At the Nov. 13 professional development meeting at Hendrix, there were a few critical items on the table that needed discussion by the board and the membership at large. We didn’t have enough attendance to take action. However some suggestions arose.
Associate Membership — With membership renewal staring us in the face, time has run out to discuss and vote on an associate membership level for the 2011 membership year.
- Background: The issue was raised at the January 2010 board meeting. This level would allow the associate member to enter ONLY the state competition. State-only membership would be $15 with no need to pay the national NFPW membership dues. If the associate member had a winner in the state competition, the member would have to pay the national dues of $74 to advance to the national competition.
- Upshot: This requires a constitutional amendment and we will have to bring this up at the state meeting in June, or find another option.
Open Contest — The board members present discussed the possibility of making our contest open to everyone, members or non-members. Non-members would pay double the entry fees paid by members. Presuming that person had enough entries, it would be worth it for them to pay a membership fee. We are checking to see if this requires a constitutional amendment. This may be an option for not having an associate membership level.
Secretary — The position is still unfilled and would require a full-board vote to approve the nominee.
FOI award — There was discussion about APW giving recognition to a person who helped defend the state’s FOIA during the year. This would not necessarily be a news person, but could be awarded to anyone who took action in defense of the FOI.
Scholarships — We received additional donations to the scholarship fund in Carol Griffee’s name from Bill Shrum, Charlotte Schexnayder and from Ed and Sil Pembleton of Saint Paul, Minn. We are over the $1,300 mark. Thank you all for your generosity!