[APA-InfoTech Leaders] APA-IT DIVISION: 2007/09/07th Meeting Minutes

[pi at spatiallink.org]

Errata:
Page 2 - Change 'The committee scheduled its next call on 10/01st/2007
(1 PM EST)' to 'The committee scheduled its next call on 10/05th/2007 (1
PM EST)'

Also,
Judy, I am not sure about the software you have for designing the
newsletter template, but if not Photoshop, Pagemaker or Publisher, try
GIMPshop @
http://www.plasticbugs.com/blogimg/gimpshop_2.2.8_fix1_setup.exe and
Scribus @
http://belnet.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/scribus/scribus-1.3.3.6-win32-install.exe
.
Harsh

On 9/14/07, pi at spatiallink.org <pi at spatiallink.org> wrote:
> ***
> Technology Division of the American Planning Association: Executive
> Committee Meeting Minutes
> 
> 07th September 2007 [1:00 - 2:00 EST]
> 1-888-245-4141
> X 394006
> 
> Attendees
> 1. Ken Snyder, Chair
> 2. Harsh Prakash, Secretary/Treasurer
> 3. Milton Ospina, Communications Chair
> 4. Judy Tjiong, Division Coordinator
> 5. Gene Roe, Membership Chair
> 6. Lyle Hornbaker, Website Chair
> 
>         Ken called the meeting to order shortly after 1:00 PM and brought-up
> the following agenda for review:
> 1. Approve Agenda
> 2. Mission Critical! (Need all leadership to step to the plate)
> 3. 2008 APA Conference Booth (Time permitting)
> 4. Technology Division Business Meeting (Time permitting)
> 5. Newsletter Redesign (Time permitting)
> 6. Website (Time permitting)
> 7. Next Steps/Next Meeting
> 8. Other
> 
>         Ken started by outlining how his office- Placematters, has put in time
> worth around $30-$40,000. He informed that that level of investment was
> not sustainable and therefore, the membership must step-up to the plate.
> In response to a question by Harsh, Ken detailed the most time-consuming
> work: Membership Outreach, Website Updates and Conference Preparations.
> Ken urged the leadership to ensure that the once-a-month conference
> calls are well-attended. Lyle supported his appeal.
> 
>         Continuing this discussion, Ken informed that Placematters had
> signed-up for chairpersonship only, not editorship. On editorship,
> Milton offered to help with newsletter content. Harsh informed Ken about
> the now-reduced $250 stipend for editorship to help offset some of the
> incurred cost. Milton said that given the nature of his current job, he
> has more free time now than when he was employed by ESRI. Harsh
> suggested a website submission form to collect articles for their
> newsletter. Milton supported this suggestion for automating approvals,
> waivers and other copyright requirements. He also offered to start
> calling members more for articles.
> 
>         Later Ken urged the leadership to ramp-up their outreach efforts given
> the prediction that national membership would go down. Judy clarified
> that planners can continue to sign-up as division members even if they
> are not national members. Gene asked how to best demonstrate the value
> of membership to potential members. He stated that only when that value
> is defined, can a serious outreach be undertaken. Milton cautioned
> against any delay. Gene wondered about the critical mass of members
> required to self-sustain. Harsh added that given technology as a small
> subset of planning, the leadership must not set unrealistic expectations
> regarding outreach. He also added that given the limited allure of
> technology to planners, it will make sense to continue the division's
> rebranding: How the name change achieved some of that, and how
> interesting overlaps with like-minded divisions could achieve some more.
> In response to his question, Ken checked the newsletter website and
> confirmed that only members can view their current newsletter as per
> APA's policy.
> 
>         On website, Lyle offered to collect FTP links to white papers on
> GIS/GPS for their website. Ken asked him to first prepare a roadmap for
> their website updates.
> 
>         Later Ken highlighted the good work by Jocelyn Hittle and asked for
> help in recruiting a new editor. Harsh mentioned Judy's design
> background and wondered if she could design a newsletter template to
> speed-up publishing. Judy responded by asking Ken for design guidelines.
> She also suggested using Lyle's roadmap as guide. In response to a
> question by Milton, Ken stated that he only had APA's guidelines from
> May 2007. He also revealed that APA National was updating its newsletter
> format, and so their templating would be well-timed.
> 
>         Then Ken asked Gene about his plan for membership outreach, especially
> for lessening the number of members who dropped-off inadvertently. Gene
> replied with a request for the membership roster. Ken offered the names
> of Kimberley, Melissa Reinbeck and Matt Johnson with APA National to
> contact. Harsh added that the last email from Matt only had a list of
> new members. Milton said that that list would also be useful for
> outreach. Gene ended this discussion by requesting time to compile a
> list of members to target.
> 
>         On conference preparations, Milton talked about how Mike Gritz could
> not assist with booth preparations right-away. Given her proximity to
> the conference site, Judy offered to help tentatively. Ken also
> mentioned open slots for business meetings.
> 
>         Finally everyone agreed on holding atleast one conference call a month.
> Ken added that structured agenda could increase attendance. Harsh
> suggested that those who want to discuss a particular issue more
> frequently do so on their own accord. Judy excused herself from their
> next call citing previous engagements. The committee scheduled its next
> call on 10/01st/2007 (1 PM EST).
> 
>         In parting, Harsh informed about agreeing to represent the division at
> the upcoming leadership conference.
> 
>         Finally, Ken adjourned the meeting.
> 
> Respectfully recorded
> Harsh Prakash
> Secretary/Treasurer
> ***
> 
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