul Wahlstrom said he thought we had a table last year where people could walk up at the event and buy tickets there.

Martha Tiller asked if we should pitch media to support their colleagues.

Emails

Cary Broussard said we’ve sold this event out every year and that we need to get some e-blasts out through Memberize. She suggested sending out three emails that would be personalized with people’s names. Steve Smith can cover this. Michelle has always been the person to do this, but she thinks Steve can take over.

Cary Broussard suggested also pushing out three Mailchimps.

Paul Wahlstrom suggested talking to the Legends themselves and see if they’d like to invite people.

Arnold Wayne Jones said we should reach out to previous recipients.

Cary Broussard said Steve Smith has the list from Scott Goldstein (who just got off the board and is co-chair of Legends), but doesn’t think he’s contacted them yet.

Members

Legends have a discounted membership with the Press Club – they can join for $20.

Paul Wahlstrom said 11 former Legends are members.

The list needs to be checked, Paul Wahlstrom said some of the contacts have passed away.

Song Yang asked who the gatekeeper is for the database.

Cary Broussard said there isn’t one specific person, but it’s in Mailchimp and definitely needs to be cleaned up.

Cary Broussard said we download the membership list from Memberize and upload it to Mailchimp.

Song Yang said she’d like to help clean up the list, which is particularly bad in Mailchimp since it’s not automated like Memberize.

Song Yang asked how much we’re paying for Mailchimp? Cary responded that it’s free.

Paul Wahlstrom said the biggest need for Legends is volunteers. Four to five people for check-in desk.

Stacy Bridgers, Martha Tiller will help. Song Yang will help with the Powerpoint.

Aynesworth Awards

Arnold Wayne Jones asked about sponsorship for the Aynesworth Awards.

Barry Hoffman said he never saw a budget for the Aynesworth event last year.

Cary Broussard said the printed program was really expensive last year. The art was donated and the mockup, but the printing was expensive.

5 p.m.

Martha Tiller said Cynthia Smoot’s husband has a printing place and is happy to ask about options if someone helps guide her for the Aynesworth Awards, which Cary Broussard said she would.

5:02 p.m.

Steve Smith called in.

Arnold Wayne Jones said he’d ask someone at The Voice for a mockup of the printed program, which the Press Club give them sponsorship for doing. He said they use DFW Printing, but The Voice wouldn’t be able to cover that cost. He said he’ll ask Leo, The Voice publisher, if they can donate the layout.

Paul Wahlstrom said we need about 250 copies.

Finalists get certificates.

5:07 p.m.

Martha Tiller asked who’s getting ads for the brochure. Paul Wahlstrom clarified that that’s under the umbrella from sponsorships. Last year it cost a minimum of $75 to be in the program. Major sponsors get tickets in addition to the ad.

Paul Wahlstrom said David Dunnigan already sold a page for the Aynesworth Awards.

5:10 p.m.

Barry Hoffman told Steve Smith that for the nominations, all of broadcast and daily newspapers have been sent out.

Barry Hoffman and Liz Farmer discussed access for the newspaper judge to read articles online.

5:18 p.m.

Scott Goldstein arrived.

Paul Wahlstrom said sponsorships are critical, we have 30 percent of what is needed.

Legends Powerpoint

Scott Goldstein said one screen will scroll through sponsors and there will be a separate presentation for the stage with bios and photos of the Legends. He said Tristan Hallman agreed to make them.

So far, 128 total tickets have been sold, though Scott Goldstein said that’s misleading because with the sponsors they often don’t use them, but he said he’s trying to clarify whether they’ll use them and if not, if they can give them to the Legends.

Individual ticket sales are only about 20,

There are 24 sponsors, including Pierce Allman and Visit Dallas from Frank Librio.

Others sponsors were at the standard $250 level.

Paul Wahlstrom asked for a copy of the list that we discussed, which Scott said he’d provide.

Two e-blasts through Memberize. Steve Smith said he added a list of former Legends to Mailchimp. Scott said he would give him copy to send out.

Networking Happy Hours

Paul Wahlstrom said he’s going to talk to the following places:

Old Monk for an event Nov. 13

The Mansion for an event Dec. 11 or 18

Zane Harrington said he knows the director of sales and marketing and communications if we need a contact.

5:30 p.m. Scott Goldstein left.

5:32 p.m.

New Business

Zane Harrington said he has a relationship with PRSA, so he can reach out to them for support.

Paul Wahlstrom said we thought the board now had 10 board members, which can make it difficult to reach a quorum.

5:35 p.m.

Cary Broussard said the Sammons Center for the Arts is hosting Journalism in the Arts Sept. 27

She’s working on the program for Legends with Scott Goldstein.

Aynesworth Awards

Cary Broussard said we didn’t send a press release out about John McCaa hosting the Aynesworth Awards, but after Legends, so it’s not confusing.

Paul Wahlstrom said he’d like a packet put together for the Aynesworth finalists, including information on the new boutique hotel, Texican.

Barry Hoffman and Paul Wahlstrom said we need a press release about the Aynesworth Awards send that out the Monday after the event.

Barry Hoffman said his goal is to heighten the interest and credibility of the awards.

Press Releases

Cary Broussard said there was a member at the annual meeting who could write press releases, but Paul said he’d really like a board member to do it.

Cary Broussard said she and JoAnn Holt have been the ones writing the press releases, so they need to step back from that. Paul Wahlstrom said he understood and for now, would like it to be within the board since it’s coming up so quickly, but we can revisit in January.

Zane Harrington offered to do the press releases if someone would edit.

5:45 p.m. Arnold Wayne Jones left.

Martha Tiller said Dotty Griffith wanted to join the board but didn’t feel like she had time to attend meetings, however she’s a good writer. Martha Tiller said perhaps she could be someone else who could help with writing later.

The press release about John McCaa hosting the Aynesworth Awards and the finalists can go out the third week of October to first week of November. Zane Harrington will write press release. Liz Farmer and Paul Wahlstrom will review.

5:50 p.m.

The meeting adjourned.

 

Liz Farmer, secretary

Press Club of Dallas

Board of Directors Minutes

Sept. 17, 2018

KERA Studios – 3000 Harry Hines Boulevard

Attending board members: Paul Wahlstrom, Cary Broussard, Liz Farmer, Zane Harrington, Song Yang, Arnold Wayne Jones, Martha Tiller

Absent: Tristan Hallman, Barry Hoffman, Hugh Aynesworth

The meeting convened at 6:50 p.m.

Membership

Zane Harrington offered to take over as Membership Chair since Jo Ann Holt is no longer serving in that capacity.

Upcoming meetings

The board will continue to meet at 4 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month, for now, but will meet at 6060 N. Central Expy #101.

North Texas Giving Day

Arnold Wayne Jones asked if people that day could do things like buy a Legends ticket, but Paul Wahlstrom and Cary Broussard said no because things like that can’t be totally written off for tax purposes.

Cary Brousard said ideally, we would have had something set up downtown because people tend to have stands, but we can think about that for next year.

Steve Smith said he would do an e-blast about the fundraising initiative soon.

Roles

We need to further discuss the webmaster’s role, as well as Marketing Chair since Zane Harrington is over membership and Liz Farmer agreed to be secretary.

Happy hours

Paul Wahlstrom said he’d like to get happy hours started again in October if possible. The board agreed on two upcoming dates: Oct. 2 and Nov. 13. Paul Wahlstrom said the club typically covers about $250 for snacks and people cover their drinks.

Holiday party

Paul suggestion The Mansion as a possible venue. The board decided not to have a board meeting Dec. 18 since it’s so close to the holiday party.

Aynesworth Awards

Several members are scoping out the Irving Convention Center at 2 p.m. Sept. 25. Paul Wahlstrom said Martha Tiller agreed to help with decorations and that he’d spoken to Frank Librio about promoting Dallas to the finalists. The evening of the event, Dec. 1, Gary Clark Jr. will be playing across the street, so attendees can catch his concert afterwards.

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m.

Liz Farmer, Secretary

Location – Visit Dallas HQ, 325 St. Paul St. Dallas, TX

Attending Board members – Cary Broussard, Hugh Aynesworth, Jo Ann Holt, Zane Harrington, Barry Hoffman, Frank Librio, Paul Wahlstrom (ex officio), Michelle McClure (ex officio)

Call ins – Martha Tiller, Liz Farmer

Absent: Scott Goldstein, Cory Smith, Tristan Hallman

The meeting convened at 4:06 pm

Old Business  Approval of the minutes for June 26, 2018 minutes. Moved by Jo Ann Holt, seconded by Frank Librio, unanimously approved.

Financials  As of July 31, 2018, net assets were $18,066.23, $7,099, less than the same reporting period the previous year.  Reasons for this were that fund-raising for the Legends event has not yet reached its full effort, Cary said. Barry Hoffman moved to accept the financial report, Martha Tiller seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

President’s ReportAdministrative changes: Cary introduced Steven Smith, who would be taking over  administration of the Press Club. This job is part-time, and Steve, who has a law degree, is also working as a database membership manager for his Oak Cliff Alma mater, Bishop Dunne High School.

Cary also thanked Michelle McClure, who is leaving, for handling all the administrative duties for the club for the past year, especially membership; and she thanked Bill Young, who has moved on to a IT job in Grapevine. Bill Young is being replaced by Todd Davis for Web site management.

North Texas Giving Day – Cary said that we have delayed our decision to enter into a financial agreement, specifically opening a fund with the Communities Foundation of Dallas until after North Texas Giving Day on Sept. 20.  She mentioned we would use our social media and traditional PR outreach to advertise North Texas Giving Day on Sep. 20.

BOD Nominations – Cary announced our annual meeting will be held at KERA studios Sep. 17, and new Board of Directors candidates who will who be introduced (so far) are Arnold Wayne Jones, a long-time newspaper writer and editor, and Song Yang, digital director of Cowboys and Indians Magazine. Additionally, two BOD members who joined in 2018 will also be introduced and elected – Liz Farmer, formerly a reporter for the Dallas Morning News and currently a brand journalist for the Pinnacle Group; and Zane Harrington, a communications specialist for Visit Dallas.

Press Club President – Cary said that President-elect Cory Smith would be leaving early in 2019 to accept a network correspondent’s position for NBC News in Washington, DC. A discussion ensued as to how to create a logical succession process. While no decision was reached, some good ideas resulted, which Cary said would be acted upon before the year was out.

Press Club Records – Frank Librio said he would investigate where the club’s records that resided with the Hall of State at the Fair Park currently are. We had been told they weren’t digitized, but Frank said he thought they might be.

 Hugh Aynesworth Awards

 Barry Hoffman said the deadline for entries had been extended to Sep. 15. Some board members questioned whether the deadline could be extended to the end of the month, but Barry expressed concern that the judges would not have enough time to evaluate all the entries. Efforts for obtaining sponsors for the event were just in the early stages, event chairman Paul Wahlstrom said. In an effort to enlist more daily newspaper entries, Zane Harrington said he would begin a series of phone call within the next week.

Legends Awards

The Press Club’s Legends awards event is scheduled for Oct. 13 at the Sixth Floor Museum. Fund-raising and sponsor solicitations are under way, with Scott Goldstein and Frank Librio acting as co-chairs for the event.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 5:54 pm.

– Minutes submitted by Recording Secretary Barry Hoffman

July 31, 2018

Location – Visit Dallas HQ, 325 St. Paul St., Dallas

Attending Board members: Cary Broussard, Liz Farmer, Hugh Aynesworth, Jo Ann Holt, Zane Harrington, Barry Hoffman, Martha Tiller, Frank Librio and Paul Wahlstrom (ex officio), Michelle McClure (ex officio , Clarisse Baudelaire (ex officio)

Absent: Scott Goldstein, Cory Smith, Tristan Hallman

The meeting convened at 4:08 pm

Old Business
Approval of the minutes for June 26. Moved by Jo Ann Holt, seconded by Zane Harrington, passed unanimously.

Financials
Cary read highlights of June 30 financial report, which was unanimously approved, subject to internal review to confirm that Cary’s report was accurate. (Incorrect financial report was submitted so correct report will be submitted).

President’s Report

Board nominations
Cary explained that the majority of board members must be representatives of the news media. She then distributed the list of nominees.

Communities Foundation affiliation
The BOD participated in a conference call with representatives of the Communities Foundation of Dallas to discuss establishing an operating fund under their auspices. Among the topics were North Texas Giving Day (Sept. 20) handling online credit card processing fees, the Aug, 15 deadline for establishing the fund, responsibilities and authority of Communities Foundation representatives and Press Club of Dallas representatives vis-a-vis the fund, the possibility of investing through the fund.

A motion was offered to allocate $10,000 from the Press Club of Dallas account to join the fund under auspices of the Communities Foundation of Dallas by Aug. 15. It’s purpose would be “for investment, fund-raising, monetary management and operational purposes.” The motion passed unanimously, with Cary exercising Cory Smith’s proxy.

Legends Awards
The event is scheduled for Oct. 13 at the Sixth Floor museum. Cary said a news release would be issued with all the winners around the middle of August.

Aynesworth Awards
Entries are slowly coming in, Barry Hoffman reported. Cary asked how much time we had for lengthening the entry deadline and it was determined that the contest could be (with a price increase) extended if needed.

Membership campaign
Cary reported that 14 membership renewals and 5 new memberships were recorded during July.

Administrative changes
Cary said that our Press Club administrator Michelle McClure would be leaving Aug. 31. Additionally, web content editor Bill Young has left and Todd Lee Davis is a possibility to replace Bill.

Promotion program
Liz Farmer asked if we could create a small budget to promote some of our events. Frank Librio added that each of us should use social media to post press club events.

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:05 p.m.

– Minutes submitted by Recording Secretary Barry Hoffman

June 26, 2018

Location – Visit Dallas HQ, 325 St. Paul St., Dallas

Attending Board members: Cary Broussard, Jo Ann Holt, Barry Hoffman, Martha Tiller, Zane Harrington, Hugh Aynesworth, Scott Goldstein, Cory Smith, Tristan Hallman; ex-officio – Michelle McClure, Clarisse Galloy-Baudelaire

Absent: Liz Farmer, Frank Librio, Angela Madison

The meeting convened at 4:05 p.m.

Old Business
Approval of the minutes for May 29. Moved by Cory Smith, seconded by Martha Tiller. Passed unanimously.

Financials
Approval of April 2018 financial report, which noted $700 in membership renewals in May. Moved by Barry Hoffman, seconded by Cory Smith, passed unanimously.

President’s Report

Communities Foundation affiliation
Cary Broussard proposed the Press Club establish an operating fund of about $10,000 with the Communities Foundation of Dallas. She added that establishing the relationship with the Communities Foundation could help the Press Club focus its fundraising in conjunction with North Texas Giving Day on Sep. 20, with which the Foundation has a strong connection. The cross-marketing could be very beneficial for us, she said. Cary said she would be having a conference call with the Foundation on July 17, and Press Club BOD members were welcome to join in. Our financial obligations were still being explored, Cary added, but she did not believe they were onerous, and she would report back to the board with exact amounts when she had them.

In the discussion that followed, the board discussed the feasibility of raising enough money – an estimated $30,000 annually – including paying a coordinator to perform the duties necessary to operate our awards events, the Hugh Aynesworth Excellence in Journalism Awards, and the Legends in Journalism Awards. This goal met general acceptance, but no vote was taken to take further action on implementing it. Most board members wanted to wait until after the Sep. 20 North Texas Giving Day event to see if it produced significant results for the club. Cary called for a vote to finance the $10,000 (minimum) operating fund the through the Communities Foundation of Dallas, providing the financial requirements were acceptable. Tristan Hallman recommended that we postpone the vote until we gathered more information. JoAnn Holt seconded the amendment to Cary’s motion, and the board unanimously agreed to postpone the vote.

Press Club Scholarships
Cary said the Communities Foundation of Texas Press Club of Dallas scholarship awards announcement at the Sixth Floor Museum on June 18 had gone well. Cory Smith and Cary ceremoniously awarded the scholarships at the event. Press club members Doc Strange and Tammany Stern photographed the event. Photos and release were posted on social media and website. The Press Club, the CFT and the scholarship winners also received editorial coverage from our news release.

Corrie Coleman received a $15,000 scholarship. Morgan Price received a $5,000 scholarship and Kilee Torrez received a $2500 scholarship.

This led to a BOD discussion as to how the club sponsors certain events, e.g., panel discussions about how well the news media is doing its job; what are the “hot button” issues facing us, etc. The discussion was tabled, pending establishing a fund-raising plan.
Aynesworth Awards – Cary said that we had made a deposit of $1,125 for our Dec. 1, 2018 awards event at the Irving Convention Center, and that the remaining amount of $3,375 was due Nov. 1.

Legends Awards
Co-chair Scott Goldstein said he was looking at either the Sixth Floor of Trinity Groves for an event to be held either in September or October. Selecting the honorees was still in process, but Scott said it should be accomplished before Aug. 1.

Tristan Tallman made the suggestion that those organizations/individuals wishing to sponsor both the Aynesworth and Legends events could be offered a package discount, which was enthusiastically endorsed by board members and referred to the sponsorship committees.

Membership
Cary Broussard circulated lists of past members members – complete with scripts to renew their interest in the club to the BOD for could contact by phone.

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 5:25 p.m.

– Minutes submitted by Recording Secretary Barry Hoffman