Chicago Headline Club
Minutes of Oct. 20, 2008 meeting
At Bloomberg Office
Meeting began at 9:30 a.m. Present: Kristen Schorsch, Niki Dizon, Sue Stevens, Tony Noce, Wes Bleed, Abdon Pallasch, Esther Cepeda, Beth Konrad, Dawn Reiss, Steve Walsh, Laura Putre, Kathy Catrambone, Suzanne McBride; and Deb Cohen (by phone)
Discussion: Talked about overhauling Web site; Dawn presented three options, including a $26,000 bid. The board wants to know if that’s too much to pay for an overhaul.
Deb said the Web site needs an interactive area, such as a Blog, for members to respond to programs and offer input.
Beth suggested bringing in the three bidders for a presentation.
Esther suggested the board create goals and criteria for a new Web site before selecting a bid. Dawn said the board has goals, which include driving traffic to the site, making it more interactive and having a place on the site to pay for programs.
Treasurer’s report: (Suzanne) Suzanne updated the board about where our budget stands and that we don’t have much money to spend. Last year, the board made $12,000 on the Lisagor dinner. We need to make at least $25,000 this year.
We should call Melissa and find out if we use Memberclicks. Otherwise, we should cancel the program.
About the Lisagor awards: Talked about adding categories. Steve suggested boosting categories under specialties and trade publications.
Dawn was concerned about the length of the dinner if we add more than 20 categories. Need an MC to draw a crowd.
Suzanne suggested calling other groups that have award dinners and see how long it takes them to get through the categories and awards.
Beth said the Lisagor committee is not finished with its work.
CHC Scholarships: Jane said she wants to head up the scholarship committee again.
Programs: Beth presented future programs: a magazine forum on Nov. 13 and addressing race and minority issues on Dec. 3.
Membership: Laura suggested charging $10 at the door to non-members attending programs. If they sign up the club in-person, the club will waive the $10 fee.
Laura also is trying to find a venue for the holiday party. Abdon suggested having the party on a Burger Night to save money.
Meeting ended at 10:36 a.m.
Minutes submitted by Kristen Schorsch for Deb Cohen