BOARD OF PUBLICATIONS
Meeting Minutes
January 4, 2010
The ACB Board of Publications met via teleconference at approximately 9:05pm (EST), Monday, January 4, 2010. Members present were: Paul Edwards, Marcia Dresser, Judy Jackson, Jenine Stanley, Ken Stewart; Ex Oficio Members: Larry Turnbull; Absent: Ron Milliman, Michael Malver; ACB Officers and Staff: Sharon Lovering, Earlene Hughes; Guest: Carla Ruschival.
Agenda:
Marcia moved to accept the revised agenda. The motion was seconded and approved.
Minutes:
Judy moved to accept the minutes as amended. The motion was seconded and approved.
ACB Web Site:
Paul reported that he had been in contact with Carla Ruschival who had some concerns about the ACB web site’s administration. Paul invited Carla to address the BOP with her issues.
Carla detailed interactions between herself as chair of the ACB Store Committee and Earlene Hughes, ACB Web Master, regarding restoring the store’s functionality after the server crash, including adding new items before the holiday season. Carla felt that the tasks she had asked of Earlene were not done in a timely manner, thus missing potential financial gain from holiday sales.
Carla also expressed concern in her role as Convention Chair, about forms which need to appear on the site for volunteers, sponsors and exhibitors in early January. She asked the BOP to explain the process by which items are prioritized for placement on the web site.
Earlene addressed Carla’s concerns by noting that she has been extremely busy with reconstructing the web site. She is often given competing priorities with minimal direction. She also is currently only authorized for 20 hours per week but has worked overtime and has volunteered hours to complete the reconstruction of the web site. Earlene also noted that due to the upgrading of the server, some of the older software must be reconfigured and different methods must be used to handle forms and other complex portions of the site.
Paul stated that he and Melanie Brunson have developed a set of goals for Earlene as Web Master that will include use of timelines and how to handle conflicting priorities. He plans to meet with Melanie and Earlene in the coming weeks. Paul asked Earlene to provide him with a statement about the percentage of restoration work completed on the web site and what portions are left to do.
Ken moved that Paul arrange a meeting with Mitch Pomerantz and Melanie brunson to discuss clarifying lines of communication regarding web site issues and to arrange a meeting with Melanie and Earlene to establish procedures for site submissions. The motion was seconded and approved.
Social Networking:
Jenine reported that she has not had a chance to convene the task force. She reported that Facebook has made some advancements in accessibility making it easier to hide portions of people’s interactions. She commended Facebook for these improvements.
ACB Radio:
The BOP congratulates Larry Turnbull who was hired as ACB Radio Managing Director.
Larry reported that 28 prizes were given away as part of the 10th birthday celebration of ACB Radio. He noted that due to technical difficulties they were unable to broadcast live with audio description from the Rose Parade but he was able to join coverage from HGTV with a high listener count. Notification was sent to all ACB Radio and other ACB lists about the technical difficulties.
Larry reported that Marlaina Leiberg will be returning with her weekly show on Mainstream, Tuesdays from 6:00 to 8:00pm Eastern time. He is also working on bringing Treasure Trove in house to provide more consistent programming. ACB Radio will also be entering into a shared programming agreement with the International Association of Audio Information Services (IAAIS).
Jenine moved to accept Larry’s report. The motion was seconded and approved.
PR Committee:
Ron Milliman submitted a report prior to the meeting detailing the PR Committee’s activities. Judy reported as liaison that the monthly meetings described in the report are well attended.
Judy moved to accept Ron’s report as submitted. The motion was seconded and approved.
Editor’s Report:
Sharon noted that her question to the large print readership about fonts yielded a low response, with both selections receiving almost equal votes. The BOP suggested that she pose the question one more time with feedback gathered at convention as well as via mail responses. Paul will send out a notice to the various email lists about this issue alerting people to check the February issue of the Forum to see the two font choices.
Awards Documents:
Jenine reported that she made some changes to last year’s articles announcing the Freeman, Henley and Liggett awards. Changes to the article for the Freeman and Henley awards were minor.
Jenine moved that the following language be added to the article announcing the Hollis K. Liggett award and that this language be incorporated into the next revision of the BOP Policy Manual:
“Recipients of this award for the last five years are ineligible to enter the contest.”
The motion was seconded and approved.
BOPEEP:
Sharon reported that changes to the cover as specified by Ken appear in the January issue.
Unfinished Business:
Ken reported that he continues to work on finding donors for conference call services.
Ken asked about the status of board summary reports from 2008/09. Paul said that he will send the reports but is dealing with a computer situation.
New Business:
Ken recommended BOP members look into Voice on the Go, a telephone-based email system he is using. He will give further recommendations to the Internet Oversight Committee as liaison.
Next Meeting:
Paul will notify members if a meeting on February 1 is necessary. If not, the next meeting will take place on Friday, February 19 at 7:30pm.
Marcia moved that the meeting be adjourned at approximately 11:15pm EST. the motion was seconded and approved.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jenine Stanley, Recording Secretary